Coderre Grocery Store — Remembering M. P. “Mickey” Coderre

photo- almonte.com

1956

Forty two years is more than half of the allotted span of life, but that is the length of time that Mr. M. P. Coderre has been in the grocery business on Bridge Street. Now Mr. Coderre is in the process of selling his business and property although the deal is not completed. He is holding an auction sale of household furniture on Saturday, July 28 but expects to be in town for at least a month after that date. He plans to retire and live with relatives in Ottawa.

During the 42 years he has been in business, Mr. Coderre has seen a lot of ups and downs. He often remarks that the worst days of.his career were the hungry 30’s. It was so hard to turn people down and it was also difficult to run a business with too much credit. Mr. Coderre was known to have a kindly heart and he was in a difficult position. But he also had a practical mind and helped people of little means by not allowing them to buy things that could be classed as luxury items.

He was highly regarded for his integrity and built up a solid, steady business. Mr. Coderre was an active member of the Almonte Chamber of Commerce and it was at his invitation that John Fisher of the CBC first visited Almonte and fell in love with it. He served as councillor for four years and headed the polls the first time he was elected. He served as Mayor of Almonte for one day but that is another story. He has the unusual initials of M. P. and often joked that he was the only man in Almonte entitled to use those initials without going before the county electorate.

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The Ottawa Citizen
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada16 May 1952, Fri  •  Page 17

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The Ottawa Citizen
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada18 Dec 1997, Thu  •  Page 45

My father, M. P. Coderre, was born in Almonte in 1886, some 30 years after the alleged visit, but he was very knowledgeable and proud of the town’s history. He was a merchant on Bridge Street for over 40 years and during that time he served as a town councilor, mayor (for seven days) and as a member and officer of the chamber of commerce. He never missed an opportunity to talk about the famous people who came to or from Almonte. It was his persistence that brought John Fisher, later known as “Mr. Canada,” to Almonte in the early ’40s to research a radio show that he gave on Almonte. The name of that particular episode was “The general would be pleased.” The story of the town’s naming, as I heard from my father, is that by the mid-i8oos, four communities, each with its own name, had grown up around the mills that were powered by the three sets of waterfalls on the Mississippi River. Waterford was one name in 1853, but there were also the villages of Victoria and Ramsay. 

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The Ottawa Citizen
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada16 May 1942, Sat  •  Page 27

George E. Gomme was president of the recently re-activated Almonte Chamber of Commerce. George and his executive had one main objective in mind: to attract new industries to town and to encourage prospective builders as far away as Ottawa.

Dr. B. W. Pickering, A. McCormick; R. J. France Scott Ottawa, to settle in Almonte. Other Chamber of Commerce officers concentrating on the problem of revitalizing this once busy textile town are: Karl Paupst, vice-president; P. W. Strickland, second vice-president; C. J. Newton, secretary-treasurer and eight council members: E. S. Winslow Spragge- Dr. B.W. Pickering, Louis Peterson, M. P. Coderre, W. A MCormick, R.J. France, W.E. Scott and Albert T. Gale.

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The Ottawa Citizen
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada26 Jul 1956, Thu  •  Page 18

Starts in Almonte
Returning to his native town, Dr, Kelly practised for several years with the late Dr,. Lynch and then
hung out his shingle on Bridge Street in an office located next the store of Mr. M. P. Coderre. In 1902, he
purchased the residence and surgery of the late Dr. Burns, where he lived and practised up to the time of his retirement in 1945 when he purchased the present family home on Elgin Street

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The Ottawa Citizen
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada04 May 1943, Tue  •  Page 11

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The Ottawa Journal
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada14 Nov 1942, Sat  •  Page 4

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The Ottawa Journal
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada07 Sep 1955, Wed  •  Page 2

Name:	Michael Peter Coderre
Gender:	Male
Age:	46
Birth Year:	abt 1886
Birth Place:	Almonte. Ontario
Marriage Date:	21 Nov 1932
Marriage Place:	Lanark, Lanark, Ontario, Canada
Father:	Peter Coderre
Mother:	Anne Coderre
Spouse:	Alice Agnes Burke

Michael Peter Coderre
BIRTH
8 May 1886Almonte, Lanark County, Ontario, Canada
DEATH
4 May 1961 (aged 74)Lucerne, Outaouais Region, Quebec, Canada
BURIAL
Saint Marys Roman Catholic Cemetery
Almonte, Lanark County, Ontario, Canada

Pakenham General Store 1987–Yvonne Hayes

Tosh’s Butcher Store 1910

Clippings McCormicks Almonte

Memories of Stedmans Almonte

Remembering the Martins — Hardware Store Almonte

McAdams Store Almonte

Old Almonte Photo Collection — In Back of the D. W. Snedden Drugstore 1953

Needham’s Shoe Store in Almonte- Memories

Pakenham General Store 1987–Yvonne Hayes

1987

Walking into the Pakenham General Store is like turning back the clock century. “It’s the ultimate general store,” says co-owner Yvonne Hayes, surveying the vast array of modern food merchandise displayed on wooden shelves reaching to the ceiling. For a reporter searching for a Ottawa Valley general store in an of high-pressure sales glitz, the store, dating back to about 1840, is a living museum, a breath-taking blend of past and present.

From the basement storeroom where empty kerosene and coal oil drums beside modern merchandise and bark-covered pillars, to the attic where dusty century-old letters and records and 120-year-old hoop skirts sit, store is treasure trove. Wide plank floors run straight and true as the day they were laid. In chalk on a massive attic beam young girl has written her name: Leila. She was Leila Scott, a daughter of the original store family, and in the 1890s she wrote her name in secret places over the store.

In the back, amid storage sheds that once housed a tailor shop and feed and seed, there is a tiny brick shed with a peaked roof. It was the ash house where farmers brought in their wood ashes (used to make soap) to trade for merchandise. The Hayes, who bought the store 1980, recently put the store, merchandise and antiques and an adjoining six-bedroom house on the market for $375,000. John Hayes has a heart condition and can’t take carrying heavy grocery items up steep stairs much longer. Their realtor was besieged with calls and they are close to a deal.

“It was hard decision to make, but we think we have found people who will carry on the traditions.” A century ago, there were similar general stores at every country crossroads. They sold food, clothing, boots, hardware, feed and seed and farm equipment and they took eggs, butter, wood ash and farm products in barter. They handled local mail and were the nerve centres of the area, keeping everybody up to date on the latest news and gossip.

Friends gathered around potbelly stoves to tell jokes and discuss crops and the weather. “People only bought the weekly to see if the editor got the news right,” said one oldtimer. But good roads, the lure of big city wages and the Depression wiped out many of the traditional country stores. Most that survived close to cities were forced to specialize to stay in business.

CLIPPED FROM
The Lanark Era
Lanark, Ontario, Canada21 Mar 1906, Wed  •  Page 1

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The Lanark Era
Lanark, Ontario, Canada15 Nov 1911, Wed  •  Page 1

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The Lanark Era
Lanark, Ontario, Canada22 Jan 1919, Wed  •  Page 4

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The Lanark Era
Lanark, Ontario, Canada18 Aug 1915, Wed  •  Page 1

Hot off the Press –Old Appleton Post Office & General Store –Sarah More

Appleton General Store – Names Names Names— Wesley West Appleton and Almonte Merchant

The 64 Million Dollar Question About the Hill General Store

Clydesville General Store

General Store Prices 1881 — George Dawson’s Store

Bankruptcy– Robert Greenshield’s General Store of Carleton Place

Appleton–Memories of Arthur Robinson –The Federated Women’s Institutes of Eastern Ontario

Also read-Poutine Curds From the Appleton Cheese Factory?

Appleton General Store – Names Names Names— Wesley West Appleton and Almonte Merchant

The Appleton General Store and Polly Parrot

Hot off the Press –Old Appleton Post Office & General Store –Sarah More

Snippets– James Wilson and Nelson Syme — Appleton

About WI
Women’s Institute is a local, provincial, national and international organization that promotes women, families and communities. Our goal is to empower women to make a difference.

About FWIC

The idea to form a national group was first considered in 1912. In 1914, however, when the war began the idea was abandoned. At the war’s end, Miss Mary MacIsaac, Superintendent of Alberta Women’s Institute, revived the idea. She realized the importance of organizing the rural women of Canada so they might speak as one voice for needed reforms, and the value of co-ordinating provincial groups for a more consistent organization. In February 1919, representatives of the provinces met in Winnipeg, Manitoba, to form the Federated Women’s Institutes of Canada.

The identity of the Women’s Institute still lies profoundly in its beginnings. The story of how this historic organization came to be is one that resonates with women all over the world, and is engrained in the mission and vision Ontario WI Members still live by today. CLICK here–

Snippets of Ashton-Blacksmiths — Foundry MacFarlane- Donna McFarlane

photo from Tweedsmuir Book on Stittsville – Donna McFarlane

Archie Blair died 1894. Mary his wife died 1915. If she was living there as the history said fire would have been between those years.

The Ottawa Journal
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada18 Nov 1896, Wed  •  Page 3

The Ottawa Journal
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada10 Feb 1900, Sat  •  Page 7

photo from Tweedsmuir Book on Stittsville – Donna McFarlane

also read-The Fleming House –Ashton — Seth Hamilton

Looking for Photos of ‘The Castle’ in Ashton

CLIPPED FROM
The Ottawa Journal
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada16 Jan 1893, Mon  •  Page 4

CLIPPED FROM
The Ottawa Journal
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada16 Jan 1893, Mon  •  Page 4

What’s in the Middle of Middleville? — The Buchanan Scrapbook

With files from The Keeper of the Scrapbooks — Christina ‘tina’  Camelon Buchanan — Thanks to Diane Juby— click here..

I found this online– was this Greer’s store? Cheryl Pinkham
March 9, 2020  · 

Charbonneau’s Grocery Store, back when my Grandparents Harvey & Beatrice Greer owned it.

 Glenda Mahoney--We used stop at the Hopetown store on our way to visit family. Small world for sure. We always stopped in Hopetown to buy a glass bottle of coke. We could hardly wait to finish the soda so we could fill the empty bottles at a little natural spring. The water was the real treat. We thought our dad was magic because we were able to drink this outdoor water. I think it was located in the French Line area. Water came out of a rock crevice.
My brother remembers the spring as well but only remembers it was on a side road off of 511. It ran down from the top of a hill through a crevice in the rocks and could be accessed from the side of the road. Invisible unless

Middleville Museum

Calendars-2 Greer’s General Store-W.W. Cameron General Store D case 11 bottom, storage

Bankruptcy– Robert Greenshield’s General Store of Carleton Place

The Appleton General Store and Polly Parrot

The Hopetown General Store– Looking for Memories

Clydesville General Store

Hot off the Press –Old Appleton Post Office & General Store –Sarah More

Appleton General Store – Names Names Names— Wesley West Appleton and Almonte Merchant

General Store Prices 1881 — George Dawson’s Store

Hot off the Press –Old Appleton Post Office & General Store –Sarah More

Old Appleton Post Office & General Store,
473 River Road, Appleton, Ontario
(West Half Lot 3, Concession 10, Township of Ramsay, County of Lanark)
February 2020
By Sarah More for the Municipality of Mississippi Mill’s Heritage Committee
Present Owner: Unknown

Present Use: Private Home

I love Sarah More… so I am only going to put a few things here and you can jet off online and read the rest here..

This two-and-a-half-storey brick building  built in 1850 is one of the oldest commercial buildings in Appleton. It is one of the few remaining examples of commercial brick architecture in the town. The building has been used until recently as a retail establishment since the mid-1850s. It was established in con-junction with the development of the Post Office by Albert Teskey, a long-time Justice of the Peace and sometime Reeve of Ramsay Township. It has served the town of Appleton throughout its’ growth and has, therefore, been involved significantly in the daily life of the town.

Original and Subsequent Owners: An 1829 Crown Patent, for all 200 acres, was granted to the Canada Company. In 1842, they sold the same to James Wilson for $550.00. 14 February 1851, James Wilson sold 65 acres of the West half of lot 3 to William Wilson for $1.00. Four months later, William & Flora Wilson sold to Albert Teskey for $64.00. 26 Jan 1883, Teskey sold to Duncan Miller for $95.00. It has been owned by various owners since that time.

Owners of general stores in Appleton:(6) Albert Teskey (1857-c.1883) Arthur (1860-1883) Thomas C. Arthur (1883-1892) Wesley West (1892-1899) John A. McGregor (1899-1931) David McNeely(1931-1937) Robert M. Baird (1931-1939) William Russell Lyons (1939-c.1949) W.A. Gambell (c.1950-c.1960) Kathleen Neil (1961-1970?) Postmasters in Appleton:(6) Albert Teskey (1857-1883) Thomas C. Arthur (1883-1888) John M. Munro (1888-1889) William Garvin (1889-1912) Mrs. Susan Garvin (1912-1913) John A. McGregor (1913-1931) David McNeely (1931-1937) Robert M. Baird (1937-1939) William Russell Lyons (1939-1946

But I did find this below and thanks Sarah for using my history blogs for reference– made me smile..

The Ottawa Citizen
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
10 Sep 1979, Mon  •  Page 2

The 1916 brass cash register went for $575,’ the old wood stove for $400 and the heavy wooden showcase for $150. With them went 24-year-old Jill Teschke’s dream of operating a thriving, fully-restored, old-fashioned general store. By the end of the day Saturday, everything from groceries off the shelves to the antique scale proclaiming “Honest Weight” went on the block in an auction at Appleton General Store.

Competition from the more modern establishments of Carleton Place ended two years of effort by Teschke to refurbish the 100-year-old store in the village of Appleton, five miles to the north on the Mississippi River. “These things belong here, I feel they shouldn’t have to leave,” said Teschke as auctioneers attempted to coax up prices from the back of a pick-up truck parked on the store’s doorstep.

I will miss it,” she said. Tescke moved to the Appleton area from Ottawa about five years ago and restored a house in the village of about 200. She sold the house and decided to take on the brick store with stained glass over the entrance that once sold everything from clothing to farm machinery. But a lack of business combined with a burdensome workload led to the project’s demise. County horseshoe-throwing teams competed boistrously across the street from the auction as the 200 bidders slowly claimed the contents of the store, previously operated for 30 years by W. A. “Sliver” Gambell and his wife Millie.

Teschke said she went heavily in debt to finance the store and she didn’t think the auction would cover the expense of its purchase and renovation, which included new wiring, a new chimney and antiques. John McGregor operated the store during its heyday in the I920s but was forced to close when the depres- do is block collected from the area. “

She is well-liked around here,” said auctioneer Howard McNeely of his client. “I know people who would wait to build up a big shopping order and drive here just to help her out.” “It’s a damn shame to see the store close,” said Appleton resident Stewart Neil. Neil’s father in-law John McGregor operated the store during its heyday I the 1920s but was forced to close when the depression hit.” “We’ll miss its handiness but she can’t compete with the chain stores.” Teschke still lives above the store and said she will probably try and sell the building privately before heading back to university. “I know how much she hated to close it down,” said Neil. “She said if she wins a sweep stake, the first thing she’ll open it up again.”

“In A History of the Appleton School, S.S. No. 11 Ramsay, Laura O’Brien Russell remembers that when
John A. McGregor operated the store (1899-1931) he sold: yard goods (cloth), bananas, lanterns,
harness parts, wash tubs, copper boilers, smoked hams, round of cheese sold in chunks, candies, bull’s
eyes, licorice pipes, sour balls & suckers.”

“My husband’s grandfather, John Anthony McGregor (married to Margaret Christine Newman), owned
and operated the general store in Appleton from 1899-1931. He also ran the Post Office from 1913-1931.He lost everything except his house during the depression because he gave too much credit. He
said he couldn’t see people go hungry.” “A few years ago he [David McNeely] returned to Appleton and in partnership with Mr. Robert Baird and conducted a general store until his death” on March 1, 1937.

Bev Fergusson– I recall visiting Millie’s store occasionally. A huge treat for us as kids. Milllie was always so friendly and cheerful!

Judy SalleyMy great grandfather Thomas Campbell Arthur ran the store at one time.

North Lanark Museum

You can also read

Appleton General Store – Names Names Names— Wesley West Appleton and Almonte Merchant

The Appleton General Store and Polly Parrot

Bev Shoots
1h  · 

This is my Mom and dad and my Sister Ann
Mom and Daddy had the store after the Lyons
My Dad had such a great lawn there, he definitely had a green thumb
Clematis, three colors on the side wall
Evening primrose and the mock orange was a favorite of my Sister and I
Such a great place to grow up and life long friends who are our family to us

Kevin DeeveyLater owned by architect Julian Smith.He had his office on the second floor.I worked there for about a year.Was nice to go for a swim in the river at lunch

Curtis Webster
 William Russell Lyons and W.A. Gambell. Former general store.

Tom WrightMarc Old General store in Appleton. W.A. Gambell was my best friend’s, Dad. Her mom ran the store as we grew up as kids. This is where all the kids gathered in the mornings to catch the school bus. It is falling into disrepair these days.

April 2023

Courtney Zieman

orptSsdneoi30m0u481f4mg05fggf1223a3a60601526l18h19h4925a661t 

Photo from Julie Odin- The Old Mill Manor · 

The old Appleton general store–

Another piece of history gone

Gord Smith

I remember as a kid taking the bus that Danny McCrary owned and drove from Glen Island . The end of his route was the stop right in front of the Appleton store and on Friday he would let us off the bus to go in the store and make purchases. Mostly bubble gum and penny candy . Although my sister would often get milk and bread for the house. If I remember correctly Danny would deadhead to Appleton one week and and not the next week . Great guy , fair and loved C.K B Y radio always on the bus speakers. Sad to hear that we lost another great old building. Cheers 

Appleton General Store – Names Names Names— Wesley West Appleton and Almonte Merchant

The Appleton General Store and Polly Parrot

Pakenham General Store 1987–Yvonne Hayes

The 64 Million Dollar Question About the Hill General Store

Clydesville General Store

General Store Prices 1881 — George Dawson’s Store

Bankruptcy– Robert Greenshield’s General Store of Carleton Place

Appleton General Store – Names Names Names— Wesley West Appleton and Almonte Merchant

 

The history of Appleton’s general stores and post office are interwoven. Albert Teskey, brother of mill owners Robert and Joseph, was the first to open a general store in Appleton. He was also the first postmaster in the village. Albert served as postmaster from 1857 to 1883.

In 1857 the Post Office came to “Teskeyville”, but since another community was already operating under that name, the community was renamed “Appleton”. Throughout Appleton’s history the owner of the general store was also quite often the postmaster.

The general store always sold a variety of items. In A History of the Appleton School, S.S. No. 11 Ramsay, Laura O’Brien Russell remembers that when John A. McGregor operated the store (1899-1931) he sold: yard goods (cloth), bananas, lanterns, harness parts, wash tubs, copper boilers, smoked hams, round of cheese sold in chunks, candies, bull’s eyes, licorice pipes, sour balls & suckers. North Lanark Regional Museum

Owners of general stores in Appleton:
Albert Teskey (1857-c.1883)
Thomas Arthur (1860-1883)
Thomas C. Arthur (1883-1892)
Wesley West (1892-1899)
John A. McGregor (1899-1931)
David McNeely(1931-1937)
Robert M. Baird (1931-1939)
William Russell Lyons (1939-c.1949)
W.A. Gambell (c.1950-c.1960)
Kathleen Neil (1961-1970?)

Postmasters in Appleton:
Albert Teskey (1857-1883)
Thomas C. Arthur (1883-1888)
John M. Munro (1888-1889)
William Garvin (1889-1912)
Mrs. Susan Garvin (1912-1913)
John A. McGregor (1913-1931)
David McNeely (1931-1937)
Robert M. Baird (1937-1939)
William Russell Lyons (1939-1946)
Mrs. Jessie J. Lyons (1946-1949)
Mrs. Mildred Gambell (1950-1953)
Mrs. Violet Gladish (1954-1955)
Mrs. Slades Dowdall (1955)
Mrs. Mildred Gambell (1955-1960)
Mrs. Kathleen Neil (1961-1970)

Account Statement Appleton Ont, January 14, 1899 W. West General Merchant
14 January 1899
Appleton, Town of Mississippi Mills, Ontario, Canada- North Lanark Regional Museum

 

 

Wesley operated a general the W. West General Store in Appleton from 1892 to 1900, he then moved to Almonte where he opened the W.W. West General Store.

Wesley West’s general store, worth about $22,000.  He is away at Toronto it is said the insurance is about $15,000. (Merchants complained valuable merchandise was stolen after the fire and The Almonte Gazette reminded everyone that looters were shot on sight during the great Toronto fire)–The Almonte Fire of 1909

 

NLRM 2012.55.141

1918. B. Plunkett, E. Boyle, W. Oliver, E. Young, O. MacF., W. Johnston, A. Wylie, M. West, F. Lundy. Seated – G. Johnston, E. Jameison.

Sheila Babb and Ann E. Love are descendants of the Teskey family that operated the Mississippi Woollen Mills in Appleton during the 1800s. They are also related to Wesley West who married Sarah Ethel Teskey in 1900. Wesley operated a general the W. West General Store in Appleton from 1892 to 1900, he then moved to Almonte where he opened the W.W. West General Store. North Lanark Regional Museum

Wesley and Ethel had several children in Almonte including Ethel Muriel West who is listed in the above photograph as “M. West”. Muriel married R. Oliver MacFarlane who is listed in the photo above as “O. MacF.” R. Oliver MacFarlane was an avid photographer and there is a large collection of photographs at the museum from the years 1918 and 1919 when he was a junior and senior at Almonte High School.

 

Sheila Babb & Ann E. Love

Interviewed July 24, 2012 by Eleanor Wright
Catalogue No.: 2012.62.1
Duration: 25 minutes
Photo: L-R: Sheila, Ann, Eleanor

Sheila Babb and Ann E. Love are the descendents of the Teskey family of Appleton and the West family of Almonte. During a summer 2012 visit, the two cousins shared some of their family history.

Sheila Babb and Ann E. Love are descendents of the Teskey family that built the grist mill, saw mill and woollen mill in Appleton during the early 19th century. As part of their visit to Appleton they also received a tour of the former Robert Teskey Home, courtesy of current owner Julie Odin. In the interview the cousins provide details on the history of the Teskey family and explain how Sarah Ethel Winifred Teskey married Wesley West the owner of a general store in Appleton. In 1900 the couple moved to Almonte and opened the W.W. West General Store.

 

The Gazette
Montreal, Quebec, Quebec, Canada
22 Apr 1936, Wed  •  Page 8

This is a wonderful interview for those interested in the early history of Appleton and Almonte, and the importance of family history.

In addition to participating in the oral interview the two cousins also made a large donation to the museum of photographs and archival material related to the Teskey, West and MacFarlane families (Accession No. 2012.55).

 

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The Ottawa Citizen
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
30 Dec 1941, Tue  •  Page 9

1941

Courtney Zieman

orptSsdneoi30m0u481f4mg05fggf1223a3a60601526l18h19h4925a661t  · 

The old Appleton general store

Ivan and Phyllis McLellan McDonald’s Corners

 

1989

In 1989 McLellan’s store in McDonalds Corners appeared untouched by time. In one corner there was a century-old safe with the original owner’s name on it. In another, there’s an old coke carton dating back to the time when you could get six for a quarter. The store was built 120 years ago when boots were $1.50 and two pounds of sugar cost 32 cents.

The McLellan family bought it 41 years ago and Ivan has been working there ever since. But Ivan and Phyllis McLellan are selling out and leaving the store at the end of the month. “(Dollar) loonies have been about the only drastic change over the years,” says employee Janet Stewart. “They’ve been good neighbors and good bosses,” she says, with tears forming in her eyes.

Step inside the store and it’s easy to imagine the smoke-filled nights in the 1940s when villagers hunkered down every Saturday to swap hunting tales while the town’s telephone switchboard occasionally lit up in the corner. Long gone is the switchboard, the bulk foods and the harness parts. What remains are the smiles, cheerful greetings and good old-fashioned service of the McLellans.

The couple is selling the store after 41 years of working six days a week because they say they’re tired. The McLellans say Bill and Shirley Bradbury of Balderson are taking over the Valley store and plan to change the name, but little else. The McLellans are taking many memories with them as they retire to another house in the hamlet. Like the time 10 years ago when a man tied his horse to one of the veranda posts. “We looked out the window and there he was running off post and all down the road,” says Ivan.

And the time a busload of children weathered an ice storm in their cramped quarters. “We opened up some spaghetti cans and warmed them up,” says Phyllis. McLellan’s is corner store, pharmacy, post office, farm supplies store, souvenir store and local welcome wagon all in one. Keys for the recreation hall are kept there in case anyone needs to get in. Notices of meetings line the front counter. They even cash pay cheques.

Many of the people of McDonalds Corners, population 70, say the couple will be missed in this hamlet about 25 km northwest of Perth. At the end of the month when regulars come to pay off the credit accounts kept in small ledger books under the cash register, it will be their last business dealings with the McLellans. “All I know is when you ask for something once and Ivan doesn’t have it, he’ll have it the next time you come in for sure,” says Bob Harper, while Phyllis gathers all the goods on his shopping list.

The lifetime customer goes there “pritty near every day” and many times twice. “They’ve provided service above and beyond the call of duty,” says Hazel Standing, a customer of five years. She remembers the time she banged on the couple’s door on a Sunday asking them to open up the store to get medication for her sick children. “Of course they helped.”

“It’s like losing a part of the family,” says Doris Fitzpatrick, a customer of four years, after moving to the area from Ottawa. “You’re a person here,” she says, comparing the shop to the “impersonal” big chains of the city. “When I was a newcomer here from Ottawa they were friendly faces who told me where to go and what to do because I didn’t know the area.” “We’ll miss the people coming in every day,” adds Phyllis. “We’ve made a lot of friends.”

 

Information where you can buy all Linda Seccaspina’s books-You can also read Linda in The Townships Sun and theSherbrooke Record and and Screamin’ Mamas (USA

Come and visit the Lanark County Genealogical Society Facebook page– what’s there? Cool old photos–and lots of things interesting to read. Also check out The Tales of Carleton Place. Tales of Almonte and Arnprior Then and Now

 

The Thomas Alfred Code Journal – Letters-Part 22- Code Family–Field Day at “The Hill” (McDonald’s Corners)

The Hopetown General Store– Looking for Memories

Clydesville General Store

General Store Prices 1881 — George Dawson’s Store

The 64 Million Dollar Question About the Hill General Store

The 64 Million Dollar Question About the Hill General Store

Photo McRae Family

 

It seems that we have been all up and down the Valley with this one. But, yesterday Penny Trafford emailed me. She is highly knowledgeable with local history and here is what she said. I think a trip to Galetta is in store..:)

 

Hi Linda, about the store everyone thought was in Braeside, the store did look very familiar to me from my childhood. I could recall being in the car with my Dad and driving past it. My cousin answered the mystery tonight of it’s location. This store was in Galetta. My Dad grew up in Galetta. The next info is from my cousin Phyllis Proulx. In Galetta there was Kenny Smith across from him was the Wallace’s the store was across from Wallace’s after you cross the tracks from Arnprior on the left before you turn to go to Mohrs Corners-where they used to go to school.

Thank you Penny!

Photo McRae Family

 

Clipped from

1. The Ottawa Citizen,
2. 12 Jun 1926, Sat,
3. Page 28

 

Clipped from

1. The Ottawa Citizen,
2. 16 May 1910, Mon,
3. Page 5

 

Information where you can buy all Linda Seccaspina’s books-You can also read Linda in The Townships Sun and theSherbrooke Record and and Screamin’ Mamas (USA

Come and visit the Lanark County Genealogical Society Facebook page– what’s there? Cool old photos–and lots of things interesting to read. Also check out The Tales of Carleton Place. Tales of Almonte and Arnprior Then and Now

 

Found the Location of the W.R. Hill General Store?

Looking for Information on W. R. Hill General Store

Looking for Information on W. R. Hill General Store

 

 

Looking for information on the W.R. Hill General Store. The McRae family said it  is Arnprior? I have looked everywhere and found nothing.

 

 

 

Pearl Neill standing in front of the W.R.

Douglas Mccomb said :Do not think this was an Arnprior business. No mention of a Hill’s general store that I can remember. Someone would have mentioned it in the back when for sure. Looks like a prosperous business too.

 

All photos from the McRae family

 

 

Information where you can buy all Linda Seccaspina’s books-You can also read Linda in The Townships Sun andScreamin’ Mamas (USA)

Come and visit the Lanark County Genealogical Society Facebook page– what’s there? Cool old photos–and lots of things interesting to read. Also check out The Tales of Carleton Place.

 

McRae Family

Where Have All the Flowers Gone? Benson McRae

 

Arnprior The Saw Mill Town 1900

The House at Sand Point

Photos: Sand Point flood

The Jinxed House of Crown Point