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Yesterday And Today, A Salute to Blyth's 125th Anniversary, 2002-07-31, Page 25How Gypsy Lane came by it By R.W. Pat Powell In Blyth there is a street, running from the west end of Westmoreland Street to the county road at the south end of the village. It is known as Gypsy Lane. When I lived in Blyth up to 1935, the south end of this street was seldom used and there were no houses on it south of the fairgrounds. There was a band of gypsies which came through Blyth from the north every year. We do not know where they originated, but they were in all respects true gypsies, dark in skin colour. The women were dressed in bright colours and were the palm readers, card fortune tellers, etc. The group camped at the south end of Gypsy Lane for a day or two each year. The gypsies travelled in buggies or in van-type wagons, and they usually had eight to 12 extra horses tied behind their wagons as their business was trading horses. We were usually warned of the gypsies coming by telephone from the last village they had been in. When we knew they were in town we closed the store door, pulled the blinds and waited for them to go again. The reason for this was if you let them in, about 15 or so would enter at once and as you could not watch them all, they would steal everything they could hide in and under the shirts, etc. They seemed to have pockets especially suited for the job. Thus the only thing to do was to lock them out. It may sound romantic to have Ta ke Congratulations Blyth on your 125th Anniversary • Tomboy Chicken • Scrumptious desserts • Delicious breakfasts served all day •,'.-"›, • Daily Specials • Pizza • Full menu to choose from • LLBO , ,1 TODAY'S Restaurant & General Store Londesboro 523-9790 1411/11/1/1/1ANA1ANIA114\4111/1/111.1111/141.141 /1/ on your 125th Anniversary Honda, Yamaha, Ski-Doo, John Deere, Sabre Sales & Service Complete machine shop service WINCHAM • 357-3435 Hwy. 86 East, Wingham L 357-3435 THE CITIZEN, YESTERDAY and TODAY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 2002. PACE 25. Sparling's has come a long way from the hardware store hauling not just propane but other liquid's such as anhydrous ammonia. This business too would grow, hauling as far as Florida, Louisiana and California until the company was sold to Great Western Resources in 1996. - - In 1977 an office was added at the new location south of Blyth and the propane business was no longer conducted from the crowded hardware-store office. In 1979 Grant sold the hardware to concentrate on the growth of the propane business. And grow it did, constantly being expanded and modernized. Today Sparling's has four large regional distribution centres that allow it to cover most of central and western Ontario. The business now include Grant and Pat's sons Steven and David, who began working with the company after school and in summers, are now in charge of the company's growth. First Customer also last customer after 32 years in business Continuous growth From a sideline of the downtown hardware business to this large, modern complex south of Blyth (above), Sparling's Propane has shown tremendous growth over 50 years. Below, two trucks that delivered propane in cylinders in 1958 are parked in front of the original plant at the corner of Queen Street and County Rd. 25. Looking at the sprawling plant and offices of Sparling's Propane south of Blyth, it's hard to imagine that this huge business began out of the back of the building now occupied by The Citizen's offices on main street. Grant Sparling had first come to Blyth as a young accountant at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce branch. Later the opportunity came to buy the local hardware store and he snapped it up, going into business while still in his 20s. Part of is hardware business was selling appliances and those The business continued out of the appliances included propane ranges. back of the store until 1955 when People, of course, needed the gas to Grant bought the property tr the make the ranges work so in 1951, corner of main street and County Rd. Sparling's Hardware began selling 25 now occupied by Huron Tractor. "bottled gas", propane in heavy It was just the beginning of the metal cylinders. growth of the business from a It began with one customer Jim sideline to a major employer in the and Dorothy Armstrong who lived in region. the Drummond Street house now By 1957 a bulk delivery truck was occupied by Dave and Rosie Lee. added and the company was They bought a propane range and delivering propane to homes and Sparling's supplied the propane. The farms within a 45-mile radius of rest, as they say, is history. Blyth. The uses for propane grew to Jack Stewart hags groceries for Molly Grant of 13101111c last ,u,towei i;} before br .old the business on Saturday night. Mrs. Grant was also the first cu,tomer of Mr tit esA in 12 cal ,. ago. — The Blyth Standard, 1977. To have your first customer the same person as your last customer after 32 years in the same business in the same location must he a gratifying experience for both the grocer and customer, Shortly after 8 o'clock one February morning in 1945. Mrs. Molly Grant phoned the new Blyth grocer Jack Stewart for delivery of an order. He had opened his door for business minutes before. Close to 6 o'clock on July 2. 1977 just minutes before Jack Stewart turned the key in his door for the last time, who should walk in to make purchases but the same Molly Grant. This store, for 32 years was strictly all Stewart. Jack's sister, Marjorie was with him until 1960. His wife, Ruth, was his long-time assistant. Members of his family as they came to age took turns helping their father. The store was located on the site of the present Blyth Festival administration building and had been vacant when Jack moved in. Stuart Robinson the previous owner/operator moved across and down the street to the Powell store. Jack rented the building from the owner J.H.R. Elliott who later sold it to the Bank of Commerce. The Stewart store was the first on main street to have oil heat, the apace heater being an Evans. The building displays two things that link it with the Gidley Tailor Shop that began business here shortly after the turn of the century: chard scars on the floor which are reminders of the serious fire years ago in the tailor shop, and the tailor's table in the hack, a collector's item today. Jack Stewart starud in 1928 as a grocery clerk in Listowel in the late Chrnie .Brother's Store. During 1932 and 1933 he worked in a Hamilton supermarket. returning to Newton to work with his father in their General Store. Seventy percent of the customers were AmiSh for whom he had the highest praise. All the rest were Scottish descent. Jack worked at Climie's for $5.00 a week from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm for five days, and on Saturdays from 7:00 am until midnight or after. The blinds without fail were pulled down at ten minutes to twelve, for the Sabbath was strictly kept by the Climies, as it was by the vast majority. In 1946 cookies were sold only in bulk as were walnuts and raisins. Rice came in 100 lb. bags and white beans in 120 lb. bags. At Christmas time he would stock a wooden barrel the size of an apple barrel, with hard rock candy which was sold for ten cents a pound. He ordered. at the season, five 100 lb. bags of roasted peanuts in the shelf which retailed at three pounds for a quarter. Baking soda biscuits in a barrel known as soup crackers were a popular item. Eggs were purchased from farmers at eight cents a dozen for seconds, ten cents for first and twelve cents for extras. Ninety pound sacks of potatoes bought from the farmers in trade, not cash, sold for 35 to 65 cents. The only vegetables sold in cans were peas, corn. tomatoes and pork and beans. Five cents was all a child needed to purchase a chocolate bar. Butter and bread came via C.P.R. from Milverton and most of the groceries from Hamilton by the same route.- Severe winters interrupted business. In 1946-47 the roads between Clinton and Wingham were blocked for two solid weeks. Nothing pleased him more than to have a chat with his customers, but in later years he noted that many people seemed too hurried to take time for conversation. Jack Stewart passed away February of 1987 and his wife, Ruth. in December of 1997. The Stewart family still have their roots in the community. John is the clerk-administrator for the Township of North Huron and he along with his wife, Mary Lou, have three daughters, Pauline. Margaret Ann and Bonnie. Donald and his wife Linda are proprietors of the Blyth Decor Shoppe, and have two sons. Tyler and Kirk. Ann is the produce manager at Scrimgeour's Food Town. and she and her husband. Joe Hulzebos, have three children Charlene. Jason. Hailey and granddaughter Amber. Keil is a stationary engineer and is employed at Howson and Howson I ad. He has two sons. Chris and Cole. Nancy is a school teacher at Mornington Central Public School and lives in Atwood with her husband John Roe. The Stewart family continue to have a strong interest in Blyth. Nancy with her mother Ruth served as co-chairs for the school reunion and homecoming in 1996. Ann is an active member of the Community In Blooms committee. John. Donald and Ken are members of the l3lyth Legion and the Myth Lions C'luh. Ken also acted as the co-chair for the 125th Anniversary committee. It is believed • that the Stewart family holds the record fOr most Ontario Minor Hockey League Championships (OMFIA) with a combined total of twelve. John - 3, manager: Donald - 3, coach: Tyler - 2. player: Cole - 2. player: Ken - I. player: Kirk - 1. player. include things like grain drying and construction heating and the company grew with it. In the early 1970s the company needed more room and moved to its current nine-acre site south of Blyth on County Rd. 4. where a large modern plant was built. In 1973 the company moved into transporting its own propane from Sarnia with one tractor and two trailers. The fleet would grow and eventually in 1981 a separate company, Sparling's Liquid Transport (SLT) was founded, s name gypsies camping in your town and the glow of open campfires was nice to see. But the reality of dealing with the gypsies was an entirely different matter.