Page 18 - D18567 - LBMAO - Reporter - Sept-Oct 2022 - web optimized

Our first stop was Moffatt and Powell’s
Tillsonburg RONA store. Nancy and D’Arcy
Powell Quinn, (who also were on the ride
with us in their cool 1970 Bronco) owners of
this iconic group of stores with nine branches
throughout Southern Ontario gave us a brief
history of their business and after walking the
store we were impressed with the dedicated
staff and strong merchandising presentations.
Lee Harney, their VP of Operations, took us
through their well-appointed yard which was
busy at this time of year serving contractors
and consumers in this thriving community.
This group is well positioned to be a major
player in the south-western Ontario area and
will continue to grow as opportunities present
themselves for future acquisitions.
Next we stopped into Vienna Home
Centre, a well-established Castle member
in Vienna, Ontario. Manager Dan Garner and
owner Margaret Ketchabaw gave us a warm
welcome. Dan and I laughed as we have
known each other for well over 40 years when
I covered the area as a hardware distributor
sales rep calling on this store. And we have
not changed a bit! LOL
Vienna Home Centre services this
community which has weathered the
transformation from a tobacco growing
area to other cash crops such as ginseng,
asparagus, beans, as well as the influx of city
dwellers moving into this quiet and affordable
area of southern Ontario.
Dan joined us for lunch on the
deck at Port Burwell’s Izzy’s Schooners
restaurant overlooking the HMCS Ojibwa,
a decommissioned cold war era submarine
which is now a museum run by the Elgin
Historic Military Association. We had the
opportunity to walk around the sub but due to
limited time were unable to take a tour of the
inside of the boat. I would recommend this to
those who have an interest in military history
as it would be worth the drive to Port Burwell
to visit this site. This sub was famous during
cold war naval exercises in the Atlantic for
being so stealthy that NATO sub hunters could
rarely find her.
After a relaxing lunch of fresh Lake Erie
perch or burgers, we cruised along Lake Erie
on the scenic Lakeshore Road to Long Point
and Port Rowan, stopping briefly to visit Port
Rowan Home Building Centre. Our vehicles
parked along the main drag in front of the
store attracted a lot of attention from locals.
Brandon Vermeersch, the store owner, greeted
us warmly while trying to look after his
customers, many who are cottage owners at
Long Point.
We look a leisurely drive up Highway 59
north towards Woodstock taking in the rolling
hills of southern Ontario. We viewed corn
fields, cash crops, dairy and beef farms in full
production, slowing down to pass the several
farm vehicles on this busy highway and the
secondary roads. It was a pleasure to drive
these highways as traffic was light and the

18 LBMAO Reporter - September-October 2022 www.lbmao.on.ca