Roger Bidgood
Roger Bidgood is the founder and president of Bidgood’s Wholesale Ltd. Bidgood’s was started in 1947 when Roger took over his mother’s general store and home in the outport community of Petty Harbour. Bidgood’s grew into a wholesale business, fish plant operation, a retail supermarket, shopping plaza and producer and exporter of its own Newfoundland product line.
The business grew from Roger Bidgood’s love and appreciation of Newfoundland and its resources, especially its people. This appreciation inspired the ideas that have made Bidgood’s the unique and successful business it remains today. Many cottage industries all over the province depended on Roger to subsidize their livelihoods.
Four attributes founded and governed Roger Bidgood’s life: his Roman Catholic faith, his love of the outdoors and his dogs, his strong work ethic, and his unconditional generosity to others.
Roger Bidgood was born in Petty Harbour December 11, 1922 as one of seven children - four sisters and two brothers. His mother Maggie had a great entrepreneurial spirit and his father, who was a fisherman by trade, passed on his quiet ways to Roger. While both brothers died at an early age, his four sisters remained a constant support to Roger throughout his life.
In 1947 Roger married his life long partner Jennie Walsh from Goulds. They took over the
general store in Petty Harbour, which included the running of the local post office, and Roger began his wholesale business. He purchased a truck and began selling products
along the southern shore for companies such as Mammy’s, Browning Harvey Ltd., A.E. Hickman & Co, and Newfoundland Margarine. Two of his six children were born in Petty Harbour.
In 1953, on the advice of his doctor, Roger and his family moved to the Goulds where he built a new wholesale facility and began to expand his truck fleet and move into the retail food business. In 1958 he expanded his fish plant operation in Petty Harbour and in 1963 he opened the first full service supermarket on the southern shore called Bidgood’s Food Centre.
Roger has great determination that helped him overcome many obstacles in his life. Through fires and sickness, creditor problems and the cod moratorium Roger prevailed and provided always for his family. His wife Jennie has played a very supportive role through out the years, and through their collective good works the Bidgood family name has become synonymous with community spirit and generosity in the Goulds and Petty Harbour areas.
Roger is well respected and admired by all that know him. He conducted his business affairs with integrity and fairness and many times with compassion. His most common answer to most requests was “No Problem”.
Today, his sons and daughters operate the business that he helped establish, as they carry
on the tradition so ably started by their father.