Webbers

SERVING THE COMMUNITY SINCE 1932

Continue the Tradition

The building nudges against the old number 7 highway as the road passes through Lake Charlotte, almost midway between Jeddore and Ship Harbour. It also sits at a crossroads where a detour will reward the more adventurous traveller with a walk on the white sand of Clam Harbour Beach, site of the annual international sand sculpture festival, followed by a delightful ramble through the scenic fishing villages strung like pearls along Ship Harbour peninsula.

Locals call it, ‘the red store’, ‘the log store’, ‘halfway store’ or simply ‘Webbers’ but its business title is E.J. Webbers Store and Motel Ltd.. A cursory glance in passing reveals a modestly unassuming faded red structure, low and long behind prominent gas pumps at the front of an asphalt parking lot but the mind registers, even at a glance, that the building is made entirely of logs. And therein lies the first indication of its uniqueness. Like the timbers of the very trees from which it was built its roots reach deep into the history of the community and the Webber family.

The original Webbers were Dutch-German immigrants who settled first in the Carolinas under a Crown land

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grant but, when America opted for independence from Great Britain, chose to cleave to their Loyalist inclinations and move to Canada.

The site of Webber’s Store and Motel is part of the original allocation given to the family when they made that pilgrimage to Nova Scotia. Edward James Webber, the son of those original settlers and known to most people simply as Ned, was born in 1867 in Lower Lakeville which later became Lake Charlotte. The lake itself, one of the largest in the province, was called Ship Harbour Lake back then although the reason for the change seems lost in the mists of time.

Ned left school at age 15 to go lobster fishing with his father in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, a not unusual choice for a young man of that era, but at season’s end, prompted perhaps by a pocket full of wages and a sense of adventure, Ned headed west to work as a harvester in the Canadian prairies. Typical of many Maritimers, even today, he eventually made his way home and continued his pattern of seasonal work on the farms and apple orchards and in the lumber

camps of Nova Scotia before serving overseas during the Great War. Following the war Ned took employment in Northern Ontario’s lumber camps and in 1923 went to work for the Ford Motor Co. in Detroit where he remained until 1929 when he returned home once again to form a business with his brother dealing in the local lumber trade and sport fishing.

In 1932 he built the first incarnation of Webber’s store from logs cut off the property. It was comprised of a dance hall and canteen and featured a large stone fireplace which served to anchor the building to the site and which remains part of the present structure.

Gas pumps were included to service the increasing car and truck traffic. The place would have been a major source of entertainment in a relatively isolated community and one which undoubtably fostered more than a few marriages and plenty of stories.

Babe served as postmistress, with help from Ned, until 1971. Ned had a small truck used for mail delivery but his contract with Canada Post required him to keep a horse and wagon in case the truck broke down or was unable to manage the winter roads.

In 1951 a new highway was pushed through. Ned discovered that a small rise of land behind the store was essentially a pile of clean gravel perfect for road construction. The sale of this stone for the new highway enabled him to remove the four cabins and, in 1957, build the Lake Charlotte Motel and a proper house for the family which stands to this day as residence for the present owners.

Between the store and the house the family grew a vegetable garden and kept livestock for their own use.

At the same time a swampy area on the north side of the property was dredged to form a man-made lake stocked with trout which became a featured item on the dining room menu.

Ned represented a profound presence for growth and innovation in the community, serving as president of the Eastern Shore Board of Trade and Master of the Ashlar Masonic Lodge but, sadly, he passed away at a young 66 years in 1963. He managed, nonetheless, to instill in his sons and daughter much of his spirit of hard work, entrepreneurship and fair play.

They recall living in the attic of the general store amidst the stock and supplies of the business. Their mother, Babe, was a welcoming hostess. The store, with its big stone fireplace, served as a popular meeting place and kind of drop-in center and frequent was the morning that the children would have to make their way over and around guests asleep on the floor. It

In the 1940’s Ned added four log cabins (called the Cumbac Cabins) for overnight guests, the dance hall became a dining room and the canteen a general store.

During this period most goods arrived by schooner into Musquodoboit Hbr. and had to be trucked over dirt roads to the store.

Several outbuildings were constructed, including an ice house and shortly thereafter Ned’s wife, Marguerite, known as Babe, became the local postmistress. A further addition to the store was made which included space for the post office which would serve the immediate area as well as Clam Harbour, Clam Bay, Owl’s Head, DeBaie’s Cove and Lower Ship Harbour.

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was something of a family joke that eldest son, Ford, for all intents, grew up behind the counter. Despite the lovely new two storey house Ned built for her, Babe always preferred the spartan and cluttered but lively accommodations over the store and never fully committed to life at the house.

At his father’s death, Ford took over management of the business and this arrangement endured until Babe’s passing in 1971. During his tenure as manager Ford also ran his own small manufacturing and construction business. The company built wooden sleighs which were sold all across North America and was responsible for construction of a number of houses and commercial buildings in the area as well as several local bridges.

It was during this period, prior to Babe’s death, that Lake Charlotte’s status as a mecca for cottage goers truly began to evolve towards its present day standard. Enough so that the Webbers were prompted to construct a store on a floating barge which was towed from its winter storage each spring to a mooring site just shy of the Lake Charlotte narrows. ‘Webber’s Holiday Store’ was a true novelty on the lake and served the cottage owners and sportsmen who flocked there each summer and fall until 1970 when another branch of the Webber clan, who ran a tent and trailer park at the narrows, opted to build a land based store and the barge was decommissioned and pulled ashore to become a rental cottage.

Following the death of their mother the Webber siblings, Ford, Ann, Grant and Ted incorporated the various branches of the business under the single heading of ‘Webber’s Store and Motel’ and undertook a number of improvements and upgrades that included

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paving and landscaping as well as new furniture, carpets and equipment. Another section was added to the existing structure, built in the same way using hewn logs and post and beam roof construction. This building sits on a full concrete foundation and allowed for much needed office and storage space.

It was during the building process that the family realized for the first time the level of impact the business had effected on the traveling public and community in general as people from as far off as Halifax and Sheet Harbour dropped by to witness the changes and express their concerns that the very essence of the existing building and business remain intact.

After the dust of construction had settled the complex consisted of the motel and general store with gas bar; a tea room and dining room; a common area that served as a hub from which the functioning spaces diverged; the post office; public washrooms and the basement which included storage and rental office space and general hardware sales.

It was an indication of the robustness of the business that from 1982 until 1998 Ford published a monthly newsletter that chronicled local news and events and featured a flyer catalogue of goods on offer at the general store.

Today Webber’s Store and Motel remains an Eastern Shore landmark and testament to the hard work and ingenuity of several generations of one family. It sits on approximately 11 acres of prime real estate and includes, as well as the store, the recently renovated house and 9 unit motel, the pond, a number of outbuildings and a recycling depot tucked away at the northeast corner of the property.

A compelling footnote to all this history lies in

Locals call it, the red store, the log store, halfway store or simply ‘Webbers’.

Ned’s ongoing fascination with collecting examples of current technology and equipment as it changed and evolved. This interest included a desire to someday see the collection incorporated into a display or attraction for visitors.

Ford shared his father’s curiosity and between them the two managed to amass a considerable collection of records and artifacts. Its size and diversity prompted the formation in 1994 of the ‘Lake Charlotte Area Heritage Society’ with the goal of managing and cataloguing the collection.

The Society’s ideas, planning and imagination led to the creation of a historic site known as ‘Memory Lane Heritage Village’ which lies behind the motel. Ford derived tremendous satisfaction from the realization of his father’s dream and remained active in the affairs of both the Society and Memory Lane until his death in 2008.

The area’s population swells dramatically in summer as the annual cottage owners migration occurs and tourists pour in to experience the beauty and

attractions the area has to offer.

Outdoor recreation enthusiasts are drawn by the pristine beauty of the Eastern Shore Seaside Park System and the Ship Harbour/Long Lake Protected Wilderness Area. Kayakers, canoeists and hikers, fishermen and hunters are regular visitors to the red store. The International Sand Castle Festival and events at Memory Lane like the Antique Car Show and the Harmonica Festival tempt visitors by the thousands from around the world. And yet, the viability of the red store has always been its connection to the vibrant community at whose center it lies and as that community continues to grow and change Webber’s log store stands at a crossroads in both time and space.

If one lingers next to the great stone fireplace at the back of the store and takes time to listen, to be, for a moment quiet and attentive, it’s possible to hear the faint echo of music, voices and laughter that flows like a river from the past and on into the future.

By Tim Brushett

Ned Webber (holding bycycle), Marguerite "Babe" Webber (holding Annjanette) and Ford (on tricycle).

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