Family celebrates 50 years in downtown Sandpoint

SANDPOINT — It may not seem that way, but there hasn't always been a Sharon's Hallmark.

The building in which Sharon’s Hallmark now resides was purchased by Don Rench and his wife, Sharon McCormick, in 1967. At that time, it was the Bi-Rite Drug Store, catching the eye of the Wenatchee pharmacist.

“He heard the store was available, so he contacted someone here, we came and looked and he fell in love with Sandpoint,” McCormick said.

So the couple moved to Sandpoint with their three young children, and this year, McCormick, her children, employees and customers celebrated the 50th anniversary of the family business.

Rench ran the drugstore, and in 1983, a Hallmark located three stores down became available. McCormick purchased the Hallmark store and the couple ran separate businesses until 1990 when McCormick merged the two in the drugstore location, following the death of her husband.

After 23 years of working at Schweitzer Mountain Resort, McCormick’s daughter, Deanna Harris, took over ownership of Sharon’s Hallmark when her mother retired. The family’s business evolved into the lower level of the building as well, where Harris’ brother runs Sandcreek Medical, a medical supply store.

In the 50 years the family has owned the business, only a couple of downtown businesses, such Larsen’s Department Store and the Panida Theater, are still around. Harris and McCormick said there used to be three pharmacies downtown, a Sears, Montgomery Ward, Coast to Coast, Western Auto and more.

“All the changes we’ve seen — we’ve seen two-way traffic go to one-way to go back to two,” Harris said. “They say what goes around comes around.”

McCormick and Harris said they have some great memories, and some not so great — like when there was a bar located next door, and they would sometimes come in to find there had been a break-in. Windows were broken more than once. And sometimes people threw snowballs at the windows, setting off the burglar alarm.

One fond memory Harris shared was when they first moved to Sandpoint. She was in third grade at Farmin Elementary School, they would leave school and go to the Pastime for lunch on occasion, which was always a “big deal,” Harris said.

McCormick said it is fun when she meets people outside of Sandpoint who tell her, “Oh, I just love your store.” And then there are the kids who visit Sharon’s Hallmark and ask her, “Are you Sharon — of Sharon’s Hallmark?”

“They think she is like a movie star,” Harris said with a laugh.

And then there are the customers and the employees.

“We just love our customers,” McCormick said.

“They are like our extended family,” added Tina Carter, who has worked in the store for 38 years.

Carter is not the only long-time employees out of the 10 who work there. Another, Mary Glazier, has been there nearly as long; 33 or 34 years, Harris said. The longevity of the employees is something Harris said is so “wonderful” about Sharon’s Hallmark.

Carter said she was 17 years old when she began working for the family, and once she started, she “just couldn’t get it out of her blood.”

“I love it” Carter said. “I have always been passionate about the store. I love working for the Rench family. And you can’t get bored; if you do, it’s your own fault.”

In observation of 50 years, the family held a celebration in September, attended by current and past employees and customers.

“We had people stop by who had been customers a long time ago, and it was just a very social day,” Harris said. “It was really fun.”

Mary Malone can be reached by email at mmalone@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.