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IRELAND, 1913: Jimmy, Vic and Henry Ferguson left their mother country to head west across a major ocean and an even larger
land mass called Canada. At the end of their journey they arrived in the west coast small city of Vancouver. For the three brothers this was to be their new home, so with a vision, a dream and a determination to succeed, Optimistic Transfer was born. With nothing more than a Ford flat deck truck with wood slats for sides and a canvas roof, the transfer business was on a
roll. The name “Optimistic” was chose by the Ferguson brothers as Irish Orangemen. In 1916, the name was changed to Ferguson’s Transfer. It expanded its operation from the house at 19th and Duchess Avenue in West Vancouver to include two offices – on Water Street in Vancouver and the foot of Lonsdale in North Vancouver. Business continued to operate through World War I,
the Depression and World War II. In 1932, the Ferguson brothers took over the Orange Hall at 22nd and Marine Drive in West Vancouver. They turned their new location into a furniture warehouse, bus stop, coal drop and general storage. Even Friday and Saturday night dances were held on a regular basis! If you knew Vic Ferguson, you could always find a game of cards going
on somewhere in that building. In 1935, Wilf Griffiths and Henry Funk joined the company and helped with the expanding business on the ever-growing North Shore.
In 1948, Jack Reano arrived on the scene with a keen commitment to offer a service that was very rarely seen in this industry. With time marching on, the Ferguson brothers decided to call it a day, Jack and Wilf took over the company in 1962. I remember Jack (my dad) saying “Lets quit the old freight business and stay with just the moving of household goods, ‘cause that’s what we do best.” With new trucks and equipment
Ferguson's was still on a roll. In 1973, Paul Reano joined the company as a junior man
on the team. In 1980, Paul took over the company and in 1983 expanded the operation to include Vancouver Island, all of British Columbia and Alberta. In 1991, Ferguson Moving & Storage
moved to a new location in North Vancouver, offering a
combination of a mini-storage building and a specialized
container warehouse.
In 2001, Lorne MacInnes joined the company as Operations manager, bringing 12 years industry experience along with him. With Lorne & Paul working together as a team,
in January 2004, Ferguson Moving & Storage expanded the size of its container storage from 6,700 square feet to 20,000 square feet. At that same
time, Lorne purchased 49% of the company shares and was made partner and Vice President. With an eye on joining a larger network to service long distance
and international orders, Ferguson Moving & Storage joined Mayflower Van Lines in 2005. This membership allows Ferguson Moving & Storage to be truly a complete moving and storage company. To this day and always we maintain the phrase,
“Doing what we do best.”
Sincerely,
Paul Reano
President
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