Art Squeezed out of Market

OTTAWA SOUTH COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION REVIEW Volume 4 November 1976 Number 2 ART SQUEEZED OUT OF MARKET That volume means Art sells, for instance, 186 bushels of apples a By BRENDA SMALL week during the late summer, 320 dozen cauliflower and 60 pounds of mushrooms every day. Venerable Art Hartnett has until His suppliers are Provincial next May before he'll be forced to Fruit and Fines Wholesalers. Art pack up his fruit and vegetable says there are also a number of loc- stands and move. al truck farmers who have said they His tiny marKet at the corner of would go out of business if they Bank and Belmont has been sold along couldn't supply his market. with the restaurant it adjoins and Art began in the fruit and vege- there's talk the site will be used table business when he was 15, work- for a new tavern-restaurant. ing first at Walsh's on the corner Art is 60 and has been selling of Bank and Waverly. He eventually fruit and vegetables to Ottawa bought that store, then sold it and South citizens for 45 years. But worked for the new owner. Later, he though he's reached an age when many moved to Len's across the street might think of packing away the ap- Art and friend— from his present market and worked resemblance is all in the nose ple crates and retiring, Art told as the fresh produce manager there OSCAR in a recent interview that he for nine years. has no such plans. Three years ago, he left Len's Instead, he says he'll set up The building by the Strand has —he won't say why—and set up his shop somewhere else in the community a number of advantages, Art says. market outside the health food store and start all over again. An addition could'oe built arid vdiich formerly occupied the build- "The community has been so dog- he'd have room to store his produce. ing. gone good, I want to continue here," And with a building already in Art says he has had excellent re- he says• place, he could sell throughout lations with the people who operate Art has proved he doesn't need the winter. the store. During the summer, he has all that much space for his enter- Art regards his market as a six full-time employees, and now, prize, but space among the car lots vital part of the city's produce with winter approaching, he has and shops along the Ottawa South trade. It "eases the strain" on the three part-timers, an extra three on stretch of Bank Street is not always centre-town Byward Market and the Saturday and two students. easy to get. market in the west end. Both those, Art is known far and wide for his He says he hopes to set up shop he says, have parking problems he courteous service. He says he regu- either on the bus lot at the doesn't have. larly gets customers "from 30 miles corner of Bank and Grove, or in a Though it looks unimposing, Art's away just to pick up prune-plums". cinderblock building beside the Market does a booming business. He He intends to carry on the way he old Strand theatre—now a bingo- handles the same volume of fruit has for the last 45 years, serving hall--further south along the and vegetables every day as an Ottawa South under the motto: "Good street. average supermarket. quality at fair prices". EDITORIAL OSCAR Lottery If you feel strongly about the The OSCAR Lottery was a disap- OSCAR loves Art's Market.' The problems of Art's Market, please pointment to its organizers. The friendly atmosphere at the corner clip out this section of the paper actual proceeds, after expenses and of Bank and Belmont has been a shin- and send it to your City Council- prizes were only $239.20. ing example of what makes this com- lors. Express your views: Ticket-sellers reported little munity an attractive place to live. 1. Art's Market should stay in resistance among potential purchas- Ottawa South needs the market; we Ottawa South and all possible steps ers , even outside the Community. should see that all steps are taken should be taken to see it does. Marc Johnson sold 104 tickets to win to ensure that Art and his stands Yes No the prize for most sales ( a $20.00 stay. 2. The City should use the former We have a chance in this case to bus lot as a place for community-or- gift-certificate donated by the express our view and to be heard be- iented business. Yes No Heron Rd. Canadian Tire store). Adam Coote, who sold 70 tickets, sold the fore all the decisions are taken. As 3. The community needs another tavern-restaurant. Yes No winning ticket (#1034, drawn by Eric Art, himself, said, "An individual can't do anything", but by speaking 4. The views of the community Clemens) and won a pair of football together we can be an effective should be sought before any major tickets (donated by CJOH-TV). Winner changes are made in the character of the $100.00 priz’e in the draw was voice. Mrs. M. King of Osborne St. If the city were to put a small of local establishments. - Yes No Total ticket sales were 703. building on the old bus lot which Printer's fees for the 3,000 tickets could be leased for community- 5. Other comments... were generously paid by Hillary1s oriented business, places such as Cleaners (Ottawa South Br.) the market would be guaranteed a The pot-luck supper, was enjoyed chance to survive and add to our by about 30 people. It was agreed quality of life. N ame: that those who didn't make it were Address : the losers.. - - . - Page 2 police is necessary, but the schools London since then, she said it's play an equally important rôle be- not without its problems, most of cause children have to be taught to them familiar to other Canadian associate the sign with help. The cities which have instituted the strength of the program, he thinks, program. She said in some schools is that it is set up by the community, the children are not given enough not imposed from outside. education in how to use the prog- PARENT Ed Mills and Leland Creaser of ram, new Block Parents sometimes South Keys Village recited several aren't adequately instructed, and By SUSAN McMASTER incidents to prove the need for sometimes Block Parents don't put Block Parents. In one, two young their signs out very often or "We know Block Parents is succeed- girls were chased, in another, chil- ing," says Canadian founder Margaret leave them up when they aren't dren were bullied, and in a third a home. She said the biggest problem MacGee, "because it's not being used." four-year-old missed the school bus. in London is that after initial At the Civic Centre on October 5, In each case the children found help interest when the program was MacGee told 135 committee chairper- at a Block Parent house. Says Mills, starting, it has become so taken sons that Block Parent homes are "You shouldn't have to have a Block for granted that it doesn't get mostly used by children who are be- Parent program, but everybody isn't enough media coverage now. ing bullied or who are lost. "You good, and especially with young chil- MacGee related how about one and see," she said, "I think we've dren it's important they know where a half years after the program chased all the molesters out!" they can get help/ He feels the started in London it almost fell The Block Parents program has been program also decreases the number of apart because members began to in Ottawa since the spring of 1975, break-ins and amount of vandalism. lose interest, there were few new and now involves 32 communities, 59 Pat Downing, co-chairperson of parents volunteering, groups schools, and 3,000 people, accord- the Ottawa central committee of stopped meeting regularly. The ing to Ottawa central committee Block Parents, opened the me.eting program was saved only by re- chairperson Pat Downing. It is en- by telling the members how help- organization and an intense tirely run by volunteers on an an- ful Mayor Lorry Greenberg and thé effort. nual budget of $4,100, $3,000 of city police had been in supporting (Continued on page 4) which goes for printing and prep- the program with money and person- aration of visual aids, and the rest nel. for administration. Consumer Affairs After à thank-you and a few or how to survive in the marketplace. MacGee was in Ottawa to represent jokes from Greenberg, Aargent Block Parents at a series of meet- A regular OSCAR feature Mike Cassan of the Ottawa Police inas of the Canada Safety Council, By GAIL STEWART a federally funded organization took the floor. He outlined a ivhich is responsible for setting proposal to extend the "whistle- The big news for consumers this safety standards. The Council holds -safe" program from the sehior month is the Government's publican the copyright for Block Parent signs citizens to Block Parents, if they tion of The Way Ahead, a working and manuals. want it. This would involve han- paper for public discussion. The While here, she addressed a meet- ding out police-style whistles to children or Block Parents to be Way Ahead is an outline of the wav ing of Block Parent chairpersons, the Government sees the problem of called so members could share ideas blown in case of an emergency.

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