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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1975-04-17, Page 18'Congratulations To the people of Seaforth on their Town Centennial The Council and Citizens of the TOWNSHIP OF H1BBERT 100th Seaforth Congratulations on the 100th anniversary of Seaforth's incorporation as a town We're proud to have grown with Seaforth since 1878. CANADIAN IMPERIAL BANK OF COMMERCE Can you remember Main St. with horses, 2 movies? APRIL 17, 1975 business there for years before he built the I.G.A.store where the old Broadfoot and ,Box Furniture and Undertaking store was. Tommy Daly's grocery was the first store where the street narrows. It has been occupied by Sam Shirien for years. Next was 'a jewelry store run successively by Jno. Bolger, Jno. F. Daly and Arnold Westcott. There was a -man by the name of McNaught had a• jewelry store at one time, I don't know whether it was there or not. The Graves Wallpaper store was whereit still is, altho' none of the Graves family are left. It is run by Cleta Dickson. The next place was Consigney's shoe repair. Furniture The Broadfoot and Box Furniture was under the management of S. T. Holmes. Norman Henderson and Dick Winter worked there 'at different times. I don't recall what was where the Imperial Bank of Commerce is. Next to that where the post office is there were a couple of stores that were moved over on to Victoria Street and made into homes. One of these was Sandy Campbell's implement and carriage shop I think. The Dominion Bank has been rebuilt but is still doing' business in the same place. In the old building at one time, the boys who worked there had rooms above. After the first World War the store across the corner was pled as "Great War Veterans Association Hall." Many were the dances and card parties held there. Later Geo. Ferguson carried on.a hardware store there. W. D. Bright's Tailor shop was next. I think it had been Bright Bros. "A. J. and W.D." but as I remember it. most clearly it was run by W.D.Bright and his son Ed. Bright's suits• were very popular and many former Seaforthites sent back to Seaforth for suits, made to order from the measurements on file at Brights. Small Fry One can't forget Oscar Neil's restaurant that came next. The little, curtained off booths, fascinated the small fry. These of course were done away with. eventually. ' The "News" office came next. It was run by a succession of (By Ethel Beattie) I would like to say at the outset that this does not pretend to be historical. I have done no research except to research my oWn memory. Thought maybe some of the old timers might like to recall Main Street as it was in their youth. Can't remember 100 yeati but will do what I can. I'll start at the soutli-east corner of Main and Goderich- Streets.The corner store as I remember first was occupied by' B. B. Gunn's general store. He kept a stock of groceries, china and possibly some yard goods.At any rate he would give the kids a few candies when they went in with their mother.Whether the candies had anything to do with it or not he was elected M.P. I think he died while still in office. At that time politics were taken very seriously. I remember we had a tug'of-war between the Grits and the Tories in the "school yard. This was long before there was a Gallup poll but maybe it was just as good an indication of the trend of the voters as the modern way. After Mr.Gunn's death, Matty Williams moved from Dublin and carried on the store for some years. , After his death his daughters moved to a store down the street where Broome's is now and had a grocery store there. Art Routledge carried on the corner store and later McGonigles ran it.. The store south of that I don't remember much about until a Jewish couple, Sheffer by name I think had a dry goods store there.For some years now it has been the Crown Hardware. Where Dr. Toll's office is, was at one time ,J.Wesley Beattie's butcher shop before he moved across the street. Dick Crone had a grocery in the south half where Jack Thompson is. •Jack Stevens "had a grocery in the north half at 6de-tithe. • Where the McKillop Fire insurance office is was A. G. Ault's. Grocery. He 'was commonly called Aggie, George Haigh was the next owner and• then Alex McGavin.. Same place The Expositor Office is still in the same place, altho' it had it's face lifted some years ago. The music store of the two Dick Pecks is next.. When they first came there was an uncle and nephew. Later the nephew went to London. Where Dick Box is now was the Reid and Wilson Hardware.The partners were W.O.Reid and Robert Wilson.Robert Wilson kept high stepping horses in a barn down near the flax mill. John Knight looked after them and got the nickname Jocker. All his family er him inherited the name. I recall Ernie Box, Kate Kerr and Oscar Van Egmond worked in the store. I recall a movie theatre being in this store. I• think it was run by the Willis Bros. Imagine Seaforth had two ,movie theatres at one timel South of this was what was called in my earliests recollection "The Kandy Kitchen" run. by a Mr. and Mrs. Patterson. It was later run by Strassers and later still by Alf Box. It was a hang out for the teenagers after skating. Mrs. Box's pies were out of this oworld. Pool Room Next came the Pool room run by Harry Town and his son Aif and later by J. P.Bell who was for years the fire chief. The store where th e street jogs was Dawson's Liquor Store. Later it was run by the United Farmers as a Co-Operative grocery. Jim Clettiy followed and he was in 2 — THE HURON EXPOSITOR, owners' until finally by the Snowden family. F. G. "Fag" Neelin ran it before he became Customs Officer. It is told of him that the day after an election if the gbvernment changed, he changed his daily paper from the Mail and Empire to the Toronto Globe or vice versa, according to the new government. • It wouldn't'do to forget Case's Hall which was over the last three stores. Many were the dances held there. The Town Hall remains the same with a few alterations and so does the Commercial Hotel altho' the express office run successively by; Wm. Somerville and Mac McKellar 'is gone along with the barber shop which was at the other end. The Hotel was run first that I can remember by Geo. E. Henderson and "Count" De lacey. After that it was run by Alex McLennan and later still by . the Dungey family. Bank The _store next as I first remember was the Bank of CoMmerce. After that L. G. Kruse had a grocery and meat market. A fter that a man by the name of Sunday had it and af ter that, John Beattie opened his variety store there. The next store was Jno. Rankin's office And later J. J. H Uggard's. The next couple of buildings are a blank to me altho' I think something was torn down when the News Office was built. There was a Chinese laundry along there some place. At the corner where Habkirk's is now was a livery stable run I think by Arthur Forbes. Down past where the library is was Dr. Harburn's Veterinary Office. It is• gone and has been replaced by a modern animal hospital out the north road. Neville's monument works is no more, altho' the building is still there. It is opened I think one day a week now by Pryde's. Mrs. Dicky Clark had a grocery store at the north end of where the CAnadian Tire Store is. The Canadian Tire Store started life as Willis' Shoe Factory. It was later a clothing factory and later still a furniture factory'run by. Avon Chests and lastly by Bosharts. Grip House The Topnotch office was formerly the "Grip House" and later Duncan's Shoe Factory. Over the track was a larage frame building that sat close to the street. It had been a hotel at one time but later was the headquarters for the local junk dealers. Just south of that was a frame building. The evaporator, where they dried apples. It was burned years ago. Ament's saw. mill was beyond that, but ,it is long gone.. ....est Side Starting on the west side of Main Street at Goderich. Street is the Royal 'Hotel run by Thos. Pinkney. One story I have heard about that. They were, having a banquet there and were short of help so one of the boarders offered his services. There was a bottle of brandy set out to be added to the pudding sauce. The ' boarder thought it would be a good idea to add it to the gravy. The cook couldn't understand the sudden delmand for seconds of gravy. .1 'Johnny trich's store next was if 1 remember correctly , a restaurant run by Frank Willis before , W.A.Crich, Johnnie's 'father came from Brussels to run it as a bakery and restaurant. For a time Chester Crich worked with his brother, Some years ago they had three or four trucks delivering bread and cakes to the stores around the country. Next was Ed. Latimer's tin shop. Before that it had been Geo. Baldwin's bicycle :shop. For years the "Picture Show" was carried on there. It was run first by a man named Cady. It was continuous and silent of course. Later Jno. MCKenzie ran it for years. Where the music store is was a butcher shop run by T.R.F.Case, Winter & Stewart, Wes Beattie, Sy Ivester Everett and a couple of others whose names I forget. A Mr. Talbot had a fancy goods store next, something on the 'order . of a 5c to $1.00 store. Made Leggings Willis shoe store was next. Out behind the store was a large building where they made leggings. This building was later moved down behind' the factory on Main St. S. Quite a number of people were employed there'. Where Hildebrand's is now was Mullett's (sic) Hardware Store, later Chesnerand Smillie, then Chesney and ARchibald and 'later still J. F. Daly's Garage. Jack Daly was one of the earliest of the Ford •motor car dealers in Canada. Henry Livens had a grocery in the store next before he moved two doors south. It was Beattie's Butcher Shop, later W.L.Whyte's then Staffen's Flower Shop before becoming a butcher shop again. South of ....that_ was the photograph gallery, run by different members of the Jackson family. A Mr, Fell, who moved to Goderich, then Fergus Buck, Jno Pullman had his barber shop there for some years. The-grocery store next was run by a Mr. Jeffrey, Marsh Stewart, Nellie Pryce and lastly by 4rt Wright. (Continued on Page 7)