MERRITTON MATTERS

Merrittonians in Sports Hall
of Fame
Last Issue’s Trivia
Edna (Green) Groff provided us with the following list of breakfast
restaurants in Merritton.
Early Bird, Fortis Restaurant, Good Eats, Lancer Restaurant, Oma
and Opa’s, Queenston Grill, Sunrise Cafe, Tim Hortons, Tony’s, and the
third Sunday of the month at the Legion on Chestnut St.
There were a few on Edna’s list that we hadn’t included when we
created the trivia question. She added Tim Hortons onWelland Ave
which is outside our boundaries. Several at the Pen Centre (A and W,
London Arms, The Bay) weren’t originally included because they don’t
consider themselves ‘Merritton’ although we certainly know better!
Richard and Barbara Mawhood gave us their list of breakfast
locations in Merritton Ward which had a few more, namely Lester D’s,
The Flats, Fortis, Mozie On In Diner and Donut Diner.
We know that happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast and, even
more so, if eaten at a restaurant in Merritton.
Previous Trivia
– Aiken and McLachlan
We want to recognize those who became part of the St. Catharines Sports
Hall of Fame on April 28 th . Two of these people, George (Clickey) Taylor and
Bruce Erskine, were important parts of our Merritton sports history. Other
inductees were Bob (Buff ) McCready, Marianne Groat and Mark Walters.
George worked diligently for the Merritton Athletic Association,
coaching baseball for 35 years. He was at the helm when teams achieved
six Ontario titles. He was Community Park’s head groundskeeper when
we had the Penn League Blue Jay’s team. Bruce attended Merritton High
School and we like to think that his interest in rowing really got started
when he rowed for the school. Honoured posthumously, he was a fourtime
gold medalist at the Henley, a coach and official for 35 years. His wife
Sue, also a Merritton student, was inducted in 1997.
Your Letters
Dorothy (Pirie) Hanna wrote to tell us how much she enjoyed ‘Merritton
Matters’. She has lived in Merritton most of her life, first on Elm Street,
then Almond and eventually over near the Pen. In the past issue, Tom
Barwell had written about lawn bowling beside Main’s Drug Store. Her
mother had bowled there for years with other ladies from Merritton and
her mother and father met at the drug store when it was Bob Stewart’s
before Main’s. That same issue also featured a picture of the train station
and she reminded us that it was at the corner of Bessey and Merritt and
for street cars, heading to Port Dalhousie.
In the Fall issue, we showed a picture of a concrete truck from a company
that has since disappeared from Hartzel Road. We hadn’t heard anything
about it when we went to press with our Winter issue. In January,
Dorothea Ives contacted us with some fascinating information and we
have printed her letter below.
Aiken and McLachlan Construction and Ready Mix was a thriving
business during the 1950’s and 60’s. It was located at an angle, across
the street from the Cosy Grill in what is now the Food Basics parking
lot, where the Itt’s Thai Restaurant now stands. The front office was
a two-story brick building housing several offices and work stations.
There was a second building behind that which housed the equipment
and the Ready-Mix.
I joined the office staff of this company in the mid 1960’s. I met
much kind, hard-working, good people during my few years there.
Even my father was a past employee at that time.
As time passed, the company ran into some difficult times and
relocated to Ontario Street with many employees having been laid off.
After a fairly short while, its doors closed permanently.
I have many memories of the Hartzel Road area as I have spent
much of my life in the neighbourhood. My parents moved the family
to 35 Hartzel Road in the 1930’s and the house remained in the family
until my mother’s death about 25 years ago. I returned in 1960 to
raise my own family of 8 children on Marmora Street, just around the
corner. They all attended Merritton High School. I now live in Secord
Woods as do 2 of my daughters.
MERRITTON MATTERS I