Village Squire, 1978-06, Page 33UPDATE
Famous store closes
What must be one of the most famous
country stores in Ontario closed its doors in
April.
The store is the St. Augustine General
Store that has been open since before 1900.
It was the locale for many of the stories in
the Harry J. Boyle books such as Mostly in
Clover. With a Pinch of Sin and Homebrew
and Patches.
Boyle's Uncle John and later his father
Bill owned the store. St. Augustine
blended with such other area centres as
Auburn, Dungannon and Blyth to form the
mythical town of Clover in the Boyle books
which have won him a firm following and
the Leacock Award for Humour.
He retired last year from the post as
chairman of the Canadian -Radio and
Telecommunications Commission.
The store close because the present
owners Glenn and Margaret McConnell
couldn't compete any longer with the
larger stores in towns and because
suppliers insisted on selling in volume that
smaller stores couldn't handle. For
instance, McCormack's biscuits insisted on
a minimum order of $150 worth of biscuits.
"An order of biscuits that large would last
for almost a year," Mrs. McConnell said.
FILM BUFFS HAVE A HOME
The study of the films of yesterday has
become a big activity throughout the world
in recent years. Often the only time these
movies are available are when they show
up on an afternoon movie. Even the late
show has long abandoned many of the
classics of the 1930's and 40's.
One place where these films can be seen
still is in film societies and clubs. One such
local club is the one operated by the Blyth
Centre for the Arts. With the co-operation
of the management of the Lyceum Theatre,
Wingham, the Centre for the Arts has set
up the program in Memorial Hall. The
program operated during the past winter
but was not a huge success. It ran only on a
single ticket basis and crowds were not
large despite such classics as Gone with
the Wind and How Green was my valley.
This coming year the program will
operate only on a subscription basis. A
membership of more than 100 is needed for
the series to go ahead.
Subscribers to the series will have a
chance to have a say in what movies will be
shown in the six film series. The films will
be shown once a month on Wednesday
nights during Sept.. October, November,
March, April and May, skipping the dead
of winter months when storms may prevent
people from being able to attend. The
membership is only $10 for six films.
Co-ordinator of the club is Mrs. Susan
Howson of Blyth who ran last year's
program. Application forms are available
for membership. She can be reached at
523-9436 or by writing to Film Club, Blyth
Centre for the Arts, Box 291, Blyth, NOM
1HO.
NEW MUSEUM IN LAMBTON
Add a new museum to the list of regional
museums to visit this summer that we
published in last month's Village Squire.
The Lambton Heritage Museum opened
in May, south of Grand Bend.
The core of the museum comes from the
old Eisenbach Museum in Grand Bend. It
was left to the new museum by the late
Peter Eisenbach who, during his lifetime
had one of the largest private collections of
antiques in Canada. The Mary Ellen
Chapel which Eisenbach built in Grand
Bend has been removed to the new
museum. Another major contributor was
Fred Walden of Thedford.
Close to 500 people attended the official
opening on May 13. The ribbon was cut by
Dorothy Edmonds, a niece of the late Peter
Eisenbach and by Lambton county warden
John McDonald.
It is hoped that many of the 750,000
You are invited
to come to the factory
and see the quality
for yourself.
FACTORY OPEN FOR INSPECTION.
WEEKDAYS 8:30-11:30 a.m., 1-3 p.m.
OR BY APPOINTMENT.
•
NORTHLANDER
A complete line of 12
and 14 wides now available.
Now also building
Commercial/Industrial Units.
An alternate form of
farm housing, custom
designed and built to
your requirements.
—CahaR c LVIc —
Manufactured in Canada by
Custom Trailers Ltd.,
165 Thames Rd. E.
Exeter, Ontario [Box 190]
15191235-1530 Telex 064-5815
VILLAGE SQUIRE/JUNE 1978. PG. 31.