Northern Home Essentials: 57 years down with many more to come

Since it was established in 1962, Northern Home Essentials - originally Northern Electronics - has been a family-owned and operated business and the DeRosa family plans to continue the tradition for years to come.

"At this point in time, the reason that the store works the way that it does is because the three of us are involved," Brian DeRosa said. "There's no ifs, ands or buts about it."

Northern Home Essentials is owned by Larry DeRosa, and his children Brian DeRosa and Kati Purkett work alongside him running the store.

"There's no question the store wouldn't be here if these two weren't involved," Larry DeRosa said.

Northern Home Essentials was started by Larry DeRosa's parents, Frank and Eunice DeRosa, as a wholesale distributor for electronic parts operating out of their home's garage, Purkett said. Her father was working alongside them from a young age, at times riding his bike to the post office to get parts mailed out. 

The business had a number of road representatives traveling up and down the Hi-Line selling parts to electronic repair shops, she added. She said her grandfather also worked at the railroad as a clerk and on his days off would work as a road rep for their family business. 

Larry DeRosa said he enjoyed working with his parents, although they didn't always agree on some aspects of the business. He added that he remembers he didn't like working on Friday nights because he was a trumpet player for the high school band and he wanted to go play at the games. But his father would come back from the road with orders that needed to go out and they would have to process all the orders before he could leave the house.

He liked the money, though, he said. Working the job when he was younger gave him the ability to purchase his first car his freshman year. He said one of the favorite cars he owned during high school was a 1968 GTX, adding that he remembers he use to be able to fly down the road.

He said he learned from the dedication of his parents that if someone wanted the extra things in life, they need to work for it. He said the family business was his dad's second job. His parents had things they wanted to do in their life and places they wanted to go, and having their own business was the way they could do it.

Purkett said that her father eventually became a road representative for the company and started taking control of operations for the business in the early 1970s. She added that her father saw a need for change; as the repair shops started closing down the business needed to adapt its services. He eventually convinced his parents to purchase a store location, which eventually expanded to the business it is in downtown Havre. 

"The biggest thing, I guess, about Northern Home Essentials is that my dad is a visionary," she said.

He's always had a vision for the way things need to be in order for the store to stay in business, she said. As times change, the store constant adapts to address the needs of Havre.

She added that her father taught her and her brother how to have a good work ethic and to see what needs to be done. The customer is always first and people should never ask somebody to do something which they haven't done or wouldn't do themself.

Brian DeRosa said he has learned from his father the importance for the business to remain competitive with the state of Montana.

"He has really stressed, just because we live in Havre you shouldn't have to pay more for something," he said, adding that attitude carries on throughout the entire store.

In 1983 Larry DeRosa took complete ownership and incorporated the store, Purkett said. She added that shortly after he took ownership he expanded the business, adding a second store front at the Holiday Village Mall. The store space at the mall was designed by her dad and built with his own two hands, she said. She added that the store was also the first place in town people were able to buy home computers after Macintosh started selling home computers. 

During that time, the business also started to have more retail space, selling stereo systems and televisions, she said. She added that she remembers her father had installed a DIN Stereo system in his personal car, a Chevrolet Monte Carlo, and parked it inside the mall in front of the store for display.

She said that they had a second storefront at the mall for about six years but decided to close that location and have a centralized location for operations.

She added that she started working in the downtown location when she was about 11 or 12 years old. She said she remembers cleaning the parts shelves with a bucket of water and a sponge, dusting and vacuuming. Even in the back room, where nobody could see, the parts had to be cleaned.

Brian DeRosa said that he started working for his dad when he was 14, making deliveries during the summers. 

Purkett said she also learned how to use tools and drive nails from her father because he has done remodeling in the store every year since she could remember. As the older sibling, she remembers working beside him during a lot of the remodels and watching and learning from what he was doing.

Brian DeRosa said one of his favorite memories of being with his father was going on business trips with him when he was younger. He said his father was always big on wanting to see what else was in the market and looking at other stores. He added that his family was also big into music and remembers during their trips his dad would always take time to look at different stereos and TVs.

Purkett said the business has changed a number of times through the years, going from wholesale to electronics to furniture and appliances.

In 2001, shortly after the business' name changed from Northern Electronics to Northern Home Essentials, Purkett started working full-time at the store. She was followed by her younger brother who started working at the store full-time in 2005. They have one more sibling, Darcy Hurtz, who is also involved in the business as an accountant. 

Larry DeRosa said one reason he is still involved with the business is because they, like any other business in town, are short-staffed and he doesn't want to burden his kids. But when the time comes, he is happy to turn it over to the next generation.

He added that his children are all great workers and worthy of taking control of the business. Times may change and the store may look different, but it's still here and the DeRosa family are still here, he said.

Changes are bound to happen in the future and in their business they have to adapt, he said.

"You can either stay with (the old ways) and die or you can try to find new ways to try to keep going," he said.

He added that in their 57 years of operating many of the other businesses he worked with have closed up, some because they didn't want to change with the times.

Purkett said change is inevitable with any business, but particularly with retail. The future always has different opportunities and it is their job to look ahead and make hard decisions, she added.

  "I think that you're crazy to think that things aren't going to change," she said.

Brian DeRosa said his favorite thing about working with his family is he gets to see them every day. Of course, they disagree at times, but at the end of the day, they are all on the same team.

Purkett added that her children, 9 and 12 years old, have already been in the store working and both have an interest in the business.

Larry DeRosa said the future is filled with possibilities and Northern Home Essentials will continue to serve Havre to the best of its ability.

"History is yet to be written, but the store is in good hands," he said.