The original Barry and Eldridge Store (on the right) in the 1930's. The
family home, standing today, is on the left.
The original Barry and Eldridge Store (on the right) in the 1930's. The
family home, standing today, is on the left.
Places like that are a little harder to find now, but for
the residents of Beaver Harbour there is a special place – Barry and Eldridge’s
Store. Everyone is welcome to drop in, grab a cup of coffee or join in a game of
cribbage. The centerpiece of the store is the table around which people gather
during factory breaks or when off duty fishermen or retirees are about.
The store is small now. The old building was built in 1902
and was owned by John F. Paul. The original store featured a docking area for
boats at the back of the building. Fishing gear was supplied to the boats from
there. A walkway was built along one side of the building and the second floor
featured a dance hall. Many music shows and dinners were held. The old store was
a true general store with groceries and hardware.
The store was bought in 1919 by William Barry and Calvin
Eldridge and renamed Barry and Eldridge’s General Store. Later Calvin left the
business and journeyed to Boston where he married. Milton and Bette Barry
acquired the building in 1959.
By 1992, ninety years after its construction, the old
building was in bad shape. The foundation was crumbling and Randi Barry, Milton
and Bette’s daughter, decided it was time for the old building to come down.
Randi did not intend to build again. Arnold Hatt had offered her a job at the
Lake Utopia store and she thought she might take it.
Randi Barry, proprietor of the
Barry & Eldridge Store in Beaver Harbour.
However the people of Beaver Harbour, noted for their
tenacity, were not about to let Randi go. They said they would help her build
again. David Hatt recommended digging into the soil bank and through the use of
cement walls construct a building that was fuel efficient in winter and cool in
summer.
Randi ran her store out of a trailer while the store was
being built because, as she says, “I didn’t want my customers to get used to
going to the other store.” John Stevens was foreman on the build and his
workers were the good folks of Beaver Harbour.
“Everybody showed up,” says Randi. “They gave me a
sink, flush, windows. Norvell Eldridge gave me these two big windows,” she
says, pointing to the large windows that grace the front of the store. The old
store was torn down on September 28 and Randi moved in to her new store on
November 1, 1992. Randi kept the old counter from the original store. It can be
seen to this day.
The new Barry and Eldridge Store built in the early nineties.
The business continued to flourish but has slowed in
recent years. There were eighty five to a hundred workers visiting Randi’s
store when the salmon processing plant was operating. Now, with just the cold
storage in Beaver, only twenty five to thirty workers drop in daily
Barry and Eldridge’s is a focal point for the community. This past Christmas
saw the fifth Santa visit to the store. “We do candy for the Christmas Tree on
Christmas Eve,” says Randi remembering that her mother did it before her for
the children.
Randi loves to see the children drop by. She remembers when
she was a girl. “I was always popular with the kids,” she says, “because
whoever came to the store with me got a treat.” Now she sells Scotsburn ice
cream for a price that would astound a city ice cream shop – and the children
and adults still flock to eat it. Every year Randi stocks the store with ice
cream but not before the long weekend in May – a date that has become a
harbinger of summer for ice cream lovers in the community.
The store has its regulars. Doris Noddin and her family,
Susie Greencorn, Jerry Paul, Osborne Hawkins, Ron Hawkins, Floyd Hawkins, Gib
Eldridge, Wayne Patterson and Aunt Bert. The conversation flows and everything
gets talked about. “Most of the problems of Beaver Harbour are solved at this
table,” says Randi. “Boats are built, engines are changed.” “We haven’t
operated on anybody yet,” says Osborne. Randi looks fondly at her friends
gathered around the table and says, “The local people have stuck by me.”
Friends meet (left to right) Sonia Grant, Osborne Hawkins, Ross Hawkins &
Joan Marceau (2004).
And things are changing for the better. “More and more
people come in now,” says Randi. “Fisherman drop by and tourists visit in
the summer.” Maybe the visitors are coming because they yearn for a quieter
time when people took the time to talk to each other – laugh and joke. Be a
community.
The people of Beaver Harbour are grateful for their little
store and for Randi who gives them a place to step aside and rest awhile.
SOURCE: Homeport News (May 7, 2004 (Issue 2, Volume 1) - written by permission.
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