The Hickman family dedicates a plaque to Albert Hickman's grandfather.
When Albert Hickman died on June 13, newspaper headlines called him a "business icon." This was shorthand for the resonance the Hickman family name has had throughout Newfoundland for more than a century.
It all started with a 20-vessel fishing fleet 100 years ago, and grew through an incredible diversification of businesses that included links with such Newfoundland household names as Purity Factories and Fishery Products International. The current enterprise, Hickman Motors, is another household name - in its fourth generation of family ownership. Its genesis was one of the first cars ever driven on the island.
Albert Edgar Philip Hickman, whose birthday was April 19, 1941, was one of four children born to Edgar Laurie Hickman and Ethel Beatrice (née Fudge). The family lived on Circular Road in St. John's. He attended Bishop Field and then Lakefield College School in Lakefield, Ont., as his father had. He married Karen Hibbs (whom he first met when they were both 13, at a dance) in 1964, and they had three children, Kimberley, Albert and Jonathan.
Hickman began working for the family firm in 1958. "The success of our business with great-grandfather, grandfather and father was their ability to foresee change and to institute change," said his son Bert. "Fear of change is the biggest failure. They were entrepreneurs, they were risk-takers, they were forward-thinkers." The range of their industry was striking.
Always, they adapted to changing tastes and times. Hickman's grandfather, Albert E. Hickman, was born in Grand Bank in 1874. He established A. E. Hickman Co. Ltd. in 1914 and its fishing fleet sailed the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. The company was the first to trade Labrador fish to Brazil. This foundation expanded to include such ventures as Dominion Atlantic Insurance Co. Ltd. and Bavarian Brewing Co. Ltd., but was most prescient in its fledgling automobile sales and service.
Albert E. Hickman bought his first car in New York and shipped it home on one of his schooners. "His friends were intrigued," Bert said. " 'Well,' he said, 'would you like one?' " These were old makes that are no longer around, like Moline-Knight, Hudson, and Essex.
"And in 1924 became a Ford dealer," Bert said. "In those days you dealt with Henry Ford himself, so he would have met him."
That same year, Albert E. also became the shortest-serving Newfoundland prime minister, with a term spanning May 10 to June 9, 1924. It was a chaotic time in Newfoundland politics, with the administration turning over four times in 12 months. Even the party Hickman stood for fluctuated through hyphenated names: The Liberal-Progressive Party (under Peter Cashin); the Liberal-Labour-Progressives (under John Bennett). Hickman represented Baie de Verde and had also served as minister of militia in 1918-19. He left politics in 1928 and died in 1943, passing the business on to his son, Edgar Laurie.
He, too, was successful - in part because he did not put business above all.
"In 1951, my grandfather was summoned to a meeting in Detroit," Bert said. "He didn't want to go because it was summer; he loved golfing, he loved being on his yacht, and it wasn't so easy to get to Detroit." But he did go, only to find that the manager who had sent for him was off on his own vacation. After waiting a day to learn he was expected to come back again in two weeks, "he walked across the street to General Motors Chevrolet, and became a GM dealer. And he called Ford and said, 'See you later.' And we're GM up until today, and cars are our main business."
Albert Hickman "had a fierce competitive spirit, especially in business matters," said his friend Miller Ayre. "I once couldn't get my car started after a party and went back in the house to get help. I spotted Albert - out he came - then he saw my brand new spanking Ford. He gave it a long look and said, 'That will take a lot of fixing. I'll help you call a taxi.' "
Hickman expanded The Hickman Group of Companies and Hickman Motors, now called Hickman Automotive Group. And he served on many boards, including those of CIBC and Aliant. He was a lead director at Fisheries Product International from its founding in 1984. He was honorary consul for Sweden, which earned him the Knight of the Royal Polar Star Order in 2002, and in 2003 he received the Award of the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II for distinguished community service. He was inducted into the Newfoundland Business Hall of Fame in 2006, and he retired that year.
"But he never really retired," Bert said of his father. "He liked to be kept in the loop. He enjoyed interacting with people." Even the Thursday before he died, he thought he'd go into work.
"He said to me once, 'I'm not like you.' " Ayre said. " 'I can't relax with a book. I have to be busy with my hands.' "
And Hickman was good with his hands. He built his own family summer home, in Deer Park, Nfld. He loved woodworking, starting with tables and moving on to a cedar strip canoe and four kayaks. (He took a kayaking course to learn to roll the crafts, and he got in them, made sure they were seaworthy and could roll, and then he gave them away.) He made ornamental birdhouses from driftwood collected on trips around Newfoundland and Labrador. (He and his wife, Karen, who enjoyed travelling as far afield as China, had latterly decided to travel around Newfoundland and Labrador, visiting as many as 600 communities.) He also made stained glass, in patterns of flowers, trees, or a boat, as designed by Karen.
And he loved to cook. "A month ago he made everyone breakfast, eggs Benedict, on Sunday morning," Bert said.
A generous man, and famously prompt, Hickman, who was 6-foot-3 and fit, also loved being outdoors, fishing for salmon or playing golf. His diagnosis of colon cancer, following a routine checkup, was a shock.
Hickman's humour and positive attitude sustained his last days, Ayre said. "He slowed his pace, so he literally smelled the roses, and he continually planned trips. Last week when I was visiting, he pulled out three magazines that featured around-the-world trips. When he saw me react, he said, 'I know, I know, but I just love planning trips.' "
Special to The Globe and Mail