News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Rosie Horton remembers being "petrified" on her first day working at Common Threads back in 1988.
She realized that working in the clothing store founded by Cathi Howells in 1985 was going to be a lot more than simply showing up and acting as a retail clerk. It was a professional job, with high expectations for product knowledge and customer service.
Rosie Horton has been a leader in Sisters' retail community for almost four decades.
But Horton rose to the occasion - so completely that she would become the manager of the store, then its owner, and guide it through 39 years of service in Sisters' downtown retail community.
That nearly four-decade-long story is coming to an end, as Horton has decided to retire and close the business.
"The season of my life has come when I need to retire," she told The Nugget. "It's been a great 39 years. We kind of want to go out while we're still on top, you know? Where all of our customers still think of us in a positive light."
She explained that closing the store made more sense in her circumstances than seeking to sell the business.
"We're going to close it," she said. "We just made the decision that it was a little bit simpler and cleaner than trying to find a buyer. And retail is challenging these days, it really is. It's still a challenge here, and we just weren't in the position to wait around for a buyer. We just needed to move on to the next chapter of our lives."
That chapter will still include swimming instruction at Sisters Athletic Club, as Horton has been an avid, life-long swimmer and coach.
Common Threads is staging a storewide sale, including fixtures.
"We have antique and vintage pieces that we've used over the years that are for sale," Horton said.
Horton reflected on the highlights of a long career in Sisters retail.
"(It's) the relationships that have been created," she said. "Just that human connection that I've been fortunate enough to have. It's never felt like going to a job."
She's seen customers go from single to getting married to having a family to having children and grandchildren. She loves visiting with customers who have been coming to town once or twice a year for decades for events like Sisters Rodeo, the Quilt Show, and Sisters Folk Festival.
And she says that the employees she has had over the years become like family to her and her husband Tim.
Cathi Howells, who founded Common Threads in 1985, noted that Horton has "been the designer, the decorator, the buyer, the customer service person for years" at Common Threads.
She's also been a community leader. Howells noted that in the pioneering days of the downtown retail community that exists today, "everybody in that small community was involved, making decisions. She was part of all that."
Asked what advice she might offer to merchants willing to brave the often difficult retail climate in Sisters, Horton said, "Think about it in the long-term. Don't think of it as a quick sale. Don't just sell something to sell something. Create that relationship. Engage and interact with your customers when they come in."
The focus on relationships made Rosie Horton a success with Common Threads, an important leader of the business community, and, as Howells reflected, "a fine, fine human being."
Common Threads is located at 161 E Cascade Ave Suite103/D in Sisters.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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