Dear sir:
I have an idea for the upcoming town centennial—namely a series of maps, numbered and identified, for 1903, 1923, 1943, 1963, 1983, and 2003.
These maps would show the many changes in businesses, schools, parks, and prominent buildings.
This idea is prompted by a “game” played with my mother, Emma Mae Richardson (Harley), where we would ask her, “What used to be there?” She was very good at it.
My own pleasant memory of downtown Fort Frances would be shopping trips with Mom, older brother, Larry, and I, with wooden wagon in tow.
In the 1940s, before air conditioning, the store and shop doors would be propped open, turning Scott Street into an open market. Marvellous aromas came from the Electric and White bakeries.
Real marble counters were in Ray S. Holmes and Gagne Drug Store (5¢ cherry Cokes). Watson and Lloyds was filled with wondrous sights and smells. Fresh fruit, vegetables, and flowers always managed to spill out onto the sidewalks at VanderHorsts shop.
Each map would give different memories for each generation.
Thank you,
Lynn Richardson
Devlin, Ont.
