Jan. 24, 2003 Memories of Old General Stores

A fascinating new book on all aspects of the thousands of general stores that existed across Canada has just been published, and will bring back memories to many who used them. There are a few general stores still around today, but they do not have the significance of those from the past.
The new book General Stores of Canada: Merchants and Memories is by R.B. Fleming, whose family ran a general store at Argyle, near Lindsay, for years. He visited, photographed and interviewed people across Canada and has produced a definitive profile of the store. The book does not profile individual stores, but looks at themes from architecture through the role of the store, and the role of the owner in the community, etc., all done with a sense of nostalgia.
Fleming also looks at the close relatives of general stores: trading posts, company stores, co-operatives and department stores. The general store played a dual role of making money for the owner and his staff while providing a wide variety of services to the community, such as acting like a community centre, a bank, a post office, a place where you could phone, a place where you could exchange your products for things you could not produce. Fleming provides one local item of interest when he tells about Tom Thomson paying his twenty-five dollar bill at the Ard General Store in South River in 1917 with a painting. The Ard's sold the painting "Winter Thaw in the Woods" in 1980 for $120,000.

The new book General Stores of Canada: Merchants and Memories by R.B. Fleming

Under the theme of architecture, Fleming discusses the variety of shapes and sizes of general stores, showing several stores that look like the award-winning restoration by Stillar Electric on the main street of Powassan. A porch out front, where people could talk and load and unload goods, large windows for display, the classic four pillars supporting an upper balcony at the front of a second storey where the merchant often lived, and a large undivided inner space for the store itself.

The interior of the old Alderdale General Store in Chisholm Township. Hugh Robertson is serving Bernard Gallagher and his son John.

A check of history books on communities in the Community Voices area invariably shows a photo of a general store, or, as the community grew, more than one -- along with speciality stores like harness shops and bakeries. Close to home, in the small township of Chisholm where the population is not much larger today than it was in the early days of the last century, had many small stores to serve local areas where travel was a consideration. The one large general store was at Alderdale, across from the now-abandoned CNR line, where there were several houses and farms nearby. The photo shows the inside of the store, with its wide variety of goods. It was the local post office until 1949, and many farmers and people coming by train exchanged wares or bought bags of flour, sugar, and packets of tea and tobacco. The store later sold gasoline when automobiles came on the scene. This store was replaced by a new store nearby, now Chisholm's only general store, Bob's Kinfolk, which along with a variety of other things, provides Purolator pick-ups and haircuts.

Bob's Kinfolk has an interesting set of counters at the back of the store that were discovered recently in a local barn. They came from a small, long gone general store at the corner of Pioneer Road and Boundary Rd. in southwest Chisholm at the turn of the century. A small community developed nearby with a sawmill, church and school.

In his new book, Fleming writes about the noise of the people buying and selling, gossiping and visiting at the local store. The people he interviewed remembered the crowded shelves, glass showcases and things hung from the ceiling. Long counters piled with purchases were bracketed by roles of heavy brown paper and cast iron string holders. Boxes of chocolate bars, gum and candy were nearby, like the stores today, to tempt the purchaser to buy a last minute treat. Butter, cheese, meat and vegetables were openly displayed. Many remember the smell of fresh ground coffee, sharp cheddar cheese, dried fruit, and nearby smells of kerosene and gasoline. Fleming remembered under the counter items at his parent's store that were asked for in a whisper. The women asked for "sanitary napkins" that Mrs. Fleming pre-wrapped in brown paper, and the men asked the male clerk for "safes," or perhaps a mickey of something to drink.

The Mick General Store in Chisholm Township with the Mick family lined up for a family photo in the early part of the last century

Many of the stores has post offices, and picked up the mail, sorted it in the store and had it delivered on rural routes. Many of the early switchboards were centred in these stores. Merchants became bankers, cashing cheques and even giving mortgages, and many were sought out for advice on a variety of topics. Many had barber shops or livery services, the latter of which were sometimes connected with the rural mail delivery. Many merchants had side businesses selling things like pulpwood or lumber. Some because of their place in the community became justices of the peace or politicians.

The merchant's life was not always positive and they carried many burdens, including collecting their bills while not offending anyone because of the need for goodwill. Because they were apparently so successful, people were jealous and merchants were often victims of shoplifting, robbery or the sale of faulty goods. They were also the victim of competition from new general stores, farmer's co-operatives and even itinerant travelling merchants. They also had to be alert to the sales pitches of commercial travellers who were always trying to sell them a bill of goods.
Fleming ends with reference to general stores as recorded in books and movies that many of us will be familiar with. This carefully researched book has many quotations, photos and references and provides an entertaining and thorough look at the fascinating social and business phenomenon of the old general store.