Christmas lights and decorations could still be seen hanging over Queen Street East in Hespeler in mid July, back in the 1960s, a time when retailers like Prong's Books, and Smith's Rexall would get hordes of kids through their doors in search of candies, toys and the latest comic books.
“At one time Galt, Preston and Hespeler all had great book stores," writes Wayne Conrad Serbu, who shares photographs and memories in one of three Facebook groups he operates called Memories of Galt, Preston or Hespeler - Those were The Days, My Friends!.
"Prong's in Hespeler was where I would pick up the latest Superman and Mad Magazine and spend lots of time taking a peek at all the comic books.”
"My dad was a known fixture in Hespeler as he was involved in many food related ties to the town," adds Serbu in an email to CambridgeToday.
"From as far back as I can recall, The Queens Hotel, Klein's (grocery) Wilkie's (dairy bar), the Hespeler Hotel, Gordon Pass (furniture), the pool hall at the foot of Adams Street, Guthrie's Bakery, Hillside Dairy and taking there and back the Grand River Railway trolley into Galt at three years old in the early morning from the station on Guelph Avenue.
"I ran lots of errands for my dad as a kid growing up in Hespeler. My mom worked at Artex and Dominion Woolens. I delivered the evening reporter from the old office on Queen Street for five years, taking over my brother's route," he says. "Dad was part owner of the Queens Hotel back in the '50s. He cooked at the Winston Hall Mill Canteen during the war years. My days were spent fishing along the Speed, playing in Forbes Park and getting grab bags of candy from Prong's and Wilkie's."
Prong's Books was owned by Mabel Prong, who kept it running for close to 50 years before it closed in the early '70s.
Other memories of the era recall a Vans Candy store, a Beauty Crest Beauty Parlour, and the Hespeler branch of the Toronto Dominion Bank.
The postcard photo below shows the view north towards the post office, now the Fashion History Museum, and the spires of St. James Lutheran Church and St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in the distance.
Use the slider by grabbing it with your finger on mobile or tablet, or clicking on it with your mouse, and moving it back and forth to compare the two images.
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Landmarks on the street continue further south with the Queens Hotel, now Ernie's Roadhouse, and Queens Theatre, which is no longer standing.
Serbu shared his Hespeler memories of the Queens Hotel, which was built in 1891 and owned and operated by Albert Thompson.
It's not to be confused with the Queen's Hotel in Galt, or the Queen's Hotel in Preston.
"After the local industrialists got the factories up and running and their new residences were near completion, families began arriving, and the Queens Hotel was a fashionable hotel residence to arrive to — deluxe rooms, hot baths, a movie theatre, a barber hairdresser, a first class restaurant, stables and buggy parking round back with a service station, bakery and trolley connections to the other cities a few steps a way."
The photo below, which appears to be from the late '30s or early '40s, shows the theatre as many remember it before it was demolished to make way for a parking lot.
The theatre and hotel was directly across from a large building with multiple tenants known as Glick's Block, seen in part on the right. The block was home to dozens of businesses over the years, including a pool hall, jewellery store and the town's first movie theatre.
In recent years it was home to Millpond Records and Books, a gourmet vinegar shop, a bridal boutique and a photographer.
It and the neighbouring KFC building were demolished early last year to make way for a new condo with ground floor commercial space.
Some things change but, thankfully, many stay the same.
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Landmarks is an occasional feature of CambridgeToday, using Juxtapose to display old and new photos to help tell the story of Cambridge; a city that will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2023. Old photo submissions are welcome at [email protected].
