Happy Holiday! Mike’s Holiday in Grand Marais is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and original owners Mike and Dolly Quaife recently spent some time reminiscing about the old days and expressing their appreciation for the many great employees they’ve had over the years. Shown, from left, are Mike and Dolly Quaife, and current managers Courtney and Tim Quaife.
The 16,000-item order catalog and order stand is long gone. So too are the Holiday stamps; the deli which sold fried chicken, shrimp and Sven & Ole’s pizza; and the chrome coffee stand where customers used to grab a free cup of coffee on their way in or out of the door at the Grand Marais Holiday.
They are all gone, but Mike Quaife is still here. And though he isn’t working at the station any more, he comes every day to visit and say hi to friends and customers.
In fact, much has changed since Mike took over the Standard Station from his dad, Maurice, and converted to a Holiday gas station in 1963.“I had to take out the hoist and the garage doors and tile the floors when it became a Holiday gas station, said Mike.
Fifty years later, the store in Grand Marais has undergone three major renovations, and kids whose fathers and mothers worked for Mike, now work at the station. He mentioned long time employees Bev (Jacobsen) Denyes, Janet Nelson, Ron Olsen, Dale Saethre and Rhonda Buckman.
“I was lucky to have some great employees. The Riley boys—Bob and Bill—worked here. So did Greg Thompson and then his son. Well, too many to mention. There were many, many good people who worked here over the years,” Mike said.
Change has been constant, and as people’s tastes evolve, the station tries to keep up with trends in the industry said Mike
“A big change for us was when the station went from full-serve to selfserve.
That happened around 1978. I didn’t think it would work at first. Maybe people would fill up and drive away. But it turned out to be a good idea, and customers didn’t seem to mind filling their own tanks. And they were honest,” said Mike.
Holiday stamps, which Mike said were a big success, were prohibited by the government in 1974 when the country underwent a gasoline shortage “Gas promotions of any kind were disallowed,” he said, adding, “But it was a great promotion for Holiday while it lasted.”
For more than 20 years Holiday was open 24 hours, 7 days a week. That ended, said Mike, because, “People aren’t travelling at night like they used to. And now you have payat the-pump card readers, so the station doesn’t have to be open all day and all night.”
While the station has moved away from the early days when they sold lawn mowers, bikes, toys, and a variety of merchandise, it has stayed with an outdoors theme, along with the big sellers today: snacks.
“The trend today is snacks. We have a lot to pick from, but we keep stuff on hand like fishing gear and bait to help make people’s stay in the area better. If they’ve forgotten something, they can hopefully pick it up here,” said Mike.
When asked how many hours he worked in the early days, Mike’s wife, Dolly answered, “He worked 16-18 hours a day. He worked all of the time. Twice a week he would drive to Two Harbors in his 1966 Ford ¾ ton, plywood topper truck and pick up supplies. He would get back at 2 a.m. and park his truck in front of the front door and go home and sleep for 2-3 hours and then go back to work.”
“Holiday built a metal shed for my supplies in Two Harbors and I would go and pick up my merchandise in my truck. The camper wasn’t very big, but it worked,” said Mike.
In 1994, Mike built a Holiday gas station in Tofte. Today his son-inlaw, Brian Olsen, runs it. The station in town is now run by Mike’s son, Tim, and Tim’s wife, Courtney.
“Lets not forget my daughter, Marcy. She worked here for 22 years. She was a hard worker and deserves a lot of credit,” Mike said.
Will the business last another 50 years?
“Hopefully. Absolutely,” said Tim, smiling.
When Mike was asked if he enjoyed his career he was quick to answer, “I loved it. I wouldn’t have wanted to do anything else. Holiday has been a great company to work with and the people that I have met over the years, the customers that keep coming back, the employees that we have been lucky enough to have work for us, they have made all of the effort worth it.”
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