John (Jack) Lewis was Mr. Hardware in Alliston for many years, on the north side of Victoria St. in Alliston's old business section. Even after he retired, his son Bill and their excellent staff carried on in the fine old Lewis tradition. They were missed when those doors of Lewis Hardware finally closed.

Jack's dad, William Clayton Lewis, came from Gormley, Ont. but the family came originally from Wales. He was married to Sarah Walker from Adjala Township and she presented him with a fine baby boy on April 22, 1920. They decided to name him John. Two years later, along came baby Ruth to complete a gentleman's family. Mrs. Ruth Knight (widow) kept her Canadian citizenship but lives in North Carolina. The Lewis were a Toronto family who moved to Alliston and John's dad worked in the old Goddard Foundry on Victoria Street. They rented a house from the builder, Bob Stump, on Wellington Street West. near King Street.

Before the Lewis family moved to Alliston, the family moved to the farm of John's grandparents which he really enjoyed in spite of the long walk to the little one room school. He was eight or nine years old. Then the young lad attended the Beeton continuation school and they moved to Alliston when he was 12 or 13 and he attended the old Alliston High School on Albert Street.

No doubt, he walked to school with his neighbours, Keith and Clare Ludlow (who later owned The Alliston Dairy Queen). At that time, Joe Lewis (the brown bomber boxer from Buffalo, N.Y.) was well known to all the sports fans that used to gather around the old radio on fight night. Clare started calling him Joe and the name stuck so that he was known as John, Jack or Joe around the old school.

Growing up in the "hungry 30s" of the Great Depression, nobody had much money. Sometimes the Lewis family was short on money to pay the bills too and certainly there were no extra pennies for luxuries.

Jack, like all the high school boys was eager to find any kind of a part time job to earn whatever he could around the old town. He applied at all the stores in the business section including Charlie Moore's hardware. He had no way of knowing what an important call he made that very special day.

Mr. and Mrs. Moore hired Jack to work in Moore's Hardware and they developed a wonderful relationship. They counted on him to be in the store by 7 a.m. while Charlie went upstairs for breakfast and again at lunch time and also during the after school hours. Apparently he loved the hardware business better than school.

Well, young folk enjoy life whether they have any money or not and sometimes young Lewis borrowed his dad's old Model T Ford and he picked up his pals John Alderson and Ted Lee. They would scrape up 25 cents for gasoline and go cruising the beach at Wasaga or riding horses if they had a few extra coins and life was good as carefree youths. They had no way of knowing how world events in 1939 would put an end to joy in a lot of families all over the world.

As it happened in those days, a farm family named Drennan lived just a few miles east of Alliston. They moved into Alliston and became very popular there. Joe, George, Ted and Bill and their three sisters were the family of George Drennan and his wife Velma (Bell of Beeton).

They were extremely musical. My mother remembered that they played the ukulele and fiddle and guitar beautifully and harmonized in the style of the old barbershop quartets so well that at one time they had a radio show. That's the way the young folk were then.

One of the young girls who used to attend their verandah parties was their niece, Mary Ellen Drennan and she became the love of John's life. He courted her and they were married in June of 1942 to enjoy a long and happy life together.

The local population were good Christians who loved the Lord and sang all the old hymns together in the days when the fine folk of Alliston seemed to be enjoying a golden age of peaceful innocence, never guessing that it was about to disappear forever when a man named Adolf started the Second World War.

Many sons and daughters kissed their loved ones goodbye for the last time as they shipped out to war.

One fine day, about 1938, a "barnstormer" named Bill Peppler brought down his little plane, skipping across a pasture on the south side of town, to earn a few dollars taking up passengers. In those days a good crowd soon gathered and John Lewis was among those who paid three or four dollars for a ride over the town. The thrill of flight was wonderful for the young hardware man and the experience that afternoon was about to open a whole new chapter in his life.

By 1940 the war in Europe was growing day by day and patriotic people all over Canada were joining the army, navy or air force. Some just wanted to see Europe. Some wanted adventure and some just had no job and had nothing better to do and still others wanted to defend the world from the terrible enemy who wanted to take over the whole world.

John Lewis had a full-time job as a hardware man in Moore's hardware but in the summer of 1940 he went to Toronto and signed up with the Canadian Air Force. He was told, "You will go to Brandon, Manitoba and you have a choice whether you go tonight or tomorrow."

Very soon, the young man from Alliston was in uniform and learning to march in step with his new buddies. Those were exciting days indeed. Sometimes things moved pretty fast in wartime.

After Brandon, he was off to do guard duty at Saskatoon, Sask. and then flight training in Regina with the old bi-plane Tiger Moth and then on to Moose Jaw to fly the Harvard aircraft. It must have been very exciting. Jack said, "I was as green as grass, having no experience as a poker player or drinking like the big city boys so I hung out with the boys from the farms."

John must have taken to the air like a young eagle when it leaves the nest and his gift for flying was soon recognized. He really wanted to see action in Europe but he was needed to train new pilots. He gave each new "fly guy" eight to 10 hours instruction before they went solo.

The training must have been good because our country turned out some great airmen. Of course, some were not talented for flight and soon opted for other flight trades where they made great contributions. Airmen could not fly without them.

Flight trainer Lewis continued to request European action but instead he went to Vancouver Island for a transport course and towards the end of the war he finally saw The White Cliffs of Dover, England and even flew one flight over to France.

John married his hometown sweetheart, Mary Ellen Drennan in June of 1942 and in July they moved into Claresholm, Alta. Their first baby girl was born a year later but sadly she died shortly after birth. The Good Lord sent them a fine healthy baby girl (Joanne) in 1945.

Finally, the terrible war in Europe was over and the church bells rang out all over Canada and the survivors went home at last. A great many fine folk, however, were never to return and they were buried in foreign soil. The little Lewis family came home to Alliston where the young father worked for another year at Moore's before moving to Toronto as a travelling, wholesale hardware salesman for 10 years. Their son Bill was born in Toronto.

Eventually John bought out Norman Oliver's Hardware store in Alliston. Business was good and his gifts as a hardware man may have even surpassed his flying skills. However, he said, "In the 60s the flying bug bit me again and I had two different planes, a Cessna and a Champ, flying from local strips."

In time, John and Mary Ellen retired to enjoy the golden years which were active ones. Their son Bill bought the store in the 1980s and upgraded to a Home Hardware, and continued to provide customers with the fine Lewis service.

We became accustomed to seeing Mr. John Lewis walking his beloved Sheltie dog, Sandy, along the street where they live. John had time for golf with his old friend Doug Stokes, his lodge (7 Stars Masonic) and the Legion. Mary Ellen loved to sing in choirs at the church and with the Girls Night Out Choir and she loved to paint. Life was good.

We humans have a limited time on this planet and life seems to go faster toward the end. Sadly, on June 20 2009, John's sweetheart was called home to be with the Lord. John has lots of support from friends and family. Even his wee dog, Sandy, is still able in old age, to take short walks along the street he knows so well. At age 13, he is pretty arthritic but Mr. Lewis at age 89 is still an active golfer. Dear old Sandy's company is much appreciated.

For more stories about our yesteryears see next edition of The Alliston Herald.

The 2008 stories in this column are now being published in a book, The Way We Were Then which will be available soon.