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ABOUT NELSON: Remembering Reo Rocheleau, Nelson’s video king

Donna Macdonald writes about Rocheleau, who passed away in May
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Reo Rocheleau began renting VHS tapes out of his store in 1987. He later went on to start Reo’s Videos. Photo: Submitted

by Donna Macdonald

Communities have many notable fixtures, like parks and sculptures, but we also have human fixtures, people like Reo Rocheleau.

In his 50 years in Nelson, Reo was a well-known figure often seen in his pick-up truck with an arm out the window and a stogie in his mouth, having a laugh with a passerby. He was also a hardworking, entrepreneurial man who some say would try anything to make a buck. And he did try a lot in his 91 years on this earth, before dying on May 17 in Kamloops. We remember him best, of course, because of Reo’s Videos.

But long before that, in 1957, Reo came to Nelson to manage the Woolworth’s store. In 1960 he started Reo’s Records, which he tagged “The Most Colorful Record Shop in the Kootenays.” Reo built houses and apartment buildings, and delivered groceries and bread. He also managed the Sears outlet store in the mid-70s and that’s when my family’s connection to him began.

My spouse Greg remembers going with Reo to the ‘warehouse’ to look for a deep freezer. He was shocked to find himself in the abandoned Capitol Theatre. No seats, just the slanting floor, and no lights, except for Reo’s flashlight. Reo correctly sensed that Greg would be open to a deal, and so it is that almost 50 years later we still have the fully functional, but slightly dented, chest freezer Reo sold him.

Because we live in Uphill, we also frequented his corner store on Stanley Street (now the Uphill Market). Reo had all the basics and then, in 1987, he started renting VHS tapes. Imagine, we could buy some milk and rent a movie at the same time. Soon Reo moved the video rental business to Lake Street and later to Front Street. Both locations had a warren of rooms inviting exploration of the eclectic film collection.

When Reo moved to Lake Street, he entered a development permit zone with heritage design guidelines for building exteriors. Deciding to give his new digs a facelift, Reo discovered that he had to have a permit, and this would require approval of the Heritage Commission and heritage consultant Bob Inwood, and ultimately city council, which was where I sat at the time.

I remember him stomping into a council meeting, clutching papers in his hand and looking very grumpy. Reo protested to council that the Heritage Commission, and Bob, didn’t like his design. He said that was ridiculous because, although he couldn’t really tell what it looked like because he was colour-blind, his “girls” (employees) had drawn it up and he was sure it was nice.

Reo was so angry at the process, but council stood firm and sent Reo off to work with Bob to come up with a design. A couple weeks later, Reo returned, transformed, smiling, a big fan of heritage. Bob had created an entrancing design of an old style cinema, with a marquee and strings of white lightbulbs along every edge. Everybody was thrilled. It was a rare political moment when all parties had smiles!

In 2007, Reo moved to Kamloops but he never learned the knack of retiring. Concerned about potholes and wasteful spending, he turned his mind to local politics, running for council in 2014 and in 2022. Given the current fractured council in Kamloops, it’s a blessing for him he wasn’t elected.

In 2020, the Nelson Civic Theatre Society bought Reo’s Videos, to provide a service and preserve the unique collection of 18,000 titles. It’s important for us to remember that what we have in Nelson today didn’t just appear; it was dreamed, built and operated, mostly by people whose names we forget. But we’ll remember Reo, his name forever associated with videos and the film life he brought to Nelson.

Donna Macdonald has lived in Nelson since 1972, and is the author of Surviving City Hall, a memoir of her 19 years on Nelson City Council. Her column appears monthly. Special thanks to Greg Nesteroff for information used in this column.