A ‘This Is Then’ special edition Extra, Front Page
25C 12C Sunny
Serving the Alberni Valley
www www.avtimes.net avtimes net
Friday, August 21, 2015
This Is Then...
With Kris Patterson
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HIS COLUMN is different than the usual format in a number of ways. My column has deliberately run in Wednesday’s AV Times since the beginning in January; however, with an anniversary event like this one, I thought I would try a new format. In the spirit of looking back I have also used the AV Times logo from when it became a daily paper in 1970. I have always received info for story ideas from a variety of sources. Sherry Jasken came in when she heard I was working on a story on the 100th anniversary of Overwaitea and presented me with a treasure trove of information including old photos, newspaper clippings and magazines. This information required more than I could easily fit in one page so I came up with a different set up for this column. Sherry’s dad was George Trotter, who was the manager of the Third Avenue Overwaitea in Port Alberni from 1934-1960 after first working in Abbotsford. I approached Zack Jones, manager of the Port Alberni Save-On-Foods store with the idea of presenting some of the history of this shopping store, which continues to serve Port Alberni to this day. SaveOn-Foods is a chain of supermarkets located across western Canada. Founded in 1982 it is a subsidiary of the Overwaitea Food Group, which, in turn, is owned by the Vancouver-based Jim Pattison Group. A number of stores concurrently running as Save-On-Foods formerly operated under the Overwaitea brand, founded in 1915 and purchased by Pattison in 1968. Most Overwaitea stores were gradually converted to Save-On-Foods stores during the expansion and renovation of the overall chain in the 1990s and 2000s. The first Save-On-Foods store in Alberta opened in 1990, at Mayfield Common in Edmonton. The store’s loyalty card, originally called the Save-On-More card but recently re-branded as More Rewards, was launched in May 1992. Through a little more research I learned that at one time there were two Overwaitea stores, with one starting on First Avenue before moving to Third Avenue (this location was later home to Fields). This area of Third avenue has seen many different businesses over the years including Sweet Sixteen, which was located between Isobel’s and Overwaitea. There was a second store on Johnston where Gone Fishin’ used to be, before they moved to their current location. This area was also home to several notable businesses over the years, such as A.W. Fast Printers and Lithographers, which opened on Jan. 3, 1962 at 19 Johnston St., between Overwaitea and Comfort Shoes. A little more than two years later, on Feb. 15, 1964, Fred Luecke bought the business and
This photo shows the first avenue Overwaitea location in 1934. “Lucky Printers” was born.
JUNE 5, 1947 OVERWAITEA OPENS IN ALBERNI!! “Displaying unbounded faith in the growth and development of Alberni District, Overwaitea Ltd., this morning opened its new Alberni City branch store at 8:30.” That was the lead line in the story on page 5 of the West Coast Advocate on June 5, 1947. The article went on to say: “Situated in the modern new Harris Block on Johnston Street the store will have a frontage of 20 feet, with a depth of 75.” Clarence “Mac” McKellar transferred in from the Mission store to manage the staff of five at the new Alberni outlet, which was the 34th branch store owned and operated by Overwaitea Ltd., a purely British Columbia company. “Another feature of the Alberni store is the connecting archway leading to the adjoining store, which will shortly be opened up by Begg’s Meat market,” read the article.
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hope you enjoyed this look back at some of Overwaitea’s history and its connection to Port Alberni. Please look at some of the information and photos in the inside pages and come out and celebrate
This photo, taken by Keith Rodgers during a May Day Parade in 1957, shows the Overwaitea Store on the corner, almost 10 years – to the day – after opening. If you have any memories or photos of the Alberni Overwaitea, please e-mail me at kris.patterson@avtimes.net.
This photo shows customers at the checkout. Do you know who the little girl in the checkout is? Please email me at kris.patterson@avtimes.net or call me at 250-723-8171 ext. 228 and you could win tickets to the Chemainus Dinner Theater. the 100th anniversary with the great team at Save-On-Foods and take advantage of some of the great deals on today between 12-4. If you have more memories and pho-
tos of shopping at Overwaitea or of George Trotter I would love to hear from you either by email at kris.patterson@avtimes. net or by phone at 250-723-8171 ext. 228.
A picture from 1957 that shows the interior of the newly remodelled store.