Kindersley Chamber Feature Lela’s Music Centre Ltd.
“Well hello and come on in,” says Randy Ervine, the owner of Lela’s Music.
Randy told me the store was started by his mom and of course, named after her! It was 1976 he said when his mom opened the music store, at that time it was located on Main Street beside the old Prairie Trail Hotel (previously named the Seymour Hotel). It was a good location for 15 years but finally the decision was made in 1991 to relocate to its present location. The old space was only about 2,200 square feet compared to approximately 3,000 square feet in the new building.
Lela decided that more studio space was needed for teaching music and space for lessons. The original studio space was always busy and sometimes a little noisy! Lela has a degree in piano teaching and still plays to this day. There were so many things for sale over the years that have gone the way of the dodo bird; LPs, 8-track tapes, cassette tapes and 45’s were all the rage at one time. If you know what 45’s are then you really ARE old! But, everything old is new again as the prominence of record players (turntables) picks up steam. However, as the internet and streaming has grown in popularity, even CDs are becoming a thing of the past.
The next big thing that was introduced at Lela’s was audio visual equipment, stereos, Telus phones and other accessories and electronics. TVs and stereos gained a foothold as piano and organ sales dropped dramatically.
For 5 years, from 1982 to 1987, Lelas had a second location in the Kindersley Mall. As I was told it was kind of a “failed experiment”. However it was still keeping the Lela’s Music name out in the public eye. For the past 18 years, Lela’s has been a Telus dealer and doing very well with cell phones and many other phone accessories.
Band instruments are available for sale or rent along with an impressive inventory of guitars, bass guitars, drums and other accessories; amps, cables, drum sticks, cymbals, guitar strings, pedals, mic’s etc. Lela’s also has a very fine collection of Harley Davidson paraphernalia as well as NHL, NFL and Saskatchewan Roughriders sports souvenirs and collectables. Many choices abound for those “hard to buy for” sports enthusiasts!
One of the most surprising things about Lela’s Music is how everything has its place and even though the store has lots of items, it is well laid out and not crowded. TVs are one thing that customers may not know that Lelas has for sale and they are displayed on the wall and the high quality is easily noticed.
Randy reminisced about his younger days working for Bill Larocque and Glen Bitz at the old Gulf Wayfair restaurant and the good times that were had. Randy has been a part of Lela’s since 1976 now and still has time to golf and volunteer plus time with his family including 2 young grandsons! Randy had been involved in minor sports for over 50 years as a player and volunteer.
Randy is also Deputy Mayor and is chair of the DKA (Downtown Kindersley Association) and the KRPA (Kindersley Regional Park Authority). Lela’s is also a member of the Kindersley and District Chamber of Commerce and the CFIB (Canadian Federation of Independent Business). He is married to Shawna (Kraz E Threads) and they have three daughters.
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