Recollections
T . H . E . . E . A . R . L . Y . . Y . E . A . R . S

Personal memories
recall landscapes and lifestyles
of a bygone era

Avenue Shops & Shopkeepers 1945 — 1954

by Richard Goodall OBHS class of 1960

Somewhere about the time Brilliant and Diet Smith invented the two-way, wrist radio for Dick Tracy, my parents purchased a large Edwardian home on Wilmot Place. It was just before Christmas in 1945 — about the time my memory of Oak Bay village began. It was a rather drab little village after the war, but through the years it has evolved into the beautiful place it is today.  So take a few moments to sit back and slip back into time . . .

* * *

It is a time of Bing Crosby and Glen Miller; radio shows like Walter Winchell, The Lone Ranger and the Shadow; nickel popsicles with only one stick, and ice cream cones that were way bigger than they are today (or were we smaller?).  So we will start our walk by heading east up 'the Avenue' from Wilmot Place.

Looking east from Wilmot Place 1950 courtesy Royal BC Museum and Archives | I-26638

There was  Ryland Huntley’s Radio Lounge that was part of a group of stores just completed in the old blackberry pit next to the Oak Bay Theatre.

Mr Tyler, manager of the theatre, installed state-of-the-art equipment at this time and, until we got TV, we attended every Friday night and were never disappointed.  It was the only theater where filmgoers waited outside in their bedroom slippers. Above was a photography studio that became the Club Tango in the fifties.

Next was the Goblin Cafe, a greasy spoon with wallpaper decorated with pictures of goblins and fantasy creatures. A pre-war jukebox moaned the hits of the day while the men in the area would drop in to chat with Buxom Betty, who provided service with a smile.

There was a bakery, and then the Oak Bay Produce, better known as “Sue’s.”  We did nearly all our grocery shopping there for well over 30 years. At Hallowe'en they sold a wonderful selection of fireworks. You could always find old Mrs. Gee scrubbing vegetables in a washtub in the back. And on occasion her husband would hold a finger to his lips and slip me a brick of ice cream to take home.

Next was a garden, and the old Municipal Hall — heritage building today if it had been saved. My memories of it were the long flight of stairs on the east side leading to the police station.

. . . library, drugstore . . . 1950 courtesy Royal BC Museum and Archives | I-26636

Crossing Hampshire was Dr. MacDougal, dentist,  and Miss Craig’s library, followed by the familiar brick building housing Pattinson’s Drug Store with  the old oak tree growing partially in the street outside.

There was another garden, and then the row of little yellow, flat-roofed stores. The first was a Chinese store that became the Magnet. Next was a little Russian cobbler and his wrestler-sized wife with “upside down legs,” as we unkindly called them. Bill Dewar was next door with his barber shop where we waited on a long wooden hall bench reading the latest Life or Post. Ferreday’s taxi was last and consisted of a two-way radio and a 1941 Ford — which I succeeded in tumbling out of near Amphion St. I went flying down Oak Bay Avenue on my lips but survived.

On the corner of Monterey was the Oak Bay Grocery, now the Blethering Place. It had oiled wood floors and one of those old, embossed-tin ceilings.

Across the Avenue was the smallest Safeway in Victoria.  It too had oiled wood floors. This was long before the days of shopping carts.

Oak Bay Beauty Salon (future site of the Golden Galleon) courtesy Royal BC Museum and Archives | I-26639

Then, a row of stores: the Monterey Meat Market, run by Mr. Barnes, complete with sawdust on the floor; Miss Findlay’s bakery; and a run-down, old, two-story house that was eventually torn down to make way for the Golden Galleon cafe and a bank. Bill Dewar watched the bank being held up one morning but instead of phoning the police, he phoned CKDA and was awarded five dollars for the best news story of the day.

Bill Dewar watched the bank being held up one morning but, instead of phoning the police, he phoned CKDA and was awarded five dollars for the best news story of the day.

There was a small shed that sold bedding plants, a florist, and a watch repair store.

There was Wright’s Butcher shop which gave way to a delicatessen run by the Fishers. Mrs. Fisher had a shrill voice and called everyone “Dearie.”

There was Miss Unwin’s dry goods and Ushers which sold magazines, papers, smokes, had a four stool soda fountain and a post office.  Bill Brown was rather gruff and made sure you paid for the comic before looking at it.  His wife reminded me of Olive Oil in the Popeye strip.  A hardworking and friendly woman all of 90 pounds who went on to run the Golden Galleon after Bill died. She remained a character for many years, finally running the little post office in the drugstore.

Oak Bay Hardware 1950 courtesy Royal BC Museum and Archives | I-02257

Next to them was the Oak Bay Hardware with a pair of large doors that always squeaked. Mr. Bert Smith ran it but eventually retired and sold it to his delivery boy, Jack Harness, who carried on well into the seventies.

Finally there was the Bank of Montreal where Jack Burgess Men’s Wear is today. It was something out of the twenties with brass teller’s cages and old oak desks with ink wells and straight pens.

Crossing Hampshire you came to an overgrown piece of property with two rundown houses inside an old picket fence. Rumours circulated about “sinister goings on.” This property made way for the first super market — a B&K store, taken over by Shop Easy in the fifties.  Now it's the shopping and office complex, Athlone Court.

Street cars were still running, and always an adventure to ride. Traffic was minimal.

On Sunday, a garage door would silently open on Rockland Avenue and out would glide a  black shadow that would take to the street and silently prowl the roads and byways of Oak Bay. It was Mrs. Rithett in her circa 1910 Baker Electric. It had a high roof, centre doors and seats that faced each other. She could sit and drive from either. The tiller was in the centre along with the other controls on the floor. I can still see her all dressed in black with a large hat and two fresh roses in the cut glass flower holders just inside the doors.

She was one of the many characters who eventually faded away to make room for a new generation who went on to transform the village into what it is today.

Return to Recollections

The History of Oak Bay Website
A CENTENNIAL LEGACY PROJECT