The Goderich Signal-Star, 1982-04-14, Page 13Bud Yeo of ,R.R. 3 Clinton works in Fran Parson's Benmiller General Store. Here she
finishes the neckline on a handknit sweater. Mrs. Parsons employs about 20 area women as
knitters. ( Photo by Joanne Buchanan)
Shelley Hill models a black cotton rib knit sweater created
by Fran Parsons. It is teamed with a yellow sash and
white cotton pants. ( Photo by Mac Campbell)
Benmiller Store combines three loves
BY JOANNE-BUCHANAN
Except for the OPEN sign -
in the front window, the Ben -
miller General Store looks
just like an ordinary neat lit-
tle white -sided house. Even
the name `Benmiller
General Store' is
misleading. •Inside, one
might expect to find the •
usual display of cigarettes,
Chocolate bars,- canned
goods, soft drinks or even
fish hooks.
But behind the somewhat
deceiving facade, one finds
instead an exclusive shop
carrying a unique line of
beautifully • hand-knit
clothes.
"It's true. We actually
spend part of our time play-
ing tourist bureau to visitors
. from the Benmiller Inn who
stop in to buy bait. I've even
thought about putting a can
of. worms out on the ;tont
step," smiles Fran Parsons,
owner of the shop. •
Mrs. Parsons, who opened
her shop a year and a half
ago, chalks the . whole situa-
tion up to `growing pains'.
She'll be the first to admit
that she should probably
spend moretime on publicity
to let people know what her.
business is all about: But she
says she isn't good at 'that
sort of thing' and would
rather\ stick to what she
knows and loves best -
designing and knitting
clothes. '
Actually, Mrs. Parsons'
has come a long way,
without the aid of a lot of
publicity, since she firstcon-
ceived the idea of a shop
specializing in original han-
dknits.
An. ambitious former real
estate agent, mother of three
and grandmother, she had
already changed her
lifestyle by moving from
fast -paced,. Toronto to the
serenity o"1 a log home in the
Benmiller area. And never
one to sit around, "she also
decided to make a new
career for herself . It was a
toss up between two things
she felt she did best -cooking
and knitting. The rest, as
they say, is history.
"I started knitting 'and
then began to wonder about
the best way to market my 45 years and Mrs. Parsons
products." thinks enough of her,skills to ,
She then bought the old let her do finishing work.
general store, gutted it and Mrs. Parsons'herself says
tracts it into a ,,combrighplete
at -h she learned,to knit from her
tractive shop complete with mother as a young girl and
a circular staircase leading has always pursued it as a
to an office and wool stock ° relaxing bobby. She now ,
room. knits every spare moment,
"Next I began searching Producing two or three
for good knitters in the area garments per week..
to assist me and things just However, as her business
took off from there," she ex- grows,. she finds she needs
plains.. more time for the ad -
Her shop has turned intoa ministrative and design -end
cottage 'industry since she of things. She does custom
now provides part-time orders for people as well as
employment for about twen- supplying handknit lines to
ty women in the area who 0 two 'boutiques in Montreal,
knit under her supervision.
"I make the patterns and
supply 'the yarn and. the
needles and the women, knit
for me. All items of clothing
are then finished at the store
for quality control," ex-
plains Mrs. Parsons.
She accepts only the most
talented knitters as
employees, most of them be-
ing hired through newspaper
ads and word-of-mouth. And
from time to time, although
she says not as often as she
should, she holds seminars
to teach new patterns and
techniques to the knitters.
"I think the women enjox
working for me because they
are- knitting fashion as op-
posed to socks. In fact, there
are a couple of widows in the
area who claim they owe
their lives to me. They were
so bored before they began
knitting for my store," she
says.
Mrs. Bud Yeo of R.R. 3
Clinton has been with Mrs.
Parsons since the beginning
of her venture.
"I didn't want to knit. at
first. I already had a job as
an assistant cook at the Lit-
tle Inn but by the time •Fran
finished talking to me, I had
enough material- to,, start
knitting a dress. Then I said
I ,would help out for a few
days when she first opened
the..store and I've been here
ever since. It's much nicer
than standing over a hot
stove;"says Mrs. Yeo.
She's not sure how she
learned to knit but says she
has been knitting for about
i
ATTENTION
VETERANS
Ex -Service Men and Women
and Dependents
THE ROYAL CANADIAN LEGION
SERVICE BUREAU OFFICER
Mr. Clare Wall
Provincial Service Officer
London, Ontario
will be visiting in the area.
Anyone wishing information or assistance regarding
war disability pensions, treatment, allowances. etc.. Is
requested to contact the service officer, or secretary of
the local branch, whose name appears below, not Tater
than April 22, 19$2 to arrange an Interview.
HAROLD YOUNG
Service Officer
PrNE 524-7145
one in Toronto, one in Ot-
tawa and one in Burlington.
"I need more time to
research colors and come up:
•with special lines to supply
these boutiques," she ex
plains. .
She says she .needs to be
able to afford the right kind
and amount of help to keep
her stock up while she at-
tends to the Marketing end of
the business. Her store is
open seven days a week all
year round and she admits
that sometimes she gets
tired. But she says she is do-
ing what she loves and would
still like her store to be
busier than it is.
"If I was in the city, I
would have no trouble at-
tracting customers but I'm
sort. of out-of-the-way here.
However, I -love Benmiller
and the people I've met here
and I 'like to think that I've
contributed in some way to
sprucing , upthe area. I feel
there is a need for such a
store here: I'm nice and cen-
tral and I'm starting to at-
tract clientele from all over
the county," she enthuses.
If there is one thing more
than any 'other that would en-
courage return visits to Mrs.
Parson's store, it would pro-
bably be the quality of her
product. She buys her wool
wholesale in Toronto and
Montreal.
"I buy only the best .and I
also look lor the unusual. I
• try to use only natural fibres
and hardly any synthetics,"
she explains.
. FARMERS
FOR A GOOD. FARM BUILDING
AT A COMPETITIVE PRICE
PHONE RAY LAMBERS CONST.
482-3305
CLINTON
FREE ESTIMATES
In addition •to her
knitwear, she carries Paula
Lishman hand knit furs.
Br Leo Chevalier ultra
suede, co-ordinates and
separates by top design
houses. Recently another
'room in the store was opened
up as a . `Grandmother's
Boutique'. It features a line
of hand smocked children's
wear by Beth Hazlitt along
with hand sewn quilts and
hand knits for children.
Even the pine furniture and
various antiques in her store
which act as display units
can be bought.
•
Recently Mrs. Parsons
held 'a fashion snow at the
Benmiller Inn featuring her
knitwear. ''Tickets for the
first show sold out• in, two
days and a second show had
to be held later in the same
day. She now hopes to have
another one in the fall.
Mrs. Parsons loves knit-
ting, she loves clothes and
she loves Benmiller, And the
Benmiller General Store is a
perfect way to combine all
three •loves.
GODERICH SIGNALSTAR, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14, 1982—PAGE 3A
You and your health (unit)
atch food code
BY KLAUS SEEGER,
C.P.H.I. (C)
Most perishable food pro-
ducts have a date stamped
or printed somewhere on the
label. This applies to all
prepackaged retail products
whose durable life is 90. days
or less. But how many people
actually understand the
purpose of this date?
The durable life, as fixed
by the manufacturer, begins
,on the date of packaging and'
includes the time of storage
or display during 'which the
food should show no ap-
preciable loss , of quality,
wholesomeness or
palatability. The date is put
on all dairy products, cold
meats and baked goods.
Most food store chains will
have their own dates for
fresh meats which they
prepare and package. It
must be noted that the fresh
meat date is usually the day
of packaging and not the
"best before" date. Fresh
meat should be used within a
few days of the date if it is
only refrigerated and not
frozen. Most stores will have
some kind of chart stating
the optimum storing times.
All types of code dates are
beneficial to both the con-
sumer and the retailer as
well as the processor. The
,date tells the consumer that
a package of vacuum packed
bologna with a "best before"
date has been recently pro-
cessed and packaged and,
therefore, should be quite
fresh. Should it have a
broken seal or spoil before
the date, somewhere along
the linebetween the . pro-
cessor and the retailer it is
possible that something went
wrong.
The code can be of great
benefit to the processor in
the event that. a problem
develops with a certain pro-
duct. A quick check of the
code date enables....him to
recall all items manufac-
Phone 524-8132
DAY OR NIGHT
Agent for 24 hr.
FILM DEVELOPING
DAVE HAYLOW
ELECTRIAL
Serving
Industrial, Commercial,
Residential Needs
524-6038..
YOUR LAST OPPORTUNITY TO SAVE
BIG BUCKS
Our Super Successful
12 MONTH
INTEREST FREE
PURCHASING
Ends Saturday, April 17 '82
Exceptional Values on Sofas &
Choirs, Lovseats, Dining room
Tables, Chain, Hutches & Buffets,
Bedroom Furniture, Waterbeds,
Appliances. Microwaves, Pictures
8, Lamps.
404,09
ItQ•
NOBODY UNDERSELLS ZI LLIAX, NOBODY!
Furniture & Appliances
KINCARDINE GODERICH LISTOWEL
Queen St. -Downtown 7ehrs Plaza - Hwy. 8 Wallace St., North
DIAL 396-4722 DIAL 524-4334 • DIAL 291-1461
('HAit(:i:X
111.1.1.1
VISA
tured in that particular
batch very quickly.
The retailer, by using the
code date, has an efficient
method of rotating stock as
well as an easy way of deter-
mining how fast a product
moves.. When a product is
slow to move, some retailers
reduce the price for a quick
sale before the date expires.
A lower price is often an in-
centive to buy even if it is on-
ly a few cents saving.
Most food purchased will
be consumed within a week
and as long as the seal is still
intact and spoilage is not evi-
dent, a product need not be
refused by the buyer. If,
after purchasing a product;
the consumer detects signs
of spoilage, most retailers
will gladly offer a refund or
replacement regardless of
whether or not `the date has
expired.
The end result of such co-
operation between the con-
sumer and the retailer is the
development of a better pro-
duct and the attainment of a
feeling of mutual satisfac-
tion.
Match
safety
Children playing with mat-
ches have started countless
accidental fires. May 1 - 7 is
Child Safety Week. Children
should be taught to use mat-
ches as a tool under adult
supervision and not for play
says the Canada Safety
Council. Impress upon them
that improper use can lead
to serious burns or death.
LK
*RINGS •NECKLAC&S
•BRACELETS *BEADS
c'hra gem.
SI ST. DAVID, GODERICN
524-9972
GOOD
NEWS
The government has up -dated the Canadian Howse In-
sulation Program to include homes built up to Decem-
ber 31. 1970. If your hoovers was built before that date
you are eligible for a government grant to up -grade
your Insulation uP to °SW."0.
PHONE NOW FOR A FREE ESTIMATE
ADAMSON INSULATION
LUCKNOW 3328-2113
GODERICH AREA 524-2033
EST. 1973
GOLDSMITH -SILVERSMITH)
JEWELLERY DESIGNER, REPAIRS
ALSO
CERAMICS, WEAVING, WOOD, ART, GLASS
CANADIAN AWARD WINNING DESIGNER
524-4509
55 WEST ST., GODERICH, ONTARIO
INCOME TAX RETURNS
FARMING,
PERSONAL,
BUSINESS,
Will pick up Tax data on request
SECRETARIAL SERVICES
BOOKKEEPING
PHOTOCOPYING
r#,;rA?
rJ
JOHN S. McKEOWN
10A The Square
God.rlch
524-2332
ONTARIO FARM ASSISTANCE
PROGRAM EXPANDED.
May now
be diib1e.
s M ,
BLaii
Hili\
We've broadened the eligibility for
the 1982 Farm Adjustment Assistance Program
so we can help more fanners.
For farmers facing financial .
difficulties, the program offers
financial assistance and financial
management counselling.
BROADENED ELIGIBILITY
The farmer must have equity in the
farm business of between 100n and a
new upper limit of not more than
60%. Present interest and principal
payments must exceed 200o of
operating. costs. •
The total value of food or tobacco
products.produced on the farm in
1981 has been reduced to $12,000.
ASSISTANCE
Farmers can take advantage of one,
or more, of the following options:
1. Deferral of interest by the tender
on loan(s) for a period of six
months backed by a Provincial
guarantee. During this time, the
lender will not compound the
interest. ,
2. An interest reduction grant on
floating-rate loans'and short term,
fixed-rate loans for operating
purposes.only for up to 12 months.
The maximum grant will be 5
percentage points. Loans may be •
reduced to a level as low as 120/0.
3. An additional line of credit for
operating purposes only, guaranteed
by the Province of Ontario. This
new credit would be provided by "
the lender at the prime rate for up
to 12 months.
APPNICATIONS
For further information on this
pi-3gram and application instriictions
see your lender; or visit an OMAF
county office; or write 1982 Farm
Assistance Program, Queen's Park,
Toronto, Ontario M7A 1B7,
Ministry of
'Agriculture and Food
Ontario
Dennis Timbrell, Minister
Duncan Allan, Deputy Minister