HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1978-08-17, Page 18PAGE 2A—GODERICH SIGNAL,STAR, THURSDAY, AUGUST 174978
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eonie
General store comes
back into its own time
BY JIM HAGARTY
A few weeks ago,
Darrell Abbott began
moving the stock from
fhe front part of his
general store in
Holmesville, to the new
between it and the new
addition, is the meat
market part of the
business,. An eight foot by
12 foot walk-in cooler is
being built to handle the
_
dditionhe on tlie Darrell will be bringing
in from packing com-
panies, and soon the
people of Holmesville will
be able to buy fresh beef,
pork and chicken,
something never before
munity who dropped by offered in the store.
that Saturday to take one
last look at the place
where Holmesville people
have been gathering to
talk for almost a century.
Since the 1880's when
J.L. Curtis erected the
two-storey white frame
ge-n era I store, people,
young and old have made
their daily trips down to
the corner to buy the
things they needed, but
more importantly, to
socialize with their neigh-
bours.
back of the building.
It was a happy day for
Darrell and his wife
Anne, but a sentimental
one for some of the older
residents of the com-
Darrell will also be doing
some custom butchering
for people, cutting and
'wrapping the meat for
them.
In Darrell's view, it's
all part of an effort to
provide a complete one-
, stop shp.p.ping service so
that' - people in
and the
surrounding area won't
find it necessary to travel
to the larger centres for
too many items.
"We've picked up
That hasn't .changed. cusfomers that dotheir
"The day we moved in,"
recalls Darrell, "I had
more people in here
helping out, I could
hardly believe it.
"You couldn't get that
. .
anywhere else," he says.
Darrell is un-
derstandably impressed
with the way people in
Holmesville have ac-
cepted him and his family
into the 'coinmunity so
quickly and it shows in
the philosophy he's
adopted towards his
business.
"We're not looking to
get rich," he says. "We
just want to make a
living."
But to do that, the
Abbotts have had to make
.some- changes in the store
since they took over in
December including the
new addition from which
all of the business is
conducted now, and a
new fresh meat -section
which is nearing com-
pletion in what used to be
the old building's kitchen.
The new ' one -storey
block addition was
weekly shopping here
now," claims Darrell, but
he realizes that he can't
compete in price with the
big retailers on every
item. He's also aware
that a loeof people shop in
neighbouring cities and
towns just because they
like to get away for a
change.
But with the high cost
Of operating a car these
days, more peciple are
looking to do less
travelling for the things
, they need.
"It used to be people
- came to the small
country store only when
they were out of things or
forgot to pick something
up when they were in
town," says Darrell.,
Now, he feels, that's
changing and in his view,
the general store is
making a comeback. It
all revolves around
stocking the things that
people want to buy, or at
least being willing to
order them.
"People are ordering a
lot of things now," says
finished two weeks ago. Darrell. "They do-n't
and in true general store seem to mind waiting a
style, now houses ^ 'Couple of days."
literally everything,from According to Darrell,
soup to nu ts.'Besides food the' business has one
of every desCription, the 'other asset, and that's
store handles nuts, bolts, his wife Anne. "I can't
nails, toys, salt for cattle, take much credit for the
hardware, shovels, success of the business so
rakes, gloves and jackets far," says Darrell. "Anne
•to mention a few of the got thiS thing going
items in stock for far- because she ;likes to
mers in the area. There talk."
are also gas pumps at the Now that's- the true
front of the building. style of the old -tin -ie
The room at the front of general store owner,
the building, which used Darrell says that a lot of
to house the mak store, people who come into the
has now been converted store want to talk. They
to a storage room, and don't. want. to be shoved
through in assembly -line
style.
And maybe the best
part of the general store
is that people don't have
to get all dressed up to go
--'2-They--ca g h S.i.eJ/5.. vy_Later__Th.ey_ did
It.
because the Abbotts
make them welcome.
"The neighbourhood
kids all pitch in," says
Darrell. "We never had
to shovel the snow off our
out of the barn and walk
in here," says Darrell.
"They've got to get fixed
up to go to town."
By trade, Darrell
Abbott is a meat cutter.
At one time, he was the
meat manager in the
Listowel Meat Market,
and for the past 10 years,
he's been the manager at
Cutt's Red and White
store in Goderich. The
move to Holmesville is,, in
a very real way, a dream
come true for the
Abbotts.
"I always had.it in my
head to own my own
store," says Darrell,
"and I really like it. The
pace here is different. It's
beautiful."
And thc. business is
good. When they moved
in, the Abbott's took over
$7,000 worth of stock. Two
weeks ago, their in-
ventory showed that
they've increased that.
now to $25,000 worth of
stotk. .:They're ., work ing
long days right now, but
they expect that to work
itself out. They open at
eight in the morning and
close twelve hours later,
every day except Sunday.
Darrell will open on
Sundays only if he sees a
real need. Otherwise,
he'd rather not. "If
can't make a living in six
days," he says, "what's
the use?"
There are some dif-
fer-ences between the
Holmesville store'
owners, then and now.
J.L. Curtis was more
than a shopkeeper. He
was the railway ticket
agent, the postmaster,
the local preacher, and he
dabbled infdry goods. And
Danny Glidden, who took
over the store and ran it
from late last -century
until a few years ago, did
all those jobs and also
pedalled groceries'
around the countryside in
his Model T Ford. Old
Danny died- four years
ago, but his initials
remain etched in the
front door of the store.
It's not likely that
things in Holmesville will
ever be exactly as they
were. Times change. And
yet, the children who
spend time at the general
store nowadays, probably
find it every bit ,as
fascinating as the young
people who hung around
there almost a hundred
years ago. Tkey come,.
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"I like having the kids
around," he says.
The response of the el,
kids and the parents in
Holmesville, indicates
that the community is
happy to have the Abbotts
around too.
New venture
looking good
Darrell Abbott and his wife Anne took over the
Hatmesville General Store in December and
since then have made some significant
changes, including an addition to the building.
The Abbotts, and their two children, Fraser, 12,
and Wanda, 4, find the pace in Holmesville
slower, easier, and more pleasant than ather
places they've lived. The store, built almost 100
years ago, should be ready for its grand
opening (Photo by. Jim Hagarty)
We sell practically
everything that's needed
to build a house from the ground
up. We can even supply the light
bulbs when the house is finished.
.•
About a hundred years ago, Conklin Lumber
Company got its start in Kingsville, Ontario.
Today, with head office in London, the company
has 16 branches stretching from Windsor,
north to Owen Sound and east to Kitchener.
These branches are called Discount Dave's
Home Centres. But Conklin's is still the parent
company.
The Discount Dave's concept was developed
to meet the rapdily expanding do-it-yourself
market. All the branches were remodelled.
Product lines were greatly expanded. And a
new "Cash & Carry" policy was introduced.
-Since its inception, -Discount Dave's has. had
a remarkable growth pattern. But some things
dont change.-Conklin's is still the name rec-
ognized by most contractors. For them; it's a
name they have grown to respect and depend
on. They know that at-"Conklin's" they have a
choice of top quality products, competitively
priced. They know they can take advantage of
the new Cash & Carry policy. But they also
know that the company does provide delivery
service, that they can get the right products
at thefight price, delivered to the job site
When they need them—without any costly
delays.
Conklin Lumber and Discount Dave's. We're
two companies and yet we are one.
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• 0..1
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AMHEAStBURG 736-2151
EXETER 235-1422
GODERICH 524-8321
GRAND BEND 238-2374
HARROW - ' 738-2221
KINCARDINE 396.1403
KINGSVILLE 332341:7
kITCHENER 744-6371
OWEN SOUND376-3181
RIDGETQWN 674-5465
SOUTHA-MPTON 797-3245
THEDFORD 296-4991
WEST LORNE 7684520
WINDSOR EAST 727-6001
WINDSOR WEST 734-1221
MATTFIWS 254-1143
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