HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2010-04-15, Page 20PAGE 20. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 15, 2010.
Business Directory
D & J
CONSTRUCTION
Jim McDonald 519-887-9607
- COMPLETE MECHANICAL SERVICE -
COMPUTERIZED TUNE-UPS - TIRES - BRAKES
MUFFLERS - VEHICLE INSPECTION STATION
DAN'S AUTO REPAIR
Owned and Operated by Dan & Heather Snell
RR 3, Blyth, Ont. N0M 1H0
(on the Westfield Rd.)
DAN SNELL, Automotive Technician
519-523-4356
ELLIOTT NIXON
INSURANCE BROKERS INC.
BLYTH, ON
N0M 1H0
519-523-4481
MEMBER OF HURON INSURANCE MANAGERS GROUP
5 Generations
Since 1910
R. John Elliott Res. 519-523-4323
J. Richard Elliott Res. 519-523-9725
Randy Nixon Res. 519-523-4989
VANDRIEL
Excavating Inc.
Simon
VanDriel
519-482-3783
We Dig For You
Call us for... Excavators, Bobcats,
Dozers, Trucking, etc.
COMPLETE EXCAVATING
CONTRACTOR
Derrick
VanDriel
519-522-0609
• Gravel • Sand
• Stone
We have solutions for
your storage needs.
Great for home, office &
business.
Ask for Ken at
LAKESIDE
519-524-1740
Storage
Solutions
In stock used Pallet
Racking, used decking
steel & 4'x8' T&G fir plywood.
Drop by and see our great
selection of books. They make
great gift ideas for any age!
The Citizen
404 Queen St., Blyth
519-523-4792
541 Turnberry St., Brussels
519-887-9114
INSTANT FAX AS FAST AS A PHONE
Send your paperwork by FAX instantly! eg. statements, contracts,
auction ads, favourite recipes, obituaries, messages...
The Citizen has a FAX machine in our Blyth office that lets you contact
any other FAX machine in the world ... instantly.
Our FAX number is also your number so if you want to be
reached instantly — we will receive your messages
as well.
The Citizen
Call Us Today For Details 519-523-4792 or 519-887-9114
Fax: 519-523-9140
“Locally owned & operated”
P.O. Box 69
470 Turnberry Street
Brussels, ON N0G 1H0
(519) 887-6100
Fax: (519) 887-6109
e-mail:dsholdice@himginsurance.com
See histories and
historic photographs
on the Huron History
section of our website
www.northhuron.on.ca
PAUL COOK
ELECTRIC
Home, Farm &
Commercial Wiring
BELGRAVE
519-357-1537
SUNSHINE COUNTRY
CONSULTING
ACCOUNTING
& INCOME TAX
SERVICES
Ralph Watson
810 Turnberry St.,
Brussels, ON N0G 1H0
Bus.: 519-887-6011
sunctry@ezlink.ca
ObituariesRespected Brussels businessman remembered fondly
The area lost a true treasure and
one of Brussels’ most respected
businessmen, Max Oldfield, who
passed away on April 1 in
Wingham.
Oldfield, founder of Oldfield
Hardware, now Oldfield True Value
Hardware and The Source,
exemplified Huron County. He was
a devoted family man, a hard
worker and he liked to have a good
time.
Oldfield was in his 89th year. He
was born in Corbetton, Ontario on
Aug. 1, 1921.
“You wouldn’t meet a kinder
man,” said Oldfield’s son, Jim.
Jim said that while his father
understood business and people
exceptionally well, he knew the
customer was important and that
they were the key to a good
business.
“It didn’t matter who you were,
he looked after everyone,” Jim said.
“He loved being in the shop and
talking to people. He loved that an
awful lot.”
Jim said that much of what he has
learned throughout his life can be
traced back to his father and his
teachings, even when he was young
and working with him in the store
over the summer.
“When I would get short with
people at times, he would take me
aside and say, ‘you can’t do that, if
they’re good enough to come in
here, we need to treat them with
respect,’” Jim said. “But he was
just good to everybody and he was
great to work with.”
Nora Stephenson agreed after
working with Oldfield for 23 years.
“Max asked me to come and
work for him because he knew I
was a hard worker,” she said. “Max
and I got along well. He was fair.
He expected you to work hard and
he expected you to be on time, but
if you ever needed a day off, that
was no problem.”
Oldfield joined the Royal
Canadian Air Force and served as a
wireless operator in Newfoundland
until he returned to Brussels and
applied those skills to his hardware
store.
Oldfield opened his shop in 1947
after returning from the Air Force
in the Second World War. He
married Jeanne Madill a year later,
a teacher at Brussels Public School.
Oldfield, who juggled the
hardware business with farming,
had the distinction of being the first
person to bring the television to the
village of Brussels.
By all accounts, Oldfield was an
extremely hard worker, staying at
the hardware store well into his
80s, but it was for his love of
interaction that he stayed at the
shop, his son said.
“He said he never wanted to
retire because he knew too many
people who retired and then died
the next day,” Jim said. “He loved
the people at the store and he was
really good to them.”
Jim also said that Max was a
terrific father, who always made
time for his family, despite the
large amount of time he had
dedicated to the store, his farm and
the several service clubs he was a
member of, including the Brussels
Lions, the Brussels Masons and the
Brussels Legion.
“He couldn’t do enough for us.
He was always good to my sister
[Anne] and me,” Jim said. “He
would always make time for us.”
Jim said that his father was a
great fan of music and made sure
that both of his children had piano
lessons and that they continued on
in school, always stressing the
importance of an education.
“Originally he wanted to be a
veterinarian, but after the war, it
just didn’t work out,” Jim said. “He
always wanted us to have the things
that he didn’t, that’s why piano
lessons and schooling were always
so important.”
Anne is now a doctor and Jim has
a degree in civil engineering
technology, but came back to
Brussels to help his father with the
store when he was considering
selling it.
In addition to his involvement
with several service clubs in
Brussels, Oldfield was also on the
regional hardware board and he
was active with the Huron County
Cattlemen as well. Jim said that his
parents travelled all over the world
with the cattlemen.
After his wife died in 1995, Max
found comfort in his farm, Jim said.
He bought a new lawnmower and
loved being on the property.
“When dad couldn’t be on his
own, we moved into the farm for
about a year and he loved the
orchard up there,” Jim said. “He
always told me to make sure to
keep the orchard growing. It’s so
pretty this time of year with the
blossoms coming out on the trees
and he just loved it.”
Another thing Max did in his
spare time was dance. Jim said he
loved to dance. He had taken
ballroom dancing courses and
attended barn dances on several
occasions, even in his much later
years.
“This would have been last
summer and I was outside of the
farm with some friends and he
drove up with the car and he said he
was going to Durham for a barn
dance,” Jim said. “Well it couldn’t
have been any earlier than two or
three in the morning until he got
home.”
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
North St. West, Wingham
Mac & Donna Anderson
519-357-1910
A cemetery is a history of
people, a perpetual record of
yesterday and a sanctuary of
peace and quiet today. A
cemetery exists because every
life is worth loving and
remembering - always
Distinctive Memorials of
Lasting Satisfaction
BOX 158 WINGHAM ONT NOG 2W0
Max Oldfield
Continued on page 21