Morgan's Grocery

A small, neighbourhood store that once served the Windsor Park area

courtesy Noria Southwell Morgan's Grocary 1175 Newport Avenue

	Morgan's Grocery was a small, family-run enterprise at 1175 Newport Avenue that served the Windsor Park area until the 1980s.
	Ted and Noria Southwell purchased the business in 1957 and were owner/operators until the building was demolished in the late 1980s.
	Noria Southwell shares some of her recollections, below . . .

PHOTOGRAPHS

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ARTIFACTS

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RECOLLECTIONS

Recollections may be abridged for length and/or clarity

I had worked at Morgan's Grocery store for three years when it was put up for sale. It was a small neighbourhood store located at 1175 Newport Avenue in Oak Bay.

My husband and I went to a lawyer and asked if he thought that we could take it on, and he replied, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained."

So, in 1957, we proceeded to borrow five thousand dollars plus stock, which was another five thousand dollars. This was a very big step, but it turned out very well and kept us busy for thirty years!

When the time came to sell the store and we went back to the same lawyer, he said, "Well, you ventured and gained," as we had bought the property for nineteen thousand dollars and sold it for one hundred thousand. We had worked hard and put in many hours; however we made a good living from those busy years.

We never missed the work, but we did miss the people and the friends we made.

We had a huge penny candy section that many children loved. They learned how much they could get for their nickels and dimes. It was a sad day for them when we closed. Often an adult comes up to us and reminds us about the time he bought penny candy at our store and tells us of his happy memories of his childhood days.

Often an adult comes up to us and reminds us about the time he bought penny candy at our store and tells us of his happy memories of his childhood days.

We always had local delivery boys who came after school. They were such a help to our elderly customers. When they arrived at a home, they were often asked to change a light bulb, or make sure all the pickle jars were opened. One delivery boy was asked to visit awhile and play the piano.

There were so many interesting episodes.

One day a strange lady came in wearing a huge cape and a large hat. She browsed for quite a while, but left without buying anything. I noticed that a large roast of beef was missing and no one had paid for it. My husband ran down the street and managed to catch up with her. Sure enough, she had hidden pockets filled with lots of articles that she had taken, which she turned over to him. But, there was no roast beef. All we could figure out to explain the lack of beef was the fact that he hadn't thought to ask her to remove her hat and it must have been on her head. Never a dull moment! We just made sure that she never came into our store again.

Another day, a very distinguished-looking man came into the store. He was carrying a suitcase and proceeded to browse. My husband saw him take a carton of cigarettes and leave without paying for it. My husband grabbed him and yelled at the delivery boy to phone the police.. The man dropped the suitcase and carton of cigarettes and tried very hard to get out of his coat and run. However, the police arrived to find the suitcase full of articles from other stores he had robbed.

We had so many good customers.

There was one lady who always said to my husband, "Ted, what day is it?" He used to wonder how someone could be so stupid as to not know what day it was. But, guess who, now, constantly asks me, "Noria, what day is it?"

The building itself has been torn down now, and there is no little corner grocery store anymore. This is a great loss to our wonderful customers, but nothing stays the same forever. We have to accept the changes.

— Noria Southwell, co-owner, Morgan's Grocery (1957 — 1987)

This recollection is one of many recollections gathered by the Oak Bay Seniors Activity Association and published in Voices in the Wind, compiled and edited by Monica Crooks and Victoria Neligan

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Morgan's Grocery on Newport Avenue across from Windsor Park has many memories for people who grew up in the area. I have never seen any pictures online of the inside of the store. Are there any out there?

— Koke

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Morgan's Grocery ... now that brings back memories, because I was their after-school delivery boy for a couple of years in the early '50s. No pictures, though; just reminiscences of favourite customers like the (Premier) WAC Bennett who always treated me like royalty and were really genuine people.

— David Gibb, OBHS class of 1957

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