If These Walls Could Talk: From a corner hardware store to a corner boutique

Editor's note: This is part of a 15-story series titled "If These Walls Could Talk" completed by Pioneer reporters with help from the Beltrami County Historical Society for our 2023 Annual Report.

A lot of hard work goes into maintaining a business.

The same goes for any building that contains said business. And over the past 100 years, the current location of Ally’s Corner at Fourth Street and Minnesota Avenue has undergone significant change quite a few times over.

Doors that faced Minnesota Avenue gave way to the current setup that faces Fourth Street, and through the years, a rough-and-tumble hardware store gave way to its current use as a boutique shop.

Before prohibition, Frank Silversack owned the City Hall Saloon in a wooden two-story building on this corner. After several legal hassles and an attempt by his disgruntled wife to burn the saloon down, he traded the saloon for a farm in Clearwater County. The Haffner family took over the saloon, but all saloon business was shut down in 1915 in Bemidji.

Charles W. Vandersluis was a traveling salesman, but after 15 years of moving around, he decided one morning that he had traveled enough. He wanted to settle down and own a hardware store.

When he got the opportunity to buy the former saloon building, he remodeled and opened March 30, 1915. It faced Minnesota Avenue and featured a 25-foot front and extended back, full of merchandise for the initial start of business.

Soon, the store became too small, and Vandersluis purchased the adjoining lot with the intention of erecting a larger building. In 1919, W.Z. Robinson became a business partner, and the two remained in partnership for eight years.

In 1921, the new building was finished. It was a two-story brick structure with a 50-foot front on Minnesota Avenue with “Bemidji Hardware” engraved into the building. It also had a full basement. The old construction was moved back and relocated to face Fourth Street. Charles and Lela Vandersluis lived in a comfortable residence on the second story of the hardware building.

Adversity struck in 1927 when a fire burned out the store. The shell was intact. Vandersluis bought out Robinson’s share of the building, demolished the second story, and completely rebuilt the interior of the main floor.

In 1938, Charles Vandersluis decided he’d had enough of the hardware business and turned over the business to his second son Angus and to Frank Markus, who had been working at the store for 13 years.

Charles wanted to look after his other business and political interests. Arthur Vandersluis bought out Markus’ interest in 1952, and the two brothers, Angus and Art, continued the business until Angus died in 1967. Art carried on until he sold to Chet Swedmark on Dec. 2, 1968.

Paul Swedmark and his sons had been in the hardware business in Bemidji since 1937. A devastating fire in 1966 forced Chet Swedmark to set up temporarily in the VFW building. With Vandersluis willing to sell and Chet Swedmark’s need for a new location, the sale worked for both of them.

Over 2,000 were said to have visited Swedmark Hardware during its grand opening. A new era began with this purchase by husband and wife team Chet and Naomi Swedmark.

“I remember it being kind of exciting,” said Ann (Swedmark) Sand, the couple’s daughter, who graduated from Bemidji High School in 1969. “Now they had this bigger, much nicer store. It still had that feel of an old-time hardware store, but they had really upgraded it with new lighting and new fixtures. Prior to that, it was a pretty sleepy little store.”

After some time as a bargain center and a few different bars, the structure stands today as Ally’s Corner. The boutique shop features a variety of unique items, including repurposed furniture, vintage treasures, handcrafted jewelry, indie-dyed yarn and items featured by local artists.

The building also features The Hub, a space that can be rented for birthday parties for children, showers, meetings, team-building events and more.

Ally’s Corner was formed this year as a merger of Twine & Gable and Junkin’ Treasures. Junkin’ Treasures, operated by Kelly Speck, had occupied the current building since 2019. Twine & Gable, operated by Angie Behr, moved from its previous location on Beltrami Avenue south of Third Street.

“When Angie and I merged, we had lots of ideas,” Speck said. “And one of them was (The Hub). She does knitting and jewelry-making classes and generally just a bunch of different classes. I've done painting classes. So we wanted a classroom, and our landlord let us take over this area.”

The expanded footprint has enabled Ally’s Corner to diversify its offerings, crafting a new chapter in a space with a rich history. Remnants of the hardware store include a belt rack and a since-sealed staircase running down to a large basement underneath.

Behr highlighted the exposed brick as another rustic indicator of the character and legacy of the century-old building, one that Ally’s Corner will continue into the future.