Sometimes, just before closing time, he appears in the kitchen.
When most of the patrons have left and the prep tables at the back of the restaurant have gone quiet, the soldier calls in.
More than one past employee of the McDonald’s Restaurant on Dunlop Street West has seen this uniformed visitor late in the
evening. As quickly as he arrives, he vanishes.
The McDonald’s location at 85 Dunlop St. W. is not an old building. It sits on a large property that was actually at least two separate lots, one facing Dunlop Street and the other on Toronto Street.
In 1939, a state-of-the-art automobile garage opened amidst a fair bit of local excitement.
The Northern Advance of July 27, 1939 described the new addition to what was then known as Elizabeth Street in the most glowing terms.
“Modern to the smallest detail this new building is designed to permit the rendering of the finest service to motorists in every branch of this great industry. Coupled with this thought, the builders have sought to include every convenience for the improving of working conditions for the employees. Spotlessly clean, brilliantly lighted by night with large expanses of glass to permit the best visibility for workmen during the day, this gleaming white structure stands out as one of the show places of the town.”
By 1960, the corner of Toronto and Dunlop Street West had changed quite a bit.
Harris Motors had become E.J. ‘Zeke’ Firman’s service station.
Directly across the street, Central United Church had relocated north on Toronto Street to the corner of Ross Street.
Firestone, a garage and dealer in all sorts of auto accessories and hardware items, had replaced the church building.
The intersection became the central location for weekend cruising. Young men of the town would pile into their cars and do a slow drive along Dunlop Street from Cotty’s Cleaners in the east to Firestone and Firman’s in the west, then back again.
Horns were honked, girls called out to and the night would end with everyone gathered around their shined-up cars in front of one of these garages.
Directly behind the Firman service station stood a brick Victorian home. In the early 1940s, 45 Toronto St. was owned by F.W. Morrow, a charitable foundation that still exists today.
During the Second World War years, a social centre known as the Active Service Men’s Club operated out of a small space on Dunlop Street East Within a short time, the club outgrew its location and the Toronto Street house was offered.
Hundreds of volunteers immediately set to work readying the home for its intended use, and hundreds more signed up to keep the place running and to ensure that the visiting military personnel were always happy and entertained.
The completed venue included a letter writing room, a lounge, ping pong room, a canteen with a large kitchen and dining room, and a hall for dances, games and sing songs, all to keep up the spirits of soldiers far from home.
It may be that the enthusiastic volunteers provided such a place of respite and joy that one man in uniform decided not to leave, even as the club closed in 1946.
