Solomon C. Clark

The Village Mart, Mount Stewart’s oldest retail establishment, traces its origins back to September 23, 1875 when David Egan sold a building lot on Main Street to George Clark of Clarktown. The property was trans— ferred to Solomon Crawford Clark on May 17, 1876 and in 1877 that gentle-

man was known as a merchant.

By 1927 S. C. Clark had retired and his son, Russell, the successor to the business, had embarked on a programme of expansion. Converting the existing store into a warehouse, he moved his stock into the store next-door which had been purchased from William H. Pigot upon that veteran retailer’s retirement. A very keen businessman, Mr. Clark founded the firm of Clark Bros., with branches in Montague and St. Peter’s. Lob- ster packer, fox rancher, exporter of farm produce and agent for Chrysler cars, he was also a director of Charlottetown Fur Sales, Associated Ship- pers and the Charlottetown Can Co. A liberal in politics, he represented the Third District of Queen’s in the Provincial Legislature, with one brief interruption, from 1927 until 1959. His death occurred on July 15, 1964.

Sterling Clark, Russell’s son, is the current owner of this old Mount Stewart business. On the night of April 6, 1974, the store, then a member of the Lucky Dollar group, was completely destroyed by fire. Coinciden- tally, the original store, which had been a warehouse for many years, had been torn down in January of the same year. Within a short time the business had been reestablished in the former Affleck’s General Store at the corner of Egan and Main Streets.

Consumers’ Co—operative Store

Writing in the April 18, 1938 issue of the Guardian, Mr. James Allen MacKay of Savage Harbour remarked that “the trim new building that can be seen from Mount Stewart Station is the Co—operative store. This time last year it was growing as lumber in the woods.” As was the case with its distinguished progenitor, the Rochdale Pioneers in England, the Mount Stewart Co-operative was a child of difficult times. “After suffering years of depression,” Mr. MacKay continued, “the members had found it hard to believe that the future held anything for them.” They were, he observed, “now filled with a new enthusiasm.” This enthusiastic spirit carried the Association through its early days, and members con- tributed lumber, labour and materials to offset the lack of capital. Con- sequently, on the occasion of the second annual meeting, held in February, 1939, the manager, Mr. James Atkins, was able to report the completion of a store, warehouse and refrigeration plant. A saw-mill was opened some time later.

Distinct from the Co-operative store, yet sharing the same basic principles, was the Mount Stewart Credit Union which began operations in June, 1936 with $114. capital. Writing in the Guardian for May 14, 1940, Mr. F. J. Shanahan reported that “the original $114. has been loaned out in a continual cycle of loan operations that has swelled its loaning power to over $40,000.”

Mount Stewart’s fame as a pioneer in co—operative endeavors on the Island made it the logical choice of the Extension Department of St. Dun- stan’s University for the inauguration of a programme of adult education in the rural communities of the Province. From December 2-5, 1941 dele-

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