Archive week to highlight corner stores of the past

The archivist said business went well for the stores until 1930 when the first big chain store came to the city. As stores struggled they started allowing regular customers to start tabs and gave credit. Donahue-Buziak said during tough times many patrons didn’t have the money to pay off their tabs which led to many of the stores going out of business because they were “too nice.”

Some were able to survive and Donahue-Buziak shared a fond memory of one particular store.

“I remember there was one [a corner store] and they were having some problems with people breaking into their store,” Donahue-Buziak said. “So they got this dog and after they got the dog there was no problems. The dog was a very welcomed sight in the store. You’d go to the store to get your groceries but you’d also get a nice visit from the dog.”

Donahue-Buziak said she is very excited about the exhibit because it will bring back a lot of memories for anyone who has been a resident of the city for a long time. There will be 50 interactive displays showing pictures of the stores, where they were located and as much information on them as archivists could gather.

Donahue-Buziak has invited as many of the old owners as she could to come to the display but admitted the majority of them have passed away.

Archives Week is free to experience and the only thing Donahue-Buziak asks for is if anyone has any history of the city in their home to bring it to them.

“We would love to get any pictures people have of North Battleford or any documents pertaining to the city,” Donahue-Buziak said. “People coming to North Battleford for the first time and visiting and writing a letter to someone about their experience, anything from the olden days we would love to have. We would gladly take a copy if they don’t want to donate the original.”

Greg.higgins@jpbg.ca

On Twitter @realgreghiggins.

by Greg Higgins

Archive week to highlight corner stores of the past

What's Trending