Henderson Highway landmark closing

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This article was published 20/03/2015 (4066 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

NEAR LOCKPORT — The old wood floors and panelling seem to sweeten the aromas in the Red River General Store, like good acoustics do for music.

The aged wood accentuates the smell of the loose-leaf tea, spices and scented soaps, so that when you step in the door — and this is the last weekend you can step in the door — it tantalizes your nostrils.

The Red River General Store will be no more, at least in its old log cabin on Henderson Highway, backing onto the Red River. A parting of ways between the store owner and landlord means this is its last weekend along the favourite drive for Winnipegers: north along Henderson Highway to Lockport, and then back on scenic River Road in St. Andrews.

People say they will miss the store, but they also fear the century-old building will disappear.

“It’s just too bad. A piece of history is once again being removed for the sake of development,” said Bob Kozak, who dropped in at the store recently.

Kozak may be getting ahead of things. After all, owner Al Stankevicius was the one who restored the log cabin in the first place. But, yes, he’s selling the property and can’t make saving the store a condition of the sale. There is great development pressure in the area, with some surrounding homes selling in the $750,000 to $1-million range, making the little log cabin store even more of an anachronism.

The store first opened as the Narol post office on May 1, 1912, with Gustav Ludwick the first postmaster.

It was taken over by Echeal Stern in 1925, who ran the store and post office for the next 34 years. Morris Stern, presumably his son, took over in 1959. Morris owned three river lots in a row, the store lot being the centre one. The store lot is just 66 feet wide but extraordinarily long, adding up to a total of 12 acres, said Stankevicius. They are the long, narrow parcels dating back to the parish-lot system of the Red River Settlers.

The log cabin store supported the community with everything from kerosene to farm implements, groceries, dry goods and hardware, said Stankevicius. “That was the place people came to in this community. Now everyone goes to Superstore, and Winnipeggers occasionally drive this way to get a hotdog.”

The post office closed Feb. 27, 1970, and the store closed, too, and fell into disrepair. Stankevicius bought it a decade ago and completely restored it.

Then Monique Buckmaster made it into the popular Red River General Store, full of organic produce, freshly baked goods, jams, local crafts, and a series of homemade lotions humbly named the Best Moisturizer. She also retails organic heritage seeds, and the city’s largest selection of organic loose-leaf teas, kept in old penny-candy jars on the store’s original counters.

She also makes her own soaps that look like dessert squares. “Every man picks up the soap and says it looks like fudge. I say I’ll give them $5 to eat it,” she said.

Buckmaster, 40, a mother of three boys and pregnant with a fourth child, somehow made the quaint old store profitable. Shops like hers, especially outside the city, tend to have a lifespan of maybe two years.

Buckmaster wanted to buy the property after her three-year lease expired, but Stankevicius insisted he must first sell the property next door, on which he lives. Buckmaster decided she couldn’t wait any longer. “People in business have to make plans,” she said.

Stankevicius said he thinks the storefront may yet survive after it’s sold. It’s still zoned agricultural, “so you can keep chickens,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to see it ripped down. There should be someone around with that kind of interest.” It will be priced from $300,000 to $400,000, he said.

The store will be open this Saturday and Sunday at 5700 Henderson Hwy. Buckmaster will then relocate in Winnipeg at 1342 Main St., south of Inkster Boulevard, combining it with her Vintage Veruca Antiques store. She plans to reopen in mid-April but advises customers to check the store’s Facebook page for the exact date. Her web page is redrivergeneral.com.

bill.redekop@freepress.mb.ca