The South Bayview Bulldog

Sunday’s brilliant sunshine was a great tonic in spite of the cold. South Bayviewites were busy at church, shopping and in the case of this gentleman on Rolph Road, cleaning the snow from the driveway. But, of course, he wasn’t too busy to stop and chat. Thanks. Down below, a sunny day always brings out many who want to wash their cars. This was the scene at the Toronto Auto Wash at Millwood and the CPR tracks.

Merchants on the east side of South Bayview will know that Bell service has, over the years, been spotty. The servicemen are very nice but the phones frequently failed in the face of the ancient wire system. Now with the planned arrival of Shoppers Drug Mart at their new location its “All Hands on Deck” to shape up the service. Trucks, supervisors in groups up and down the utility holes, up and down ladders and of course in and out of the premises at 1605 Bayview where Shoppers will locate. We’re told the furious work resulted in a punctured water pipe yesterday. Messy but as with most things, it was repaired. Anyway, good luck to our hard working service friends at Bell at upgrading the phones.

The Hudson Bay company has provided a nice history of Zeller’s, the store chain which seems destined to disappear from Canadian streets after 80 years of business. Even though there is a plan to keep some Zeller’s stores operating, the writing seems to be on the wall about the end of the chain. Target stores of the U.S. has bought most of the leases and it seems likely the rest will go shortly. In 1931, a Waterloo County boy named Walter P. Zeller (left) bought the 14 Canadian stores of American retailer Schulte-United. And so was Zeller’s born. Zeller called his concept the Store for Thrifty Canadians and even during the depression his plan worked. All during WWII and into the 50s and 60s the Zeller’s concept thrived and Zeller expanded, And Zeller proved to be a good employer with an unknown at the time, a company pension plan and competitive pay..

The new TD Canada Trust at Laird and Vanderhoof is doing its first day of business today. The remarkable structure, built in 1951, stood vacant for 18 years before TD and others took an interest in it. It’s first occupant was the Pease Foundry Company, which manufactured plumbing and heating equipment there. As industrial conditions changed, it went into a sad period of decline sitting vacant for 18 years. That’s the condition in which most residents under 30 remember it. The building is said to be in the Art Modern style and is associated with the work of Toronto architect Earle Morgan. Morgan was also associated with the design of the O’Keefe Centre.

City supervisor takes a picture for posterity as a six storey crane lifts two very heavy air conditioning units onto the roof of 1605 South Bayview. They will be part of Shoppers Drug Mart’s new outlet. In centre. lift off of the second of the two units. Right, the weighty load swings east over the target roof. Note Second Cup sign in foreground. The east sidewalk was closed between the coffee shop and Tzatz for about three hours. Things returned to normal about 11.30 am.

Sharon’s Collection, a long-time shop on South Bayview, is relocating. A sign was posted recently offering the premises at 1643 for rent. It says that the lease has come to an end and that the business is relocating.