HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1979-07-19, Page 25A FRIENDLY WELCOME Nancy and Jack Schwartz display the smiles
general store a. frien:dl Y ; place to visit, ,The:.
that make the. Hillsgreen
have o .ea he,country store for 18 years,
couple, pr
fed t Photo)
r Ph.. _ ...oto
)
SEAFORTH . ONTARIO, THURSDAY, JULY 19, 1979
$X ALICE GIgB'
Someone in the small crossroads corm
tlnunity of Hillsgreen, smith; of Varna, has •a
food: sense of humour and underneath the
Official road sign announcing you're pass -
Ing by Hillsgreen, they've added "their
postscript _ "population 7."
In the years since. Hillsgreen was first
officially recognized with a post office in
11364, the community has boasted a general
store, two churches:, an Orange ledge and
blacksmith's shop. Today, the surviving
remnants of Hillsgreen are the community
Cemetery, Schwartz's general store and
the McNutt home across, the corner fron'#
the. store..
John Smith was one of the earliest
settlers in the community and he estab-
lished the character of Hillsgreen
subsequent settlers were basically English
and Scotch and feliewed the Protestant
faith:
In 1864, ,Hugh Love' Sr. was appntnted,
postmaster and community residents could':
[Second Section Pages 1A 8A1
collect their mail at the general state.
.MEMORIES
Jack Halter, 94, who, now lives at
HuronvteW, is a longtime Hillsgreen
resident and' remembers when the larger
Settlement stilt existed at the crossroads.
The Hotel was really the front rooms of a
farmhouse owned by Jack Guiiiger where •
local residents: or people Beading to the
laky: could stop for- beer or whiskey. The
smithy was run by a Mr, Hak, one church
was for those of the Methodist faith and the
second Was Presbyterian and not :surpris-
ingly in the strongly Protestant community
the Orange Ledge played a prominent role
in community life.
Mr. Baker. who admits the past is
clearer than what happened recently, said
when he was a boy the general store was
run by Edmund -and Charley Troyer. He
can still recall seeing Charley Troyer
travelling around the neighbourhood in a
light wagon, buying eggs from the farmers
wives.
Another area character Mr. Baker
remembers: was ;Nareisse Cantin, the St,
Joseph's entrepreneur who dreamed of
building a canal linking Lake Huron and
Lake Ontario. Another of Mr.Cantin's
dreams was to run a streetcar line from the
lake, through Zurich to Hensall., Mr, Baker
said Mr.' Cantin even bought up some old.
streetcars but that's as far as the
enterprise went. •
Mr. Baker, who did custom threshing for
a living; also recalls the days when the
London bus stopped at the Hillsgreen store
and when people in the community
gathered. to 'play. horseshoes, and other
games near the Orange hall.
He also laughs about a complaint he's •,
heard from various owners of the general
store, Hillsgreen residents would often go
into Hensall to buy supplies andend up
corning sheepishly back to their own local
store when they couldn't find what they
wanted in the larger centre...
STORE OWNERS
Jack. and Nancy Schwartz are relative
newcomers to Hillsgreen arriving in 1961'.
to . take over the store, at a time in their
lives when mangy people would be content•
to retire and enjoy a life of leisure:
The couple, originally froth the Listowel
area, had farmed near Palmerston, selling
the farm in 1947, Then Mr. Schwartz
worked at>.Imperial Cloth, and at a planing
mill in Palmerston but both industries were
forced out of business:
When the. planing 'mill dosed, Jack,
Schwartz laughs, "I was outonmy ear.
again but this'tume,-•whenever ire applied
for work,; he was politely told :.he was `-'too
old." So, instead of giving up, . the couple
decided to. 'become their own bosses,
buying the Hillsgreen store,,
Whiie;operating a country store wouldn't
THE SIGN SAYS IT ALL
:PIONEER CEMETERY --Many of the pioneer settlers of the Hillsgreen
area are buried in the small Hillsgreen cemetery. The cemetery and
corner general store are the last; reminders of the settlement which once•
: h t• h s. - (Expositor boasted a hotel, two _u c e
, blacksmith shop and c ( p
photo)
appeal" t+a everyone, it's obvious' the life
agrees. With Jaek and Nancy Schwartz,
The trick to operating a general store,
according: to Jack Schwartz, is to find, the
type of stock that will "move" in your
community and; to realize that a general
store is a lot different front a shopping mall
and that as storekeepers, you're going to.
have to he able to face all types of people.
Clerks in: larger stores might be able to lde,
behind their cash registers,but in a
general store, Mr. Schwartz said, "you
sometimes have to bit your tangt a pretty
hard."
The customers in the 8illsgreen• general
store include everyone from area farmers,
to tourists stocking up on staples as they
head for the lake and strangerswho drop in
for directions - usually either to Bayfield or
Hull Cull
Y Y
GOOD CUSTOMERS
The younger shoppers are particular
' favourites of the couple, as well as being
"good customers." Mr•: Schwartz said he
thinks kids like their store because they
often feel lost in bigger stores and are
"frowned at" in: these stores,
Although the couple now keep their store
open six days a week, when they first came
to Hillsgreen they were open for business
every day,, When !they want. to .take a
holiday, `""we just put a sign on the door"
Mr, Schwartz said, adding with a twinkle in.
his eye, "it's just like fishing (store-
keeping); you move the line a bitand get
them anxious, make them hungry.''" But
there are two seasons when the Schwartzes
always try to keep the store open - during
haying and during the fall harvest, when
farmers often drop in to buy hardware
supplies or clothing needed for work in the
fields:.
Mrs. Schwartz.: admitted running the
store means "a long day." During the
summer months, the couple try to have, the
store openby about 7:30 a.in and stay.
open until 8 p.m. One of. them has to be in
the store at alt times. "You're not free, you
can hardly go to the garden," she said,
Also, since . the store has a smaller
turnover than stores in larger centres, the
wholesale grocery truck won't come to the
crossroads business for less than a $500
order., This means that Mr, Schwartz
'drives to .thewholesaler near Petersburg
himself and picks up supplies.' Ironically,
the wholesaler's delivery truck still drives
right through Hillsgreen on the way to
make other deliveries. •
LIVESTOCK
"While the couple, are storekeepers first,
they haven't quite left their farming days
behind. either. At one time they ,used their
land adjoining thestore to grow cucumber
crops, and Mr. Schwartz still keeps the
barn on the property filled with livestock a
few pias and tai* fleet* of New Zealand;
white .rabbits, sold both, for meat and: as;
breeding stock. The breeding; record of
each rabbit is .neatly hung over their wire
.pens.
When: asked what the beat, :andworst
things are in, running a country store, a,
sight which is becoming rarer and rarer
.across. the County, the couple are noon -
imps in what they Tike ,. Meeting• 'the
people,
"The feeling with the people:, , .you get
,acquainted with the people," New/
Schwartz said.
They find strangers are µscally friendly
and they get a. kick out of visitors who tell
theta they haven't been in a small country
store for years. Lately a Toronto' woman.
who dropped in was delighted to, find the
store still stocks licorice pipes, a treat she
hadn't seen since she was a girl,
Jack Schwartz worries that when small
busirtesse$ like their.:oWp are gone, the
property values in the surrounding cam.'
munity will drop, He's already seen the
general stores in centres. like St. Columban;
and Creditoo close and wonderswhat
happens to the surrounding community.
The worst thing facing the smaller
storekeepers is the competition from larger,
stores, Jack Schwartz said people are more
or less brainwashed by the flyers sent out
by chain: stores and "think they're getting
a pot of gold" when he can often match or
better the prices in his own•store..
"Paper," said Mr. Schwartz, referring
bathe flyers, "is very patient, you can print
anything on it,"
Oh, and what about retiring?
Well, said 81 -year old Jack Schwartz,
"this` retiring isn't all it's' cracked up, to.;
be.,,.
DOING THE CHORES =- Jack
Schwartz checks .some of his. New
Zealand white rabbits
i
byW. G. Strong
Today's supermarkets arew
wonderful and
the u.. ofd'
number things available in
t g.them
seems endless but one has to wonder if the
present generation or those born since'
World War I realize that the
old-time
General Store was the supermarket of the
day, "Oh, What has become of the old.
e store where we `tliered' on
Brae x7+ &a.
Saturday night?"
As one alighted from the buggy or early
$$Y
Ford touring car invariably she or he had.
to ascend ashr flightthe t of steps to front
porch with,, th its two ..'protruding: display.
windows, :• one on each side of the centre
entrance. These areas held a multiplicity of
articleswhich' were changed
not too
?Itequently and looked fadedand dust -cloud
ed. Outside, however, seasonable wares
caught one's • immediate attention.. In
spring there was a. sheaf of bamboo.
fishing-poles,bags of rbu in potatoes,
.sP t g
boxes ofonion sets, vegetable and flower
seeds, rakes* ak s, hoes and other garden tools,
There might flats
_..ght be of panniies, petunias
and - arigolds for the window boxes or
fknwgarden. g "den In summer. you.. would
expect' repe, P
eect' to find hay forks, r e, pulleys,
?
binder -twine, horse collars, nose=bags,
Milk pails, Wire and cans of machine oil. In
niter there were bags of coarse
,salt,
shovels, and kegs of fresh herring:
•
The. screen door -
Every 'spring the storm door had to be
removed and the screen door set in
,position. A flour sack with its lower edge
deeply fringed was tacked to the upper
floor frame to shod away the pesty flies on
mischief bent, When the door opened or
dosed. ai e
1 #tl bell. led- 'i
and you
i were in
$
wthe,d,tnness .of +he•emporium; savouring
ndbers unique to a rural store. As the.
sicanon Changed, thearona seemed to keep
trace.
Usuall. there were two serving ..
y o vmg•rouht¢rs,
,rine on each! side of the store. Shelves'
extended frons -floor to ceiling as well as
sundry wires on which certain items Were(
"on display. There were a few glass show
cases, iscratched and finger -stained, at
least one set of platform weigh; scales With
metal pin:to hold certain. bits" . of
,blerChandise, a coffee grinder, a roll to be
in a state of helter-skelter yet there Was an
element of order amongthe disorder if y you
just knew where to look behind the
cramped aisles. There' werethe
R•a p s grocery
shelve,.sn` one"' side of. the floor' and dryp
goods and miscellaneous: items of clothing
On the other. The rear Wall carried a huge
assortment of patent medicines, liniments,
household to and en
ofd utensils nsils n g enol ware*.
Farmersw. ..ives and childrenp atroniz-
ed this store at the crossroads. They came
with their eggs and butter and sold them to
the' grocer who in turn sold them to the
villagers. Soet imps there would
be tolls.
or crocks of butter ig var 3ii i in .colour,
,,
flavour and texture. Naturally the most
wssold ''firs
appealingwas i , t,
. d
vrrho' made what • t
Occasionally the
customer who was choosey would want to
know who made which, the result of former
experience, There were times when there
was none' in the ice -box or, refriger'ator and
onehad to pity the poor housewife who.
likewise had no butter and needed it badly
for her growing family for whom she had
planned an evening meal of a potful of corn,;
fresh from het garden' plot. No one had
ever.'heard of oleomargariri then and the
only frying fat was lard which came: in large
tin cans, : was scooped and sold by the
pound. None ever beard of cholesterol
either as we cheerfully but unknowingly
loaded up our veins. In fact we were just
beginning to learn that home-grown
etales
g b used ve - tC ex nsively because a we
thought thcywere good for 'us, contained
vitamins.
As, the writer.,
remembers, there were
just two kinds, of sugar for sale each of
ame h
whicc in it lnarrel-ranulafed and
brown. Bach was kept' on � platfotm fitted
with casters'which could be pushed under,
the counter top - when not is use. As
required:the grocer'scooed and weighed
. p
the desired - amount wanted by' the
customer Who watched the scale -bat with
eager eye,
qoffee wa s •
sold inate form , of be
t m ns a
which cam either i packages i
e ithe in pound par ages ar in,
bulk, Although the targe red and go
grinder°could be ore sed Mitt secvieettpol'
request, most faituhcsi had their own stitall
4. th
coffee grinder, As mother started .e fire
Rememb�er��ng the general store on SQturday nib
e
l i n
in ,her big, ck b a shiny iron range, . e•, on
were 'carefully...measured 'into the large
grey enamel coffee pot, the right amount of
water added, generally a potful, and put on
thefront lid to come to a boil at which time
it was pushed to the. back of the stove
where there was less heat and the grounds
allowed to 'settle. Often a metal strainer
was used to separate out the grains as the
liquid was poured into cups or coffee mugs
which were in common use.
Bo 0
st m crackers, likewise, •carte ` in
barrels. No varieties were packaged w on
sale• no semi x paper, no saran wrap; When a
fresh barrel Was opened and word' wont out.
by the grapevine that the grocer had afresh.
stock of crackers every one wan ad. 'conte,.
Y t
They were ladled out and sold in brown
paper bags. Onegrocer is reputed to have
broken a cracker In two in order to give the
easterner the.jus'
� tcorrect weight, He never
let the good Lord pull the wool over his
es. Of etiurse.ittook.s
eY some time to get to
the bottom of the barrel and the last ones
were
stale but the customers took them
withoutcomplaint. ..._
omplaint. A lot was taken, for
granted inthose. days, Fingers were made
before scoops and . aladles.
•
.
Cheese came- i .
rr a wheel'
Cheese came in a big round wheel and.
cut into wedges with a large sharp knife. It
was always difficult to cut off just the right
amount' but some clerks acquired the
delicate art from repeated operations.
There was just the one kind available Wider
its glass cover, a far cry from the large
variety offered m the dairy case today.
Cigarettes were just coming,' on the
market. Fine cut smoking tobacco came' in
etton our es fitted with a dtaw string.rin A
package of papers Was given each
customer snaking, a purchase. it was in the
trill -you -own ere.. Chewing' tobacco .also
'canto in shredded form in ackets but most
Men. preferred ,plug tobacdo, Stag.=Mac.
Donald's or the Queen's Navy. it is
reperted on goodauth rifY that
acusto customer
shocked the fe'rnalts clerk when he asked for.
aptug.of the Queen's Navel, He frequently
*his words confused as when he related
lhise erietteeswhiic- n "a• ed 'n 11v
xP, . e >� g d i h .kn>x
dnManikota and batoba. He declared •that,
?his" mouth was so dry that: he had to printf'
himself to start the salvary glands.
functioning. Plug tobacco , came in long
bars at least a foot•iit length and marked
with a slight depression to indicate the
proper size of plug for sale. Each plug
carried a metal` disc, heart or diamond
Shaped, , which children delighted to save
and add as suitable decorations to the band
of his straw hat,, Cigars came unwrapped in
wooden boxes gaily ,coloured. These were
kept in a glass case where in was a glass
fitted with water and 'sponge, a crude
humidifier. The box Was withdrawe, the lid
raised and the. customer :'tookMit as many
as he wished. It ,vis considered;:unsanitary
to pick up a riga'" and hand it to the party,
but . one could handle crackers with
impunity.
Coal oil came in metal barrels fitted with
a spigot, retailed by the gallon and used for
starting fires in the strew olid as' fuel for
lamps and lanterns, The farmers had cans
of varying sizes from the quaint squatty
type to the taller' cylindrirat� shape to the
;large, five the,
variety, .Each was fitted'
with a screw top which had to be removed
and a funnel inserted in the peck of the can
and held under the tap. An esticricttced
person could pretty well gauge the liquid
contents by the sound emitted by the rising:
fluid, the higher the pitch, the nearer the
top. Most cans were supplied with fluid,
a spout hear the heck of the cart arid fitted
with a cover attached to the conduit by a
light linked chain. Where such a useful.
miitrivance wa4 missing, t small potato or
b
apple was utilized. No one ever asked for
kerosene'..
Announced byfish horn•
•
Rural c mm
,.
i ri "cs were s
erwi.d by
t i ti
o
sundry peddlcts, There were the fishermen
'from St. Joseph and ' aylleld who
announced their routing by a series of
blasts on teh so•cal letl fish -horn, Fresh fish
were earned in a eovercd box well stocked
With large ehunks of Lake Huron ice, A set
of so called "stilyards" inserted in one of
the gill* determine the weight. Then there
%vtla nanny Monroe, the • eniat butcher,
:frpin Bracetie d who, ttt re :thf
threshing
lime his service and supplies • 'vete touch
.appreciated, An Armenian with leather
case dispensed' pins, needles, scissors,:
Bumbles, thread and other small wares.
The org• an -grinder With his perforfning
monkey wvas not unknown aiong the
country roads.
We think
. r that many aspects o_ f fire in
the
yesteryears were crude and inconvenient
but when some of us were young mother
didmuch of her shopping without having to
leave the house, A travelling storekeeper
brought a mobile general store to her back
door, Every Thursday about four ociock
a
horse -:drawn covered wagon came up, the
lane. Later a :one -ton truck crept up the'
entrap e-ivay. Because he carried a fragile
c Y rr e• g ..
'load his speed reached only about ten or
fifteen miles per hour;' The. driver was; the.
Istore''s proprietor and clerk and regularly
detoured into every farmyard'.
When he stopped, u,.
When st . two
pp he matched
horizontal hinged boards on both:sides of
the wagon. The bottom boards served as
u w �e
0o eters and the top ones ere preop d up .
like awnings. ngs Inside were home-made
wooden
wooden shelvesnot unlike those in his
village store. Each had a- strip, along the
gp $
front .to keep the contentsfrom falling
off. These were stocked literally with.
everything from : soup to nuts; every
member of the family found something
they 'needed.
Portable store
The mothers bought such ,groceries as
canned meats, vegetables and fruits,
brown and white sugar, flour,vinegar,
Salt, pepper, tea and coffee. If the lady of
the housedid not bake her bread in the
summer months, she toutd be supplied
with baker's bread. To help.her with her
baking,' she could select pie plates, cake
ns, muffin tins s ons, :. arin
pa , Wooden: Po p $
knives' aytid cookie either.
....
For housecleaning she obtained brooms,
dustfoetid
pans, mhos and floor was She
detergents, dishcloths, pat holders, aprons
and bars of soap. There were toothpicks,
toottipustc, toothbrushes, `In additon she
ttiuld 'acquire pins and needles, thimbles,
thread, yarn and .
This and b u.totns.
t
J'his portable store carried more than
housewares, Il'air brushes, combs, curlers,
Milers . and bobby pins were available for
thehouse Meanwhile the :farmer
h Wife, Meanw h hl
outfitted himself with overalls, plaid work
w.;
shirts, polka dot handkerchiefs, caps, socks :.
and even rubber boots. For the barn there
were stable hrnoms forks and.' hovels,
Smokers were satisfied when they saw
the shelves displaying pipe tobacco,
chewing tobacco, cigars, sulphur matches„
and berha s some snuff,
. P
For the
handyman the store' stocked
hammers, screwdrivers, wrenches, pliers
and hand saws. There werenais, screw,
nuts, bolts, and staples, if he did not have
what you needed, he noted same and
raised to deliver it next, week. Similarly
1?�'
°
the lady of the, houseusually gave her
order,
In accidents. ease of iide
s a nts. the :store provided
bandages, ointments, •salves, : liniment's
acid band-aids;'
The children's eyes popped at the sight
Y PPP $.
of licorice sticks. igzeng&i mints. jaw-
breakers and peanuts. For school there
were pens, pencils, erasers,. ink,
scribblers, copybooks and drawing books,
Row the travelling merchantP acked all
that merchandise neatly into such limited
Space is am stet . The articles seemed
Space Y Y
fresh and free from dust. He had hit the
toad as soon as the now melted in tine
spring and he continued until a heavy'
snowfall late in the fall forced him to cease
deliveries, Eaeh day he followed a planned
tette beginning shortly after dawn and,
ending at dusk. While he was away, his
wife tended the village store, Each night
they restocked the truck's shelves.
Of 'course the brand n
onames on his
shelves were less numerous than Atte finds
in the modern supermarket. Th' .
p e selection,:
to, was limited, Nevertheless, his service
was convc ie reliable n..,
ni nt and reliable and; consider-
ed to be iiivaluable in the catnnfunity. We
may calf it rustic
or quaintbut eve
rYon
e
looked forward to meeting and greeting the
friendly travelling storekeeper, Jimmy
Bowev of KiPPen..
and, perhaps, Emerson
Kyle, his successor tin business.
„If, t "
you ve neverdealt at a crossroads t;
,. _ tote
Ybu ve noiseda lot I see
Arid theWho " ._e . , me of t,
folks: whe have. will bac • aft.
I think
we'',It l all agree.
wander±ul place was thee crossroadssrguds store
As it stood in the days of old
'Wherewtraded e e r ed out 6lttter and new laid
eggs
the
or mere a "
lh n isC t'"" ,
e
d
�► Old.,
y tiR'rokati)