Victoria –

Even though the product line at Rory Perron’s store couldn’t be more different, ranging from half a dozen office chairs to a pair of camouflage waders with size 14 boots, its price tags are all the same .

“Post-it notes!” » Rory smiled, placing them in his Local Liquidations store. “It’s my high-tech pricing system.”

But Rory didn’t put a Post-It note on what he found at a recent hotel clearance. Instead of typical art prints, he discovered a rare original painting.

“I’m not the artistic type,” Rory says. “But even a guy like me could recognize the beauty of it.”

When Rory turned the painting over, he found a few hidden newspaper articles attached to the back of the canvas. They profiled a Haida artist named Keenawaii Roberta Olson.

“So we did a little internet research,” says Rory. He found a woman of the same name who ran a restaurant in remote Haida Gwaii, called Keenawaii’s Kitchen, and called her.

“I was surprised,” Roberta said in a FaceTime call from her home in Skidegate. “I appreciate what he did to remind me of my life long ago.”

The now 83-year-old said she hadn’t seen the painting in nearly 45 years and offered to buy it back.

This is exactly what Rory was hoping for.

“Maybe we have something of value here, something that has financial value,” Rory said. “But I didn’t realize the value would be different in this case.”

He didn’t expect his phone conversation with Roberta to be so meaningful and that her voice sharing the story of his Haida heritage would be so strong. Rory didn’t expect to feel inspired to give him the painting for free.

“It’s a moving feeling to be able to connect two things that were separated a long time ago,” Rory says, holding back tears.

Roberta’s granddaughter, Elisha Henderson, was certainly moved when she received Rory’s painting.

“This kind of generosity doesn’t happen every day,” Elisha said.

And now that she is back with the family, Elisha hopes that this new story associated with her grandmother’s painting will inspire future generations to be generous too.

“To keep giving,” smiles Elisha. “And be kind to others.”