Dear Editor:
Re: Then and NOW: Motoring through Burnaby's history, Burnaby NOW.
Read your article re the Silver Bros. Garage, and it brought back so many memories. I was raised in the Kingsway (McKay) area. My father had a radio repair shop, and we lived behind this shop for quite a few years in 1935 to 45.
I have many memories of those days: the Ford Plant, Kingsway West School (Grades 1 to 8) all are gone now, as are all the little shops owned by so many wonderful people - George and Alma and their son Jackie with Nichols Family Meats butcher shop; the Pitmman sisters with their dry goods shop; Tommy Yee and his little veggie market; Bailey's Hardware; the pharmacy that made great soft ice cream (bring your own carton); the 99 Cafe (where as teeners we spent many hours playing the jukebox and drinking our Cokes); and of course Miss Hare's gift shop, which, if you happened to have 10 to 15 cents to spend, was a real treasure trove.
Miss Hare was a very sweet old lady who wheezed as she spoke, and we all thought she would die any moment, but she loved us and always welcomed us into her shop to visit and gaze at all the stuff she had. Her front window was so full you couldn't put a dime down without moving something. She often took Cookie (my best friend) and I to the back where she lived and made us tea (very weak tea), and we would chat for awhile.
Cookie and I loved to go visit Miss Hare, shop in that treasure trove of stuff and join her for "tea." She was very sweet and always made us feel very welcome both as friends and customers. (I think she was lonely and enjoyed the company.)
Cookie did not live behind a shop, she lived in a house a half block off Kingsway and so was very much a part of the neighbourhood. She, like Jack Nichols and I, knew all the shop owners by name.
Metrotown has taken the place over. It's amazing, of course, to see all the changes that have occurred. I remember my mother being so excited when Simpsons-Sears arrived - a "department store"! Big wow! That day, she loved Simpsons-Sears - a huge department store almost on her doorstep. A woman's dream come true!
Thanks for bringing back so many memories.
Kay Jackson, Burnaby
