“About 65 years ago, Branch 155 of the Royal Canadian Legion built the two-story building on Grosvenor Street, behind the town square where the post office is today.
It was not long after that the beautiful new ‘Government Building’ was built on the corner of High and Grosvenor. The grand opening of the new Post Office and the Regional Customs and Excise office happened in September, 1953. That was when our family, including five children, arrived to live in the apartment at the back of the building on the second floor. It was luxurious compared to the tiny century-old wood bungalow that we lived in on the southeast corner of Morpeth and Grey Streets (with an outdoor toilet and hot water only if you boiled it on the stove).
Our new apartment had a big balcony that faced the newly built Legion Hall and the LCBO store. Saturday was a busy day for the liquor store. Owen Sound and several communities were still ‘dry’, and cars came steadily from Owen Sound. The Legion parking lot, across the street, saw a steady flow of those entering and departing.
The liquor store manager was Merv (Hoot) Gateman (star softball pitcher) and he was ably assisted by Cal Rourke, George Murray, and my Uncle Art (Hap) Rogers. All four were veterans of WWII. Uncle Hap had been a motorcycle messenger rider delivering messages to and from the front lines when he was shot in the left shoulder. He played the guitar and sang at many parties in town even with his badly deformed upper arm and shoulder.
One Saturday morning, I was on the balcony watching the folks coming and going from the LCBO. I saw this young man get out of his car and walk into the liquor store. I was certain that it was Harry Lumley, the star Toronto Maple Leaf goalie who lived in Owen Sound. I caught Uncle Hap when he left work and asked him if it was Mr. Lumley and he said yes it was and added “… he comes over every few weeks”. I asked Uncle Hap if he would ask Harry for his autograph for me and he said sure he would. Anyway, I never got the autograph BUT I got a 1955 Toronto Maple Leaf calendar that Harry left with him for me, which I valued until I left home in 1960, who knows where it got to after that?
The little house next to the LCBO today, was the collection depot for empty beer bottles only by Cecil Smith in the garage. There was no deposit on wine and liquor bottles, but I collected them door-to-door in my red flyer wagon for Leland Matheson to fill with Varsol, Paint thinners, and turpentine. He paid me one cent a bottle.
It was not until 1963 that I got to go into the liquor store. It was pretty boring back then. There was nothing on display. There were lists of the products with a code number for each on the wall above a counter. You filled in a paper slip with the product code, printed your name, and wrote your signature. You then took your slip to the cashier, and he handed it to one of his associates who went in the back, brought out your purchase, and put it in a brown paper bag. I was working in Toronto and would be home for the weekend and would go in on Saturday and buy a “mickey”. Invariably, I would end up with Uncle Art bringing me my little bottle and he always had the same greeting, “do you want me to loosen the cap?”.
Today, when we go in the store, every item they sell is on display and bright lights present it as though you are in a jewelry store. The Southampton store is about to get a “major facelift”. What will it look like? They took away their brown paper bags and now you have to bring your own. Maybe they will start selling colourful plastic bags.”
MEMORIES MEMORIES
By G. Willaim Streeter February 12, 2024
