Superior Restaurant- Almonte- newspaper clipping-Almonte Gazette
David Harum (vanilla ice cream, crushed strawberry, crushed pineapple, whipped cream, and cherry) which I learned came from a best selling novel in the early 20th century; David Harum; A Story of American Life 1899.
Unfortunately, though, when you ask for a Tin Roof or a David Harum, the young folks behind the counter have no idea what you’re talking about. Apparently the recipes for the Tin Roof with Spanish peanuts and the David Harum with fruit sauce have been lost.
“In 1913 with commendable enterprise, Kanelakos Brothers have refitted their store on Foster Street and changed it into an up-to-date ice cream parlor. Joe has an eye for the beautiful at all times and the beautiful is much in evidence in the transformation that has taken place. He has well named his store the Palm Gardens, where things are cool and clean, An up-to-date soda fountain has been installed. Ice cream sodas and fresh fruits will be featured at this store now, with of course, cigars and tobaccos.”The Palm Gardens had wrough iron chairs and tables, huge palm tees and lots of lace curtains. It also had tulip shaped chandelier lights hanging from the ceiling and also ceiling fans. There was no mechanical refrigeration and treats such as a David Harum Sundae could be purchased for 15 cents.
The Palm Gardens had wrough iron chairs and tables, huge palm tees and lots of lace curtains. It also had tulip shaped chandelier lights hanging from the ceiling and also ceiling fans. There was no mechanical refrigeration Treats such as a David Harum Sundae could be purchasesd for 15 cents. NOTE: David Harum Sundae (vanilla ice cream, crushed strawberry, crushed pineapple, whipped cream, and cherry) which I learned came from a best selling novel David Harum; A Story of American Life 1899. In 1918 they opened a Tea Room on the location serving soups, pie, sandwiches and all kinds of soft drinks as well as home made ice cream and candies during this time. Ice cream was kept in round steel pots immersed in a brine solution made from chopped ice and rock salt kept either in a large wooden pail or containers designed for this purpose. In the late 1920’s mechanical refrigeration was introduced.
Kanelakos Brothers also had a smoke shop and a billiards room on the second floor. Some of the goodies in 1930: pecan cream roll 50¢ lb., Brazil cream roll 60¢ lb. cream fudge 50¢ lb.In 1935 Chris Moskos purchased the business from Malloy & Williams and changes the name to the Perth Tea Room and operates an ice cream parlor and restaurant. He also manufactures a variety of home-made candy. In 1937 Moskos put in machinery to make his own ice cream which he sold in bulk and packages. In 1948 he moved to a new location on Gore Street to open the Perth Tea Room (The Perth Restaurant location) and Candyland. —Perth Remembered
This is an interesting photograph of Johnson’s “Nickel Theatre”. (Admission was 5 cents.) “She Was His Mother – A Big Human Drama” seemed to be the main attraction of the day. The theatre was located in the Masonic Temple Building, later the Carleton Place Canadian newspaper offices, and most recently, the home of Apple Cheeks Consignment Store. Pop in to the store and gaze up at the black tin ceilings – the one remnant remaining of the theatre today… Carleton Place and Beckwith Heritage Museum
Carleton Place
The ice cream shop used to be on the other side of the Roxy Theatre. After the movie some of the kids went to left side of the building where Caldwell Bankers is now located to Ed Keys Ice Cream Parlor. They handed over their money to Bertha Rose and Marjorie (Douglas) Rintoul for either a large scoop ice cream cone for 5 cents or a 15 cents sundae with peanuts and maple syrup.
Marj remembers the high ceilings, the wide bladed ceiling fans, and the glass topped tables.When the ice cream shop vacated the building it became the office and repair shop of Beatty Washers and the manager was Dan Craig and his salesman was Gordon Bassett. That site later became the liquor store in 1945 when they moved from their former location on Bridge Street in the old Munro Archery Shop with Leo McDiarmid as manager and Harold Robertson as the clerk paying a monthly rent of $45.
“I remember the liquor store being across from the Carleton Place Post Office- You had to go fill out a form to get your liquor”.-–Anonymous
Who Was David Harum?
Written by retired Syracuse, New York banker, Edward Noyes Westcott, the work was rejected by six publishers before being accepted for publication by D. Appleton & Company. Published in the fall of 1898, some six months after the author’s death, it sold an impressive 400,000 copies during the following year. Although the book contains the mandatory love story, the character and philosophy of the title character, small town banker and horse trader David Harum, expressed in the dialect of 19th-century rural central New York is the focus of the book.
You had to go to a candy store or drugstore to get ice cream in days gone by because home freezer storage was rare in those days. The ice man would have his shoulder draped with a wet, dirty potato sack on which a huge block of ice balanced. Then he’d heave the block into our ice box, scraping the corners if it didn’t fit inside the space. And that was for refrigeration, not freezing.
A Mello-Roll was a three-inch-long ice cream drum about one inch in diameter, wrapped in peel-away paper with blue print on it that sometimes blotted onto the ice cream itself. The candy store operator would peel the paper off gingerly and drop the roll into the rectangular collar of a short-stemmed cone with a flat bottom. Ice cream was sheer velveteen in those days, a texture so silky the tongue actually slid across the ice cream with each lick. The richness of the cream was probably double that of today’s rich ice creams. It was well after World War II when Mello-Roll disappeared from the scene. Candy stores no longer carried it and the memory has faded.
Harvey Levine said: They were made by Borden’s. I believe Borden’s used three different brand names: Borden’s, Horton’s and Reid’s. All three brands were made in the same factory using different labels. One of the special features of the cone was that it had a flat bottom, enabling the server to place it on the counter while he or she took cash and made change (with the exception noted below).
As you remember,the cone was cylindrical from the bottom, rising to a rectangular shape at the top, deep enough to accommodate the lengthwise cross-section of the cylinder of ice cream. The only available flavors were chocolate, vanilla and, I think, strawberry (in those days, ice cream came in very few flavors anywhere).
An advantage to the operator was that inventory could be tightly controlled, unlike scooped ice cream. The server never touched the ice cream, since the customer merely had to grab the two ends of the wrapper and unroll the product while it was still in the cone. The advantage to the eater (and the parents of small children!) was that the ice cream didn’t hang over the edge of the cone, and it wouldn’t drip down the outside of the cone to make the hands sticky. I never thought there was enough ice cream in a Mel-O-Rol!
Norma Ford- Mellow Rolls, sold them at Hughes Grocery at the foot of Lake Ave W and Sarah St. in Carleton Place (a bakery now). I am not a fan of ice cream but I loved these would save every cent to be able to buy one. Remember how easy it was to get in the cone and then take the paper off. Wish they still made them, have a special flavour. Thanks for that memory Tom, I can now taste them again in my mind.
Donna McfarlaneWe used to get them at Wilsons drug store on Bridge Street in Carleton Place. I remember Lena Stanzel worked there. There was something about them that cannot be beat.
Linda Gallipeau-JohnstonWe got ours at our corner store when Isabel and Ray Heinz had it – Queen and Morphy in Carleton Place – only a short walk from Park Ave.
Beverlee Ann Clowi was just remembering yesterday about buying our 5 cent mello rolls in Bill Ballantyne’s grocery store in Lanark way back when.
Susan Elliott ToppingI remember buying them at Gorden Frazer’s store in Almonte, but they were on a different kind of cone.
Wendy RogersWe always stopped at the Perth Dairy on Harvey Street on the way to the cottage for our vanilla ice cream rolled in paper dropped into a cone.The best ice cream we ever had. Our other stop was to Moodie’s ice house for ice for our refrigerator at the cottage. Great memories!
Earl Alexander DonaldsonCouldn’t keep up to the demand , on a hot summer day . Beats the scooping . I ate my share ! Used to work for Bill (Bomba ) Hewitt , owner of Hewitt’s Groceteria . The Great Lanark fire of 1959 , put Bill and many others out of business forever 😥
Don Bush
Back in the 50’s, once a month on a Sunday, my father drove the family out to Captree at the end of Jones Beach to see the fishing boats. There at the concession stand, he would buy me a Mello Roll. Until now, 2022, it never occurred to me that it was so well known. I guess as a child with my limited vision of the world, I assumed it was only sold at Captree. This morning my wife was saying that she never liked ice cream because as a child it would drip down on her hands and get them sticky. Right away the Mello Roll and it’s special cone came back to mind. Thanks for enlightening me with its history
Sometimes I am blown away to who reads my blog or how a recipe for a pickle pie goes viral… This morning I got this on my blog about Melo Rolls. Robert Dennis Rentzer woulld be the second to last lawyer. His comment on Melo Rolls–
https://lindaseccaspina.wordpress.com/2018/03/23/mellowing-about-mello-rolls/ Robert Dennis Rentzer 11 hr. As a kid in Broooklyn N.Y. in the early 1950s I remember these very well. Placed horizontallly rolled into a cone with a similar shape at the top and round to hold with a flat bottom. Even after the candy stores stopped selling them they lived on in the nasty phrase which endured as an insult,
And to Harvey Levin who did an insulting interview of me when I represented Rodney Kimg, I can now repeat that phrase which, now at 82 years of age, I haven’t had occasion to say for about 70 years. which is: “Up your ^&** with a Mello Roll.” Bob Rentzer (age 82).
You had to go to a candy store or drugstore to get ice cream in days gone by because home freezer storage was rare in those days. The ice man would have his shoulder draped with a wet, dirty potato sack on which a huge block of ice balanced. Then he’d heave the block into our ice box, scraping the corners if it didn’t fit inside the space. And that was for refrigeration, not freezing.
A Mello-Roll was a three-inch-long ice cream drum about one inch in diameter, wrapped in peel-away paper with blue print on it that sometimes blotted onto the ice cream itself. The candy store operator would peel the paper off gingerly and drop the roll into the rectangular collar of a short-stemmed cone with a flat bottom. Ice cream was sheer velveteen in those days, a texture so silky the tongue actually slid across the ice cream with each lick. The richness of the cream was probably double that of today’s rich ice creams. It was well after World War II when Mello-Roll disappeared from the scene. Candy stores no longer carried it and the memory has faded.
Harvey Levine said: They were made by Borden’s. I believe Borden’s used three different brand names: Borden’s, Horton’s and Reid’s. All three brands were made in the same factory using different labels. One of the special features of the cone was that it had a flat bottom, enabling the server to place it on the counter while he or she took cash and made change (with the exception noted below).
As you remember,the cone was cylindrical from the bottom, rising to a rectangular shape at the top, deep enough to accommodate the lengthwise cross-section of the cylinder of ice cream. The only available flavors were chocolate, vanilla and, I think, strawberry (in those days, ice cream came in very few flavors anywhere).
An advantage to the operator was that inventory could be tightly controlled, unlike scooped ice cream. The server never touched the ice cream, since the customer merely had to grab the two ends of the wrapper and unroll the product while it was still in the cone. The advantage to the eater (and the parents of small children!) was that the ice cream didn’t hang over the edge of the cone, and it wouldn’t drip down the outside of the cone to make the hands sticky. I never thought there was enough ice cream in a Mel-O-Rol!
Norma Ford- Mellow Rolls, sold them at Hughes Grocery at the foot of Lake Ave W and Sarah St. in Carleton Place (a bakery now). I am not a fan of ice cream but I loved these would save every cent to be able to buy one. Remember how easy it was to get in the cone and then take the paper off. Wish they still made them, have a special flavour. Thanks for that memory Tom, I can now taste them again in my mind.
Donna Mcfarlane We used to get them at Wilsons drug store on Bridge Street in Carleton Place. I remember Lena Stanzel worked there. There was something about them that cannot be beat.
Linda Gallipeau-Johnston We got ours at our corner store when Isabel and Ray Heinz had it – Queen and Morphy in Carleton Place – only a short walk from Park Ave.
Beverlee Ann Clow i was just remembering yesterday about buying our 5 cent mello rolls in Bill Ballantyne’s grocery store in Lanark way back when.
Susan Elliott Topping I remember buying them at Gorden Frazer’s store in Almonte, but they were on a different kind of cone.
Wendy Rogers We always stopped at the Perth Dairy on Harvey Street on the way to the cottage for our vanilla ice cream rolled in paper dropped into a cone.The best ice cream we ever had. Our other stop was to Moodie’s ice house for ice for our refrigerator at the cottage. Great memories!
Earl Alexander Donaldson Couldn’t keep up to the demand , on a hot summer day . Beats the scooping . I ate my share ! Used to work for Bill (Bomba ) Hewitt , owner of Hewitt’s Groceteria . The Great Lanark fire of 1959 , put Bill and many others out of business forever 😥
Sometimes I am blown away to who reads my blog or how a recipe for a pickle pie goes viral… This morning I got this on my blog about Melo Rolls. Robert Dennis Rentzer woulld be the second to last lawyer. His comment on Melo Rolls– https://lindaseccaspina.wordpress.com/…/mellowing…/ Robert Dennis Rentzer 11 hr. As a kid in Broooklyn N.Y. in the early 1950s I remember these very well. Placed horizontallly rolled into a cone with a similar shape at the top and round to hold with a flat bottom. Even after the candy stores stopped selling them they lived on in the nasty phrase which endured as an insult, And to Harvey Levin who did an insulting interview of me when I represented Rodney Kimg, I can now reorat thst phrase which, now at 82 years of age, I haven’t had occasion to say for about 70 years. which is: “Up your $%^& with a Mello Roll.” Bob Rentzer (age 82).
It was reported in February of 1920 that the Board of Health in New York was about to ban the use of glue in the manufacture of ice cream. by reports some of the ice cream manufacturers had been substituting the glue for gelatin because it could be obtained at a lower price. Therefore Tom Mitcheson from Almonte made sure to advertise that no glue was used in the making of the local ice cream.
An organization in Carleton Place with these newer ideas for the conservation of practically all main forms of wild life was formed in 1884. Under the title of the Carleton Place Game, Fish and Insectivorous Birds Protective Society it continued to operate for some years. Original officers of the group were William Pattie, president ; Jim Bothwell, vice president ; Walter Kibbee, secretary-treasurer, and committee members John Cavers, Tom Glover, John Moore, Jim Morphy and Jim Presley ; elected at a May meeting in the old fire hall on Bridge Street, when a constitution drawn up by Robert Bell was adopted. Other members pledged to support the rules of this pioneering wild life protective society were William Beck, Peter Cram, Jim Dunlop, John Flett, David Gillies, Charlie Glover, Tom Hilliard, Archie Knox and Tom Leaver ; Hugh McCormick, William McDiarmid, Hiram McFadden, Jim McFadden, Jim McGregor, George McPherson, William Neelin, Robert Patterson and William Patterson ; Dr. Robert F. Preston, Alex Sibbitt, William Taylor, William Whalen, Will R. Williamson, Alex Wilson and Joe Wilson. Out of town sportsmen among the first members were Duncan Campbell, John Gemmill, D. G. MacDonnell and Tom Mitcheson, all of Almonte
Photo- Linda Seccaspina- Dairy Queen- Carleton Place
Last night as we drove the Dairy Queen Drive Through I laughed at the spoons they had propping the windows open, and somehow thoughts of going to Peterson’s in Almonte the evenings flashed through my mind. Memories of waiting in long lines and getting double scoops of tiger tail and bubble gum. Hot and humid in that little store but we leaned against the cold cases waiting patiently for our treats.
Here is the history of Peterson’s found on the web.
In the queue at Peterson’s for the ice cream cones, visitors to Almonte stand out from Old Believers because they talk to each other compulsively, like the newly-converted, about their discovery. They speak as if they’ve discovered the ice cream palace entirely on their own. Peterson’s. In Almonte. Right beside the falls of the river. Expectancy hands from their words, and their eyes light up with a fervid brightness as the queue glides, snake-like, to the palace gate. “On the way to the cottage we always make sure to stop for an ice cream cone at this place.” “We do too, and again on the way back to the city.” “You never see anything like this in the city.” “We’ve been stopping here for two years now.” Old believers stand patiently, rational and composed, listening to these utterances, until one of the Visitors puts wonder beyond comprehension, saying:
“I wonder where they get this name? Peterson’s?” “From Louis Peterson” an Old Believer cuts in. “That’s Louis sitting over there in front of the gas station. Retired now. That’s the ice cream man himself.” “That man? How did he ever get started in the ice cream business?” “Chance. Mere Chance.” Old Believer states. Disbelief strides across the Vistor’s eyes for an instant. Time for doubting the faith passes, for the line snakes forward and it’s the moment of decision. Visitor’s choice. Chocolate. But chance? Mere Chance?
Photo-Google
II
March 25th, 1919. Chance. That’s what it was entirely, just mere chance that Louis even stopped in Almonte that day. He’d never been in the town before.
He’d been a dishwasher for six years in this part of the world, ever since he and his older brother Nick, attracted by the magnetic pull of America, had given up dishwashing in restaurants in Athens in 1913 to come away across the seas to a new world. Louis was little more than a child, but he washed dishes in restaurants in Montreal and News York, in hotels in Brockville and Prescott, and in both hotels and restaurants in Ottawa and Renfrew.
But dishwashing as a profession doesn’t change much from one day to another, nor from one city to another, or even one country to another. Still, Louis felt someday he’d like to escape from the soap and steam and get into business on his own.
By Chance it had snowed in the night, and it was still snowing when he left Renfrew on the morning train with a return ticket for Ottawa. He was going to the city to spend a day looking around.
The train began to slow down on the way past the Almonte Flour Mills. Louise saw the river was open below the railway bridge right down to the head of the falls.
A whole crowd of people had gathered at the station in this place, and the excitement obviously held them in a tight grip. Louis brushed the steam off the window by his seat so that he could look out and try to find out what was going on. He couldn’t tell. Suddenly he got up, rushed to the front of the car, and stepped off on to the platform just as the conductor called out “Board” and the train continued on its way to Ottawa. Louis elbowed his way to the fringe of the crowd near the Arrivals/Departures board to watch and find out what was going on. The clock on the wall inside the stationmaster’s office read ten to ten.
Almonte-Photo-Linda Seccaspina
A few moments later he turned his head in the direction of a big stone building on the main street because the clock in the tower had begun to strike ten. Louis turned from this to study the Arrivals/Departures board again and saw that the next train was due at 10:10 from Ottawa. Maybe, he though, that’s what the crowd is waiting for.
“Here it comes!” a lady called out. In the same instant the door of the waiting room swung open and people poured on to the platform. Louis looked up the tracks in time to see a big belch of steam rise from the locomotive, leaping suddenly into the air, and in another moment, the sound of the whistle reached him at the station. Another moment, brakes screeched, steam hissed, and the train slowed and stopped.
“There he is,” a lady shouted, almost beside herself with joy. “I see Tommy” a youngster cried out delightedly.
Bedlam invaded the platform. Three more of Almonte’s soldier’s, heroes returning from the wars in Europe, stepped into the throng and were immediately swept up in a whirling, joyful reunion of khaki, feathered bonnets and falling snow.
“Friendly place, this is,” Louis said to himself.
His eyes roamed up over the crowd to the engineer in the cab of the locomotive, who smiled widely behind his safety glasses and blue-striped cap. He seemed unconcerned with the big wet sticky snowflakes that landed on the black iron and shiny brass of his engine, each one landing with a little hiss and instantly disappearing in a tiny puff of steam.
“Board”. For the second time in twenty minutes the call rang out over the platform. Again a locomotive bell clanged, the whistle tooted, and the train chuffed off, this time for Pakenham, Arnprior, Renfrew, Pembroke, Chalk River. People drifted away until Louis alone of all the throng was left. Then he too set out to walk towards the business part of this place. At the end of the platform he turned around to look back for the name of the station. ALMONTE, The name stood out on a board with black lettering on a white background, hanging under the overhang of the roof at the west end of the station building.
“Nice People, Friendly Place, Almonte.” He mused as he walked. The hands of the clock in the tower of the big stone building now stood at ten-thirty. Two horses with buggies stood waiting in front of the building.
Louis moved across the street to get a better look at this big brown stone building. Over one door he read the words “Post Office” and over the other “Inland Revenue” He walked on down the street past a book store, a bake shop, a printing office, a shoemaker’s, a clothing store. Near the bottom of the hill, beside a vacant store, stood an imposing structure, the Bank of Montreal. Across the street was another printing office with the name “Almonte Gazette” in old English lettering now in god at the front window. Louis stopped and looked again at the massive oak doors of the bank entrance, enjoying the sight of the heavy, ornamental iron grill Mounted on each half, the letter “B” setting off the one half, the letter “M” the other.
“I guess this bank intends to stay in this place for a while at least”, Louis said to himself, unconsciously fingering the forty-two dollars which he had rolled up in his pocket in the Bank of Montreal bills, as large on the whole as ordinary notepaper. He seemed to be surrounded by mills at this place, for he could see the red brick Penman Woollen Mill, and beyond that the Yorkshire Wool Stock mill, and in behind the Gazette office he could detect an iron foundry, and another mill beyond that, and the flour mill where the railway bridge crossed the river, and which he had crossed in the train half an hour or more before.
“Busy place, Friendly, Nice people, Almonte”. The words kept recurring in his mind, and he consoled himself with the thought that he was looking around for the day anyway. He kept wondering about that empty store, and that meant he should ask somebody about it. After all, a man could wash dishes in Athens, or Montreal, or Almonte. All the same.
He went back up the street past the post office building and stopped in front of the place next door, a place that seemed to be a combination barber shop and pool room. It wasn’t that he needed a hair cut, but barber shops were fine places for finding out what’s going on. He walked in.
Jim Hogan, co-proprietor with his brother-in-law, Pat Rooney, watched the stranger enter with interest. Jim was dusting off the Boston pool table, and immediately put the whisk away, for patrons, in Jim’s eyes, carried much more interest than dust specks on the green felt.
“G’day. Nice Morning,” Jim poured out a little of his day’s words to prime the conversation pump, and started round the table to take the balls out of the pockets. He rolled them all to the end of the table and then caged them in the wooden triangle. Removing the cage, he selected a cue from the wall rack, and stood beside the table, elaborately chalking the cue-tip, and surveying the stranger as he did so.
“Care to play a game?” he tossed in Louis’s direction. “What you call it?” “Pool, Boston pool. That other table’s different. It’s snooker. This one here’s for Boston pool.” “Okay.”
Jim’s ears stood out like semaphores on the station. This was a sure-fire stranger. Quiet as Indian Joe Baye from the Floating Bridge. But the way this stranger said “okay” it sounded, well foreign-like, as if he didn’t know English all that well. The way it came out, it sounded more like Hokay.
“Could be one of those Russians, or Poles, or Doukhobours”, Jim thought. But that didn’t matter much to Jim and Pat, for their Irish heritage told them any stranger was welcome, and if he could tell them a story or two, they’d be well paid for the time they spent with him, and for the use of the pool table as well.
Jim lined up the cue ball, set down his cue, squinted along the length, and broke.
“Your turn,” he said invitingly to Louis. “Okay.” “A man of few words” mused Jim. Heck, he wondered if he might have to prime the pump a second time.
Three times more they exchanged shots before Jim deliberately miscued to give the stranger a feeling of equality with the maestro.
“You must be some king of strange in town,” he said. “Yup.”
Desperate, desperate all together. Was the well dry? The pump was certainly losing it prime. Jim had never had such a time before in all his years of barbering. This stranger sure kept his own counsel. Laconic. Close-lipped.
“Staying in Almonte a while?” Jim asked again. “Could be.” Aha. Jim and Pat both grasped at the speculative tone of the stranger’s reply. A flank attack might gain them more that the frontal assault they had been using.
“For a stranger you speak the language her some pretty fair, I’d say.” Pat ventured. “Where’d you learn English?” he asked.
Jim stood aside during this volley, standing on one foot, chalking his cue again in the deliberate pose, a calculated gesture, designed to put a hex on an opponent. “Learned it in Greece.” The visitor announced.
“Greece?” Jim echoed. “So you’re Greek. You learned English there?” “Every Greek learns English,” the stranger announced in the matter-of-fact one of a man of the wider world of 1919. “Say,” he went on, as if he had just found his tongue thawed out, “You gents know a store down the street, one beside the Bank of Montreal? Empty store? You know who owns it?”
The co-proprietors shrugged in unison. “Frank Hogan at the station would likely know.” Pat Rooney ventured. “That’s a fact: he would for sure,” Jim agreed. “You could ask Frank. He’s the operator on duty over at the station.” “Thanks very much. I’ll go see him.”
As Louis struggled into his overcoat, Jim decided to make one more pass at the stiff-handled pump. “What did You say your name was?” he threw out.
“Peterson. Louis Peterson.” “Peterson.” Pat nodded his head and smiled. “I had a notion all Greek names ended in the letter “s”, he remarked. “Yahoo. Petropoulos in Greek. Peterson in English. Means same thing. Peterson. Louis Peterson.”
“Louis, nice to know you. Come back again.”
Looking in the window at the front of the station, Louis saw the agent sitting in the padded captain’s chair, listening to the clacking of the telegraph. He had one earphone cocked over his right ear. The big Seth Thomas clock on the wall beside the telegraph desk advertised that the hours and minutes it ticked off were “Railway Time.”
Frank Hogan looked up as Louis opened the door of what he read was the Waiting room, and walked in. As he finished taking down the text off a telegram, Frank set down his headset and turned to the stranger.
“Good morning. Can I help you?”
“Morning. At the barber shop they say you might know who owns empty store beside the Bank of Montreal.”
“Yes, Mr. Donaldson.” “Donaldson.” Louis repeated the name. “Know where I find him?”
Frank pointed straight across the tracks to the freight office, “Double house on the street right behind the freight office.”
Louis thanked Frank Hogan and started across the tracks. He found Mr. Donaldson at home. “You own empty store beside Bank of Montreal?” “Yes, yes.” Mr. Donaldson spoke eagerly.
Louis stripped off twenty-five of his forty-two dollars and handed them over.
“You gonna run some kind of business in there?” Mr. Donaldson inquired. “Perhaps.” “What kind?” “Small restaurant. Sandwiches, candies, chocolates, peanut brittle, ice cream. Lotsa dishwashing. Get ice cream from Ottawa Dairy. Mabee after awhile make ice cream too.”
“Great idea. Almonte needs that. Good luck.”
In the afternoon Louis ventured in through the “M” half of the entrance door of the Bank of Montreal. Mr. Plunkett, he saw, was the manager. Louis asked him for five hundred dollars.
“Five hundred dollars?”
Mr. Plunkett came near exploding. To restore his blood pressure to normal, he swiveled round in his chair, ran both hands along the side of his head to smooth out his hair and stared out the window to contemplate the side wall of the Penman Woollen Mill. It took two minutes before he trusted the pressure. But then he turned back to the bold young immigrant who had asked for the loan of the bank’s money.
“Just how do you intend to put the money back if I loan you five hundred dollars?”
“Every day.” “Every day?” Mr. Plunkett’s pressure started again towards the critical.
“That’s the only way I know how.” The young immigrant explained.
Another minute passed. The swiveling time leveled off. “All right, I’ll give you five hundred dollars.” They shook hands. Louis left again by the “M” side of the big front doors.
He was in business in Almonte. He had a store on the main street. He’s paid one month’s rent. He had bank credit.
March 25th, 1919. Two-thirty in the afternoon. Snowing, just a little.
III
In the line-up for ice cream cones at Peterson’s ice cream plant the Visitors are chattering and marveling at their discovery of this place.
Old Believers in the queue are more subdued. To them 1979 is the Year of the Jubilee, the diamond jubilee of keeping the faith with Louis, the ice cream man.
“Twas mere chance brought him here to Almonte one morning in March 1919.
It was the 25th of the month. By chance, it had snowed in the night.
Terence Miller added:
Hi Linda, In the late forties I used to chum with Louie’s second son Donny. We would go on deliveries ,throughout the Valley with driver Harry Walker. Louie’s oldest son Jack was a notable local hockey player. It was locally know that when Louie first got off at Almonte, he thought “if I could sell each person one candy I could be in business”.
Once while Donny and I were in the Ice Cream Plant, Donny ran up to an open vat. He put his finger in the solution, then licked his finger.
Thinking this was a sweet fluid in making ice cream I put my finger in the vat. When I licked my finger a strong caustic taste made me react repulsively. .Donny doubled over laughing while I realized he had switched fingers.
Donna Peterson Deegan
Hi Terence, I am Donny Peterson’s daughter….your comment sure brought back memories. He did the same to myself and my brother……the brine was definitely awful…..thanks for sharing your story
I call Judy Langdon from The Cheddar Stop on Hwy 7 The Mother of Comfort Food. She is better than a bartender- and all her goodies are like a giant big hug. Okay, the hug probably costs a million calories, but at the moment she delivers. Today I walked in looking something the cat dragged in and she looked at me and said “Frozen Greek Yogurt?” I nodded my head and asked for chocolate sauce. To anyone with a brain you only put fresh fruit on that healthy treat so she served up her fresh raspberries on top. Then she topped it off with a piece of Ottawa Valley Fudge. I rest my case. God Love Judy, God Love you…
3 ounces marshmallow fluff (store-bought or homemade)
*You must use full-fat coconut milk. Thai Kitchen brand coconut milk and Whole Foods 365 brand coconut milk both work well consistently for this application.
DIRECTIONS
Remove the two cans of coconut milk carefully from the refrigerator, without shaking them at all. The solid should have separated from the liquid during chilling, and you don’t want to reintegrate them. Remove the lids from the cans, scoop out only the solid white coconut (reserving or discarding all of the liquid), and place it in a large bowl. Add 4 tablespoons (20 g) of the cocoa powder to the coconut, and with a hand mixer (or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment), whip on high speed for about 2 minutes, or until light and fluffy and nearly doubled in volume. Place the chocolate whipped coconut cream in the refrigerator to chill for about 10 minutes.
The next step is to make a marshmallow base, into which you will fold the coconut whipped cream. In a small bowl, place the gelatin and 1/4 cup (2 fluid ounces) water and mix to combine well. Set the bowl aside and allow the gelatin to swell as it stands. Once the gelatin has swelled, transfer it to the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl to use with a hand mixer).
In a medium, heavy-bottom saucepan, place the remaining 1/4 cup (2 fluid ounces) water, sugar and cream of tartar, and whisk to combine well. Cook the sugar mixture over medium-high heat until it reaches the softball stage, between 238°F and 240°F, on an instant read thermometer. Remove the saucepan from the heat immediately, and pour the cooked sugar mixture down the side of the bowl of the stand mixer into the gelatin mixture. Whisk to combine (the mixture will bubble) and allow the mixture to cool until the mixing bowl is no longer hot to the touch (about 5 minutes). Add the vanilla and salt, and beat the mixture on medium-high speed with the whisk attachment (or with a hand mixer) until the mixture is white, thick and glossy. It should nearly triple in size. It is ready when the mixture pours off the whisk (or beaters) very slowly when the attachment is raised. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons (10 g) cocoa powder to the bowl, and beat again with the whisk attachment to combine.
Remove the whipped coconut cream from the refrigerator and add half of it to the large bowl of marshmallows. Fold the coconut cream into the marshmallows, taking care not to deflate either the cream or the marshmallows. Add the remaining coconut cream and fold in again gently.
Scrape the mixture into a 2 quart freezer-safe container. Gently stir in the chocolate chips, walnuts, and the marshmallow fluff. Cover tightly and freeze until firm (about 6 hours). Serve frozen. It will not need to thaw at all to be scoopable.
Some of you know Ben White as Blair and Teri White’s son. A few of you recognize him as the nephew of Bill and Bob White. I know him because he is my neighbour, Joyce White’s grandson. It doesn’t matter how you met him, you should be aware that the fourteen year old High-Schooler is an up and coming triple threat to the Food Network chefs.
Ben and his brother Emmett share my Celiac disease, so all Ben’s recipes are gluten-free. His Mother has also set up a Facebook page called Go Gluten Free so everyone can share their gluten free recipes. As he told his father, local plumber, Blair White,
“Dad, you fix peoples pipes, I fix up people’s tastebuds
George Bernard Shaw once said there is no sincerer love than the love of food, and when you walk into The Cheddar Stop you can feel the love oozing out of the coolers and displays. First and foremost let’s talk about the fudge, because thoughts of the Ottawa Valley Fudge I took pictures of is still imprinted in my mind. Families are like Fudge. Mostly sweet with a few nuts—and would you be considered nutty if you tried their Jelly Donut flavour? Or how about Tiger Butter? That’s what I thought. Let’s face it, a nice piece of creamy fudge does a lot for some people; it does for me, and my bootay.
Judy Langdon was once a service contractor and she sold Ottawa Valley Fudge on the side. In my personal view fudge is always a front runner and soon Judy bought The Cheddar shop on Hwy 7. She and husband Rob Hunt decided to expand on other delicious items for foodies.
Most of us have fond memories of food from our childhood. Whether it was our mom’s homemade soup or a memorable chocolate birthday cake, food has a way of transporting us back to the past. Judy stocks everything, and anything, that will bring up past memories or create new ones. Savoury and Fruit Pies from Delicious Baking in Perth. Frozen and ready to bake so everyone will think Grandma had a hand in it. Home made fresh-baked Butter Tarts to die for. As someone posted on her Facebook page:
“Someone gave Judy’s butter tarts a to-die-for recommendation and I totally agree. Perfect flaky crust holding a delicious gooey filling.”
You can’t get St. Albert’s cheese curds any fresher, or squeakier for your gourmet Poutine! It’s delivered fresh to the store, Mon-Sat. for your enjoyment. There is Chris Bros Pepperoni available from down east and of course Balderson Cheese, fresh “Off the Block”. They are also carry Pilgrimage Cheese which is locally handcrafted in Elgin and Buschgarden Farmstead Cheese.
Food for the body is not enough. There must be food for the soul. So how about filling your inner soul with 12 different kinds of old fashioned milkshakes? Or memories of an old fashioned Root Beer Float made from Reid’s ice cream? If something less rich is your choice The Cheddar Stop carries real English tea so you can have a proper brew with those butter tarts. They even have de-alcholized wine for a relaxing glass on the patio with a side of their delicious cheeses.
The Cheddar Stop specializes too. Sue’s Gluten Free Cakes are in their freezer, and they also have gluten free ice cream cones too! Gift baskets are lovingly made to order for any occasion. The Highway 7 food emporium also has fresh Thompsontown Maple Syrup, Maple Fudge, Maple Cheddar, and lots of other goodies from Clayton. Just in time for some sugar on snow.
You don’t need a silver fork to eat good food, all you need to do is pop in to The Cheddar Stop to make some of your meals delicious. This weekend The Cheddar Stop is going to be serving homemade ice cream sandwiches. That’s right– fresh warm cookies with Reids or Nestle’s ice cream in the middle. How is that for a foodie fantasy? Take your Mum to an ice cream brunch!
Most Canadian children go through a traditional rite of spring as soon as they can say the word “maple”. Each year in the month of March they are either led by their parents or have to endure some god forsaken field trip to a sugar shack in the middle of the woods. Then one of the culinary miracles of Canada takes place and they are introduced to something called “sugar on snow”.
My father used to delight in making this for us every year using the very snow that the cats had peed on. Years have passed, and spring now means that the Tim Horton’s Maple Double Dip Donut is in season and Canadians rejoice! Anything maple flavored screams Canada and even Trader Joe’s caters to transplanted Canadians in the U.S. by offering mock Maple Leaf Cookies on their shelves.
So it was of great delight in 2011 to see Denny’s offering up their new “heart attack on a plate” menu of bountiful bacon meals with a hint of maple called “Baconalia”. Yes their sacred festival of bacon offered something called: “The Maple Bacon Ice Cream Sundae” and I was gung ho to try it.
As I looked at the Denny’s website I noticed that they were proud sponsors of AARP. I found that quite strange due to the vein clogging menu they serve. Are they are working hand in hand with the government? Every day we hear that the “health system” is overloaded, so as I looked at their new special of a hamburger plate with endless pancakes, I decided one had to wonder about the whole darn thing. Did they create this new “Baconalia”menu to get rid of the overflowing senior population like myself?
The waitress assured me when she brought my sundae that we would be very pleased. I secretly thought that I might not make it to dessert and they might have to Medevac me out of there. But I succeeded and the sundae was presented with two large spoons and loads of napkins.The savory/sweet mix was wonderful and after they discontinued it I knew the sweet memories would hold me until the last days of my life– until today.
A foodie site called “Just Martha” has captured the ultimate in a bacon recipe and she has called it “Bacon Cups”. My arteries are not thanking you, and I curse any of you who are thinking of substituting turkey or “fakin” bacon. Words cannot describe the brilliance of this recipe!
After looking at these pictures I think we can agree we can all go home now, as the pinnacle of food blogging has been reached. This is the greatest $%^&*^% recipe anyone has ever had in the history of the universe. Denny’s eat your heart out! Just Martha has just ensured that an entire army of cardiologists will be able to finance that new yacht they have had their eye on. This recipe will change lives and most certainly your cholesterol level.
“When I watched “Behind the Candelabra” this week on HBO I realized most of Liberace’s life had been a gigantic cover-up. The one truth he was unwilling to share with his vast and admiring public was finally outed to the public upon his death– never mind the fact that I found out he was on the TV show Batman”
Most Canadian children go through a traditional rite of spring as soon as they can say the word “maple”. Each year in the month of March they are either led by their parents or have to endure some god forsaken field trip to a sugar shack in the middle of the woods. Then one of the culinary miracles of Canada takes place and they are introduced to something called “sugar on snow”.
My father used to delight in making this for us every year using the very snow that the cats had peed on. Years have passed, and spring now means that the Tim Horton’s Maple Double Dip Donut is in season and Canadians rejoice! Anything maple flavored screams Canada and even Trader Joe’s caters to transplanted Canadians in the U.S. by offering mock Maple Leaf Cookies on their shelves.
lindaseccaspina 
Back in the 50’s, once a month on a Sunday, my father drove the family out to Captree at the end of Jones Beach to see the fishing boats. There at the concession stand, he would buy me a Mello Roll. Until now, 2022, it never occurred to me that it was so well known. I guess as a child with my limited vision of the world, I assumed it was only sold at Captree. This morning my wife was saying that she never liked ice cream because as a child it would drip down on her hands and get them sticky. Right away the Mello Roll and it’s special cone came back to mind. Thanks for enlightening me with its history