HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1978-04-26, Page 20Lucknow Sentinel, Wednesday, April 26, 1978—Page 19
Energy shortage will make country store
-,ct necessity in future
The country general store as it
was years ago when you told the
storekeeper what you wanted and
he took your list and collected the
items while you waited at the I
counter has disappeared.
But country stores still exist in
little out of the way communities
like St. Helens near Lucknow and
Benmiller near Goderich: They
have taken on a new look as
people from the city are moving to
the villages to purchase these
stores and keep them open to
serve the community.
John Siecker of St. Helens
bought the general store in the
village in 1974 and has tried to
preserve the country flavour
which he feels is the store's
attraction.
"People are comfortable with
the store," says John, "It's a
come as you are, even if you're
wearing barn clothes."
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When he first took the store,
John made some minor changes
but the people were lost with it,
so he does not intend to do any
major renovations.
At one time the store, sold yard
goods, feed, shoes and boots, but
the "automobile,has destroyed an
awful lot of that," says John.
Bill Webster who was 84 years
old when he died two years ago,
e could remember coming
to t , Helens store with his
grandfat er, recalls John's wife,
Hanny.
The store was purchased 93 '
years ago by Isaac Miller's father,
Richard K. Miller, from William
Gordon who had started the store.
Isaac's grandson, Hugh Todd, is
now married to John Siecker's
daughter, Jo -Ann. Hugh and his
father both married daughters of
a St. Helens' storekeeper, since
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Hugh's father married Issac's
daughter;. Helen.
When William Gordon sold the
store to Isaac Miller he moved to
the farm where Hugh and Jo -Ann
now live.
Isaac's daughter, Isobel, help-
ed her father operate the store
and ran the store on her own
when her father was older, until
1960 when it was purchased by
Mr. and Mrs. Don Pannabaker.
When Don died his wife, Margar-
et, ran the store until she married
Jim Errington and then her sister,
Marianne, and her husband,
Sheldon Martin, bought the store
in 1971. The martins sold the
store to the Sieckers who took
ownership on April 1, 1974.
John and his wife, Hanny,
emigrated from Holland to 'Can-
ada in July of 1955. John worked
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in Toronto at a variety -of jobs
including a dancing instructor
and with an insurance company.
They moved to Hamilton in 1958
when John took a job with a
printing company and lived in
Hidden Valley in Burlington from
1959 to 1974.
The decision to leave the city
came when John's company was
sold to a large corporation which
was very impersonal. The people
were no longer people but
numbers under the new manage-,
ment and John could not live with
that.
Their friends, Joan and Fred
Page, were living in Holyrood and
they had visited them on occa-
sion. They liked the ' country
around this area and the people.
John likes to be independent
and he likes dealing with people
so they purchased -the store when
it came up for sale at the time
they were looking to leave the city
life.
The community spirit is terrific
says John, and his family,
Jo -Ann, John Jr. and Robert have
come to love the community. John
Jr. works in Guelph through the
week but returns home for `most
weekends and Jo -Ann has mar-
ried and lives on a farm in the
community.
Jo -Ann remembers her years at
Aldershot High School in Burling-
ton where everyone put on
front. "It takes a while to find
yourself when you move to a
community like St. Helens be-
cause you are so intent on putting
on a front." She still has relapses
'When her husband will say,
"Your other self is showing," but
she adds that in St. Helens, "you
are what you are and people take
you as you are."