Gray Businesses
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Gray Station
Gray Station railroad side of highway at Main Street
- 1912 Grand Trunk Pacific Railroad (GTPR) began operation
- In the early years there would have been a station agent, a section foreman and workmen on-site.
- In the early years there would have been a station agent, a section foreman and workmen on-site.
- 1913 First passenger train
- 1914 Gray Station built for a cost of $1800.
- 1920 Canadian National Rail takes over operation of Grand Trunk Pacific Rail
- 1921 stucco exterior applied
- 1926 The Skunk (car #15823) began passenger service.
- 1930's CN Rail suspended passenger and express service. The station became a private residence for the Station Master and family. Skunk passengers could still use the platform - tickets were purchased on board.
- 1937 insulation added
- 1949 the original Skunk car (#15823) was sold to Pacific Great Eastern Railway (which became British Columbia Railway).
- 1953 electricity added
- 1959 Passenger service (The Skunk) discontinued.
- 19XX demolished (prior to 1984 - mentioned in 'the ties that bind')
Station Masters included: Arthur Hughes (1926?-?? daughters Ruby and Gladys), Temple, Zaremba (mid 1940-s - Chester in school in 1943 names and years?), Ted Kusior (1952-53), Jack Barr (1962-63?) - were Barr's the last family?
Some stories;
- The winter of 1946-47 had so much snowfall that it resulted in 22 days without train service!
- Car #15823 was received from the builder Ottawa Car - C.N. Rys. The odor it generated and two stripes up and down on the front earned it a nickname "the Skunk". The conductor became well known in the area - Sam Quigley.
- This 'oil electric' car used a new type of motive power. The sixty-foot length body (only 2,576 pounds) is set on two four-wheel trucks and has a seating capacity for 56 people. The principle behind the power which drives the car is simple although an entirely new departure as far as the rail transportation industry is concerned. In one end of the car is located a light fuel oil engine, the lightest of its kind in the world, outside of aero practice. The engine operates an electric generator and this provides the actual energy to move the car. The engine itself is started by a small electric motor deriving power from storage batteries and then these batteries are recharged from the generators. So, to the layman at least, the cycle of performance is a close approach to perpetual motion. The engine was constructed on the diesel principle but will be described as 'Oil Electric'. The engine is self-governed (run at a constant speed), has four cylinders and produces 185hp at 700rpm. There is a driver's compartment at both ends so it needn't be turned around. These oil electric cars are able to maintain speed with low fuel consumption - and are recognized as the most economical motive power unit in use on any railway in the world. The oil electric average cost was $0.01/mi as compared to steam which was rated at $0.22/mi. Quite a difference. Condensed from 'the ties that bind' Vol II 1984 excerpt from the CN Railways Magazine October 1925. In the United States this type of railcar was called a 'doodlebug'.
- Reference to the CGIT (Christian Girls in Training) singing Christmas carols at the station in 1957.
- Bruce Jones remembers coming home on the train with newborn Colin in October 1959. The Skunk service was discontinued the next week.
- The loading platform 'creaked' under the strain of unloading steamers and threshers from flatcars. There was a gasoline warehouse with tanks as tall as farm silos standing near the side track. Farmers and villagers came to fill cans and barrels with kerosene for their lamps or with gasoline for one-horse engines. Excerpt from the ties that bind Volume I.
Gray Rural Telephone Company
Gray Rural Telephone (N corner Main Street/Highway)
Linemen included; H. Aitken, Al Seal, C. L. Baker, Fred Axford, J. Hannan and Ray Martin.
- 1908 Milestone Rural Telephone Lines were extended to both the Gray and Buck Lake districts.
- Lines were a single wire on the poles with a ground return.
- There would have been a 'lineman' responsible to service the area.
- 1917 or 1919 Gray Telephone office located on the lower floor of the Gray Grain Growers Association building.
- 1921 Gray Rural Telephone Company is organized.
- Lines were constructed using the two-wire circuit system.
- Milestone lines were cut off and a telephone switchboard was set up in the back part of the Gray Grain Grower's Association building (behind the bank).
- Miss Arlene Selig was the first operator.
- 1922 Gray Rural Telephone Company ran a line past Buck Lake to serve farms to the west.
- 1923 Telephone Office with living quarters built.
- Mrs. M. Mattatall was the operator.
- 1957-58 renovations.
- 1973 March 21 - Gray joined Riceton for cable service.
- 1978 Rural lines buried.
- 1982 January 25 Gray exchange was assimilated with SaskTel.
- 1983 May 16 no more long distance charges to Regina.
Linemen included; H. Aitken, Al Seal, C. L. Baker, Fred Axford, J. Hannan and Ray Martin.
Memories of working in the Gray Telephone Office (Dunning) Hames, Lorna - age 91 (by Carol Bassingthwaighte) written for the 2005 the ties that bind Volume III
Although I can’t remember the exact year, sometime in the mid-1930’s the job for telephone operator was open and Mrs. Selig and I applied together. The salary was $30/month...$15 each!
The telephone office was a nice little square building with an entry porch on the side. Just inside was a counter with the switchboard behind. There was a little telephone booth that people could come in and use...they would say what number they wanted and we would ring it. In the back were our living-quarters. We had a front room, a kitchen and a bedroom. Mrs. Selig had the bedroom and I bought a chesterfield that made into a bed that I put in the front room to sleep on. There was an outhouse in the back.
When someone wanted to make a phone call they would turn a crank on their phone which rang through to the switchboard. We answered by saying, “Number please.” We then put the matching plug into the number they wanted and turned a crank to ring that person’s phone. When they answered we turned the sound off at the switchboard. The switchboard indicated when they hung up and we would pull out the plugs.
People who lived in town had private lines, but those in the country were on party lines, often 5 families for one line. Each family had their own ring (e.g. one long and one short) so whenever anyone got a call, everyone on the party line knew it. We were also responsible for keeping track of the number and length of calls, and making out a ticket for headquarters. People paid by the month for local calls and by the length of time for long distance calls, just as we do now.
I think the switchboard was open from about 7 a.m. until 9 p.m., although one or the other of us needed to be present 24 hours a day in case of emergencies. Mrs. Selig went to ladies’ meetings in the afternoon so I would look after the switchboard then; she would take over in the evenings so I could go out. It worked very well.
I remember in the evenings the farm people would come into town. The men gathered in Tom Ashbaugh’s office (implement dealer) to talk. The young people would gather in cars and visit. One time Mrs. Selig was out at her daughter’s for the evening, so I was responsible for listening for the switchboard. Even so, I joined the young people but we remained within hearing distance of the telephone office. The switchboard rang and I ran to answer it, thinking it might be an emergency. It turned out to be a fellow I had met at a dance, phoning to talk to me!
In order to supplement our income Mrs. Selig did dressmaking and I did hairdressing in our front room. Mrs. Selig was a good cook so she did most of our cooking. The kitchen had a coal/wood cookstove.
I quit the telephone office to go to Bermuda. A friend I knew from Estlin, had been working there and sent such glowing reports that when she asked if I wanted my name put in, I said, “Yes.” I was accepted to work as a waitress in a big American hotel, so that ended my time as a telephone operator.
Some stories...
Although I can’t remember the exact year, sometime in the mid-1930’s the job for telephone operator was open and Mrs. Selig and I applied together. The salary was $30/month...$15 each!
The telephone office was a nice little square building with an entry porch on the side. Just inside was a counter with the switchboard behind. There was a little telephone booth that people could come in and use...they would say what number they wanted and we would ring it. In the back were our living-quarters. We had a front room, a kitchen and a bedroom. Mrs. Selig had the bedroom and I bought a chesterfield that made into a bed that I put in the front room to sleep on. There was an outhouse in the back.
When someone wanted to make a phone call they would turn a crank on their phone which rang through to the switchboard. We answered by saying, “Number please.” We then put the matching plug into the number they wanted and turned a crank to ring that person’s phone. When they answered we turned the sound off at the switchboard. The switchboard indicated when they hung up and we would pull out the plugs.
People who lived in town had private lines, but those in the country were on party lines, often 5 families for one line. Each family had their own ring (e.g. one long and one short) so whenever anyone got a call, everyone on the party line knew it. We were also responsible for keeping track of the number and length of calls, and making out a ticket for headquarters. People paid by the month for local calls and by the length of time for long distance calls, just as we do now.
I think the switchboard was open from about 7 a.m. until 9 p.m., although one or the other of us needed to be present 24 hours a day in case of emergencies. Mrs. Selig went to ladies’ meetings in the afternoon so I would look after the switchboard then; she would take over in the evenings so I could go out. It worked very well.
I remember in the evenings the farm people would come into town. The men gathered in Tom Ashbaugh’s office (implement dealer) to talk. The young people would gather in cars and visit. One time Mrs. Selig was out at her daughter’s for the evening, so I was responsible for listening for the switchboard. Even so, I joined the young people but we remained within hearing distance of the telephone office. The switchboard rang and I ran to answer it, thinking it might be an emergency. It turned out to be a fellow I had met at a dance, phoning to talk to me!
In order to supplement our income Mrs. Selig did dressmaking and I did hairdressing in our front room. Mrs. Selig was a good cook so she did most of our cooking. The kitchen had a coal/wood cookstove.
I quit the telephone office to go to Bermuda. A friend I knew from Estlin, had been working there and sent such glowing reports that when she asked if I wanted my name put in, I said, “Yes.” I was accepted to work as a waitress in a big American hotel, so that ended my time as a telephone operator.
Some stories...
- Back in the days of party lines, Mr. Black was speaking to Mr. Green (the names have been changed to protect the innocent). At the end of the lengthy conversation Mr. Black said goodbye to Mr. Green and then also said "Goodbye Mrs. Brown" (a supposed eavesdropper). She mistakenly replied before she realized the implication of her response.
- Also in those days there could be 'general rings' - one long ring meant everyone was to pick up to find out what the announcement/news was! Would be handy now to have a similar communication tool.
- There could also be a call to everyone on your party line - Ione Lewis was known to use this option for her pranks - making embarrassing announcements about her neighbours.
Rose Building/Gray Grain Growers Hall
General Store then Community Hall just to NE Main Street/Highway corner
- 1917 B.F. Rose and his son-in-law Alex Cain (owned restaurant) formed a partnership and constructed a large building with two floors of retail space. Soon realized too much square footage designated for the store and renovated.
- Downstairs - retail (and the telephone office?)
- Upstairs - Rose family living quarters.
- 1919 bought by Gray Grain Growers Association for $3500.
- Downstairs
- Telephone Office (was it here already? and as of 1921, the operator as well) until separate building opened in 1923/Social centre and community restroom (set up with chairs and library books on loan from Milestone)
- Standard Bank - sold in 1930 to Canadian Bank of Commerce - all accounts moved to Regina. Then 1931-37 Winter (Wink) Mitchell had a retail space on the lower level. Postal service may have been from this location for a few years.
- Upstairs - community hall
- Downstairs
- 1938 building condemned
- 1949 building and lots given to community for construction of the new hall. Adjacent lot used for construction.
Lee Pong's Chinese Emporium
Restaurant (then parts/office for garage) next to Rose Building
- 1912 Alex M. Cain (and short-line groceries)
- elevator builders were regular customers... $0.35 got you a large bowl of soup, dessert and coffee.
- not sure how long he owned the restaurant. Documentation suggests that Alex and Loretta (nee Rose) took up farming and rented the Hamilton farm south of Gray in 1917 and bought near Estlin in 1927. Also in 1917 Alex Cain formed a partnership with B.F. Rose (Loretta's father) and built the Rose Building.
- 1922 bought by Lee Pong.
- Lee Pong's Chinese Emporium remained in the community for 25 years.
- He added a pool table (some time in the 1930's) in a back room when the Barber and Billiards Hall across the street closed. Drex Ford had this table.
- 1947 bought by Helen and Bill Raven (Bill worked until 1952 for C.C. Gillis)
- 1952 bought by Pearl and Glen Jesse tried a restaurant for a brief period.
- 1957 bought by K.C. and Bill Gillis. Used as office and parts department for the garage located just behind (narrow path to the back or accessible from 2nd Avenue).
- 1967 demolished. K.C. and Bill Gillis built quonset garage.
KC Gillis and Son
- Prior to 1967 please review Hardware and Harness.
- 1967 built by K.C. and Bill Gillis
- General Motors and John Deere dealership
- general auto and machine repair
- 2002 closed after three generations of service.
- now the property is privately owned
Hardware and Harness
Hardware (and Harness) ... Garage further along Main Street next to corner store
- 1912 Gory Driscoll and Bull Urey opened.
- 1913 bought by Roseborough Brothers.
- 1916 bought by Walter Eichenberger and Clarence (C.C.) Gillis. They obtained the agency Chevrolet and McLaughlin vehicles as well as taking over the John Deere agency from Bill Heckner (see Implement Dealer). A dealership from General Motors for Buick automobiles was also negotiated.
- 1920 opened a garage (also accessible from 2nd Avenue) - first mechanic was Mr. Metz from Wilcox.
- 1924 obtained John Deere Plough Company dealership.
- 1927 added Chevrolet vehicles to the dealership.
- 1928 K.C. Gillis manages the garage.
- 1930 Eichenberger sold share to Gillis and moved away.
- 1931 Gillis' added groceries after Hebb General Store burned down.
- 1946 hired Bob Rouse to manage the store.
- 1955 demolished - provided better access to the auto repair and implement business located at the back of the lot.
- 1956 - evolved into a General Motors and John Deere dealership
- 1967 K.C. and Bill Gillis demolish Lee Pong Chinese Emporium (had been used as office and parts department since the mid-fifties) and build a quonset garage K.C. Gillis and Son.
- 1972 garage at the back of the lot was torn down. In a photo from roof of rink 1975 - looks like garage is still there?? Can't find any info on this building?
General Store
General Store west corner Main/2nd Avenue
- 1911 Walter Greer built the first store shortly after the town of Gray was surveyed. Construction was in a stubble field following harvest.
- 1912 Post Office services were added to the location.
- 1920 bought by Tom Swan.
- 1923 bought by Homer Ashford.
- 1925 bought by Wayne LaFoy.
- 1928 Postal Service moved to separate building (N corner 2nd Avenue/Main Street corner - where the windmill is).
- 1928 bought by L. R. Hebb.
- 1930 building burnt. Hebb's moved away.
- Vacant lot for 20 years.
- 1950 C.C. Gillis built a cindercrete block store.
- 1953 stock moved in and store opened 1954 (Jack Thompson was hired as clerk).
- 1955 Ken (K.C.) and Bill Gillis take over after C.C. Gillis suffers stroke.
- 1957 bought by Jack Thompson.
- 1982 bought by Rich and Brenda Collacott.
- 1993 bought by Myrna and Reid Mossing (private residence)
- Myrna repurposed the store and post office area to manage Mother Goose Day Car from the space (1993 until 2010). Since then it has been renovated as a single-family dwelling.
Post Office
Post Office many locations
- Pre-1912
- Bratt's Lake - Jesse Bratt Sr was the first postmaster for the Bratt's Lake area - out of his home (May 1 1906 to Oct 1 1912). Everyone's address was Bratt Lake, Saskatchewan.
- Gray - John N. Beattie was appointed as an inland postmaster and had the post office in his home near Iowa School from 1904 to 1912. 'Gray' was chosen (Sam Spiller (secretary-treasurer of the newly formed Iowa School District suggested 'Gray' after a town in Audubon County Iowa) to designate the postal outlet and became the town name seven years later. . Initial years were an arduous trip - an oxen team to Milestone and back (via Jesse Bratt, John Livingstone, Bert Lewis and George LaFoy homesteads before home). Within several years he was able to afford a horse team and democrat to carry the mail.
- 1912 mail delivery from Beattie (Gray) and Bratt (Bratt's Lake) was transferred to General Store in Gray. Postmasters - Walter Greer, Thomas Swan, Homer B. Ashford, Wayne LaFoy.
- 1928 mail delivery located to a stand-alone building that Wayne LaFoy purchased and moved (from the H.A. Lewis farm) to N corner 2nd Avenue/Main Street (where the windmill is). Plummer Lafoy used an Avery 40-80 tractor to haul the building on skids into town. Entrance was from Main Street.
- 1937 Winter (Wink) Mitchell
- several Mitchell nieces/nephews came to work in the post office Alex, Betty, Eileen and Elsie Best (she married John Ford and remained in the community) - this was the N corner of 2nd Avenue/Main Street location.
- 1947 Forest (Mike) and Opal Ashbaugh private home (308 1st Avenue).
- 1950 Pearl Jesse was postmistress (husband Glen was P&H grain buyer).
- 1953-54 two short-term post-masters (possibly temporary assignments) Melvin Ballard and James Ewart.
- 1954 Platoff (Dutch) Lafoy moved back to Gray and operated the Post Office from home (211 Main Street).
- 1957 mail delivery transferred back to General Store (when Jack Thompson purchased and then Rich Collacott).
- 1991 General Store outlet closed.
- 1991 Gray Temporary Retail Postal Outlet RC #074101 opened under Moats Woodworks.
- Dave Moats received $1000 for renovations to accommodate the temporary post office.
- Val Wahl was the postmistress with support from Laurie Hozempa.
- closed September 1992.
- 1992 24-hour accessible post boxes installed on Main Street.
Barber and Billiards
Barber and Billiards Main Street across from hardware store
- 1912 Two-story structure built by Ed Courneya.
- Lower level had three pool tables and a barber chair. All furnishings arrived by rail to Milestone and then had to be hauled to Gray by wagon.
- Upper level was intended for living space but was used as community hall for the first several years.
- Site of a trial in 1917
- 1919 bought by Charlie Cook.
- 19XXbought by Plummer Lafoy then to Darrell E. (Corky) Lafoy.
- run by Jake's daughter and her husband Tom Peters for a while.
- 1929 lower level Pool Hall closed - Rat Lafoy was the last pool hall manager.
- Both levels now used as living quarters; Van de Kamp's, Dvorak's, Fred and Nellie Gibbons, Bill Tennyson, Jake Lafoy, Frank Hoover, Dutch Lafoy, Watson Giffin, Plummer and Henrietta Lafoy were some of the residents.
- 1956 demolished.
- 1965 lot sold for private residence.
Stories;
- "When dances were held, Ed Courneya had four 4"x4" posts that he placed between the ceiling and floor of the pool hall to give extra support to the upstairs floor. The extra supporting posts were not necessary for concerts or entertainment when the crowd was seated. A stairway about four feet wide provided access to the upstairs from the outside at the rear of the pool hall." Excerpt from 'the ties that bind' Volume I.
- Barbers over the years included; Plummer Lafoy, Armitages, Gretsinger and others.
- A lean-to was built (on the south side) and operated as an 'ice-cream parlour' for a number of years. Quite an addition at the time and a busy spot on Saturday nights as most farm families came to town.
- Some of the lodgers were; Van de Kamp, Dvorak, Fred and Nellie Gibbons, Bill Tennyson, Jake Lafoy, Frank Hoover, Dutch Lafoy, Watson Giffin, Doc Lafoy and Henrietta Lafoy.
Livery and Draying
Livery and Draying S corner Queen Street/2nd Avenue
- 1912 Walter Dunning built a barn and operated a Livery and Draying business. He delivered supplies from the train station to local businesses and residents - coal for heating, merchandise, whatever. Or he could be hired to take passengers to their destination in the Gray community. Wayne Ashbaugh (1984 'the ties that bind' Volume I) remembers the first horses were Jim and Dolly. The dray was driven by Tom Johnson and later by Walter himself.
- Became a Massey Harris agent and sold Verity Plows and Bain Wagons.
Stories
- The livery barn had a 25' deep cistern (7000 gallons). During a drier year Walter hired a local with a stone-boat and tank to fill the cistern from a nearby dugout. Unfortunately, the gentleman's hand-pump added a fair bit of mud to the project. When discovered it had to be lugged up a pail at a time to remove from the bottom of the cistern. That cistern continues to provide the property owner with water for the garden (and for a time a swimming pool).
- Walter also had a story about a thrifty farmer. This was in the days of farming with horse teams and Walter owned one of the first trucks in the area. It hadn't been a good year and a local farmer, Billy Mitton, had to travel to Parry to purchase some oats for feed. Walter agreed to the trip. They drove to Parry, had the truck weighed empty and went to pick up the oats. It just so happened the seller had some 'extra' pumpkins and threw several on top of the load at no charge. They headed back to the elevator to weigh the truck full and headed home. Mr. Mitton was very impressed that he had obtained free pumpkins. It wasn't until the next day when he realized he paid for the weight of those pumpkins as they were included with the oats. Now he was perturbed and wanted Walter to ferry him to Parry again to weigh the pumpkins. Walter wisely refused. I hope Mr. Mitton was able to enjoy some pumpkin pie!
Lumberyards
Lumberyard 309 2nd Avenue
- 1912 Rogers Lumber Company
- R.C. Stewart (later married Walter Greer's sister) was the first agent.
- Norm Reed operated this lumberyard and then moved to Milestone sometime in the 1930's.
- At some point became the property of Monarch Lumber Company.
- 1942 bought by Ernie and Kitty Dunning as private residence.
Lumberyard east side of highway between Main and King
- 1912 Monarch Lumber Company built
- C.C. Gillis was the first agent.
- 19XX Closed this location and took over Rogers location on 2nd Avenue.
Lumberyard 212 Main Street
- There is some reference to 'three' lumberyards in Gray. Some suggestion that it was on the corner Main Street/3rd Avenue - same location where Montgomerie resided (1923) while the Monarch agent.
- If there was a third, it was only here during the earliest years of settlement.
implement dealers
Implement Dealer east side of highway between Main and King
- 1913 built by Bill Heckner - John Deere and Bissell implements.
- Venue also used as town hall when needed.
- 1916 sold the John Deere agency to Eichenberger and Gillis partnership.
- Venue also used as town hall when needed.
- 1921 bought by Harvey Bannister for a garage and repair shop.
- 19?? done
- 19?? Building moved to Dave Helstrom farm.
Implement Dealer Main Street across from Rose Building
- 1915 Tom Ashbaugh established an IHC (International Harvester Company) agency for McCormick and Mogul implements, then Oliver, then Massey Harris.
- 1922 first radio in the area was purchased by A.J. Cann. He chose to keep the radio at the dealership so more members of the public could access information. There were four single earphones available for listeners - no external speaker. One of the furthest stations selected was KOA Denver.
- Constructed a new building (prior to 1927).
- 1937 Tom Ashbaugh returned after a brief period in Manning Alberta. Upon his return in 1937 he sold International Harvester and Oliver machinery. At this same time Wayne Ashbaugh was the Massey Harris dealer.
- 1952 Ross Houghtaling bought the Massey Harris equipment dealership and automobile?
- the dealership was referred to by Ross's nickname - Skinny's Place.
- 19XX done?
Tinsmith and Blacksmith
Blacksmith N corner 2nd Avenue/Main Street (where the windmill is)
- 1912 Bill Hepburn.
- 1912 Tom Smith (store-mistress Mrs. Greer's brother)
Blacksmith east side of highway between Main and King
- 1920 A. Marty - his first shop burnt down.
- Mr. Marty built a rod-weeder of his own design (1920). It used a non-revolving rod and was designed for use with horses. It worked quite well and he sold several of the machines.
- Packed up his tools and left during the Dirty Thirties.
- Innes was a tinsmith and worked a little on cars in the big shed.
Bulk Oil and Gas
- 1924 Hi-Way Refinery Oil hired Bill Muller
- 1937-48 there were gas pumps on both sides of Main Street. Hi-Way Oil and Imperial Oil (W.F. Ford)
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