HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1995-05-03, Page 2Congratufations Dianne
on 25 years
of devoted service
Come into
McDonald Home
Hardware on
Friday, May 5th
between 2 and 5
and have a piece
of cake with
Dianne.
Brussels
People
Fifty-six people attended the
casserole supper and card party on
April 24.
Prizes went to: high lady, Jean
Thedorf; ladies' low, Mabel Bauer;
men's high, Jean Bewley; men's
low, Adah Smith; most lone hands,
Luella Mitchell.
Other prizes went to: Reinhard
Bauer, Isabelle Craig, Murray
Keffer, Yvonne Knight, Viola
Adams, Freda Darcey, Orville
Bauer, Mary Huether, Alberta
Simpsom, Iona MacLean, Jim
Smith and Laura Barbour.
The proceeds from the supper
and card party go to the Canadian
Cancer Society.
Mother's
Day Special
Sunday, May 14
Roast Beef Dinner
or
Honey Garlic Chicken Dinner
$6.50
includes soup or juice, tea or coffee
Golden Lantern
Restaurant
Brussels 887-6303
OPENING MAY 4
Custom
Cutting,
Wrapping,
Freezing &
Smoking
Sides
Cliga4Ors
it, Of
."'eef 4 „„
Pr a—Cork
eezer
ikady
Store Hours
Tues. - Sat.
9:00 - 6:00
Wednesdays
In May are
SENIOR'S DAY
10% off
all purchases
We
deliver
° co/
•
aoxeu d Cut sa d meals
• Hanthsage
oloon • 8 ----urge
4nd a fiser,„04
Watch for
our Grand
Opening Ad
,,o.v Choice /vi-
4,m Don & Jill Sholdice 'cAN
887-6294
Formerly Thompson's Meat Market
Res. 887-6836
Turnberry St. Brussels
PAGE 2. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MAY 3, 1995.
New at the block
With tongue in cheek and knife in hand, Frank Thompson hands over the ownership of the
business he has worked in for most of his life to new owner Don Sholdice. Thompson's Meat
Market, a fixture on Brussels' main street for many years, will now become Your Choice
Meats. The official opening is Thursday.
Thompsons sell meat market
By Bonnie Gropp
"I'm not ready to retire, just ready
to quit killing beef and pigs and
start killing some time."
This week Frank Thompson of
Thompson's Meat Market in Brus-
sels passed the butcher knife over
to the business's new owner, Don
Sholdice. A livestock buyer for the
past 12 years and lifelong Brussels
resident, Sholdice and his wife, Jill
are re-opening under the name
Your Choice Meats.
Frank has been a fixture on the
main street for over 40 years, first
as an employee, then as the sole
owner of the business. As a "young
lad" of 10 he came into the shop,
owned at that time by Bill and
George Backer, after school for 25
cents a day.
Frank proved his worth so well,
that by the time he was 12 and his
family had moved to Listowel,
either of the Backers would drive to
Listowel to meet him after school
on Friday, then home again on Sun-
day so he could spend the week-
ends in the store.
"I guess they thought I was worth
the drive because they never
missed a Friday," recalls Frank.
At the age of 16 Frank quit
school to work there full time.
When Bill Baeker died in 1965, he
bought into the partnership. Five
years later George sold his share to
Fred Stephenson of Brussels, who
in turn sold to Frank in 1981, mak-
ing him the sole owner of the busi-
ness he had worked in for over 30
years.
That was also when Frank pur-
chased the old pool hall where the
meat market now stands.
The mainstay of the business
since it began has been the
renowned Backer's Bologna, first
Mu-roman
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developed by Bill and his brother
Clive. The secret of the all-beef
delicacy has been handed down
from partner to partner and Frank
says that will be his first task after
retiring. "To teach Don to make
that good Brussels bologna."
A good idea considering that on a
"normal" week, Frank sells around
125 rings between Thursday when
it's ready and closing time Satur-
day.
With 'work' gone, Frank is going
to have many hours in a day to fill.
His life was in the butcher shop
where he frequently worked 18
hour days, helped and supported by
his wife Lois and son, Paul, who is
staying on to work with the new
owners. "Mornings began at 5:30
a.m. and often weren't over until
late at night, six days a week. Sun-
day mornings I did the books, then
went to the slaughterhouse in the
afternoon to get ready for Mon-
day."
Though Frank still loves the
work he has done all these years, it
has changed. "It used to be fun to
come to work, but the taxes and
regulations we have to deal with
now, well, it's just not the way it
used to be."
Frank admits that he is going to
miss the people, but figures he will
have plenty to keep him busy for
the first little while. With house-
hold chores to get caught up on, he
jokes that he will be working for
"Honey, do" for the next little
while. "Honey do this and Honey
do that."
And if Frank's going to miss
meeting the public, there's no ques-
tion that he will be missed equally
as much. Always ready with a free
Weiner for the little visitors to his
store, he is well-liked for his good
natured teasing, as is Lois for her
gentle manner. Frank is happy to
see the business that has been so
much a part of his life, going to a
local boy. "I hope he makes a good
go of it."
Don knows you don't tamper too
much with success. Though he
plans a few additions to the busi-
ness he intends to keep most of it
the same. In addition to Paul being
on staff, the Sholdices have hired
another butcher, Doug Fry, who
has worked for 15 years at Stratford
A&P.
The beef is being purchased from
a local farmer who Don says, does
"a superb job of feeding cows".
"The main thing is to try and stay
local," he said adding that the pork
is also coming from local produc-
ers.
Don also hopes to target area
restaurants and hotels to try and
build on the retail end. "That's
going to be my job, I guess."
To the products available, Don
intends to add prepared meats to
simplify meals for today's busy
families, such as stuffed pork chops
and mock duck, as well as boxed
meats.
An addition is being built onto
the abattoir with a new smoking
and curing room.
The new sign will be in place for
the official opening this Thursday.
Otherwise, Don says, Your
Choice Meats will be "the same
show as what's been done all these
years."
And that's no bologna.
JOHN McKERCHER
CONSTRUCTION LTD.
• backhoeing • bulldozing
• loading & hauling
• sand, gravel and topsoil
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