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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1976-05-27, Page 5BLANKETS ABOUND AT Vernon Schatz' General Store. Being in has not diminished his appreciation for fine quality cloth and store annex, pictured above, where most of the Hudson's Bay displayed. T-A photo. ITS NOT THE FIRST basket of apples that Vernon Schatz has sold in his traditional country store and it sure- ly won't be the last. Lois Hodgins takes receipt of the money as happy customer, Herbert Schlundt takes possession of the apples. T-A photo, • Shipka girl marries AN INCREDIBLE VARIETY OF MOHAIR the general store business for 55 years woolens. He is especially proud of his blankets, coats, and Scottish mohairs are 59' Assorted 16 OZ. Flavours Bag 3 Lb. 1 Pkg. .49 I NE BREAD DOUGH white or whole wheat Loaf Pkg. I • I Rupert Golden Battered PERCH 18 O Pkg z. 1.19 McCain Mixed VEGETABLES 73C McCain PIZZA 1RW 4E6aliAR 1.29 1Z) ;1.4 Pak U,E 1 9 ST. LAWRENCE Corn Oil PERSONAL SIZE Ivory Bar Soap STOKLEY Peas STOKLEY Peas and Carrots NESCAFE Instant Coffee SYLVANIA INSIDE FROST Light Bulbs A C Flour R Fruit Cocktail A Peaches Hake% Mle08 WE RESERVE THE MIT QUANTITIES TO FAMILY SHOP EVERY AISLE 1.39 59' 2/65c 2/59' 2.89 "I" 55' 2.79 69' 65' 20 Bag 15W 25W 60W 48W 100W 28 in oz. T 2 Lb. Pkg. /4 i n Oz. T RIGHT TO SIZE ILEOVIREMENTS 3VERYDAY 1 SAVINGS 4 Libby Deep Browne,;1 BEANS With in tomato PORK sauce 19 Oz. 43' Tin Schneiders Old Fashioned HAMS 2:29Lb I Schneiders KENT BACON Schneiders Chunk COOKED MEATS 4 varieties 99! Schneiders Broken HAM SLICES FOP THE SUNNY SEASON... ..— Rhodes RISE 'N SHINE Orange Flavour Crystals 4 31/kOgrz. 5° 10 at. Jar 35 Oz. Tio 4 Bar Pkg. 14 Oz. Till 14 Oz. Tin Weston's Mealtyme BREAD White, Whole Wheat or Cracked Wheat 2 4 02 3/1.00 Thurs. Fri. Sot. only Colonial COOKIES 1.=11111k n PICK.OF-THE-r.ilOFI i ;I zlii • 14 Prod USA CAN No 1 HEAD LETTUCE 3/1.00 New Crop Sunkist Valencia ORA NGES 89aG, MUSHROOMS 89. BAKERYSpeciais Weston's Strawberry JELLY 690 ROLLS Weston's Cinnamon BUNS 59 0 Weston's Super Sesame HAMS 2/890 bf B Blue Bonnet White or Coloured RGA REVISION OF RATES FOR THE TOWN OF EXETER The Exeter Public Utilities Commission is presently seeking the approval of the Ontario Hydro for a rate revision to be effective with all bills issued on or after June 30, 1976. The sleet storm experienced by the Utility in March severely depleted the Commission's funds and with the large increases in the cost of material, etc. 'an approximate increase of 6.7% is required. H. L. Davis Manager General Store and it would be difficult to think of it any other way. Vernon Schatz is a soft-spoken country gentleman and the general store which occupies a prominent corner in the village of Dashwood is his domain. *Op COMPLETE 4Ailo, COVERAGE FOR IVA * Home * Farm. .1440.06, * Co*mLmifeerciar * Automobile * Registered Retirement Plans CONTACT Bev Morgan Insurance Agency Ltd. 238 Main St. Phone 235-2544 Exeter Across from Soveway Lumber ROTH'S FOOD MARKET Sealorth Ontario Oa AT PRICES YO LL LOVE For Your Shopping Convenience We Are Open Every THURS. and FRI. Night 'Till 9 o'clock STORE HOLIRSI Mon.,: Tues., Wed., & Sat. 9.6 Thurs. & Fri. 9.9 THE NEW MAIN ST. BURKLEY RESTAURANT and TAVERN kk, EXETER Opening Monday, May 31 12 NOON Second Dining Room — Downstairs • Light Dinners -surmaika- k JP4, Vernon Schatz says: Tirnes.Advacute, May 27, 1976 Page 5 "You can't sell off an em • By MRS. HUGH MORENZ SHIPKA Gloria Volk, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Charles Volk, was married Saturday to Robert Murray McGregor, of Parkhill, son of Mr. & Mrs. Gerald McGregor. Bridesmaid was Laurie Lovie of Grand Bend and best man was Larry Truemner. Ushers were Bruce McGregor and Eddie Volk. The wedding was at Greenway United Church with - Rev. H. Moore officiating. A reception followed at Crediton Community Centre. Personals Mr. & Mrs. Oscar Miller, Mrs. Hilda Rader of Dashwood, Mrs. Raymond Kading, Grand Bend, Mr. & Mrs. Hugh Morenz, visited Wednesday evening .with Mr. & Mrs, Ed Turnbull and her brother Alf Burt of Manitoulin Island who has been holidaying at the Turnbull's, Mrs. Henry Becker, ac- companied by her son and his wife, Mr. & Mrs. Lorne Becker, visited recently with Mrs. Becker Sr's brother, Nelson Brandt, of Sunnyside home, and other relatives in Kitchener and Waterloo. Karen Guenther received her County Honors, at the 4-H Achievement Day held Saturday afternoon at Stephen Central School. Mrs. Cliff Russell spent a few days last week at Essex with Mr. & Mrs. Earl Russell, Mr. & Mrs. Howard Bennett of Aylmer visited Sunday with Mr. & Mrs. Ed Turnbull and Alf Burt, and celebrated Mr, Burt's bir- thday, Weekend visitors with Mr, & Mrs. Sid Durie and Glenn were Mrs. Kenneth Chambers of St. Catharines and Mr, & Mrs. Dennis Durie of London, James Snyder spent the weekend at Bancroft, ac- companied by the Young People of WalIenstein, By MRS. STAN PRESZCATOR Diane Beaver and Brenda Glanville spent Weekend with Mr. & Mrs. Sam Lawson, RR 1 Exeter, Mr. & Mrs. Ed Regele, RR 4 Walton, and Mr. & Mrs. Stan Preszeator spent the holiday weekend with Mrs. Walter Yost, Dayton, Ohio and family. Lorna Glanville spent the weekend with Mr. & Mrs. Barry Bulloeh and family, HutonPark. Barbie -Glanville spent the Weekend with her great grand- Mother Mrs. Joe Thornton HU 4 Walton. By L.E1011 ROBINSON Believing in what you do and doing it well are inter-related qualities that form the foundation on which most successful en- terprises continue strong down through the years.Hard work and sweat cement these qualities together. Vernon Schatz of Dashwood must have what it takes because after almost 55 years in the general store business, he finds himself in a very unique position. His store is probably more popular now than it was back in the days when a general store was the focal point of every rural community. In this day and age, almost everyone has access to an automobile and no one thinks twice about a trip into London to do the shopping. Its tougher for small businesses to attract customers unless they have something a little special to offer. Vernon realized the tendency towards urban shopping some years ago, but he also realized that there were ways to keep a customer coming back. He sticks by his well-known motto, "You can't sell off an empty wagon." and despite criticism fromwould- be-know-it-alls that he carries too much stock for a small store, Vernon offers an extensive selection of goods — especially dry goods. He also maintains an egg-grading station at the store, a tradition that goes back to his origins in the general store business, Itstnelonly-egg-grading station in the region and though Vernon says that he could no longer live off the profits ,of his eggs alone, he still handles up to 90 crates a week. Just as they did half a century ago, farmers with small chicken flocks bring their eggs to Schatz' General Store, The main dif- ference today is that they ex- change their eggs for money instead of sive goods as they did during the 20's and 30's. Back then, Vernon would allows another cent on every dozen eggs for which store goods were taken in exchange. "The large egg producers have trucks from Toronto that come right to their farms to pick up the eggs", he explains. But smaller producers from the area still keep coming in and its nice to know that you can still buy fresh eggs down at the general store. The most intriguing stock that Vernon carries at his store has to be his extensive selection of dry goods. Mohair blankets from Scotland, Hudson's Bay blankets and coats, Warren K. Cooke men's made-to-fit suits from Toronto, and rolls and rolls of yard goods attract customers from all over, including many U.S. tourists who return each year to see what he has for sale. He offers a variety as wide as what you would find in any good department store in the city and at competitive prices to boot. A fairly obvious sales formula, perhaps, but one that Vernon has employed consistently through the years, I'll tell you how it all started", Vernon reflects with a twinkle in his eye. Hudson's Bay blankets were $19.95 and theydecided to up the price. I didn't want to go over $20 because I was afraid that it would spoil the sale. The price was marked up three times and I still kept it down below $20. Finally my price had to go up, too, but customers still pay less here than anywhere else for a Hudson's Bay blanket." Mr. Schatz got his start in the general store business back in 1921 when he went to work for Reid, Edighoffer, and son in a general store across from his present location. Two years later he moved to the present store where he was employed by Ezra Tiernan and Son until 1941 when he bought the business. "I still enjoy the work", he grins, "And you know, I'm still as active and as enthusiastic as I was years ago." He does admit though, that the general store busines was perhaps a little more romantic and colorful back in those early days. "Years ago customers would come in the store on a certain day every week. You could depend on ii, They would come with their produce to trade out. But now its different. There's cars and pavement, and people even sell door-to-door. Customers are younger and they don't have the same loyalty that my old customers had, But I'm still doing well because mycustomers come from all over." Commenting on the modern shopping plazas of today, Vernon acknowledges that the large stores offer a wide range and large quantities of goods, but he suggests that "the fellows in the larger stores try a little cheaper grade." "The people who shop there aren't going to get the same quality. A certain class of people will just shop there and others will go to a store which offers real quality. Quality is evident at Schatz' General Store from the big red apples all the way up to the fine woollens. When Vernon is carefully piling his blankets for display or measuring a new suit, his appreciation for quality shines through in meticulous fashion, "I've been measuring men for suits since I was 19 and if I don't know how to measure I don't know who does," he exclaims. Meticulous as Vernon is, FOOD STORES PRICES EFFECTIVE 'TILL Tuesday, June however, and even though his store is definitely a , profitable concern, there have been some curious moments to say the least. It seems that our Mr. Schatz has a penchant for giving his store profits away in paper bags. On at least two different oc- casions he has loaded the receipts from the till into such a con- tainer. Then at the last moment, a late customer comes to the door for a purchase. Somehow (and Vernon is still not sure how it happens) the customer ends up with the bag of money and Vernon with the bread and eggs. Fortunately, the customers were honest souls and the money was returned. Recalling one such incident, Vernon chuckles, "The lady called me up on the phone about 1:110 in the morning and she asked me if I would like to take a trip with her, She told me she had come into quite a windfall that evening," Another time, he took a cheque for a suit that he had sold and put it in the jacket pocket of a suit that he was modelling for a customer. Then in typically meticulous Schatz fashion, he took the jacket off and placed it back on the rack - with the cheque inside the pocket, Several weeks later, he sold the jacket. Several months later he received the rather worn cheque back through the mail. But Vernon Schatz does not make many mistakes. There could be no better evidence to that than a success story which spans 55 years this coming November. His wife, Idella, is badly crippled with arthritis now and unable to work alongside her husband in the store as she did for so many years. Vernon talks' about this with a sign of regret in his amiable face, but he will brighten again when he mentions his clerk, Lois Hodgens who has been working in the store for the past seven years. He has only compliments for the work and effort which she has put into the store during those years, as he points to some rather remarkable window displays that she has created. Vernon thinks often of retirement these days, especially since 'WOW has been forced to retire."I'd sell the store for the right price", he will say. But somehow you have a little trouble believing him. Its Schatz' YARDS AND YARDS OF CLOTH are available at Schatz' General Store in Dashwood. Vernon Schatz and store clerk; Lois Hodgins dis- play some of their favorite spring prints. T-A photo. Roll up your sleeve to save a life ... BE A BLOOD' DONOR C. ty wa on"