[Leica] Shaver Hobbies closing

[imra at iol.ie (Douglas Barry)]

Nice ones of what will shortly be forgotten, Howard. The first ping of 
Space Invaders was a knife through the heart of model toys. I still have 
a couple of unconstructed model planes somewhere.
Douglas

On 17/02/2019 02:11, Howard Cummer via LUG wrote:
> BC Shaver and Hobbies, a downtown retail fixture in Victoria born just 
> over 50 years ago from one boy?s delinquency,
>
>   is for sale with the owner looking to retire.
>
> Having escaped snowy Pender I channelled Chris Crawford (Hi Chris) and 
> went to the store to document it before it?s gone.
>
>
> <http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Howard+Cummer/2019/Victoria/ShaversHobbyVic2.jpg.html
>  
> <http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Howard+Cummer/2019/Victoria/ShaversHobbyVic2.jpg.html>>
>
> Garnett Rancier, 55, owner of the shop and its Fort Street building, wants 
> to sell the whole business and its entire inventory: model trains, 
> radio-controlled aircraft, boats and cars, working model rockets, wooden 
> ship models, and hundreds and hundreds of plastic models of all kinds 
> along with all the paints and tools to put them together.
>
> <http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Howard+Cummer/2019/Victoria/ShaversHobbyVicGarnett.jpg.html
>  
> <http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Howard+Cummer/2019/Victoria/ShaversHobbyVicGarnett.jpg.html>>
>
> He said the shop with its combination of shavers and hobby supplies owes 
> its genesis to a Victoria boy who got into some trouble in the 1950s. The 
> father told his son he had to pay for the damage and to sell his electric 
> train set to raise the money. To make the sale happen the father asked his 
> friend, the owner of a local shaver shop, to put the train in the shop 
> window.
>
> It generated so much interest from passersby and customers that the shop 
> owner decided to stock more train sets and the hobby operation took off.
>
> <http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Howard+Cummer/2019/Victoria/ShaversHobbyVic3.jpg.html
>  
> <http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Howard+Cummer/2019/Victoria/ShaversHobbyVic3.jpg.html>>
>
> The original shop began in 1952 on Broad Street and moved twice before 
> Rancier?s father bought it in 1962.
>
> It settled in 1989 at 742 Fort St., where it still resides.
>
>
> <http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Howard+Cummer/2019/Victoria/ShaversHobbyVic1.jpg.html
>  
> <http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Howard+Cummer/2019/Victoria/ShaversHobbyVic1.jpg.html>>
>
> Some of the staff have been with the store for decades too and are expert 
> in the extensive inventory.
>
> <http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Howard+Cummer/2019/Victoria/ShaversHobbyVicAlvis.jpg.html
>  
> <http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Howard+Cummer/2019/Victoria/ShaversHobbyVicAlvis.jpg.html>>
>
> Rancier bought the store from his father and said it?s now the oldest 
> hobby shop in Canada.  I got his permission to take some photos and here 
> they are. I want my grandchildren to see what a real hobby shop looks like 
> ? because soon such stores will be as scarce as buggy whips.
>
> Look large if you prefer. C&C always welcome.
>
>
> Howard
>
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