Time travelling is a fascinating experience. And sitting down with old newspapers is the way to accomplish your trip. This week, the Georgian Bay Explorer is going back in time to another Owen Sound, a new city barely two years old in 1922.
The Scenery City, as it was named the year that it became a city, was booming in the rowdy 20s. One of the largest of Owen Sound’s industries – the Northern Bolt and Screw Company re-opened with numerous large orders. Legate Furniture Company took over that year from the Owen Sound Furniture Company at the southeast corner of 2nd and 8th, the original location of the city’s first buildings.
On Third Avenue East, the new Richardson, Bond and Wright business block had just been completed with three floors and Howard Fleming in charge. That year, the Fleming Publishing Company under C. A. and Howard Fleming, began the manufacture of paper boxes and cartons, a business still in operation 85 years later. Also new to the town was T. I. Thompson’s hardware store and the Owen Sound Dairy.
There were two additional new industries that year; the City Dye Works and the Albert Kerr Company that dealt in wool, hides, fur and tallow. Located on First Avenue East beyond 10th Street, the company was known for the ill-smells originating there.
And there was a new bank in town – the Province of Ontario Savings Office on 9th Street, opposite the Comely House Hotel. The manager of the bank was Major G. Webster Butchart and the bank was opened by Premier Bud Drury of Ontario. That year, the Board of Trade prided itself on having over 400 members.
Originally aired in June 14th 2016
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