Mason and Daly General Merchants
Shopping and history collide at Mason & Daly General Merchants takes Barkerville visitors back to an era when shopping was a social event. Guests are provided a unique customer experience unlike any you’ll find today. From the products to the personalized service delivered by staff in Victorian period dress, Mason and Daly General Merchants offers customers a glimpse of what shopping might have been like 150 years ago. Watch your purchases get rung up on a hand crank till then wrapped with paper and string. There truly is no other experience quite like it. Mason and Daly General Merchants carries an eclectic selection of goods, many just like those that shoppers would have purchased during Barkerville’s heyday, including men’s and women’s hats, old fashioned toys and games, hunting knives, gold nugget jewellery, candy and giftware.
Meet William, Robert & Douglas Rummel
Meet William, Robert & Douglas Rummel
Brothers William, Robert and Douglas Rummel started Mason and Daly General Merchants along with C. Strouss and Company, located in the same building, in 1980. They later added A. McPherson WatchMaker and Jeweller. The store was modeled after the original Mason and Daly store that was located in Barkerville and operated by Joe Mason and John Daly. The Rummels are passionate about providing the store's guests with an authentic experience, just like they would have back in the late 1800's and early 1900's. This is evident in everything from the way the staff are dressed to the nostalgic and old fashioned goods in the store.
The Rummels love the history surrounding Barkerville, the Cariboo gold rush era and the business itself. Part of their work involves educating visitors about that history in a way that is fun and playful, and is the reason that they strive for authenticity in the experience that they provide. They know they've accomplished that when a visitor says "my parents brought me here to this store when I was a kid and so I am bringing my children now."
William, Robert and Douglas enjoy the solitude and quiet lifestyle that Wells affords. They also appreciate the fact that the people who live here are actively involved in each other's lives and in the goings-on of the town. "There is a real sense of community here," says William.