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HomeMy WebLinkAbout732"Personal memoire, 5 pages, of the Cherrywood Store and Life in Cherrywood 1928 —1942 Written by Bob Morrish September 2005. FOREWARD This story covers some history about Cherrywood and Cherrywood store and many of the things that I can remember from when I lived there in the nineteen twenties, thirties and forties. I also obtained information from conversations and letters from people who lived in Cherrywood during the same time-Mac & Elizabeth Armstrong, Emily Pearse (Petty), Mary Brown (Somerville), Phyllis Cockburn (Gates), John & Mary Teefy, Don Stewart, Merna & Betty Burkholder and my brothers and sister. I obtained most of the history from Helen Alves daughter of Agnes Alves (Petty) and John Sabean of the Pickering historical society. THE STORY The store and the dwelling where the Roy Morrish family lived was built in 1872 by Charles Petty, a pioneer and entrepreneur who also built and operated Cherrywood brick yard and owned and operated a farm in the village. Charles Petty never operated the store, but leased it to various storekeepers. Some of the srorekeepers were Williams,Cranson,Murray Summerfelt, Alfred McPherson, John Green, Tom Robins,Thomas Law, Robert Davidson and our father Roy Morrish who leased and operated it from 1921 untill 1935.From 1929 to 1935 Our mother, Ella, and father, Roy also owned and operated a store in Pickering. They also owned a barber shop which was leased to Chester Butt, the village barber. In 1935 the Cherrywood store b ecame available for outright purchase so our Mother and Father decided to buy it. Running the two stores, one in Pickering and one in Cherrywood was becoming too much work so they leased the store in Pickering to Ross Murison and a Mr. Booth. One or two years later Booth & Murison bought the store in Pickering. Our mother & father bought the dwelling and store in Cherrywood from the Petty estate in 1935 . The old barn and ice storage shed were demolished and the barn was rebuilt to make it more efficient for handling feed and coal and providing protection for the trucks and car. The store was rebuilt and a new dwelling was built on to the west side of the store The business included a coal storage shed and scales, first along side the Canadian Northern Railway in Cherrywood , and when the Canadian Northern was abandoned (I believe in 1929), the coal shed and scales were moved to the south side of the tracks opposite the Canadian Pacific Railway station in Cherrywood and the business was served by Canadian Pacific. 10/18/2005" "Foreward Page 2 of 5 There was no hydro power in Cherrywood untill 1929. Before 1929 lighting was provided by coal oil lights, naptha gas lights and wax candles. We had two coal furnaces for heating . Our kitchen stove was fueled by wood or coal untill 1929 and when electricity was installed we had a combination wood and coal stove for cooking . We had ice refrigerators untill 1936. The ice was cut and hauled from Whitevale pond and stored Page 2 in an ice house behind the barn. A deep covering of saw dust prevented the ice from melting througout the summer. Depending on the weather, usualy every , a block or two of ice was removed from under the saw dust and placed in a compartment in the top of the refrigerator. Perishable foods were stored in the bottom of the refrigerator. We did not have indoor plumbing untill 1936 when our new house was built beside the store. The store and facilities at Cherrywood provided most of the things needed by the people of the community and surrounding farms,--groceries, tea, coffee, dry goods like, linens, overalls, socks, boots, shoes, school supplies,hardware, ice cream, pop,candies, tobacco & cigarettes, coal, wood, feed for cattle, horses, pigs, mink,dogs and cats and binder twine for harvesting grain. Our father did the buying of all of the goods and transporting them from Toronto to Cherrywood by truck and rail.He usually made two trips to Toronto a week to do the buying and picking up. This job was usually done on Mondays and Thursdays. Some of the wholesalers were groceries from National Grocers, the hardware from H.S. Howland, the dry goods from Gordon McKay, boots and Shoes from W.B. Hamilton and Lyle Reed, tea and coffee from R.B. Hayhoe, and the feed from Western Canada Flower Mills who were later bought out by Master Feeds. Feed was also bought from Reesor's Marmill in Markham and corn gluten feed from St. Lawrence Starch Co. in Port Credit. Our mother, (who was a partner in the business) and Beatrice Petty who worked in the store,(and later Mary Tool, Isobel Tran, Blanch Petty, Carol Armstrong) were reponsible for obtaining orders (mostly by phone) for the various things the customers wanted. Mary Tool, Isobel Tran, Blanche Petty, Esther Reesor, and Carol Armstrong also worked at various times for our Mother, helping with household chores and in the store. All of us had a hand in putting the orders together in boxes and stocking the shelves. Fred Ireson did the delivering and helped with many of the other chores that were required to run the store. Before Fred Bo Bonner and later Jim Fenney did this work.. Delivering was done in the north east area of the community on Tuesdays, the north west and south west on Wednesdays and the south east on Thursdays. Special deliveries of coal and feed were done whenever we had time during the week, mostly on Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays. Occasionaly in winter, the country roads were not passable for trucks and cars. In this situation deliveries were made by our Uncle Murray Milroy who owned a farm a few miles from the store-and also by Walter Holmes and Henry Michelle who owned nearby farms-using their sleighs and his teams of Clydesdale horses. Bill, Jack and I did some of the delivering and picking up things in Toronto,- ( mostly coal and feed) when we were old enough to drive a truck. In the 1930's we had two trucks. The larger truck was used to pick up goods in Toronto and for delivering large orders of coal and feed , and the other for delivering groceries and smaller orders of grain and feed. Some of the trucks that I remember were a 1926 model T Ford, a 1928 model A Ford 2 ton stake body, a 1930 panel body Ford pick up for the store in Pickering, a 1934 V eight Ford 3 ton stake body. These vehicles were later traded in on newer models to do the same work. Our Father and Bill never kept trucks or cars long enough for maintenance or reliability to become a problem. Some of the cars that I can remember were a 1926 model T Ford, a 1928 Pontiac, a 1935 Pontiac, and a 1939 Pontiac. Page 3 Bill started to work full time at the store in 1950. He and Irene took over ownership and the operation of the store in 1959 when they bought it from our mother and father. The property and store was expropriated to make way for a new airport - (which was never built) - in 10/18/2005" Foreward Page 3 of 5 1972. Under n agremeat with the govemmnl, frees and Bill continued to operate the Acre unfill 1911 when they negotiated the sale of the store and property to the Govemmdem The store was she the post office . Char father was the postmaster instill 1971 and Bill was the postmaster from 1911 to 1911. All of us, --Mary Armor, Bill, tack and I word expected to do our share of household and yard chores, like washing dish o,smaping disarming the grass, wading, washing trucks and cars, maintaining the tams court, Flooding the ice and removing snow Gam the pond and means court wham we played hockey. Cherrywood, from 1872 untill 19]2,-( when the whole arca was expropriated to make way for an airport which was never built) was a small village with a church, school, carriage shop, blacksmith shop, garage, cider mill, butcher shop and grocery store. To the I870's Charles Petry built abrick yard and kilns and he and his son operated the industry unlill it was closed dawn in the 1920x. The surrounding farms were considered to be pan of Cherrywood. Cherrywood public school was was bounded by the Township line on the west, the 46 concession road on the darn, Dixie mad on the sued add the 2^°con on the Borth,. The school was comes the road from the store. Anybody wielding to extent their education beyond grade 8 went to Continuation school at Pickering to get a Junior metric. To abrin a senior movie you took guide 13 at Whitby, Scarborough or Markham. Most of the recreational activities evolved fiom the family house and link yard, the school, the Sunday School, the Church,—in the Milmy, Armstrong and Taylor farm bamsAming things like jumping into a pile of lay or straw from as high a place in the band dart you would dare, —skating on froun ponds, skiing on nearby hills, swimming in DulBns stock, the Rouge river and Lake Ontario. There was radio, but no TV and no computers. Our favourite radio pmguims were the play by play hockey games by Faster Hewitt with between period commeratorsWes McKnight, or Wind Common, Harold Canon W Elmer Ferguson. Om favourite Sunday nik progams were Ink bevy with his usual cut of wife Mary LivingsmmRochester, Danis day, ant Phil Hams. The humoer evolved around Berry's violin, his old Maxwell car, his skin Flint approach to everything and his continual feud with Fred Allen. The Fred Allen show was aLm Popular with his trips down Allen's Alley with his wife Portland and coming ire characters like Mrs.Normaum, Senator Claglmmrind Titus Moody. Fibber M'Gce and Molly was popular on Tuesday nimes,pmticularly when they opened the closet to by and find something. Jim Hunter broadcast the news at 6:30 p.m. each evening followed by Wen Meltnight with the sports news. Everybody in the commodity was given the opportunity and enaomaged to participate in the recreational activities that were taking place, -- saMnll, hockey, skiin& fishing, rennis, swimming, horseshoes, golf and card games. There were card games around our kitchen Bible in the home, at the school and m the garage next to the store. Jack occasionally played cards in the gauige with a group of card players rather door do his home work. We had a monis coup in ow back yard which was Page 4 popular summer activity for all of us, our family, our friends and our neigbours. Tends comparisons were held involving a isms team from Pickering and players from Gerrywood. Horseshoes were played on the home shoe pitch (4) comas the mad fiom the store. The community hose shoe pitch replaced the old cider mill. There were 4 sets of pitches with lights and horse shoe compositions were held which lvoved surrounding communities like Whihvale and Cher Gmve. In Inter years when interest in horse shoes declined, the home shoe facilities across the mad were repinN with a single pitch between the store and the garage next door. Our father took us and our fiiends to Rice fske, Gnrgian Bay and Cameron Lake to swim and fish. Clamyweod had hockey and softball teams which competed in organized leagued with teams Gum the surrourefing villages, Wlsitevale, Brougham, Pickering, Kinsale, DnbWon, Markham, Agincourt, and Highland Creek. The manager -coaches and best fns and supporters of our hockey manss were our father, Len Gates, and Bill Davidsn ant later Jim Palmer. Recreational hockey was played on the tennis conn, and me brick yard pond and the organized hockey was played on the indoor riles at Markham and Agincoot 10/18/2005 Formed Page d of 5 The rumor pubs were located on the 15I cencesion road at Rouge dvabne in the valley and the other at the top of the west baNr of the rive. They wee meeting places where you got together with your friends and talked over current local events,sports etc. and drank some beer. Jim McGrieken and Bobbie Miller were usually there to keep us up to date on everything. Jim knew all the local gossip. Bobbie, fm Whiteside never said anything but always nodded in agreement to anything chat was said. No one ever knew what Bobbie did fora living and for some reason he always bad money for beer. Sunday Schaal was mandatory, in our family and most of the oche families in the community. We had to go to Sunday school before we were allowed to do other things like swimming playing terms or hockey. no Sunday school and church people rumored red many activities includin Sunday school picndes, church garden parties and church concerts. Our fmha was one of our Sunday school human.I do not beliwe he lower a la about the bible but was a good role model and highly respected in the community. He was also a school trustee and had a hand n making sure we always had agood school teacher. As a Sunday school teaclandand as a forms)and Ile most other people in me community at that time, you were expected you to know, the diffemce between right and wrong, have aposi ve and wining cathode, respect for other people and their treasury, exported obedience, excellence and perfection ind and made sere everybody in am class participated in all the sports that were going on in the comrauuity. Our mother, Ella, a school teacher, hid these same qualities and had due than to teach us more about humility, joy and happiness, cleanliness, dreadfulness, goad moment and sharing. Along with her parental responsibilities and working in the store, she was active in the Church, Sunday school and community events. She was a Smiley schoolteacher, very active in the Church Ladies Aid, communally played the piano in Sunday school, the organ in church, and sang in the church choir, and occasionally a relief teacher at the school. She was active in organizing events at the school, card parties and square dancing. Our grandmother Milroy also played an important role in our lives tight up Page 5 moll she died in the 1963. Her wit, smile, laugh and positive attitude will always be remembered. After finishing high school Bill, Junk, Mary Amu and I was encouraged and given the opportunity to go on and come founder traimag. Bill took a business course at Ryerson College in Toronto, Mary Anna grdmand in nursing at Wellesley hospital in Toronto and then a Universitydegree in nursing from the UniversityofBrl6sh Columbia and Jack and I graduated withdegrees in Civil Engineering fm University ofToronm. After flooding high school and not able to get into the air farce because I was color blind, am mole Murray Morrish, a mechanical Engineer, a graduate from the Universityol'Torom encouraged me to become an Engineer and took the time m take me on a tom ofthe Engweering facultyat U.ofT., and ofHart House the building which was the cense of most of the extra comcular activities for men at the University. The building bad moms and facilities for swimming basketball, gymnasium, pool hall, card rooms,a Murray, restaurant and a large ballroom for dancing. In Chenrywood like most other small waif comm arties strict rules and guide lines were taught at home, w the school, and in the Sunday school. At home ands school you were appropriately discipfed,(including the staid if you did and follow the rules and guide lines. Tachy there we very few rules, and iftherc are rales and guidelines they are not well communicated, and there is much Ices discipline. In the old days the governments were not trying to tell you what to do and how to live your HG. At an early age you had chores to do and were expected to do them. There was an free ride Gam the government except in extreme cues when there was a genuine need for help and this came from the local government under the name of 'relief' and, or, form friends end relatives. School inspectors came around afew times each year to make save the teacher was doing O.K. regarding his or bar's teaching responsibilities. On thow days the tewhers usually dilated their questions to %e smartest kids in she chis. On those days l could relax. Most of the school teachers of that era were tough and usually fair .There was little tolerance for misbehavior. Everyone had an opportunity and encouraged to be continually physically and mentally active, both wodring and in 10/18/2005 Foreword Page 5 of 5 playing. Times were sometimes a little tough,-moreso for our Parents than us, but there was usually harmony, and fun in the home, in the school and in to community. September 2005 1 011 8/2 0 0 5