Times-Advocate, 1987-01-14, Page 2Page 2
Times -Advocate, January 14, 1987
Dashwood man
Octogenarian Vernon Schatz is
among the last of his kind. Banging
up a 1987 calendar in his Dashwood
general store will mark the beginning
of his sixty-sixth year in the same
business, and the forty-sixth in the
same location.
The sprightly 83 -year-old still
spends all day eery day selling
groceries, measuring gentlemen for
suits, helping customers choose
among a full array of Hudson Bay
coats, blankets and mohair throws,
cutting off a chunk of well cured
cheese, wrapping up a lady's blouse
or a•dress length of fabric. or dashing
over .to the adjacent grading station
to candle some eggs. - - -
Schatz began his lifetime profession
by accident rather than design. lie
was four weeks old when his mother
died, and nine when he lost his father.
The Rye Schatz children were parcell-
ed out to relatives; Vernon went to
live and work on a nearby farm with
an uncle. -
When he was 18, Schatz was asked
by the fafnily guardian. Dashwood
merchant George Edigttoffer (grand-
father of the present speaker in the
Ontario legislature) to come to the
store one night to count eggs. One of
the farmers bringing in his eggs
remembered he was getting low on
chewing tobacco, and Schatz com-
pleted his first business transaction.
The next time he was asked to count
eggs, he also sold two sweaters.
Edighoffer was impressed with his
egg counter, remarking that he would
hire his young ward if he were not
working on the farm. That fall, on
completing his contract, Vernon
Schatz began the full-time merchan-
dising career that has occupied his
days .ever since.
Schatz worked in Blyth for a short
time after Edighoffer sold his store.
Ile was drawn- back to Dashwood in
1930 by an offer of $30 per week to
clerk in the store across the street
from his former place of employ-
ment. He bought the business 11 years
later.
Schatz took the measurements for
his first suit customer while still a
Operates last small -flock grading station in Huron
in same occupation for 67
teenage, and swears he never slept
until the suit came back. It fit perfect-
ly. The Warren Kay Cook suits he has
sold for many years take five weeks
to be delivered from Toronto or Mon-
treal, and Schatz boasts that a better
price cannot be found anywhere.
The Hudson Bay line was added
over 15 years ago, and draws
customers and tourists from across
Ontario and bordering American
states.
Eggs were originally brought to the
main store. The two businesses com-
plemented each other - people bring-
ing in eggs would take home groceries
or drygoods. Grading became man-
datory in 1925, and Schatz built the
present egg grading station behind
the general store in 1944. At that time
the county had many grading sta-
tions; Dashwood had' two, Exeter
three. Parkhill and Zurich two, Hen-
sall three and Kippen one. Now
Schatz has the only operation in
Huron County for farmers with flocks'
of under 500 layers. Eggs are brought
in from as far away as Forest and
Stratford.
Schatz has a storehouse .of
memories gathered over the decades.
His duties originally included tieing
up the horses for his female
customers, and carrying the
groceries out to the buggies. You can
still buy a p,..g of tobacco in his store,
but the rolls of battleship linoleum
and the kerosene pump have disap-
peared. Sales of yard goods have
declined, while cigarette sales to
ladies have been commonplace for
years.
Schatz reaches way back to recall
one teenage customer who seemed to
be addicted . to table syrup. This
meant a trip to the basement each
time for the clerk, and a long wait as
the slow -running liquid gradually
flowed into the container. The
mystery was solved one day when
Schatz' employer came into the store
and caught the erstwhile customer
stealing. Further investigation turn-.
ed up a horde of syrup -filled jars hid-
den under a nearby rail pile.
Schatz has firm ideas about the pro-
per care of cheese. His cheddar now
comes in large cardboard cartons
rather than the former round
cheeseboxes, and the cartons are
turned each week to evenly distribute
the oil and properly age and cure the
contents. Cheese offered for sale is
kept on the counter in a large wood
Bowling tourney
mil at Zurich lanes
Fifty four bowlers were in competi-
tion a he Town -and Country Lanes
on Sunday. Of these, 14 were from our
own lanes.
The local house round was held
over six weeks in November and
December. Sunday roll -off was the
zone T finals to determine who would
—advance- to-the-pr-ovinciaLlevel. The_ -
top winners were Paul Ellis and
Grant Morgan with a score of plus 281•
over their average. The bowlers were
from the Town and Country Lanes
and Lucknow Listowel area.
This tournamentis sponsored by
the Canadian 5 Pin Bowlers. Associa-
tion and Walkers Special Old
Distilleries. A special thanks to these
sponsors, scorekeepers, executives,
tournament directors and everyone
else who helped make this a success.
AN OLD HAND AT THE JOB — Grading eggs has been part of the operation of Vernon Schatz' general
store in Dashwood for over 60 ears.
BLANKETS
blankets and
General store proprietor Vernon Schatz and clerk Rita Witherspoon display some of the
kept in stock in
th
rows
the
Dashwood
store.
SAY CHErSE – 'ernon Schatz cuts a slice of cheese that has been
store • t n ty: rnperdture in a glass and wood cheese box he made
himself.
Make your
money -work
• by Lera Ryan,
Fansih Resource .
Management Specialist
Have -you ever said, "Look at the
money we have spent this.year; what
' do we have to show for it?"
With the excitement of the.
Christmas season over, do you wish
you could start saving now for 1987
Christmas gift buying?
Making our family living dollars
buy what we need and want is a
challenge. Family. Financial Manage-
ment, a new home study course for
Ontario farm families; helps families
plan how to use that money before it
disappears in unexpected ways.
The course includes five lessons for
a registration of $10.00. To get more
information, contact your local
OMAF office at Clinton before
January 20.
Vehicles damaged
Four parked vehicles and one sign
were damaged when hit by other .
vehicles in Exeter during the past
week. Two of the incidents were hit
and run. •
The first of five collisions was on
Tuesday when a vehicle parked on
Main St. was struck in a hit and run.
The parked vehicle, owned by Gaynor
Mullin, Lucan, sustained damage of
5100.
Similar accidents occurred on
Tuesday,. and Wednesday. On Tues-
day,. a parked • vehicle owned by
Lowell Mount, RR 1 Brucefield, was
hit by one driven by Michelle Veri,
Exeter. Damage was $650.
1 he following day, a parked vehi-
cle owned by Walter Burton, Exeter,
was hit by one driven by Bryan Fink,
Hensall. Damage was $450.
An unknown vehicle struck a park-
ing sign on Gidley St. on Thursday
and left the scene. Damage was $100.
' Also on" Thursday, vehicles
operated by Dale Steeper, Parkhill.
and Ronald Brand, Exeter, collided
on Main St. Damage was $1,150.
The other crash occurred on Salur- ,
day at the Exeter Inn when a parked
vehicle owned by James Mountenay,
Exeter, was hit by one driven by
Bryan Baker, IIensall. Damage was •
only $30.
During the week, the local officers
laid 14 charges under the Criminal
Code, one under the Liquor Licence
Act, three under the Highway Traffic
I Act and handed out seven parking
tickets.
Huron -Middlesex Engineering Ltd. has
MOVED!
Our new address is:
414 Main St. St.
(Exeter Mall)
P.O. Box and phone number remain the same
(P.O. Box 1365, 235-1590)
4
FINANCIAL CENTRE, GODERICH
524.2773 1-800•285-5503
and. glass case built by Schatz years
ago. He has won a battle with the in-
spectors over refusing to refrigerate
hischeese. fie promised one inspector
carrying away a sample in a plastic
bag that if he could find anything
wrong with the cheese because of im-
proper storage, the man could help
himself to any merchandise in the
store. He has not hats to make good on
his promise.
Aside from Sundays and statutory
holidays, Schatz has taken one -
five -day holiday in 70 years. Even his
hobbies are connected to his business.
Last year the excess produce from his
four gardens was sold in the store.
The %business is for sale, but
years
everything must be purchased in one
lot. Schatz has had many offers to buy
the egg grading operation, but main-
tains it is an integral part of the store,
and can not be sold separately. He ex-
pects to die "in harness". and really
doesn't mind because "it'sbeen lots
of fun".
Schatz attributes his success to the
three rules for conducting a suc-
cessful business passed on to him by
his guardian: develop a personality,
control your temper and stay humble.
He can be excused if he now breaks
the third guideline and allows himself
a smidgen of justifiable pride in be-
ing among the last of a vanishing
breed.
EGG GRADING STATION
REG. N° 0-496
VERNON SCHATZ
IUrows with0 110 laboo•535000 525.000.950.000
��„ Term 3059 drys Term )0.59 drys
nelke.
WEN
1IIO%
S100000 or more.
Term 30.59 days.
ON YOUR MONEY
ealSTANDARD
TRUST
396 MAIN ST. S., EXETER
235-1060
',crab._ Canada periost InSuynCI CorporanOn
Osborne &
Hibbert Mutual
Fire Insurance
Company
Exeter, Ontario NOM • 150
(Established in 1876)
Provides Full in-
surance Coverage
for Town Dwellings
as well as Farm
Properties
DIRECTORS & ADJUSTERS
• Joc'k fforrigon RR 3 lucan 227-4305
Robert Gordner RR 2 Stoffo 3452739
'Lloyd Morrison RR 1 St. Marys 2298277
Lorne Feeney RR 2 Dublin 34 -2543
Jock Hodgert RR 1 Kirkton 229.6152
Robert Chaff, RR 5 Mitchell 348-8293
Ross Hodgert
John Moore
Joseph Unioc
AGENTS
Woodhom
Dul iln
Mitchell
229-6643
345-2512
348-9012
In the event of a loss the
director must see - the
damage before repairs are
made. •
* r
/-
LAST OF ITS KIND - Henry and Ed Post bring their eggs to the
Dashwood egg grading station. Vernon Schatz operates the lost sta-
tion in Huron County which receives eggs from flocks of under 500
birds.
xxxxxxxxx�
This H'eeks features Xv
(in effect Jan. 15, 16, 17 'v
while supplies last)
Tasty Nu
Bread
Always fresh,
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Fresh - olain, sesame, poppy or
ff%\ onion
Kaiser Rolls doz. 1.80
A
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Cherry Tarts 6/$1.69
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Always good Blueberry
XMuffins 6/$1.49
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A
z
A
X
A
n
X
Donuts - We have a large
selection
Fresh daily! Honey glazed,
bismarks, jelly -filled, apple frit-
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ritters, dutchies, long Johns and
many more. SZ 99
Every day !ow price doz.
Try some soon!
P.S. Bring in this ad for o bakers
doz.
Try our Tea Biscuits, OatmealX
Cookies and Croissants!
V
Wide
V variety of Canadian and):(,A
Imported Cheeses "fresh off V
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Finest quality block!"
Medium
Cheddar lb. $3.19X
Assorted Flavours banish Cream
Cheeses lb. $4.99
asty,
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Bakery &Cheese House xtraditional quality" since 1929
Exeter 235-0332
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