Laundry Day Story

Happy New Year blog readers!  May 2023 be a year of new discoveries in and around old Reston!  Today's subject came arose from the family of Bev Lockhart sharing some papers from the history of W Lockhart & Sons Garage as previously detailed here. In trying to distract myself from my own pile of laundry, I did a little digging in the Recorder Archive and the local history book. 

 S.H. Dayton purchased Lot 1 of Block 4 from Sam Woo from Canton, China in 1937 to secure the land for his garage property, later Lockhart's Garage. It hasn't been easy to trace Sam Woo as ownership seemed to change rather frequently and the Chinese men were given English names which may not match over place and time.  

Chinese labourers that built the Transcontinental Railway were on their way back east and the prairies were a spot of opportunity for Chinese restaurants and laundries. The discrimination of the times meant they could not be hired to work for others but had to establish their own businesses to survive.  It was not an easy life as detailed here in a Vantage Point article  from Turtle Mountain Souris Plains Heritage Association (TMSPHA). The Canada Cafe in Reston along with the Modern/Panda Cafe were popular spots in town for many years. 

A Chinese laundry business was established at the northeast corner of First (Railway)  Avenue and Third Street in the early days of the 1900's. Lee Sam was laundryman and published his prices in this ad in the Recorder in January of 1913.  Prices range up to 40 cents for men's overalls and $1.00 for a quilt.  Linens as well as clothing were cleaned and pressed in the shop.  

We call for and deliver work free to any part of town. All work is done by hand and is not torn or injured by machinery. We absolutely guarantee all our work.

 The Trails Along the Pipestone history book describes the laundry as a ramshackle affair on the street corner with a lean to on the side. Laundrymen lived and worked in the same cramped space with clotheslines behind and a slough for a backyard.  A pot belly stove served many duties -  heat for the room and the water, cooking and heating up his pressing irons.  He had a cart for deliveries.  Many men who used his services lived at the hotel as well as the well to do early Restonites. The need for a laundry service was great for a town with many single men working as field hands or on the railway.  They  lived in boarding houses with nowhere to do their laundry. 

A few weeks after the price list was advertised, Lee Hen (or Kin or Ken?) of Winnipeg took over from Lee Kin. (perhaps Lee Sam?)   I do wonder if the language barrier got names mixed up and I have noticed very few ads in the paper over the years. Likely not much extra money could be spent on the ads and those who wanted the service could easily find someone to do it.   The same copy with a new name, Sam Wing of Brandon,  was introduced a few weeks later in March of 1913. 

The 1916 Canadian Census names 44 year old Jim Sing as a laundryman living in Reston who came to Canada in 1912. On the 1921 Census, H.F. George is the name of a 32 year old laundryman at the corner.  It seems the laundry business closed up that same year and the spot was vacant until it was purchased to expand the Dayton Garage. 

I know that I won't walk past this corner again without thinking about the hard labour that happened here over many years in the past.  Thinking back to my own laundry and it's time to switch it to the dryer.  Throwing in a Tide Pod or a Bounce sheet and pushing a button is not much of a chore at all but I have still managed to put it off! Thanks Patsy!!

1965 - Don Messer Show in Reston

 

Contrary to the name of this blog, todays post is about neither a brick nor a board, just historic. It came about from reading the archived Reston Recorders for the spring and summer of 1965.  Over 57 years ago, the town was abuzz with a huge Canadian performer who was appearing for a show in Reston on Monday, June 28, 1965. The newly rebuilt rink would be the location as no other building in town came close to holding the number of people the Reston Lions Club hoped would attend. 

Don Messer was born in 1909 in New Brunswick in and after learning to play fiddle as a child, he formed a band when he worked in Prince Edward Island at a radio station as a music director.  By 1944, he and his group "The Islanders" were airing an evening show nationally on CBC radio.  Television was in its infancy but beginning in 1959,  Don Messer’s Jubilee was the second most watched show on CBC, right after Hockey Night in Canada.  Their popularity continued through the early 1960’s and cross country tours and albums of the music were fan favourites.  CBC cancelled the show in 1969 to the fury of many fans and a discussion was even held about the decision in the House of Commons. The show did continue to be broadcast through syndication for another 5 years until the death of Don Messer in 1973.  The memory of his heydays and watching the half hour show on on Monday nights from Brandon CKX Channel 5 is one many of my readers will surely recall along with me!

Preparations focused on selling tickets to be sure the club did not lose the "substantial guarantee" they had to pay to get the show to come. Reston was the smallest town visited on this tour and Yorkton, SK was the next stop. Seating for 2000 fans in the newly built rink?  No problem! The Coca-Cola company from Brandon lent wooden Coke crates and planks were borrowed from Beaver Lumber Company in Reston. Volunteer labour was used to construct the seating and manage the crowd. There is no word in the paper about refreshments but a 2 hour show starting at 8:30 pm would have had a crew looking after that as well. Despite poor initial ticket sales, a profit of $400 was realized and the evening was cemented in the memories of over 1500 area residents forever!  The Lions hosted the Messer troupe at a coffee and sandwich party at the Legion after the show before they spent a long day cleaning up. A friend tells me he still has his old autograph book signed by Don, Charlie, Marg, Johnny Forrest and a few others. He remember Catherine MacKinnon went to the bus right after the show and doesn't know if she signed any autographs.  Thanks for sharing your memories!

For anyone looking for a trip down memory lane, here is an hour’s Don Messer Show viewing and listening for you on YouTube for a snowy afternoon! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svYESS3Bg3Y

I'll finish this post the same way the show always ended with the WW1 tune Till We Meet Again sung here by Doris Day. 

Reston's Tinker Jones - Reg Coleman

When I read about a tinsmith, the only picture my mind can find is Tinker Jones from Little House on the Prairie. The episode was about the town wanting a bell for the church and the adults fighting over who would donate it. The children, led by Laura and Mary of course, had all the children of Walnut Grove gather up pails, oil cans, tin toys, dippers and everything else metal from their homes and farms. Tinker melted them all down and made a bell that would belong to them all.  

 





Here's what I found about Reston's longest serving tinsmith. Reginald George Coleman was born in England in 1886, the son of a schoolmaster. He and his wife Hilda Stevenson married in 1913 in Staffordshire, England and then immigrated to Canada.  At first he was employed in a hardware as a tinsmith in Strathcona Municipality, near Belmont and then moved onto Reston in 1917. He was the tinsmith for Manitoba Hardware and Lumber on the northwest corner of Main Street and Second Avenue until it was destroyed by fire in 1921.  I wonder if he was one of the men posing in front of the building in this picture below from the Olenick collection.  

 Reg went into business on his own after the fire and the Trails Along the Pipestone history book written in 1981 says his shop was located in the Baldwin Block, south of the bank where the Hometown Lumber warehouse sits today. He also operated in the Mennie Block at the south end of Main Street for a time until moving to a spot to the east of Lockhart's Garage on Railroad Avenue. He was able to custom fabricate pipes for heating and plumbing and make eavestroughs to fit any house. He was the "Tinny" in the area for almost 4 decades!

 

Reg and Hilda had 2 daughters Helena and Ethel and a son George. The son is remembered fondy by area residents by the nickname "Tinny".  The history book author recalls that Reg owned only a motorcycle and he travelled in it with his wife Hilda in a sidecar. I suppose his raw materials would have come in on the train and perhaps the sidecar was used to move them to his shop as well. Reg's granddaughter tells me that George used the motorcycle as well over the years. 

Mr. Coleman was a Past Worshipful Master of the Reston Masonic Lodge. He was also Justice of the Peace in Reston for many years. In this role, he would have handed out fines for minor offences like speeding. 

His wife Hilda died in 1948 and after that, he made a trip back to England to visit his family and rest until spring. In the fall of 1956, he sold his plumbing, heating and tinsmithing business to Elgin Gemmil who ran a Hardware in Pipestone.  Reg Coleman was a faithful advertiser in the Recorder right up until he closed. His retirement in March of 1956 was a front page story.  The building was used for storage for a time and then purchased by Leonard Ludlam who combined tinsmith and electrical work there until 1979 when he built a new shop on Main Street north of the gas station. 

After the sale of his home, he planned a trip to Spokane, Washington where his daughter Ethel Sinclair lived. After that, he was off to Vancouver to live with his other daughter Helen McMurchy and his son George.  Reginald George Coleman died on April 30, 1967 at the age of 84. He was buried beside his wife in Reston Cemetery.   Any further information or pictures are welcomed as always.  

In that headline story in 1956, The Reston Recorder said:

Reg was always ready to lend a helping hand and could be depended on to do a rush job at any hour. He will be greatly missed.  The best wishes of the community go with Mr. Coleman in his retirement. 

He was as famous in his own community as Tinker Jones was in his. 

Youngs Harness Shop

Herbert Charles Youngs was born in Norfolk, England and immigrated to Virden with his family in 1911. He was listed on the ship log as an apprentice harness make and 15 years old.  As with many young immigrants, he chose to go back across the sea and fight in WW1 in September of 1914. He served in the 5th battalion until his discharge in March of 1919. He was wounded a couple of times and probably his vocation as a harness maker saved him from a heavy combat role.

In July of 1919, Herbert Charles Youngs took over the harness shop on Reston from W.W. Shippam. The shop was formerly run by E.J. Wilkins and it was where the playground is situated today on Main Street. In 1920 in Winnipeg, he married Lily Kempton. Their daughter Lily Alice Patricia was born in March of 1921 in Reston and on the 1921 census, the family of three were living on 5th street in Reston. In January of 1922, H.C.'s business relocated to the Cates block which is on the far right of this postcard below and is where Hometown Lumber sits today. 

The unique ad for his business from the Reston Recorder in May of 1921 caught my eye and inspired today's blog post is reposted at the top of the page. Most advertisements were text and an outline picture like this is unusual for local businesses. Google helped me find a surprise - you can still buy Bickmore's Gall Cream to aid curing of sores on horses today! Originating in Old Town, Maine in 1882 to tend to wounds, cuts, or sores suffered by horses in the logging industry, it quickly became popular.  Household products for humans followed including Bickmore Easy-Shave Cream, Toothpaste, Cold Cream, Disappearing Cream, Pom-Gloss, and XYZ Skin Ointment.

   

H.C. Youngs had a prominent ad in the paper for the next few years and it is through them that the story of his business remains. The mainstay of his business would be making and repairing horse harness using rivets along with stuffing and patching collars. Harnesses would need to be oiled and some shops had a tank to dip the harness in for this job. Besides harness, he dealt in boots and shoes, skate straps and threshing machine belts. Canvas for binders were made and repaired in his shop. I can only imagine any harness maker's fear when more and more cars and tractors were seen in the mid-twenties and fewer horses clopped down the streets of Reston.  He must have taken his skills to a larger center 

 as the last Youngs ad that I came across was printed the February 28, 1924 of the Recorder. According to an Ancestry tree online, another daughter Phyllis Joy was born in Saskatchewan and Herbert died in Coquitlam, B.C. in 1976.  I'm glad to recognize the contribution made by Mr. Youngs to early Reston.  Further information is always welcome in the comments below.