FENTON & SMITH’S, 1888 to 1926
The Albion Hotel to the right with Fenton & Smith beside it.
The building which today is the home of Jamie Gallant’s Dentistry practice has had a long history as a premier commercial address in the town of Pembroke. Those who are in their middle years today may remember it as being the home of the Royal Furniture Co. For those a bit older it will always be Eaton’s where, if no other memory of it exists, there is the warm recall of that December elevator ride to the third floor where the delights of toyland and a visit with Santa were a yearly delight.
In its early years however, in the 1880’s, it was not one big store but three smaller ones, each with their own entrance and storefront window and was known as the Slattery Block.
But at the turn of the last century it was best known as Fenton & Smith’s Department store.
Mr. William Fenton was born in England and upon leaving school, farmed until the age of 27 when he went into business for himself. In 1888 he emigrated to Canada and moved to Pembroke where he purchased the stock of Coburn, Shea & Co. for $14,000, opening a dry goods and clothing business at the old location of that store.
Mr.James Smith was a native of Westmeath Township, attending school in nearby Cobden. In 1884 he took a position as clerk with in the general store of Cameron & Glenn which is now approximately where 21 Pembroke Street west is, remembered by many as the location of the old Crescent Gardens Restaurant. When Cameron & Glenn closed in 1886 he went to work for Coburn & Shea and in 1888 when that business closed Smith stayed on with William Fenton as he sold the remaining stock from Coburn & Shea and then opened his own store under the name of W. F. Fenton selling mens and ladies clothing, footwear and dry goods. At the time it was thought that Pembroke had more businesses than the trade warranted but undeterred, Mr. Fenton felt the business opportunity was there and was determined to be a part of it.
Then in May of 1890 there was a notice in the papers announcing W.F. Fenton “has taken into partnership J. Smith who has been in the employ of the firm.”
Fenton & Smith - 1902
It was a bit of a humble beginning as they only occupied the most westerly of the three stores in the Slatterly Block but they soon outgrew that location and moved to the recently vacated Beamish’s Dry Goods store on the corner of Pembroke Street west and Moffat Street where today Ullrich’s Cafe is located. There they remained for five years at which time they had prospered enough to, around 1900, purchase the Slattery Block and move their business back to that location. Now they expanded, combining the middle and westerly stores to house their business and added a grocery department to their enterprize. In September of 1902 with the coming of telephone service to Pembroke they acquired a phone and their ads now gave their number as 27.
Sometime in mid to late decade, J.S. Fraser who had occupied the most easterly of the three stores in the Slattery Block since opening his Royal Shoe Store in 1892, moved to what today is 80 Pembroke Street west, now the home of a ladies nail boutique. He had prospered enough in the years since leaving the partnership of Thompson & Fraser Shoes that he bought his new location and expanded his manufacturing enterprise, hiring Mr. F. Timm to manage that department.
With this new space, Fenton & Smith expanded their “men’s furnishings” selling a complete line of men’s and boy’s wear and accessories, including men’s furs and fur coats. Also on the ground floor was the grocery and crockery department, general dry goods and smallware.
On the second floor was ladies ready to wear, ladies furs and fur coats of which they claimed “the stock is large and of the highest quality.” There too were the household furnishings including rugs, carpets and linoleum. Here as well was their tailoring department specializing “ in fine tailoring for ladies and men” under the direction of their expert tailor, Mr. Alex Ramsey who ran it until October of 1918 when Mr. A.B. Horning of Hamilton, Ontario took over the department.
The third floor was probably apartments as occasionally through the years there were references to apartments at Fenton & Smith’s.
Like many of the local businesses of that era they accepted produce from the local farmers as payment for goods purchased and throughout their existence they were well known as being “the farmers depot.” In fact they were a major purchaser of such things as hay and oats that along with other food stuffs they would supply to the lumber camps or Shanties in the surrounding areas as well as exporting these to both Great Britain and the United States. Each autumn there would be ads placed in the local papers looking for fifty men to take supplies into the lumber camps instructing those interested to apply to Fenton & Smith’s.
They also became major advertisers in the local papers of the day and undoubtedly knowing their market they aimed most of these at the ladies of the town with ads for ladies and children's wear and household items being most prominently featured.
In June of 1918 when the worst fire to ever visit Pembroke decimated much of the main street their store was one of the fortunate ones receiving some damage to the front of the building but sparing the structure as a whole. Along with giving a ten percent discount to anyone affected by the fire they took this opportunity to remove the old front and erected a “modern new front which will be more in keeping with the proportions and demands of their business.”
Over the years, through the nineteen-teens and into the twenties they continued to prosper with only the occasional setback as when someone broke into their store. There was a bit of a crime wave in Pembroke in 1921 with so many break-ins the Observer newspaper began to have a crime of the week column. Unfortunately Fenton & Smith’s was a target one evening when someone broke in and exchanged an old set of men’s clothing for a snazzy, new outfit. The police were on the lookout for a well dressed man but the culprit was never caught.
Stores in those years kept long hours opening at nine in the morning and remaining open until nine in the evening. In 1921 a group of merchants including Fenton & Smith opted to close early, at 5 p.m., except Saturdays, during the months of July and August to allow their employees time off to enjoy the summers evenings. Then in 1924 there was a new push to try and have the downtown merchants close their businesses at one o’clock on Wednesday afternoons. The town fathers felt the young people of the day were missing out on one of the delights of the summer season, a day trip up the Ottawa River on the Steamer Oiseau. Not many accepted this in the first year or two but eventually all, including Fenton & Smith’s conceded the day to the youth of the town, thus beginning a long tradition in the business section of Pembroke.
Another tradition most businesses offered to their customers was home delivery of anything bought at their store. At Fenton & Smith’s if you spent over a dollar, delivery was free, if you spent less than that ten cents would avail you of the service. In the early 1920’s they became the first store to use an automobile rather than a horse drawn conveyance to get your goods to your door.
Then in September of 1926, after almost three decades in business they announced they were merging their store with the Canadian Department Stores, a subsidiary of Eaton’s Department Stores. They had one last big sale and by the end of the year Fenton & Smith’s was no more. In May of 1927 the first ad for the Canadian Department Store appeared and with it and they opened a new “Groceteria” with the revolutionary concept of self service where the shopper walked the aisles and helped themselves to the goods they wanted, taking them, when finished, to the “wrapping and pay” stations.
That Christmas they instituted another long tradition when they opened a toyland with a Santa there to greet the children.
At their closing Fenton & Smith’s was the second oldest business in town and had seen the main street go from a rutted and dusty thoroughfare with wooden sidewalks to a business section that was modern and up to date in every respect. I have no doubt their passing, while done done without disruption to their employees, was a sad day for many in the town and surrounding area as another old tradition, that of going to shop at Fenton & Smith’s, passed into history.
