AWAY AND HOME AGAIN - THE HIGH SEAS

Ken and I traveled a great deal when we were somewhat younger. One of our most interesting adventures was a cruise through the Panama Canal on the cruise ship 'Oriana'.

When we left Vancouver, all was fine: fond farewells, laughter, streamers and whistles.  However, the passage to San Francisco was rough and I awoke feeling nauseated. I approached the dining room with trepidation, only to be greeted by the Captain, smacking his lips over a large plate of kippers! (For some reason  we were chosen to sit at the Captain's table, along with Googie Withers, a well-known old time British movie star, who usually floated in at the last minute, draped in a voluminous caftan). Well, I caught one whiff of those kippers and made a hasty exit.  A conveniently placed large potted plant received some extra 'nourishment' that morning.

We had delightful waiters (from Goa) and our particular waiter insisted on spooning brown sugar onto Ken's porridge each morning, a service that made Ken feel so uncomfortable that he finally explained to the fellow that he would rather do it himself.

We spent three weeks on the Oriana, waited upon as though we were all movie stars.  We didn't have to worry about where we were going to sleep, what we were going to eat, transportation or luggage.  Each morning a cup of tea and the ship's newspaper (complete with Canadian hockey scores as requested by Ken) were delivered to our stateroom.

This was our first experience with cruising, but not our last!

SOMETIMES STATISTICS ARE VITAL

I usually ignore requests to complete surveys but when the Bureau of Vital Statistics phoned us, I decided to cooperate!

What an interesting half hour it turned out to be.  As it happened, Ken and I had just finished lunch and were enjoying a cup of tea.  The fellow on our speaker phone had a clear, melodious voice as well as a charming manner.  Of the two of us seniors, I was chosen to participate.  All the questions were to do with health and welfare.  I happen to be blessed with extremely good genes and health and possess a keen sense of humor.  The fact that I am coming up 90 and take no drugs seemed to really amaze the interviewer.  

All his questions re illnesses were answered with a firm 'no' - did I have asthma, high blood pressure, heart trouble, diabetes, etc.? I had to admit I have arthritis in both knees, a 'dowagers hump' and an ileostomy. Could I see and hear well? 'yes' What kind of food did we eat? What kind of activities? 

One question was regarding my ethnic background.  I replied that both my parents were British but that I was born in an Indian village on the Naas River in northern BC and my paternal grandfather was the first 'white' missionary in that area.  That information intrigued the interviewer because he was himself familiar with the territory.

He asked if Ken or I took street drugs (!) which brought an emphatic 'no' and a laugh.  Then the crucial inquiry - did we drink alcohol? I answered truthfully that we had one, or maybe two glasses of wine every afternoon.  Well, we had a laugh over that and then, me being me, I said "I thought you were going to ask how many times a week we have sex" Well, the young man thought that was hilarious and we finished the interview on a very warm note.

I told him one of my activities is writing a blog.  Bless his heart, he wanted to know how he could read my blog as he felt it would be entertaining!

The interview made our day and seemed to make his day, too. It wasn't the usual run-of-the-mill survey.

It just shows how an ordinary day can have an unexpected bright moment.

Shelbourne Plaza - Part Two

I well remember the objections when a liquor store was proposed.  A petition was circulated by angry and apprehensive neighboring families, who envisioned drunks opening bottles in front of the premises.  Evidently the petition was successful and the liquor store was put on the back burner for a few years.  In its place sprung up the Club Soho, where, if one obtained a permit, liquor could be consumed on the premises.  

On February 29, 1964, a reunion was held at the Soho (located roughly where the Bank of Nova Scotia now stands). It was a gala affair, reuniting the old Cadboro Bay gang that used to gather together in the late 1930s.  More than 200 people turned out, some from afar, and danced to the tunes of the 1940s, played by the Mayfair orchestra.

Club Soho folded and Cablevision moved into the premises on June 3, 1967.  A disastrous fire occurred in February 1968 destroying all but a few files.  Before the firemen had finished cleaning up, cable was back on the air, from the basement of John Foss' home at the corner of Kingsberry and Richmond, utilizing parts scrounged from maintenance trucks.  Within ten months of the fire, they set up business in their new location.

The Bank of Nova Scotia has been with the Plaza since 1961, and, after the Cablevision fire, the bank expanded in that direction.  In later years, when Jennings Florist relocated to the Cedar Hill Mall, the bank spread its wings once again and absorbed that section.

In 1974 the long awaited liquor store, like the last piece of a jig-saw puzzle, dropped into place.  Many will recall that it filled the space that once was a convenient shortcut through to Poplar Street.

Louis Copens, the jeweler, has expanded his premises and now has a dazzling display of fancy clocks and sparkling glassware as well as his jewelery.  He mentioned that the cost of becoming engaged to your chosen one has tripled. His shop has experienced a couple of break-ins and one smash and grab.

A family business that has survived these many years is the A & L Bakery.  I asked Lyle and Rose Sauter where the name of the bakery originated.  Lyle said his original partner was Alf Harris, so they just took the first letters of their two names.  Many years ago he used to operate a bakery in Barkerville called the Goldfield.  When he opened the A & L in 1960, bread was 16 cents a loaf - the same loaf today is 73 cents.  Donuts used to be 50 cents a dozen, now they are $3 a dozen.

Teenagers who worked for them now have teenagers of their own.  The Sauter children all worked in the bakery over the years and one son, Rick, is a permanent staff member. Another son, Lawrence, works part-time for his parents while attending Camosun College.

The original operator of the barber shop was Harvey Bolton. Since then, Vic Wilk who ran it for eight years, has retired and his two sons have taken over the reins.

The fish and chip restaurant has had several owners and is now managed by Scotsman Dave Gray and his wife Sandra. It is a very popular spot and frequented faithfully by the other merchants.

Peg's Delicatessen and Tom's House of Pizza have been with us for many years.

The bicycle shop is a favorite haunt of the kids, eyeing the latest in the bicycle world, however tragedy struck our plaza on Oct 24, 1969 when Fred and Merle Owens, who originally operated this sports shop, were killed in an auto accident on the Patricia Bay Highway.

Many little businesses have come and gone over the years and in 1982 only three of the original owners remain - the jeweler, the baker and the beauty salon.

My husband and I can remember when the whole area of the plaza was occupied by the Ellis dairy farm.  

In Spring 2014, the Plaza parking lot was refurbished. Bowker Creek lies buried beneath the blacktop and only a tell-tale reinforced path known to the old-timers gives that secret away.

Shelbourne Plaza - Part One

Recently a woman phoned and asked if I had any history about the Shelbourne Plaza.

Well, it just so happens I wrote an article about the plaza in 1982 and even though thirty years have passed, I thought some of you might be interested in the history - bear in mind there have been a lot of changes since 1982....

Here is the article:

One day while mailing a letter at our local plaza, I was startled to see a sign in the window of El-Rosa Modes (ladies wear shop) which read: "The good die young - thanks to high interest and rent, closing out sale". This little business has been part of the Shelbourne Plaza since 1968 and it is very sad to witness its demise, as well as being a frightening indication of the times.  The proprietors, Mr. Swan and Mrs. Rosina Steel, regret being forced into such a situation. 

Many of their goods are manufactured right here in Victoria and include custom design work to accommodate physical disabilities. Daughters of customers have grown up and carried on their mothers' patronage. The passing years have seen slim young girls change into well rounded matrons.

Right next door is the thriving business of The Nearly New Shop, operated by Margot Currie and her daughter, Brenda. At first I thought the fact that they remain in business is because second hand goods might be more popular in the present economy, but they informed me that their lease is up for renewal in 1983, so only time will tell that story.  

The staff of The Nearly New also runs the sub post office very efficiently, with exceptional service at Christmas.  This postal service has been disrupted twice due to break-ins resulting in the entire contents of the safe being removed. 

At one time, their location was occupied by a small variety store, run by a young Dutch couple who now operate a butcher shop in Houston, Texas.

Shelbourne Plaza was the first of its kind to open in Victoria. Prior to this there were only two small grocery stores in the area - The Wooden Shoe on Cedar Hill Cross Road (where the picture framing business is now located) and Wilson's Grocery on the corner location of the present Saanich Peninsula Credit Union.

No K-Mart or Hillside Shopping Center existed. Most of our shopping was carried out in the old Safeway store located on Fort Street, where Postal station B now stands, or the other Safeway outlet on Quadra near the Fox Theatre.  If we went to town, we usually took advantage of the grocery departments at Eaton's or the Bay.

The one million dollar Shelbourne Plaza celebrated its grand opening Jan 28, 1960. The developers decided to incorporate the word 'plaza' into the name because plazas of ancient Spain were the community and shopping centres of the day.  The grand opening was well attended even though it was a cloudy day, with intermittent rain and accompanying chilly winds. 

George McIlveen was the proud manager of the Shop Easy store at the time of the opening.  Reminiscing in his attractive Irish brogue, he recalled some of the specials offered that day:  Zee bathroom tissue - 4 rolls for 49 cents, leg of pork for 57 cents per pound, two pounds of ground beef for 89 cents a pound, 8 tins of Aylmers tomato soup for 80 cents and Florida grapefruit were 6 for 49 cents.

One of the bold statements in the Colonist write-up was "When fully occupied it will be the most modern and up-to-date shopping center in Victoria."

We've sure come a long way since then, with plazas and malls scattered throughout the city.

One year, soon after the plaza was opened, our children entered a Halloween costume contest sponsored by the merchants.  The kids wore costumes that were giant replicas of playing cards.  Mummy and daddy spent many hours painstakingly constructing the costumes from large pieces of cardboard - Queen of Hearts for Terry and Jack of Diamonds for Mark. We created these costumes in the form of sandwich boards often used in advertising.  

Our kids won for 'most unusual costume' and the prize was being allowed to scoop up all the brand new pennies their hot little hands could hold.

Easter of 1961 brought another promotional stunt, this time in the form of the Easter Bunny who arrived by helicopter on the blacktopped parking area.

Our Shop-Easy was the first store in the district to begin evening hours. The manager at the time, Robin May, recalls one particular night when he had closed up shop and driven home.  He no sooner reached his abode when he received a call from the police to say his store was on fire.  Having just left the premises, he found this hard to believe.  He checked with the fire department and discovered the fire brigade was already on the job.

He rushed back to the store, where clouds of smoke, firemen and equipment greeted him.  It turned out to be a case of where there's smoke, there isn't necessarily fire.  Someone had been burning rubbish in the incinerator at the back of the building and some nearby boxes were smoldering.  The smoke seeped into the store. A passerby saw the smoke and assumed the worst.  Unfortunately the firemen found it necessary to break one of the heavy glass doors to gain entry to the store before the actual source of the smoke was established.

There were professional offices in the Plaza, as well.  When mild-mannered Dr. Pepper, the optometrist, was adjacent to Dr. Piper, I was often reminded of the tongue twister "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers".

Next door to the Shop Easy there was a hobby shop run by Terry Walls, who later moved to Harbour Square.

Many will remember when the drugstore was owned by Martin Doan.

Margo Beauty Salon began its days in the other half of the current drugstore but later moved to its present location in a separate building near the Plaza.  When the salon first opened, the cost of an average permanent wave was $12.50, by 1982 that cost has risen to $45.00.  

The other half of this small building (now occupied by Harvey's) originally housed the Tasty-Freeze which had previously been isolated by at the front of the parking lot. Back in those days the Shop-Easy had a machine which produced and provided the hamburgers for the Tasty-Freeze.

Many people will recall when the hardware store was owned and run by Sleggs and boasted a small lumber supply.  The hardware store has always been run by friendly, helpful people and the present family is no exception to this rule.

Who could possibly forget Isobel Dempster who so ably ran the Plaza Paint Pot! The individual attention she gave to matching wallpaper and paint was something to behold.

Margaret White, who used to manage the Merry Mart variety store, says that one Halloween they had such an inviting display in their window it was just too much temptation for some youngsters.  They hurled a rock through the window and grabbed as much candy as their hands could hold. They were in the process of calmly dividing their loot when the police arrived.

There was a small pet corner which housed goldfish, hamsters, etc. presided over by the lone male on the premises, a young man named Melvin Falk.  He used to fondly refer to all the female staff as his six mothers. He was devoted to his duties and I understand that after completing a course in ichthyology (study of fish) he was employed by the Manitoba government.

Often Margaret received a phone call from an anxious mother informing her that a little person was on his way to the store clutching some money which was to be spent on a birthday card and present.  Would she keep an eye out for him? Margaret not only helped the youngster select a present but often called the mother back to say 'mission accomplished' and assure her that the little shopper was en route home again with 'so much' change in hand.

One of the girls on staff was mother to a baby usually looked after by grandma.  Occasionally grandma took a break and went into town, leaving the baby in a buggy at the back of the store.  The girls took turns keeping an eye on the precious bundle until the rejuvenated grandmother returned. These are but two examples of the folksy, friendly atmosphere in that little store.