John Conley’s White Elephant stores uniquely local

Nobody knows how many black felt pens have been drained marking prices on products sold in the Spokane White Elephant Stores founded in 1946 by the late John R. Conley.

Eschewing price tags for simple penmanship was one of the distinctions of the stores that started primarily with the military surplus gear sportsmen craved. Soon they expanded to feature hunting, fishing and camping gear plus toys that families craved.

Another distinction that is even more amazing nowadays: The Elephant stores are locally grown and still local.

Conley could be all business and less than flattering sometimes, but many people have chimed in on the White Elephant Facebook page with fond remembrances. He was a deeply religious and patriotic man known to give customers – and especially kids who caught his fancy in the store – a little U.S. flag, a free ride on the swaying elephant machine or maybe a lucky fish hook.

Customers accepted the former general lack of customer service as a game or challenge to hunt through the stacks of merchandise and find deals.

Conley, a proud penny pincher, set up the family-owned businesses to survive this far into the era of big-box and online retailing with some age-old values.

“He had a way of getting kids to work hard,” said John Kallas, manager of the Valley store. “It takes a special knack to do that.”

Sales in the Elephant stores were cash-only with no cash registers and undated adding-machine receipts until 1995, long after most retailers had succumbed to credit cards.

“The family owns everything lock, stock and barrel,” Kallas said. “That’s hard to do in this age. That keeps us going.”

Bucking the trends, the stores continue to operate on a principle conveyed in Conley’s after-hours telephone answering machine message that went, to wit, “We’re open six days a week, but never on Sunday. Big sale on Monday.”

Customers would come in the next week and find merchandise with the first black-penned price crossed out with an even lower price marked below.

“Sunday was a day for church and family,” Kallas said, noting that Conley had 11 kids, 46 grandkids and 45 great-grandkids when he died last week at age 90.

“Dad loved to hunt and fish when he had time,” said his son Pat Conley at the Valley White Elephant, where the store phone is (509) 924-3006, the last four digits of which are known by veteran sportsmen as one of the most popular rifle calibers in big-game hunting.

“He had access to a 12-foot aluminum boat at Loon Lake from the time I was 6 until I discovered girls at 16,” Pat Conley said. “I remember him taking me out there after work on a Saturday and we’d fish for kokanee into the night, sometimes all night. I can remember lying down in the bow of the boat and looking up to spot shooting stars….”

The power of that memory a few days after his dad’s death was reflected in the pause Pat needed before he could continue: “I’ll never forget those moments that every kid should have.”

“John R., as we all called him, was always positive and upbeat, no matter what,” Kallas said. “Regardless of whether business was slow or good, he remained positive.

“Even at 90, although not involved much in the business, he knew what the bills were.

“If we needed something, he’d get it done,” Kallas continued. “Not long ago, I talked to him and said customers were wanting those little $1.69 scissors and tweezers but we haven’t had them in a while. He got hold of a guy in California and real quick here comes a giant box of them into the store.”

Eight years ago, John gave his blessing to Pat to transform a warehouse at the Valley store into a facility called The Outpost for hunter education and firearms safety classes.

“Volunteer hunter ed instructors were telling us that classroom space was getting hard to find,” Pat Conley said. “I called dad and he said, ‘Let’s see what we can do.’

“Word got out and pretty soon the NRA offered a grant to pay for furniture and Safari Club gave a check for revamping – volunteers chipped in.”

Since March 2010, The Outpost has been booked with hunter education classes serving youths and adults.

“We don’t charge the Washington Hunter Education Instructors any money to use The Outpost,” Pat Conley said.

Of course the Conleys hope to attract a few customers by offering that free local service to the public.

But that’s a locally appreciated part of the stores’ business model sportsmen won’t find by shopping on Amazon.