KAWARTHA LAKES-In 1900, Burnt River was a railway town that was prosperous enough to support multiple stores. The local quarry, forest industries and agriculture were all important sources of employment and exports. That year, Dave Chalmers Sr. and family opened a general store south of the train tracks, on the west side of the main street. The Chalmers Family had previously lived near Kinmount.
In 1910, George and Sarah Wright of Bobcaygeon purchased the business, and would live on site. They were active members of the Methodist (United) Church, which was located across the road—George served as Sunday School superintendent. In their early years of operating the business, they sold dry goods, groceries, meat, work clothes, boots, drugs, remedies, cigarettes, tobacco, coal oil and paint. Before long, the first automobiles started to appear in Burnt River, and by 1917 the store featured gas pumps and sold ice cream, illustrated by the image of George Wright standing beside a Ford, that was parked in front of his store. The building also served as an inn and boarding house—with eight rooms for rent. The Wright family served meals for $1, and many quarry workers ate there over the years.
By the time that the quarry sold in 1924, and soon closed, the rush to export the local old-growth pines had also ended. Once the Great Depression began, many local residents scarcely had enough to get by, and the store also faced challenging times. In 1941, George suddenly died while delivering groceries to a remote home on Four Mile Lake. Sarah continued the business with the help of her son, Roddy, wife Eva (Barr) and their family, until her declining health forced her to pass the business to Roddy.
In the second generation, Wright’s continued to be a country store—complete with cattle pasturing in the field behind. In keeping with the customs of general stores, merchandise was displayed at sales counters. There were jars containing beans, macaroni and other foods for sale. A customer would come in and place an order, for instance for a pound each of flour and peas—in contrast to the supermarkets that reached larger centres in the 1950s, where customers helped themselves from display shelves. Roddy expanded the business with another building next door, which served as a White Rose gas station. In 1947, Roddy & Eva added the Chatterbox snack bar to the service station, which their daughter, Rhoda, often helped to staff. It was popular with local youth.
Wright’s General Store was one of Burnt River’s favourite places to socialize. Many farm families looked forward to visiting the store, as it was their chance to catch up on the neighbourhood gossip. Many families brought goods like butter and eggs to barter. Village residents would fondly remember square dancing in the street in front of Wright’s. Roddy was much appreciated for playing his fiddle at community gatherings, including the dances at the Orange Hall.
In May 1966, Sarah passed away, then later that year Roddy and Eva retired to Lindsay. Joe Doherty purchased the business, rechristened as the Burnt River General Store. Helen Lowry was its next owner, and the business would have many different proprietors in its final years. Wayne Belshaw and his brother acquired the business in 1994, only to have it burn on the Civic Holiday weekend of the next year. Though the general store had been a huge part of village life for nearly a century, it would not be rebuilt. But many long-time local residents would never forget the times that they spent at Wright’s Store.
This story is part of our partnership with Maryboro Lodge, The Fenelon Falls Museum and was written by Glenn Walker.
If you want to make a donation to the museum, you can e-transfer to: [email protected] or mail a cheque to :
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