15,000 T-shirts later, the 'Humboldt Strong' gear that helped a town heal
'People want a sense of belonging,' says sportswear store owner Mike Yager
Amid the flurry of messages that inundated the Humboldt printing company behind the "Humboldt Strong" T-shirts, one email stuck with owner Shannon Yager.
After receiving his order, a man wrote to her, saying "I hugged that package before I opened it."
"To you it might just be a T-shirt … to me it's so much more," he continued. "Thank you from the bottom on my heart for giving me the opportunity to belong."
Following the Humboldt bus crash that killed 16 — including 10 players from the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team — Yager, who owns Spotlight Sport and Corporate Wear, printed a message on a T-shirt that would travel around the world.
"That first one was printed, I think, within half an hour," Yager told Anna Maria Tremonti, who was in Humboldt for a special edition of The Current.
"We were expecting to go home that day, but we never left," she said.
Since that first one, Yager and her husband, Mike Yager, have sold more than 15,000 T-shirts. They recently donated $304,000 to the Humboldt Strong Community Foundation, which was set up to support those affected by the bus crash.
The Yagers have also used some of the money to upgrade their equipment, and are quick to acknowledge the tension in the fact that trade has improved because of the tragedy.
"It's not for the best reasons, but we stepped up wanting to help people. And that's what we're still wanting to do," Mike Yager said.
Even on their days off, the Yagers leave a phone number on their storefront, telling would-be customers to call and they'll come open up.
"We had representation from Washington, California and Florida all in the same day," Mike Yager said. "They make a stop at Spotlight because they want Bronco gear or they want something 'Humboldt Strong.'"
Almost half of their store is now devoted to hooded sweatshirts, hats and other memorabilia bearing the "Humboldt Strong" slogan.
"Some people are buying a shirt and they're telling us they're not even going to wear it. They're just going to hang it on their wall," Mike Yager said.
"People want a sense of belonging."
Listen to the conversation near the top of this page.
Written by Padraig Moran. Produced by The Current's Geoff Turner, and Winnipeg Network Producer Suzanne Dufresne.