A Little Slice of History
The Village of Perth-Andover lost yet another fine old building and another irreplaceable bit of her living history.
The business itself had had an enormous economic influence on this area during its heyday…..at one point not so very long ago it was the biggest plumbing and heating concern in Victoria County.
The business was started sometime in the 1920’s by Herman F. Stewart….my maternal grandfather, in fact.
HF Stewart Plumbing & Heating manufactured and installed custom made duct work and fittings. We walk into a hardware store today and purchase pre-made pipes and duct work off the rack, but back in the day all stove pipes and fittings were made to order by metal craftsmen from moulds and templates.
There were templates to craft any custom stove pipe shape needed, no matter how convoluted the twists and bends needed. Using pressing and shearing equipment, the metal workers hand-made every order to fit the job at hand.
Which point explains why our small rural communities used to be so much more prosperous and vibrant…. there were plenty of jobs and occupations because so many of the necessities of life were grown, manufactured and repaired within one’s own community!
This is a key point to remember as the current Globalist Corporate Fantasy of a One World Order & Currency continues to implode around us and why shopping local will help to re-energize and rebuild local living economies and communities.
We’ve lost our local manufacturing base and are forced to buy stuff that is made in China and sold at corporate big box stores. And then the mantra goes that this is a better way to do business and save money….but it is always at the expense of real communities!
Herman passed away in 1938 and his sons Jim and Russell inherited the business. (There were five girls in the family too, but, you know, girls didn’t count!)
Fuel oil was just 12 cents a gallon back in those days. Jim installed hundreds of oil furnaces all over Victoria County, along with the pipes and ducts his employees had made.
He soon expanded the business to sell furniture and appliances. In the mid 1970’s he had over 30 people on his staff working in all departments…. In store sales, accounting, manufacturing, delivery, service….
In 1975 he purchased a fleet of 12 brand new pick up trucks from Violette Ford as staff vehicles for his employees for deliveries and service calls.
It kind of boggles the mind now to think of an independent business able to make that kind of investment in company cars!
He offered terms on furniture and appliances and delivered to homes all across the county.
Linda Shaw reports that she still has a maple four poster bed her parents bought for her in 1956, as well as the study desk she was given when she was in the 6th grade. It has a map of the world embossed onto its surface.
Jim had ordered in these special student study desks, and many local parents got these desks for their kids to encourage them in their homework!
Jim passed on in 1986, and his widow Louise and daughter Carolyn took over the store. By that time the workshop was closed and the store sold only furniture and appliances, although the basement was still stocked with many old vintage parts for plumbing and heating systems.
The building sat just high enough to escape flood damage on the main floor, and all the remaining furniture and appliances were sold in a Flood Sale last spring.
That was the end of Stewart’s….a wonderful old community business that had lasted for over 80 years.
Stephanie Kelley
