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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
When successful businessman Roy Williams first arrived in Yellowknife, he had mere pennies in his pocket.

Roy Williams examines the Daughters of the Midnight Sun display at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre. The owner of Roy's Audio Video reflected this week on his time in Yellowknife. - Danielle Sachs/NNSL photo

It was Oct. 29, 1969 when the owner of the electronics business, now known as Roy's Audio Video, got off the flight from Edmonton with no more than $15. The flight to Yellowknife was cancelled the day before and Williams was forced to use $35 of his last $50 to stay an extra night at the King Edward Hotel in the Alberta capital.

"Landing in Yellowknife the first thought I had was the car that picked me up was all full of dust inside," said Williams.

Following in the footsteps of his brother Merlyn Williams, the young traveller from Wales was struck by the massive scale of Canada.

"My country looked like it would fit into Great Slave Lake. Once I made it here, I immediately fell in love with the place, even though it was winter and colder than any temperature I had ever known in my life," said Williams.

"Being 17 years old, I was invited to Sadie Hawkins dances and other events that were happening at local high schools 'cause they'd heard a guy wearing Carnaby Street duds and having a Beatles haircut was in town, with an accent. It was not bad for picking up chicks."

The original plan was that Williams would join his brother, who was fixing electronics at Yellowknife Radio.

"That worked for awhile. But I found out at a party in town that I could get into NAIT (the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology) and I followed up on that conversation and left Yellowknife in three-month stints to learn the trade of what was called a radio/TV mechanic," said Williams.

Now Red Seal certified, Williams started thinking about going into business for himself, repairing televisions and radios, but also selling some on the side.

Before opening a business in Yellowknife, Williams decided to travel and explore the world, bringing along his first wife Barbara.

After satisfying his wanderlust, Williams decided Yellowknife was the place to set up shop.

He returned North and he and Barbara had two children, Scott and Robin Williams, who both currently work at Roy's Audio Video.

Arriving back in Canada in 1975, Williams ran into Newton Wong, who owned a lot of property in town.

A conversation Williams had on the street with Wong led to him finding his first retail space.

"I said 'Newton, I want to open my own store,' and he put out his hand, shook mine and said 'You come to my mall,'" said Williams.

"Things were done on a handshake in those days, there was no contract initially. I looked for franchise opportunities and opened a 1,000-foot bay in his mall," said Williams.

"I got the franchise in December 1975. Within two years I'm the top reseller for the Radio Shack dealer side out of 300 stores, and was pretty much in the top five for the next 30 years or so," said Williams.

On top of running a business, Williams has been involved with the musical theatre side of Yellowknife. He has acted in and directed numerous productions through the years, including last year's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and the upcoming Rise Up Women of the Midnight Sun, which is directed by Williams and narrated by his brother Merlyn. The most recent show will be performed in the auditorium at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre.

Williams was also at the dedication party for the same museum when it was officially opened in 1979, attended by Charles, the Prince of Wales.

The commissioner of the NWT, Stuart Hodgson, sent out a call to all Welsh people in town to see if they would be interested in singing at the party, which was in the Explorer Hotel.

"We garnered about eight local Welsh people. It just happens that Welshmen are born to sing," said Williams.

"The commissioner in those days was 150 per cent different from the commissioner today. The commissioner today is just a face. Then the commissioner was a mover and shaker. If he wanted something done it happened," said Williams.

He ended up in a white three-piece suit singing in Welsh and shaking Charles's hand.

Musical performances keep Williams busy when he's not boating or going to trade shows for the store.

Through his involvement in the 1985 production, Man of La Mancha, which was performed at the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre, Williams met his second wife, Maureen Crotty. A flautist, she had travelled to Yellowknife from Edmonton with the orchestra for the sold-out production.

"When she left, we spoke over the phone and I had just bought a sailboat so I invited her to Yellowknife for the summer to learn how to sail," said Williams.

Although Crotty had to go back to Edmonton in August that year, the two kept in touch and when Williams asked her to move in permanently, she agreed.

"We didn't offend each other and it's now gone on for 25 years," said Williams.

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