John J. Armstrong had a shop on the north side of Victoria Street, just three doors east of Church Street and his products were used in one way or another by the folk for miles around Alliston in the old days.

Some residents of our neighbourhood today, remember going into the little shop and when asked what it was like they tell you that they remember the nice smell of new leather and oils and dyes that coated the new products. John James Armstrong was a harness maker and a saddler back in the old days when Alliston was still a wee town.

The harness and saddle man was the eldest child of Stephen Armstrong (1825-1866.) His grandfather was James Armstrong who came from Scotland around 1819 and married Mary Emmet, the daughter of a United Empire Loyalist and the couple lived near Mayfield, Ont. in Peel County.

John J. was born on March 30, 1855. He was the child of Stephen and Ann (Hall). His parents went pioneering on land near Hornings Mills, Ont. Like all settlers he undertook the dangerous and hard work of clearing the great virgin forest from the land and like so many other good men, he was killed on the job. Little John was only 11 years old. His mom remarried to George Chantler in Orilia, taking John and three siblings with her and leaving four behind with relatives in Peel County. Only one of her children, (Frank Melville) had children and Frank had a boy (Robert James in 1919, who married Helen Joyce Addison in 1944) and a daughter, (Jean Louise 1925-1927.) Robert had a son, (Brian Frank 1947-1998) and Diane in 1950. It is thanks to Diane and her father, the last surviving male member of that old family at age 90, that we have all this information.

When John Armstrong finished his apprenticeship as a saddler/harness maker, he opened up his shop in Alliston (where Jamie Smith's law office is today).

He had little or no competition in the young growing community. His great granddaughter, Diane, has provided us with his ad from the old Alliston Herald. He was selling robes, blankets, mitts and gloves for the drivers and collars and harness, curry combs, brushes for horses, trunks, valises, harness oils and dressings. He advertised a first-class harness shop. The ad was in 1898 when a fine big brick house in Alliston rented for $8 per month, according to another ad.

Ninety-year-old Bob Armstrong remembers the shop well where he played while his grandpa worked on the harness or sat around the potbellied stove talking to customers and friends. F.B. Elliott, editor of The Herald next door, or the owner of Edmonds Jewelry were usually among the regulars of their little "hot stove league."

Grandpa Armstrong made the harness and other leather goods upstairs and had his sales floor downstairs. His home (a two-storey brick house) was right next to the CPR railway track on the north side of Wellington Street across from the train station. Little Robert spent lots of time there. His relationship, as the only grandson was very special with his grandpa.

Of course, young Robert learned the harness trade under grandpa's guidance so that everything was perfect according to the high standards of the shop. That's how business was done in the old days. He learned how to cut the material from the supply of heavy leather hides that hung under the back stairs and how to punch the holes with an awl before doing the hand stitching on the "horse." The horse had two jaws to hold such fine work as bridles and halters that required hand stitching, so that it was almost up at about eye level for the craftsman.

The larger items were sewn on a sewing machine operated by a treadle that was pumped by both feet and the strong cord/thread was saturated with heated wax as it went through the machine into the leather. This prevented rotting.

Armstrongs made a harness that was made to measure and was a comfortable fit for the heavy draft horse or the light little trotters. Of course, many customers brought harnesses in for repairs. Some drove their rigs right up to the door to receive immediate service and sometimes items were measured and left to be re-spliced and re-sewn. Business was good.

Nothing seems to stay the same in business and the management has to change with the times. Eventually the pioneers' wooden sidewalks were replaced by concrete and the dirt street was covered by gravel to keep the terrible dust down. Harness factories in the big cities could produce good quality products so the craftsman made the necessary change, becoming a retailer of their products and doing some repairs. This freed up the upper floor and his son Frank moved there with his family.

More changes were coming in the new century and it began to look as if the days of the faithful horse might be numbered. Soon, the horseless carriage (the Model T Ford) was a common sight in town. Probably Frank encouraged his Dad to begin stocking the large, narrow tires and tubes that were so often required and then they made a contract with the Imperial Oil and Gasoline Co. and installed one of the new hand pumped gas pumps right in front of their shop.

Little Robert remembers playing among the stock of tires. Frank was a good salesman and little by little the business became Armstrong Auto Supplies and Harness.

Grandpa Armstrong was a man of Christian faith and he seems to have been quite active in the Presbyterian Church as the important change approached in 1925. That was when the idea of church amalgamation or unity finally came to a vote. Those who promoted the idea wanted to unite the Presbyterians, the Methodists and the Congregationalists. Apparently John Armstrong agreed with this idea and he, like so many others, quoted the words of Jesus which tell us to be united as one and to love one another. And so the United Church of Canada was formed in 1925. Apparently Frank and his family were among the small remnant of Presbyterians while his father was a member of the new United Church.

When Bob Armstrong was little he played in the old shop and along the Boyne River with his pals, Howard Downey, Keith Cobourne, J.C. Hunter and the Hackett boys.

He served gasoline at the shop by pumping it by the hand lever, up into the glass cylinder on top which was marked by gallon measurements according to how many gallons the customer wanted. The gas tank on the Model T Ford was just in front of the windshield and the fuel flowed down into it by gravity. Bob collected the 25 cents or less per gallon and the old flivver went on its way

Eventually, Frank took over the family business and the old ad shows "Tires, harness, radios, gasoline, oil, grease, anti freeze and auto accessories." Goodyear tires cost from $4.40 to $10 each. Tubes from 85 cents to $1.80.

By that time, Bob's other grandfather, Will Kinsey had sold his undertaking business to Lorne Thomas. Bob graduated from the Alliston High School and went across the street to talk to George Armstrong in 1937 about a position as bank teller in the Bank of Toronto. Bruce Knowles was the accountant in those days.

Bob could not have known what a great future was ahead of him when, in the 50s the Bank of Toronto would merge with The Dominion Bank to become The Toronto Dominion Bank. Bob Armstrong's gifts as a banker were recognized and from there on he climbed extremely high on the corporate ladder. That career would be another whole story for another edition but in those days, that's the way we were.

For more stories about our yesteryears see next edition of The Alliston Herald. The 2008 stories have been sent to a publisher to print the firt book of these stories. They may be available by Christmas and would make good Christmas gifts for those on your list with an interest in local history and lore.