H eating trends have helped turn Corrigan’s Stove Centre from a small welding shop into the largest hearth showroom on the Island. “It was not planned at all,” says Juanita Corrigan, co-owner of Corrigan’s, which first opened in 1976. Currently, Corrigan’s sells wood, pellet, propane, electric, and outdoor stoves, among other products. Wood stoves, especially, are designed to help homeowners stay warm, while being both energy- and cost-efficient. However, in 1976, wood stoves weren’t popular. Furthermore, Corrigan says, oil was becoming expensive, so she and her husband, Pat Corrigan, looked at heating alternatives. Pat Corrigan, who is also the Stove Centre’s co-owner, was working in a welding shop and asked his boss if he could build a wood boiler after-hours. As his project took shape, more people started to notice. “The owner of the welding shop said, ‘You know, I think you have something here,’” says Juanita Corrigan. “And (Pat) said, ‘I think I probably do.’” After the boiler was finished, Pat Corrigan heard about a made-in-PEI contest from the federal government. He sent in his boiler design, The Patlyn I and II, which became
CSA (Canadian Standards Association) approved. From there, Corrigan’s Stove Centre was born. When the heating market began to shift in the mid-1990s, so did Corrigan’s. “At that particular time, oil kind of became more stable price-wise,” says Corrigan. “People weren't as interested in the wood boilers anymore.” She says wood stoves became popular for small spaces and for “ambiance,” but if Pat Corrigan was to make stoves, he’d need recertification. The couple decided that, instead of being a welding shop and making boilers, the business would be a retail store. Along with adapting to market changes, Corrigan says they also want to make sure customers are aware of the bonuses of owning a wood stove. One benefit she mentions is rebates: one at $1,000, and another at $1,800. Since the stoves are expensive, Corrigan says, these rebates can help offset the cost. “The rebate is definitely a break for people that want to upgrade to a new EPA stove,” she says, adding that more of their customers tend to choose the $1,000 rebate. Like the $1,800 rebate, the $1,000
a changing market, Corrigan’s Stove Centre has also expanded into a multi- generational business. The couple’s daughter, Rae-anne, is now a full-time employee, after spending most of her life around the shop. When Corrigan’s was a welding business, Rae-anne could be found in the office, colouring, working on puzzles, or watching TV while sitting in a little rocking chair as her mother worked.
“It’s a cute story,” says Corrigan. “She’s lived this store; she’s lived this life.”
As for herself and her husband, Corrigan says she never thought, when they started, they’d be where they are today. “I never thought that far ahead,” she says. “It just became part of your life, like your everyday life. It’s just kind of our extended home.”
Corrigan’s Stove Centre 100 Kensington Road, Charlottetown 902.629.1205 www.corrigansstovecentre.com
is only for EPA-certified wood stoves. Along with their ability to adapt to
◄(L-R) Juanita Corrigan, Pat Corrigan, Rae-anne Corrigan
WINTER 2020 www.pei-living.ca
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