office manager. Each Christmas there would be hundreds of men’s neckties selling for one dollar.

Over the years, we had several customers who kept boarders as a way to make a living. Three that I remember well, who lived within two blocks of the store, were Mrs. McEntee, Mrs. Leitch, and Mrs. MacLure. What impressed me most about these ladies was their spirit. They were all widows, trying to make a living for their families under difficult conditions. Whenever they came into the store, they were cheerfial, had positive attitudes, and a good sense of humour. Mrs. MacLure housed and fed boarders and also served a meal at lunch time during the week to several working people. This was before we had all the restaurants that we have today. About the only place you could get a good meal, at that time, was Woolworth's lunch counter, which had people lined up to the door waiting to be served. Each day, we would see young ladies passing by our store on their way to the boarding house for their noon meal.

For many years, the stores closed on Wednesday at noon. It seems that on Wednesdays most Islanders went to the horse races. Every community had a race track and the races were rotated to different tracks on a regular basis. Although most stores stayed closed for the rest of the day, we would reopen at five 0 ' clock and stay

open until ten o'clock.

Final expansion of the store 1959. Staff person finishing final touches before opening. 43