HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1966-05-12, Page 3•
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Britannia Masonic Lodge, -No. 170, received its
charter on July 13, 1865, with Alexander Blemnzon the
first Worshipful Master. 'In 1874 the lodge rented the
hall above Counter's store at $100.00 per year 'and
moved 'to this location. • It was also occupied by the
lllue Lodge and the newly -organized Malloch Chapter.
The hall.was officially _opened onMarch 3, 1875. It is
still• occupied and now .owned kr the Masonic Lodge.
Robert Guthrie's tailor shop, his home, and Simon
Powell's Hotel came next.. Later, William 'Ira Ault
had a grocery store in Guthrie's tailor. shop. At his
trial by jury on June 19, 1875, Ault was found guilty
of setting fire to his own store. Some damage was
done, and the building was moved back from the street,
out of sight. In May, 1877, Simon Powell sold all these
buildings to Alex Cardno for $3,620. Cardno had the.
hotel moved .to a lot he owned on John St. This build-
ing was torn down in the 1920's and a house was mov-
ed to the vacant lot from east of Victoria Park.. This
is now Mrs. VVlllard Elliott's home. Cardno had Ault's
store moved where Mrs. Ed. Matthews now lives, and
the Guthrie home to the west of it, which is now Hugh
Thompson's home and shoe repair shop. It was here
Cardno 'carried on business while his' new brick block
was being built on. Main Street in 1877.
Cardno's Block
The Cardno block is the largest in the town. It
contains 'five stores. These are now used by Wong's
Grill, Bell Telephone Office till late in •1964 but now
vacant, Steadman's 5c to $1.00 Store occupies stores
- three and four, and the fifth is Savauge's jewellery
store. Back of the entrance which leads upstairs to
what was Cardno's Music and Concert Hall, is Alvin
W. Sillery's law office. • The upstairs is used now prin-
cipally by Boshart Bros. as a furniture warehouse.
The block completecost over $30,000. When first
built it was lighted by gars, manufactured on the prerri-
ises. The clock imported from Boston cost $1,000.00,
and another $1,000.00 was spent to have it installed.
From its high 'vantage point on the roof, it ticked off
the minutes and hours for more than three-quarters
of a century. Now it is silent—it tells the time no
more. The music and concert hall was opened . on
December 15, 1877... It had a good stage, dressing
rooms, and also a banquet hall. The rental charge for
the hall was $15.00 a night.
The next building, now occupied by the Provincial
Bank, was in 1863 Alex Cardno's first place of business
in Seaforth.
Alex Cardno had stick -to -it qualitje -which served
him well in business as it did in-gettif1g him from Scot-
land to Canada. His home folk did not approve of him
leaving the homeland, but being determined to see the.
new land, he delivered a load of flour from the Cardno
mill for shipment, got the money for it, and skipped
out on his parents. This was in 1852. After he arrived
in Canada he worked for a time in St. Marys and Clin-
ton before he took root in Seaforth, where he became
one of the leadingbusinessmen of the town. Here he
was a provision dealer, pork packer, had a grocery,
clothing and tailoring business, and also opened the.
first bakeshop in the town. In later years his sons,
John and George, carried on the bakeshop; and grocery
business, and they were followed by John's sons, Nelson
and John, into the 1940's.
By 1863 C. H. Cull, job printer, express and
Montreal telegraph agent, was doingbusiness on the
south part of the next lot. While he owned the north
part from 1865, he did not build on it till seven years
later. In 1881 A. G. McDougall & Co. had Cull's store
remodelled. Large plate glass lights were placed in
the •front window—the first used in a Seaforth store.
This store is now occupied by Frank Kling Ltd. In it
he has his electric appliances and also a plumbing shop.
Cull's first place of business is now the Eve -Mar
clothing store. It is still owned by Mrs. John Mac-
Tavish. For many years Edward 11,1cFaul .and his
_nephew, John MacTavish, did an extensive dry goods.,
business in the Eve -Mar store, Kling's and the one
north, owned by Alex Cardno.
' Hickson & Co. "Montreal House" was next. John..
Hickson built this•: desk of two stores in 1869, and it
--Teras run by John .and Edward Hickson. In. the -early
1870's, Puncan & Duncan ,bought Hickson's stock of.
dry goods and one ofhis stores. The Hickson firm was
well known in the town from the 1860's till the early
1890's for their dry goods and tailoring business. Here
they occupied the entire three flats. The basement was
used for storage; the main floor for dry goods and
clothing, and the third flat was the millineryand mantle
salesroom. They employed a number of tailors and
milliners, and also six salesmen. Hicksons, after they
sold to Duncans, continued to do business in the south
store. .
Both firms remodelled ,.their place of business, and
when finished in June, 1874, they vied with each other
in their advertising. Duncans kept a pace ahead till
their advertisement took up a full page in The Huron
Expositor. By May, 1875, Duncan & Duncan had enter-
ed also the journalistic field with a neat and spicy
paper called The Seaforth Illustrated Bulletin, and at.
the same time Hickson & Co. commenced the publica-
tion of a new paper called The Seaforth Gazette. These
were circulated gratiously throughout Seaforth and the
surrounding community. These two stores—Duncans
and Hicksons-are , now occupied by Elmer Larone's
Variety and Dry Goods Store.
Ludwig Meyer built the next two -store block in
1872. It adjoined the store owned by Hickson & Co.
Johnston Bros.—Samuel and David—hardware merch-
ants, were the first tenants in it. They used the base-
ment, the main floor and most of the upper flat. In
1875 their assessed value was $6,400. Samuel went to
Winnipeg in 1880, but retained an interest in the busi-
ness. David dropped dead in November, 1895. J. C.
Greg and Harry Stewart, dry good merchants, were
the next to do business here. They also had the Domin=
ion Express, C.P.R. telegraph and ticket agency. In
October, 1905, Harry Stewart and his brother, Charlie,
formed a partnership,' and this business, established
by them sixty years ago, is still in the name of Stewart
Bros. Harry's two sons -41m and Dave—are now carry-
ing on the business.
It was in a room above the south store that Lud-
wig Meyer, of Thornton Hall, had his Division Court
office froth 1872 till 1886. His wife, A.dolphine, used to
sitdailyon a large field stone near their home.to watch
for her husband's homecoming when his office work
uptown was ended for. the day. After her death,. Lud-
wig had this large boulder placed on the Meyer plot
to mark her grave in IXarpurhey Cemetery. There it
still can be seen today.
Han,' Jameh Patton, one of the town founders,
owned the next lot till 1863. On it was a frame store,
in which Thomas ,Currie, general merchant, was doing
business at that time,. Robert. Soft 'bought it in 1869,,
and that year built the threerstorer brick block
rortn
a °HIstory by Isabelle Campbell
with two stores, now owned- by William ft, Srnithl
After a' fare here in _1905; the windows in the third
storey were bricked. It was on the, third floor The
Huron Expositor was printed from 1869 till December,
1872.
John Walsh, who sold groceries and liquor, was
the firstoccupant in the new north store. He had it'
from 18,69 till 1872. Charles Wilson and Andrew Young
followed, and from •1905 W. R. Smith and family•have
transacted business here. .It is now known as Smith's
Superior Food Market. Archibald McDougall Wali first
in the, new south store. He sold dry goods and grocer-
ies. Lumsden & Wilson opened the first drug store here
and continued in business for many years. This is now
the Rexall Drug ` Store. The druggists in charge are
J. E. Keating and his daughter, Mrs. Merle Hoover.
Sign of Circular Saw
to
Tom Kidd had a frame store at the corner of Main
and Market St: by 1865. In 1868. he built the first large
size brick block on Main St. It contained two stores,
and eras completed..in 1869.. William Robertson & Co.,
"Sign of the Circular Saw" hardware, moved into the
north part, now Robert J. Read's shoe store. Thomas
Kidd and James McMulkin had a general store in,the
south part, which . is' now. George A. Sills' Hardware.
The G. A. Sills name has been well known odMain
St. ,for many years. The business is now in charge of
two grandsons, sons of Frank Sills, Sr. Frank J. C.
Sills has charge of the hardware,' and D'Orlean sSills,
the plumbing.
From October, 1872, 0. C. Willson had the small
brick building at the rear of Kidd's store for an imple-
ment wareroom. Later it was a liquor store, botcher
shop, private bank, tailor shop and laundry, before
G. A. Sills' Hardware.:.. began •to use it, for storage:
From March 4, 1864, Peter and Bridget Markey
owned all the next lot and that year built a .large frame
building on it. In the north part was the Dominion
(Hotel, run by Peter Markey, and in the south, William
A. Shearson . & Co. had a flour and feed- store. Peter
Harkey died* in April, 1879. • In' 1880 the north part
was 'divided and in it. was George, Ewing's butcher shop
and Miss M. J. Rigg's restaurant. Mrs. P. Markey was
then selling groceries in the south part. A fire which
started in the Rigg's restaurant burned all three stores
on February 10, 1881. •
Swan W. Cady shortly after the fire married Mar -
key's widow and he rebuilt another large frame block
during the summer of 1881. The first to occupy the
new stores were Robert Willis' shoe store, John Ward's
saddler shop, C. H. Baker, jewellery store, and John
G. Con°stable's barber shop and bowling alley. Again
in November, 1930, this block was burned to a heap
�f ashes. The occupants of the stores at this time were
Walter G. Willis shoe store, Swift Produce Co., J. Wes-
ley Green, manager, and, also George Israel and George
Charter's tailoring and dry cleaning shop. It was . in
the dry cleaning. plant the fire broke out. After, the
lot had been vacant•for several years, a British Ameri-
can gas station and garage was built in 1943, with Mel
Clarke, manager. After being closed for a few years
the garage was opened again for business in June, 1965,
by Ross Motors.
West of his business block, Peter Markey had a
livery stable. Adam Hays was the last to use it as a
livery. In December, 1939, M. E. Clark tore down part
to erect a service station. The remainder was demolish-
ed in November, 1954, to make way for the sewer line
being, laid at the back <of the stores.
The srftall brickbuilding next . to the livery stable
was Adam Hays' office. It had earlier been used as an
insurance office by Alonzo Strong. While Hugh Sproat
owned the property, he had it wrecked in the early
1.950's. It was on this vacant lot that Frank Mills, of
Alvinston, Ont., built a laundramat in 1962.
Thomas Bowerman from 1863 owned the lot south
of Markey's, but it was William Hill, of the "British
House", who started in business here in 1865, and in
1869 built the present brick block, 27' x 150', contain-
ing two stores, In one he sold groceries, and in the
other, dry goods. One is now Mrs. Garnet McClinchey's
restaurant, and in the other, John Flannery does dry
cleaning.
(To be continued)
'64 DODGE 4 -DOOR SEDAN
6 -Cylinder, Auto.—Lic. A63262
'64 DODGE 4 -DOOR SEDAN
z.., 6 -Cylinder — Lic. E8214 -
'64 DODGE 4 -DOOR HARDTOP
• 8 -Cylinder, Auto., Radio.—Lic. A49232
'64 VALIANT 4 -DOOR SEDAN
6 -Cylinder ,—. Lic. A61294
'61 4 -DOOR SEDAN 1
6 -Cylinder -- Lic. E10878
Rowcliffe Motors
Dodge & Chrysler
•P ione 5271670 • Seaforth
Tea
Honors
Bride
Mrs, William Brown, . Jarvis
St:, Seaforth, formerly of Befit•
sail, entertained at a trousseau
tea at her home in honor of
her daughter, Carol, whose mar-
riage to Donald Carter took
place Saturday, May 7th, at
First Presbyterian Church at 4
p.m.
Guests were received by the
hostess, Mrs: Lorne Carter, and
the bride-to-be.
The tea table was covered
with a lace cloth, centered with
a floral arrangement. White and
pink bells with streamers and
flowers decorated the home. In
the afternoon, Mrs. Henry J.
Neeb, of Tavistock, grandmoth-
er of tjie bride -to -he, and Mrs.
James Carter, grandmother of
the groom -to -be, poured tea. In
the evening, Mrs. Walter Vogt,
Tavistock (Carol's great-aunt),
and Mrs. Russell Jervis, Clin-
ton, (Mr. Carter's aunt), were
at the tea table.
Trousseau and gifts were dis-
played by Miss Dale Hunt, Lon-
don; Mrs. Ron Riley, London,
and Miss Barbara Nagle, Lucan.
Miss Patsy Nagle, Lucan, and
Miss Ginger Chamberlain, Kit-
chener, were in charge of the
guest book:
Several showers were held in
honor of the bride. Hostesses
were Mrs. Harold J. Neeb and
Miss Marilyn Neeb, Tavistock,
and Mrs. Ron- Williamson.
KIPPEN- WI
Kippen WI meeting • will be
held on May 18 at 8:30 p.m, in
the Legion Hall, Hensall. ,The
hostess will be Mrs. Glen Bell
and co -hostess' Mrs. James Me -
Naughton. The roll call will be
a humorous incident while trav-
elling. The motto is: "A drop
of ink makes thousands think,"
by Miss Margaret 'McKay. His-
tory of Grey Township will be
given by Mrs. Joyce Cooper.
There will be dancing by Mrs.
Ross Broadfoot, Mrs. Edna Cald-
well and Mrs. William Bell.
• The 4-11 Girls Clubs -are go-
ing to put on their skits. Lunch
will be served by Mrs. Ernest
'Whitehouse, Mrs. James Chal-
mers, Mrs. John McGregor and
Mrs. Vern Alderdice.
ALL TYPES
INSURANCE
Donald G. Eaton
Office in Masonic Block
Main Street
Phone 5274610 - Seaforth
USBORNE AND
HIBBERT
MUTUAL FIRE
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HEAD OFFICE - EXETER, Ont.
Directors:
Robert G. Gardiner R.R. 1,
President ' Cromarty
Martin Feeney - R,R. 2, Dublin.
Vice -President
Wm. H. Chaffe RR, 4, Mitchell
E. Clayton Colquhoun R.R. 1,
Science Hill
Raymond McCurdy R.R. 1,
Kirkton
Tim Toohey - R.R. 3, Lucan
Agents:,
Hugh Benninger - Dublin
Harry Coates - • - Exeter
CIayton Harris - Mitchell
Secretary -Treasurer:
Arthur Fraser - Exeter
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'L H HURON, EXPO5ErOR„ SaAFORTHI ONT MAY 1
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