The building that currently houses the Stroud Medical Centre in Stroud, Ontario began as Chantler's General Store in 1850 when Stroud was still known as Victoria. It was the first store built in Victoria and was run by the Chantler family until taken over by the Banting Family to become Banting's General Store.
The next owners would be The Young Family.
This is their story.
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Sapper W.S. Young
B23225 |
Disappointed at having been denied permission by his father to enlist in the Royal Flying Corps in World War I, my grandfather, William S. Young was determined to serve his country when war was declared again just over two decades later.
Married with 3 children, at the age of 40 William dissolved his business, The Stroud Construction Company, said goodbye to his family and friends and joined the Royal Canadian Engineers in Camp Borden.
While serving overseas in the heavily bombed area of Croydon, England, William contracted pneumonia in early 1945 and spent his remaining time in the army in the hospital and convalescence homes.
Five years after leaving his family behind, William returned to the small community of Stroud in September 1945 just after World War II had come to an end and was anxious for life to get back to normal.
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Pilot Officer
George Young |
William's son George (my father) had also recently returned to civilian life. George, having enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force just 2 years earlier, was sent to train in Edmonton and Winnipeg where he earned his Navigator's Wings and was ultimately promoted to Flying Officer. But the war ended when George was home on his embarkation leave so he never saw action.
Many years later, my father told me that he had never expected to survive the war and so, never really thought much about a future. Now, at the age of 20 he didn't know what to do with his life. Discussing options with a military career counsellor, Dad thought he might look into the new plastics industry. However his counsellor advised Dad look at other options suggesting the plastics industry wasn't going anywhere and was nothing more than some nut mixing up batches of plastic in his basement.
The funeral business was another option Dad had considered at one time.
My grandmother, Cora, who was described as the "power behind the throne" by her daughter however, had other plans.
Here's how Cora and William's daughter Mary remembered it. "Mrs. Flora Banting had been Postmistress and operated the Post Office in Banting's General Store for many years. Mother had told me that she felt that Dad would never be able to do hard physical work again after his prolonged bout with pneumonia in England. Mrs. Banting was nearing retirement and Mother saw a potential for an enterprise, which would suit George and Dad when they demobbed from the Army and Air Force. Jack (the youngest sibling) was nearing the end of Secondary School and would be looking for a job. To this end, she began saving and when it was time for Mrs. Banting to retire, they were ready to purchase."
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George Young working at Banting's General Store in Stroud
prior to the Youngs purchasing the store. circa early 1940s |
In the midst of completing the purchase of Banting's General Store however, in December of 1945, William took ill again and was sent to a hospital in Toronto for x-rays where they admitted him and held him until the middle of January 1946.
In the meantime, the new Youngs General Store officially opened in Stroud on January 1st of that year in my grandfather's absence.
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The Young Family circa mid 1940s shortly after World War II
Left to Right: Jack, Mary, William, Cora and George |
They didn't have a formal mission statement* but I can only imagine that if they did, it might have been something like "To Serve Our Community."
In that spirit, I have chosen to call my website the "Young Family General Store" in honour of my Grandfather, my Grandmother, my Father and my Uncle and their sense of community.
You may wonder how I can compare an online Internet business of today to an old-fashioned General Store of yesteryear.
Yes, the community of Stroud may have been much smaller in the 1940s than it is now, but thanks to the internet, the whole world is much smaller than it was in the 1940s.
So I will endeavour to carry on the Young tradition of serving my customers with that same, pride, honesty, integrity and friendliness and I hope in that way I can continue to maintain a sense of community here.
Having the great privilege and opportunity to work with and learn from my Grandfather, my Father and My Uncle over the years, I have learned there is more to business than just "business".
In working with these gentlemen there was a sense of fellowship with both their employees and customers as much as there was any traditional employer/employee or merchant/customer relationship.
William soon left the business to his sons to run and, despite Cora's predictions, returned to work as a successful contractor for many more years, personally building many new homes and cottages.
George and Jack became charter members of the IGA chain of Super Markets in Canada. The Young Brothers became the epitome of what would later become the "Hometown Proud" slogan of the IGA trademark.
In that spirit, my mission statement for the Young Family General Store will be "There's more to business than just business."
So if you want to drop by to purchase something you can expect a fair and honest transaction.
And if you just want to drop by to say "Hi" or chat a bit, you can expect a friendly "Howdy" in return.
Look around and enjoy!
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* Coincidentally, several years after writing the above, I found this poster of the IGA Mission Statement circa 1950s or 1960s. It seems the IGA mission statement of "In Service Of His Community" is not far off the "To Serve Our Community" that I had imagined the Young Family might have had about a decade before, if not as a formal written statement, but in spirit.
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Chantler's General Store, Stroud Ontario
1930 |
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Stroud Medical Centre, Stroud Ontario
2023 |
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