But did you know that the business is one of the Crowsnest Pass’ oldest? It was in
1935 that Aldo and Rachel (Ray) Montalbetti started the first store in Coleman,
named “Modern Electric”. They were first located in a small shop on the side of the
Italian Hall where they sold and repaired small electrical appliances. In 1944, Aldo and Ray bought the 1907 Coleman Mercantile building on main stree
t
and branched out into hardware and housewares. In 1955, they purchased the
Coleman Hardware building to stock with furniture, major appliances and bicycles. In 1968, Russell and Alice Montalbetti took over the business and renamed it “Pass
Home Electric Center”. Russ and Alice expanded again in 1981 with the opening of "HomeAll Building
Center”, in Blairmore. The family was now in the building supply market. Joining
the family business was Blair Painter (son-in-law) as Manager. The merger of three businesses to its current location in 1997 created “Summit
Home Center”. Today Summit Home Center is still called “Montalbetti’s” or
“HomeAll” by the locals. It is owned and operated by Blair and Cathy Painter. In 2007, Joel Painter joined
the business making it four generations in the hardware business.
