Village Squire, 1974-01, Page 4Keeping up with the Jones and their
marvelous Village Shoppe
A few short years ago Reg and Carol Jones
were city dwellers: he an insurance
salesman; she a fashion model. But they had
a dream to move to the country and they did.
Today they own the Village Shoppe in
Lucknow, one of the first of the new little
shops that have sprung up in the area and still
one of the most interesting.
It was five years ago in May that they
moved with their tamily to Lucknow where
they took over the Murdie Hardware Store, a
fzscinating old business that had hardly
cl.anged since the turn of the century. There
was a bonus in the building, a small ,hop on
one side. The vacant section became the
V Ilage Shoppe.
The building itself has a story to tell. The
J(nes have researched the history of the
building and discovered it is the oldest store
in Lucknow, built in 1858. The hardware
section was originally a general store and the
V:Ilage Shoppe itself was the early post office.
The walls are made of stone of considerable
th ickness. The first cash register to be used in
the town is still. in use on their counter.
Although they were in the hardware
business for some time, their real dream,
says Carol Jones, has always been to operate
a small shop specializing in skilled
hand -made items like the Village Shoppe
does. 1 hey closed the hardware business out
a year ago and for a time operated the whole
building as the Village Shoppe with antiques
added as well as crafts, but Mrs. Jones found
it too hard to look after the whole operation
without extra help, so they sold the old
hardware building am' now operate out of th
smaller shop.
Like many refugees from the city, they
wouldn't go back. Oh, they admit, they like to
revisit Toronto every now and then as they
did on the weekend before Village Squire
visited their shop, but they're always glad
when the time comes to come home, Mrs.
Jones says all she misses about the city is the
rat race.
The family enjoys the sl wer pace of life
and the friendliness of The people. She
explains that her husband travels a good deal
in a sales job leaving her to mind the store by
herself, but the people of the village are
wonderful at calling and asking if there is
anything they can do to help.
With the Christmas season over, the Jones
are taking on the task of redecorating the
store before the busy summer season arrives.
The nature of the store changes a little from
season to season she explains. In the
I, VILLAGE SQUIRE/JANUARY 1974
Carol Jones and one of the stuffed dolls made
locally and sold in the Village Shoppe