Jan 27, 2016
Jerome Thomson was the first owner, followed by his son Harold, Mr. Hearty, the M & M chain, owned and operated by Barry Eady, then by John Lee, first as the Red & White and later as the Valumart. John sold the store and business in 1993 to Bret Harvey. In 2006 Chuck Belcher became the new franchise owner of the store, which became a Freshmart.
Finally, in 2013, the store became Mike Dean's Super Food Store.
Jerome Thomson and family moved to Sharbot Lake and bought out a Mr. Heaslip. Beatrice Millikin worked in the office of Thomson & Avery's store and she and Percy met there while both were employed there.
Leverne Barker said that the framework for the first Barker Store on # 38 came from the timbers from the garage of the Thomson's store.
Thomson's store was such a landmark and quite the centre of town, that for years after the store was sold and the Thomsons were no longer connected with it, it was still known as "Thomson's".
Thomson's epitomized all that we remember about a Country General Store. It was more than a store ... it was a meeting place, a place to catch up on "gossip", both from men & women. A visit there could be for groceries, to pick up your mail, have a game of checkers or chess, leave a message, buy furniture, to buy small farm equipment or even a coffin. In the early days coffins were stored upstairs along with the furniture.
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