The Corner Store With Cracker Jack and Lucky Elephant

THE 1960'S, THE CORNER STORE WITH CRACKER JACK AND LUCKY ELEPHANT-

WHAT WERE THE INFLUENCES OF LIL & CEC'S VARIETY STORE?

I CAN TELL YOU HONESTLY, I KNEW ABOUT NOSTALGIA AND THE FEELINGS OF SENTIMENT IT INSPIRES, LONG BEFORE I KNEW WHAT IT ACTUALLY MEANT BY STRICT DEFINITION. EVEN AS A TRINKET CHASING KID, I KNEW THAT THE PLACES I VISITED TO GET MY TREATS, WERE OUT OF THE PAGES OF A HISTORY I HADN'T YET READ. LONG, LONG BEFORE I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE NEAT TO BECOME AN ANTIQUE AND COLLECTIBLE DEALER, I WAS INTUITIVELY AWARE THAT MY SURROUNDINGS WERE GOING TO CHANGE SOON. THESE OLD CORNERS STORES WERE GOING TO BE REMOVED OFF THE LANDSCAPE BY WHAT MY PARENTS USED TO TALK ABOUT……AS TRENDS IN REDEVELOPMENT AND URBAN SPRAWL. I REMEMBER WHAT THE CITY LOOKED LIKE, AND IT WAS A SERIOUS MATTER, AS FAR AS I WAS CONCERNED, IF THE CITY WAS TO INTRUDE UP THIS LITTLE TOWN I HAD COME TO ADORE……AFTER OUR OWN GREAT ESCAPE FROM SOUTHERN ONTARIO.

IT WAS THE LATE 1960'S IN BRACEBRIDGE, ONTARIO. IN BURLINGTON, WHERE WE HAD RESIDED UP UNTIL THE WINTER OF 1966, URBAN SPRAWL WAS QUITE PREVALENT, AND SACRED PLACES I'D KNOWN AS MY PLAYGROUND, HAD ALREADY BEEN SERIOUSLY COMPROMISED BY THE MID 1960'S. SO I HAD A MINOR INKLING THAT THE LITTLE "MOM AND POP" CORNER STORES, IN BRACEBRIDGE, HAD ALREADY PASSED THEIR PEAK. I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND ALL THE NUANCES OF COMPETITION, AND THE LAWS OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND, JUST THAT IT WAS GOING TO BE A REAL SHAME TO LOSE THOSE WONDERFUL OLD SHOPS……FILLED WITH SO MUCH NEAT STUFF.

I'VE ALWAYS FELT I LIVED SOME TIME BEFORE. WHEN I PASS A PLACE AND GET THAT STRANGE FEELING, AS IF I'VE BEEN HERE BEFORE, WALKED THESE SAME STREETS, PLAYED IN THE ADJACENT FIELDS AND PARK, YET HAVE NEVER BEEN IN THAT LOCALE IN THE PAST. IT WAS LIKE THIS THE FIRST TIME I WENT INTO THE FORMER "BLACK'S VARIETY," ON BRACEBRIDGE'S TORONTO STREET. IT BECAME "LIL &; CEC'S," AND THEN "FRASER'S" BEFORE I LEFT THAT NEIGHBORHOOD IN THE MID 1970'S. THE SHOP, UPDATED OF COURSE, STILL OPERATES, BUT NOW IS KNOWN AS THE "QUIKEE MART." THERE WAS ANOTHER CORNER STORE, ON THE OTHER END OF THE SAME BLOCK, KNOWN AS BAMFORD'S VARIETY, AND WAS PART OF THE WOODLEY PARK GUEST COTTAGES, THAT OCCUPIED THE LARGE LOT BETWEEN THE TWO STORES. I LIVED IN THE WEBER APARTMENTS, ON ALICE STREET, WHICH WAS DIRECTLY BEHIND BOTH STORES. I HAD EASY ACCESS, YOU BET.

IT WAS DURING THE LIL & CEC YEARS THAT I SPENT MOST TIME IN THAT NEAT LITTLE SHOP, WITH ONE OF THOSE COKE MACHINES WITH THE METAL TRACKING, AND ICE COLD WATER TO NAVIGATE. NEVER GOT ONE OF THOSE POPS OUT EASILY OR WITHOUT NUMB FINGERS.

BAMFORD'S STORE WAS WHERE MY MOTHER MERLE, WORKED PART TIME, AND IT WAS JUST OUT OF THIS WORLD, AS FAR AS INTERIOR DECOR. IT WAS A SMALL SHOP, WITH A CUBBY HOLE FOR THE CLERK TO SIT, WITH THE PACKAGES OF CIGARETTES ON SHELVES BEHIND. IT WAS CROWDED WITH ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING A CORNER STORE SHOULD HAVE, PLUS A LOT OF MERCHANDISE BEST SUITED A HARDWARE AND GROCERY STORE. I DON'T KNOW HOW THEY JAMMED SO MUCH INTO SUCH A SMALL SPACE. THEY DID HAVE A STORE ROOM, BUT IN THE SHOP, EVERY INCH, EXCEPT THE NECESSARY WALKWAYS FOR CUSTOMERS, WAS OCCUPIED WITH INVENTORY DISPLAY, INCLUDING THE CEILING. THERE WAS MORE STUFF HANGING OVER YOUR HEAD THAN WAS ON THE SHELVES. IT WAS JUST A DIFFERENT KIND OF MERCHANDISE. I WOULD BUY MY COMICS OFF BAMFORDS, AND MY MOTHER USED TO TIP ME OFF WHEN THE NEW SHIPMENT HAD BEEN DELIVERED. I REALLY LIKED MAD MAGAZINE BETTER, SO I HAD HUNDREDS OF THESE AT ONE TIME IN MY LIFE. THEN, ACCORDING TO MY WIFE, I GREW UP.

THE LOCAL HUNT'S HILL LADS USED TO DIVIDE OUR ALLOWANCE MONEY UP BETWEEN THE SHOPS. THE TREAT ITEMS WERE PRICED ABOUT THE SAME, BUT THERE WAS NO PORCH TO SIT ON AT BAMFORD'S. JUST A CONCRETE PAD, AND CARS COULD DRIVE INTO A PARKING SPOT RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE SHOP, THAT LEFT YOU SUCKING EXHAUST FUMES. THAT WENT BACK TO THE STORE'S HEYDAY, AS A TOURIST AND CAMPING RESORT. SO IF YOU WANTED TO GET OUT OF THE MOTOR POOL, YOU COULD SIT ON THE STOOP AT LIL & CEC'S, AND THEY'D ONLY KICK YOU OFF AT STORE CLOSING….WHICH WAS LATE ON THOSE HOT SUMMER NIGHTS. THEY ALWAYS HAD THE AIR CONDITIONING CRANKED WAY UP, SO WE LINGERED A LOT OVER THE CENT CANDY DISPLAY, ENJOYING THE COOL RESPITE FROM THE STEAMY ENVIRONS OUTSIDE.

THE POINT IS, AND I'M NOT SURE HOW THIS WAS SEEDED IN MY MIND, BUT I LIVED WITH THE KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT NOSTALGIA WAS, AND THE SENTIMENT IT INSPIRED……AND REPRESENTED, IN THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS, EVEN BEFORE I KNEW WHAT IT MEANT BY DICTIONARY DEFINITION. I HAD A BASIC IDEA OF HISTORY BUT THERE WAS JUST SOMETHING COMPELLING ABOUT THE OLD SHOPS, THAT BEGGED MY UNDIVIDED ATTENTION……MUCH AS IF IT WOULD ONE DAY BE OF CONSIDERABLE IMPORTANCE. EVEN THOUGH I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND MY FEELINGS ABOUT THESE PLACES, AND CERTAINLY DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT RE-INCARNATION (IF I'D BEEN A FORMER OWNER OF A SHOP LIKE THIS), I PAID ATTENTION THROUGH THIS ENTIRE PERIOD, ALMOST AS IF I FEARED MISSING SOMETHING I WOULD NEED LATER. LIKE THE RAW INFORMATION TO PUT THIS ANTIQUE BIOGRAPHY INTO PRINT. I STUDIED THESE SHOPS, TRYING TO SECURE THESE MEMORIES FOR POSTERITY. AS SOON AS I'D POP IN THE DOOR OF THOSE SHOPS, I FELT THIS TIDAL WAVE OF SENTIMENT THAT AT TIMES MADE ME SAD, FOR NO APPARENT REASON, AND AT OTHER TIMES, JOYOUS THAT I STILL HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO ENJOY ITS LAST FEW YEARS OF OPERATION.

SO WHAT HAPPENED AS A GENERAL PANG, OF KINSHIP TO THIS WAY OF LIFE, ALSO GOT SPECIFIC, ABOUT WHAT I WAS SECURING IN THESE CURIOUS HOLE-IN-THE-WALL CORNER STORES. WITH MATES, WE SPENT LOTS AND LOTS OF MONEY, AND INVESTED HUGE AMOUNTS OF TIME, BUYING AND ENJOYING THE MERCHANDISE WE WERE ABLE TO PURCHASE THERE. YOU KNOW, THE TREASURES FOUND IN LUCKY ELEPHANT PINK POPCORN, CRACKER JACKS, HOSTESS POTATO CHIPS, BURIED TREASURE ICE CREAM CONES, AND THE LIST GOES ON AND ON. THEN THERE WERE THE PACKAGES OF HOCKEY AND BASEBALL CARDS, WITH THE ROCK HARD, THIN CHEWING GUM. THERE WERE "MONSTER" CARDS WHEN I STARTED COLLECTING, ADDING TO MY SMALL COLLECTION OF "MUNSTER" CARDS, THE OFFSHOOT OF THE TELEVISION SHOW, AND OF COURSE "BEATLES" CARDS, OF WHICH I HAD STACKS AT ONE TIME. THIS WAS THE DAY, HOWEVER, WHEN CARDS WERE TOSSED AT SCHOOL, IN GAMES LIKE "CLOSEST TO THE WALL" WINNING THE LOT. I WAS GOOD AT THIS BUT THE CARDS WERE DESTROYED ON THE ASPHALT, AND CONCRETE SURFACES, WE SLID THEM ACROSS. THERE WERE ALSO COLLECTOR PICTURE COINS THAT CAME IN CHIP BAGS, THAT I REALLY LIKED. I'M NOT SURE OF THIS HOWEVER, THOUGH I DID GET THE JELLO PICTURE COINS AS WELL;…..CARS AND PLANES IF NOT MISTAKEN. I MAY BE WRONG ABOUT THIS. I'M NOT SURE WHAT SHERIFF PUDDINGS OFFERED IN THEIR PACKS. MY FAVORITE COLLECTIBLE FROM THIS TIME, WERE THE PLASTIC WAR PLANES FOUND IN HOSTESS CHIPS. I HAD THE WHOLE COLLECTION AT ONE TIME, UNTIL MERLE DECIDED TO GIVE THEM TO SOME LOCAL KIDS WHEN I WENT OFF TO UNIVERSITY.

THE PERIOD WHEN COKE HAD THE SPECIAL EDITION CAPS WITH NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PICTURES ON THEM, WAS A DANDY AS WELL……AND WE STILL HAVE A FEW FROM THOSE DAYS. OUR FAVORITE, AS A FAMILY, IS THE ONE OF ROGER CROZIER, THEN OF THE DETROIT RED WINGS. AS ALL US CURRIES WORKED WITH ROGER IN LATER YEARS, WITH HIS CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION, WE ACTUALLY FOUND OURSELVES VISITING SPORTS CARD SHOPS, TRYING TO BUY BACK WHAT I HAD AS A KID. ROGER WAS A HOMETOWN HERO, THAT'S FOR SURE, AND HAD A PARADE IN HIS HONOR, AFTER WINNING THE CONN SMYTHE TROPHY, IN THE 1966 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS AGAINST MONTREAL. I REMEMBER HE WAS AWARDED A GOLD MUSTANG FOR HIS GOALTENDING PROWESS. SO WE COLLECTED EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING WITH HIS NAME ATTACHED. IN BRACEBRIDGE SPECIFICALLY, THIS ALSO GENERATED A HUGE INTEREST IN HOCKEY CARDS FOR THE REST OF THE 1960'S.

YOU KNOW, I HAVEN'T REALLY THOUGHT ABOUT THIS PERIOD, AS BEING A BIG INFLUENCE ON MY ANTIQUE HUNTING CAREER. I KNOW IT WAS, ESPECIALLY WHEN I PUT THESE RECOLLECTIONS IN PRINT, AND FORCE MYSELF TO RE-LIVE THOSE EARLY HUSTLING TIMES IN MY LIFE, HOARDING "BOUGHT AND FOUND" STUFF INTO MY PARENTS SMALL APARTMENT. IT DID SORT OF BECOME AN OBSESSION, TO COLLECT, BECAUSE OF THIS OFTEN REPEATED ISSUE OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND. WE WERE CONVINCED, YOU SEE, THAT HOSTESS WAS GOING TO RUN OUT OF WAR PLANES, OR THAT THE PROMOTION WOULD END BEFORE OUR COLLECTION WAS FILLED. WE SUSPECTED THE HOCKEY PLAYER BOTTLE CAPS WERE ALSO BEING HOARDED BY OTHERS, RUINING OUR CHANCES OF GETTING A COMPLETE SET. THE SAME FOR HOCKEY CARDS, AND ALL THE CARDS WE COLLECTED, INCLUDING "THE MONKEES" I BELIEVE. IN FACT, IT WAS A BRILLIANT STRATEGY BY THESE COMPANIES, TO CREATE COLLECTORS OUT OF THIN AIR. I DID THE EXACT SAME THING WITH CEREAL BOXES. I HAD TO BUY HONEYCOMBS, WHEN THEY CAME OUT WITH A BRILLIANT COLLECTION OF WESTERN FIGURES, AND WAGONS, AND I'M PRETTY SURE, CUT-OUTS ON THE BACK OF THE BOXES, TO MAKE FORTS FOR THE CAVALRY TO DEFEND. THE CEREALS WERE EXPENSIVE, AND WE WERE BROKE MOST OF THE TIME, SO IT WAS A LOW PRIORITY ON GROCERY NIGHT, TO BUY ME HONEYCOMBS, WHEN CORN FLAKES WERE MUCH CHEAPER. I BEGGED A LOT IN THOSE DAYS.

SO TO GET MORE MONEY TO BUY MORE PRODUCTS CONTAINING BURIED TREASURE, WE WOULD HUSTLE-UP EMPTY POP BOTTLES FOR THE REFUND. ON SOME DAYS, WE COULD GATHER UP FIVE TO TEN BUCKS WORTH OF EMPTIES, AND THAT BOUGHT A LOT MORE PRODUCT. MY MOTHER THOUGHT I WAS STEALING MONEY FROM SOMEWHERE, AS SHE COULDN'T BELIEVE I COULD FIND SO MANY EMPTIES LAYING AROUND. HERE'S THE THING. THE LOCAL "JAMES DEAN" WANNABES, USED TO HANG AROUND THOSE SAME STORES, ESPECIALLY LIL & CEC'S, DRINKING POP AND EXCHANGING GIRL STORIES. WE'D WAIT TILL COOL AND THE GANG DEPOSITED THEIR POP BOTTLES IN THE TRASH. THEY WERE TOO COOL TO CASH THOSE BOTTLES IN FOR THE SMALL REFUND. SO THEY EITHER HANDED THEM TO US, WAITING ON THE STORE PORCH, OR TOSSED THEM IN THE GARBAGE….JUST TO MAKE US GET IN TO FISH THEM OUT. LOTS OF PEOPLE WOULD SIT IN THEIR CARS, AFTER COMING OUT OF THE SHOP, READ A LITTLE OF THE PAPER, AND FINISH A BOTTLE OF POP BEFORE DRIVING AWAY. I HAD LOTS OF FOLKS YELL AT ME, "HEY, CURRIE, WANT THIS POP BOTTLE." I'D HAVE JUMPED OVER THEIR CAR TO BEAT ONE OF MY BOTTLE COMPETITORS. I'D BE RIGHT BACK AT THE COUNTER, BUYING MORE TREATS WITH THAT LITTLE EXTRA INSIDE. YES, IT WAS BONKERS, AND I COULD HAVE BOUGHT A HOUSE WITH WHAT I SPENT ON TRADING CARDS, TOY PLANES, PICTURE COINS AND BURIED TREASURE THEME-STICKS, BUT I WAS DOING WHAT MADE ME HAPPY. AND THEN SPENDING A LOT OF TIME VISITING THE DENTIST…..WHO I THINK WHOLE-HEARTEDLY SUPPORTED MY EXCESSES.

SUZANNE, ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DISTRICT, GROWING UP IN WINDERMERE, ON LAKE ROSSEAU, HAD A BIG ADVANTAGE OVER ME. HER FAMILY OWNED AND OPERATED THE WINDERMERE MARINA, AND "THE SKIPPER," THE SNACKBAR IN THE UPPER LEVEL OF THE LAKEFRONT BUILDING. THEY SOLD LUCKY ELEPHANT, AMONGST OTHER TREASURE FILLED MERCHANDISE, AND PATRONS USED TO DONATE THEIR PRIZES, TO ADD TO A LARGE DISPLAY OF FOUND OBJECTS ADORNING A CAFE SHELF. WHEN WE WROTE A SMALL BOOK ABOUT THE SKIPPER, IN THE LATE 1990'S, MANY PEOPLE COMMENTED THAT THIS WAS STILL A VIVID MEMORY TO THEM……THE FAMOUS LUCKY ELEPHANT PRIZE PARADE.

SUZANNE AND I BOTH HAVE SOFT SPOTS FOR THOSE DAYS, AND THE PLACES WE WORKED, SHOPPED, OR VISITED OCCASIONALLY, THAT DIDN'T SIMPLY INSPIRE US AS TODAY'S COLLECTORS, BUT MADE US APPRECIATE THE QUALITIES OF WHAT MAKES SOMETHING COLLECTIBLE…..SOMETHING PERSONAL AND MEMORABLE. FOR ME, COLLECTING STUFF WAS ALMOST SECOND NATURE, AND IT SEEMED TO DEVELOP LIKE A PIMPLE. ONE MOMENT IT ISN'T THERE, AND THE NEXT, IT'S PART OF WHO YOU ARE. I DIDN'T THINK OF IT, AS THE BEGINNINGS OF A LIFE-LONG PROFESSION. I WROTE ABOUT IT LOTS, ESPECIALLY WHEN I HAD A COLUMN IN A PUBLICATION KNOWN AS THE MUSKOKA ADVANCE, BACK IN THE 1990'S. I DID A COLUMN ABOUT MY OWN YOUTH, GROWING UP IN BRACEBRIDGE, WHERE I DEVOTED MANY COLUMNS TO THOSE WONDERFUL CORNER STORES IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD…….WHERE TRUTHFULLY, I CUT MY TEETH AS A FLEDGLING COLLECTOR. I DIDN'T KNOW HOW SERIOUS IT WAS GOING TO BECOME. I CAN TRACE A LOT MORE INTERESTS IN ANTIQUES AND COLLECTIBLES, BACK TO THOSE EARLY DAYS, STUDYING THE CORNER STORES, AND THE INVENTORY THEY USED TO STOCK. I PARTICULARLY HAVE AFFECTION FOR THE ADVERTISING SIGNS AND DISPLAYS, FROM GUM RACKS (WE HAVE A COUPLE), TO THOSE CARDBOARD BACKDROPS SENT BY COKE AND PEPSI FOR THE CHRISTMAS PERIOD. THERE WAS A CULTURE WITHIN THOSE SHOPS, WHERE SMALL WAS GOOD, AND IT WAS GOOD TO BE SMALL……AND WE WERE VERY SATISFIED SMALL CUSTOMERS.

LIKE I NOTED EARLIER IN THIS COLUMN, MY MOTHER DECIDED TO GIVE A LOT OF MY COLLECTIBLES AWAY, WHEN I REGISTERED FOR UNIVERSITY. THERE WAS AN ELDERLY WOMAN, WHO LIVED NEAR THE STORE, WHO HAD TAKEN IN TWO GRANDCHILDREN DUE TO DOMESTIC PROBLEMS. THE KIDS ADMITTEDLY HAD LITTLE TO PLAY WITH…..AND AS MY MOTHER USED TO SAY, "YOU'VE GOT WAY TO MUCH, AND YOU NEVER PLAY WITH IT ANYMORE." MERLE USED THAT ARGUMENT THROUGHOUT MY CHILDHOOD, WHENEVER SHE PLANNED A TOY CULL. THAT MEANT I HAD TO HIDE MY "A" QUALITY MATERIAL. ON THIS OCCASION, I WAS AWAY AT THE TIME, AND WHEN I ARRIVED BACK HOME, MY FAVORITE TOY…..GAME, WAS GONE. MY MUNRO TABLETOP HOCKEY GAME. SHE GAVE IT TO THE KIDS, ALONG WITH BAGS OF MY CORNER-STORE NOSTALGIA. I WAS FURIOUS. WHY COULDN'T SHE HAVE ASKED FIRST? ONE DAY, A SHORT WHILE LATER, WHILE ON MY WAY TO GRAB A COLD BOTTLE OF POP AT THE CORNER STORE, THE GRANDMOTHER CAME OFF HER PORCH TO MEET ME…….TO THANK ME FOR HELPING OUT HER GRANDSONS, WHO HAD LEFT THEIR PARENTS HOME WITHOUT MUCH MORE THAN A CHANGE OF CLOTHES. ALL OF A SUDDEN, WHAT HAD BEEN A GRIEVANCE WITH MY MOTHER, BECAME AN ACT OF BENEVOLENCE. I'D BEEN GIVEN TOYS IN MY TIME AS WELL, SEEING AS WE WEREN'T ALL THAT WELL OFF OURSELVES. I WENT FROM FEELING ANGRY, TO BEING QUITE CONTENT, THAT WHAT I HAD COLLECTED IN MY YOUTH, WAS GOING TO BENEFIT THE ASPIRATIONS OF TWO YOUNG FELLOWS, WITH A LOT OF DISCOVERY TIME YET TO COME. THIS PROBABLY DID MORE FOR ME, AS A HUMAN BEING, THAN ANYTHING ELSE, BECAUSE OUR WHOLE FAMILY HAS BEEN WORKING WITH CHARITIES EVER SINCE, HELPING THE LESS FORTUNATE…….AND FEELING VERY GOOD ABOUT SHARING WHAT WE HAVE BEEN FORTUNATE TO ATTAIN IN OUR LIVES.

I ADMIT HOWEVER, I WOULD LIKE TO GET A CIRCA 1967 TO 69 MUNRO HOCKEY GAME, WITH THE EXPANSION TEAMS, TO PLAY IN MY RETIREMENT. IT WAS A FANTASTIC, DURABLE, HIGHLY ENTERTAINING GAME, THAT THE HUNTS HILL LADS PLAYED OVER AND OVER, IN SOME INCREDIBLE PLAYOFF HOCKEY. I WAS KNOWN AS A TABLE TOP HOCKEY "SHARK." CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? MY MATES OUTSIDE OF CALLING ME DORK, JACKASS, DROOPY DRAWERS, AND PATCHES, BELIEVED ME TO BE A "HOCKEY SHARK." THE ONLY DISADVANTAGE OF ATTAINING THIS LEVEL OF ACHIEVEMENT, WAS THAT NO ONE WOULD PLAY ME ANY MORE. IT'S JUST THE NATURE OF A SHARK TO PLAY ROUGH. THAT'S WHY MERLE GAVE IT AWAY. OH WELL, I BET THOSE KIDS HAD A BLAST. I'D LOVE TO HAVE ONE TO PLAY OUR BOYS, ANDREW AND ROBERT……UNTIL, OF COURSE, THEY TOO RECOGNIZE "THE SHARK" RESIDING COYLY, IN OLD DAD'S CLOTHING.

THANKS FOR JOINING TODAY'S BLOG. MORE ON THE WAY.