Reminiscing (When I Was A Boy....)

[BigMac]

Funny that i can't remember what the precursor to A&B Sound was called but it's owner was Fred Mitteregger. He became the partner (After her life partner died) of Trudy who owned the computer training company on Kennedy that had a fire. That school later moved to the four storey red building on Skinner st.

Soundvision?

[swine]

I remember the first time I came to the island after my bro moved here, he took me to the "Harp and Shamrock" We walked in on a tuesday and there were a bunch of gray haired ladies singing old war songs around the piano, (which is still there) i Thought to myself "yoiks, I'm in a legion". We sat on the deck and ate lunch with two heavily salivating German Shepard staring at us
at that time, there was nothing there except farms and I wondered. " How the hell could anyone make a living here? Now, my wife works at the "Black Bear" and you cant find parking on a Friday afternoon

[AllieG]

Twister is onto something with the a&b sound and mr mikes theory. The entrance to Mr Mikes was off of Commercial in that same block. There was a smoke shop on the corner where the building makes a 'V' shape into Commercial and Wallace. I doubt if mr mikes used all the square footage a&b used (that's a helluva huge restaurant if it did) but to be sure it occupied a portion.

Mr Mike's was next to the smoke shop in the a&b building but I don't think the whole thing. Can't remember what was also there. I had a summer job there in the early 70s.

[GraceVI]

Does anybody remember Ranninger's candy store? It was on Commercial about where the french restaurant is now. Brewsters fabric store was on the corner where there is a used book store now.
And if anybody's mom shopped at the Superette on Albert Street, the butcher there used to take the plastic wrap off the top of a hot dog weiner and give it to little kids to eat while their mom shopped. If you saw a kid on Commercial street with a half eaten weiner in their hand, you knew they had been to the Superette.

[Spence]

I just dug out a 1973 Nanaimo City Directory, business edition. It lists Lloyds Smoke Shop at 1 Commercial St., Mr Mikes at 7 Commercial, and next door at 9 Commercial, and Allie G this will probably jog your memory, Willing Wayne the Discounter, a furniture store run by Wayne Harbord. he was a bit of a character, as I recall. House of Stein was originally up at 135 Commerical. Freddie ran it and Kellys, which were the same company I believe. Don't know wether he had both at the same time. Rannigers was now called the Sweet Shoppe, and was located at 165 Commerical, sandwiched by Around the World Travel, and by AC Taxi. Mr Mikes moved from Commercial to Terminal Park behind the liquor store. Chester, wan't the Pantry originally built as Bonanza Restaurant?

[patty-anne]

I remember walking back one Halloween, I think Iy was 1958. So I guess it worked. We were to tired and cold to do anything but go home and get warm.

[patty-anne]

Theren were several clubs in the 50's The Wander-in up by NSHS was one and in Harewood was Johny the Jazz.
There was n attempt at the shasta hotel, but it didn't work put.
There wre two cafe's we hung out, one beside the Nanaimo Free Press and one just up from Fletchers. Does anyone know the name of them?

[patty-anne]

That tanker fire claimed the life of bert Tannocm who also owned an auto wreckers on Terminal Avenue.
I remember watching May Day parades on the cliffs where The parking lot of the casino. There was a park where we would watch Donkey Baseball and going don to the Terminal, where the erries anme in and the bussesleft was a treat. They had paid toilets in those days and as little kids, we would crawl under the doors and open then. We felt we were doing the world a favour.

[Smokey©]

There wre two cafe's we hung out, one beside the Nanaimo Free Press and one just up from Fletchers. Does anyone know the name of them?

The Modern was and still is next to the Nanaimo Free Press (the original location downtown - 223 Commercial St) and in the mid block near Woolworths was Islander Cafe.

[Chester]

Chester, wan't the Pantry originally built as Bonanza Restaurant?

Yes Spence I am reasonably certain it was Bonanza prior to becoming the Pantry. There are many former Bonanza sites around the south coast/island that are still in use, mostly as food service.
A side note on the Long Lake Plaza: it also housed the Roxy single screen theatre and for a brief time a 7-Eleven of all things. This was the first 7-Eleven in Nanaimo to close. I reckon the other would be the Nicol Street gas station.