Village Squire, 1980-05, Page 24A St. Marys area man Tom Cox recently
made a scale replica of a turn of the century
general store.
A story in the St. Marys Journal -Argus
said, "In the store -keeper's kitchen on the
building's second floor, the ice box cabinet
features a hinged wooden leaf at floor level
to allow for the insertion of a water pan.
And the pendulum of the six-inch high
grandfather clock in the living room
consists of a darning needle fixed to the
head of a thumb tack --all painted gold to
resemble the real thing."
The paper indicates that the two -and a•
half storey building is about five feet in
height and the store area complete with
old-fashioned customer counter and tiny
flour bags stacked here and there takes up
the entire ground floor. On the second floor
is the living room and kitchen and the
bathroom and bedrooms are located in the
half -storey above.
Some of the furnishings. mostly originals
conceived by Mr. Cox, include a wood
stove in the kitchen. upholstered chester-
fields and a matching chair in the living
room, a side table with finely turned legs,
and a hutch and a curio cabinet.
Mr. Cox started the building after his
daughter Barb (Lind) brought him a
building plan and suggested he might
make the model store for her.
Vernon Schatz's general store on Hwy.
#83, in the village of Dashwood, offers
customers everything from an egg -grading
service to imported Scottish mohair
shawls, and made -to -measure suits. The
store has become something of an
institution, popular not only with local
residents, but also with tourists who hear
about the store's Hudson Bay blankets and
coats and imported woolens.
Vernon Schatz, 76, who has had only one
five-day holiday in the 39 years that he's
owned the store, has decided he'd like to
sell the business. While he admits he
wouldn't mind keeping his hand in by
working for the new boss, Mr. Schatz
wants a break from the responsibility of
ownership.
The storekeeper bought the shop, a red
brick building in the heart of the village, 39
years ago, for between $10,000 and
S15,000. Before becoming owner, he'd
worked as a clerk when the store was called
E. Tieman and Son.
Today the general store has everything
from shelves of groceries to racks of shirt,
trousers, and a variety of other
merchandise.
When Mr. Schatz started clerking, he
was making $8 a week, and his board was
costing S5 a week. Then he started clerking
PG. 22 VILLAGE SQUIRE/MAY 1980
at Tieman's, and his salary was raised to
$30 weekly.
The storekeeper courted his wife, Idella
Bender, who lived on a neighbouring farm,
for eight years "before I had enough
money to marry her."
Mrs. Schatz worked side-by-side with
her husband in the store until 1975, when a
stroke slightly crippled her. A framed
wedding photograph of the couple still
gazes down at customers at the Schatz
store.
One unique attraction in the store is the
cheese box -a custom-built glass and wood
container that Mr. Schatz believes is the
only place to age cheese properly, an
opinion not shared by some government
inspectors who feel the cheese should be
stored in a cooler.
Mr. Schatz told one inspector who came
in and demanded a sample. "[f you can
find anything wrong with that cheese, I'II
give you everything in the whole store!"
In addition to his broad line of
merchandise, Vernon Schatz also runs the
only egg -grading station left in the area,
housed in a separate shed that was built in
1944, behind the store.
Farmers with flocks rf fewer than 500
hens sell their eggs to the storekeeper, who
can grade a crate of 15 dozen eggs in five
minutes.
When Vernon Schatz was asked his
theory of merchandising, in a store that
sometimes seems to be bursting at the
seams, he said his pet theory is "you can't
sell off an empty wagon."
After 39 years in the business, it's hard
to dispute a philosophy like that.
A group of area crafts people have
opened a new store called All Thumbs in
Exeter to showcase their work.
The Exeter craftspeople involved in the
venture areKaaren Batten, a potter; Dee
Benerman, an off -loom weaver,
photographer Jeff Carroll and weaver Ena
de Haan.
The other craftspeople also displaying
their work in the shop are potters Rob Teta
and Addy McFee of Seaforth; Karen
Tiernan of Dashwood who is a weaver and
fibre sculptor; Lynn Kestle of London and
Phyllis Woods of Ailsa Craig, who makes
soft toys and husband Robert, a wood
turner.
The shop, which officially opened April
10, uses a rustic decor to show off the work
of the craftspeople. The walls are lined
with woven wall hangings, framed photo-
graphs and Intaglio prints and shelves
display soft toys, handmade pottery and
lathe -turned wood.
The store is a co-operative effort,
stocked and operated by the artists
themselves.
Ir
WATER ST. ST.
17 MARYS, ONT.
restaurant
and tavern
FULLY LICENSED
• Just a 10 minute drive west on Hwy. 7 from Stratford, located in the
picturesque stone town of St. Marys.
• The dining room boasts of its pleasant atmosphere & unique setting in the
former stone -hewn Post Office. Located directly across from the old Opera
House & just down the street from the largest outdoor swimming pool in
South -Western Ontario.
• Our specialties include a Smorgasbord, Canadian & Italian food, Charcoal
Steaks, Seafoods.
• Catering to all at reasonable prices we have food to suit every appetite,
priced to suit every pocket -book.
• All major credit cards accepted.
• Closed Monday. Open from Tuesday to Sunday.
• For further information call (519) 284-3424
J