Business celebrates milestone

Common Threads is celebrating a major milestone: 30 years in business in Sisters.

They will host an open house from noon to 6 p.m. on Friday, November 15, and some sales and discounts will be continued through the weekend.

The event will be a trip down memory lane for many people involved in the business - including the original owner, Cathi Howell, who will be on hand for the festivities.

Howell was originally enticed by avid Sisters Country boosters Mike and Bill Reed to open a store in Sisters in 1975. The Cubby Hole was a tiny arts-related store on Cascade Avenue. Howell moved back to Portland, where she opened a clothing store in 1983. But the Reed brothers continued to advocate for Sisters, and that same year she opened Common Threads.

Howell told The Nugget that the beginnings of the growth of tourism to Central Oregon in general and Sisters Country in particular gave Common Threads some legs.

"It was an unusually opportune time to have a small business that became quite a substantial business," she said.

One key to success came in the form of a young, dynamic woman who would help shape the business - and ultimately take over as its owner: Rosie Horton.

"She was 24 years old when she walked through the door," Howell said. "(Employee) Phyllis Johnson said, "Oh my gosh! This girl's a dynamo ... she's got what it takes."

Horton managed the store, and ultimately bought it and has helped it become one of Sisters' signature downtown mercantile shops.

Howell said there are many, many pictures to look through that recount the history of the shop (and fashion trends from the '80s to today). She told The Nugget that she had been enjoying "walking down memory lane."

Howell said there is basically one key to the success of the business she founded: "I was so lucky to get those wonderful people to work with."

Common Threads is located at 161 E. Cascade Ave. For more information call 541-549-5648.