The Tribune

By PEANDRA PRATT

COMMITTED, loyal and hard-working are just a few words used to describe Pat Higgs, who, at 84, is still an employee of Rubins, the clothing and shoe retail company for which she has worked for 70 years this month.

At 14, Ms Higgs, a native of Hope Town, Abaco, and her family migrated to Nassau. Her initial plan was to go to school but on hearing that Rubin Bott - a Polish Jew who founded the company in 1929 - was looking for a saleslady, she went straight to his shop and was hired immediately.

From then, she has been a committed and loyal employee of the Rubins establishment in its various locations and with titles from saleslady to manager, Ms Higgs has been a familiar, friendly face, serving many generations of customers.

“We’ve had customers that Ms Higgs has served for four generations,” Sandra Smith, the co-owner of Rubins, said. “So grandkids of our first customers are now grown up with their kids sometimes coming to buy school pants. And they’ll remember how Ms Higgs helped them with their school pants when they were younger.”

Ms Higgs puts her loyalty for Rubins down as a product of her disposition. “I like to be loyal wherever I work, I love to be loyal to my firm,” she explained.

But it has not all been plain sailing. Mrs Smith recalled the time the store was robbed over 25 years ago at one of their original locations on George Street. “He tied Pat up and told her to open the safe and she said, ‘There’s no money and I’m not opening the safe!’ Could you believe it?”

“So he steals stuff and ran out through the glass showcase. But luckily a jitney driver called the police and they caught him by McDonalds. The case came up a couple of years later and he asked Pat ‘how did you remember me?’ And she said ‘I’ll never forget your face’,” Mrs Smith added. Through it all Ms Higgs has remained faithful to Rubins.

Mrs Smith described Ms Higgs as “happy as the day is long” and says “when they made her, they broke the mould because you can’t find anybody like her”. She also remarked that for the first 20 years that she worked at Rubins, Ms Higgs never missed a day of work.

“I remember taking her to get a medical procedure done and when filling out the form under medical history I put none, none, none because she’s never sick, never in a hospital,” Mrs Smith recalled. “So I turned it in and the doctor looked at me and said there’s nothing on here. I said there’s nothing to tell. The woman has not been sick since I’ve known her for 20 years. The doctor looked at me and said if I had more patients like her I’d be out a job.”

She also described Ms Higgs as cheerful and said she has never heard her complain about anything since she has known her. “She just laughs her way out of situations. And that’s the secret to her success and longevity. Laughter and hard work.”

Today, Ms Higgs, who is widowed, works two days a week but stills fills in occasionally for employees on vacation and is almost full-time during the Christmas season. In her spare time, she enjoys travelling, volunteering at The Salvation Army and spending time with her family in Abaco.

When asked if she intends to stop any time soon, she proudly shakes her head and says no. “I love working, I love to be around people. I love to serve people. I love my bosses. And as long as I feel this great, with no aches no pains, then, no, I don’t plan on stopping any time soon.”

Rubins was established 87 years ago. Selling only shoes at the time, it was located on Frederick Street before moving to George Street, where it burned down in a devastating fire in 1942. In 1953, Mr Rubin bought a vacant lot and built his store again from the ground up. Today, Rubins is owned by Edward Smith and his wife and sells everything from clothing for men and women, shoes, women’s accessories and more.

Rubins will be honouring Ms Higgs for her 70 years of excellence and service at their Harbour Bay Shopping Plaza outlet on Saturday and are inviting customers and the public to ‘sip and shop’ with balloons, cake and champagne. Rubins has several long serving members of staff and on Saturday at their other stores, at South West Plaza and Palmdale, they will be recognised for their service over periods ranging from 19 to 25 years.