Chapples Limited Home Store.....(sorry no winter shot), which is now in
Victoriaville(more about that, click here
http://hotrodsandjalopies.blogspot.com/2009/07/syndicate-and-victoria-aveunder-glass.html or scroll down on my blog) downtown Fort William..... which recently housed local
government during the current City Hall renovation..... had the most incredible toy department during the 1950's, and here is me, a bit too big to sit on Santa's knee in about 1951 in
Chapples Basement toy department(I'm sure everyone has a photo just like this one).
Chapples founded in 1915 as a family dry goods and ladies fashion store soon expanded to becoming Fort William's(now Thunder Bay) premier department store with branches throughout NW Ontario communities. They later built the "home store" shown above. Sadly
Chapples closed for business in 1981 after an incredible run of business for almost 70 years.
.....The script of a radio program in 1950 sponsored by
Chapples Stores Ltd in Nov and Dec 1950 entitled "The Santa Claus Show" was broadcast over the
CKPR Radio airwaves in installments at 6:15 - 6:30 pm nightly except Sundays and had also been put on at the
Orpheum Theatre as a stage show. However, on Dec 1, 1951 a much larger show was to be played out at the
Fort William Gardens featuring such characters as
"George the Porter" and
"Suzie Snowflake". A single show at 10:15 am that day attracted about 4000 people as well as hundreds of performers from the
Sylvia Horne School of Dancing.
This show continued annually at the Gardens until about 1962, however, the 44
th annual Chapples Christmas Santa Claus Show in 1954 had attracted over 12,000 kids over two shows at 9 and 11 am.
....The letter and envelope below(an answer to my letter to Santa) was actually received just before the last
Chapples show that was held at the
Orpheum Theatre in 1950. My dear mother and I had saved the Chapples Santa picture above plus this wonderful(oh yes...pure advertising) letter from
Chapples Limited in 1950 for nearly 60 years especially to share with you!(now that's really pure advertising...
LOL)
I love the postmark........
SNOW PALACE 1950 NORTH POLE!
Now here are a couple of old fuzzy pictures...the one on the left being
Chapples Dept. Store (The Grain Exchange building as it was called as well), on the corner of Victoria Ave and Syndicate Ave(now mostly inside
Victoriaville) was there many years before the home store was built.
The one on the right is the Orpheum Theatre(where about 40 some years of the Chapples Santa Claus show was held before being moved to the FW Gardens) which was on the corner of Victoria Ave and Archibald Street(now the parking lot for Centennial Square). The left end of the theatre(two story building) would be about where the doors are located for the west end of the present day Victoriaville Mall.
Please click on all photos to enlarge.
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