NEW GLASGOW
Members of the Goodman family were acknowledged for their family’s extensive historical contributions to the business community and lasting legacy in Pictou County, on Tuesday.
Mayor Nancy Dicks and Coun. Clyde Fraser presented a series of photos of several members of the Goodman family – a family with four generations in Pictou County. The Goodmans have been added to the Business Wall of Fame, a spot in Town Hall commemorating those whose historical contributions have shaped the community.
Two of those four generations of Goodman family members were present on Tuesday to accept the honour.
The Goodman family was the force behind Goodman Company Ltd., one that opened a series of retail stores throughout Atlantic Canada and Quebec – which included the Goodman department store in downtown New Glasgow. That business was housed in a building that still stands today, known as Goodman Place.
Rick Goodman, a lawyer practising in New Glasgow, spoke to guests at the New Glasgow Town Hall, thanking the town for the acknowledgment.
Goodman provided guests a history of his family in the area, from back in 1900, when his predecessors came to Canada and started doing business in trading and shipping, eventually expanding to New Glasgow.
The Goodmans eventually established themselves in Atlantic Canada, and originally had connections to business operations around the world through their original business partners, the Weinberg family.
Although the store in Goodman place closed in 1985, the legacy of the family’s business lives on in the community. That is something Mayor Nancy Dicks said the Town of New Glasgow has been looking to recognize people and families for – those whose businesses have formed integral historical parts of the community.
During the brief ceremony appointing the Goodmans to the Wall of Fame, Dicks reminisced about her childhood days, and the memories in the Goodman building downtown, admiring everything from the merchandise to the Christmas displays.
The Goodmans were chosen after the town consulted the Heritage Advisory Committee, which took numerous factors into consideration when determining the role the Goodmans’ business played in Pictou County.
“Its not always an easy decision,” said Dicks. “But with the Goodmans, they had a continued impact through generations, and were big in organizations like Scouts, and Rotary, since way back – everyone knew the Goodman family.”
