As the World Turns in Carleton Place — Soap and Ground Beef

When I was 16 my mom washed my mouth out with soap for swearing. After the first breath of a swear word, I was taken to the bathroom, and the hot water turned on. Then she lathered up that up the bar of soap like no tomorrow. She began to scrub my mouth out and forced the bar in and out while I screamed.  She ground that bar on my teeth and rubbed it all over my tongue. If that wasn’t enough she took my toothbrush out and rubbed it all over the bar.  Bunny Knight then proceeded to brush my teeth and tongue with soap until the suds were coming out. I then had to hold the bar of soap in my mouth for 10 more minutes. It was awful!!!! I tasted soap for a week– but somehow I still swear like a sailor. Oh well…

One day a long long time ago Soap Chips were introduced in Carleton Place and James Bennett had a dish of them on the counter of his store. One of his regular customers who liked to taste things spotted the dish. Without skipping a beat James told her it contained chipped cheese and to please try some. She did with a smile on her face. Soon she made an awful face and the language which followed could be expressed by a series of dots and dashes.

Seems like they were quite the pranksters at Bennetts, and Joann Voyce told me small meatballs were once thrown at her from the “other side of the meat counter”. I read about the huge teapot that hung from between the two storeys in two different spots today. The teapot advertised Salada Tea, One day in the 1924 when the town was celebrating Old Home Week, Ted and Jack Voyce climbed a ladder and painted the massive tea pot red commemorating the event.  No one knows where the tea pot is today. We can’t blame Ebay can we?:)