Seaforth 150: Lifelong resident Don Matthews reflects on Seaforth of his youth

BY SHAWN LOUGHLIN

There are few people better suited to speak on the passage of time in the Town of Seaforth than Don Matthews. He was born and raised in the community and still lives there today with absolutely no plans to leave.

 

The Citizen sat down with Matthews on a sunny, breezy Friday, and the answer to how old he is was, “83... today!” So, we can only surmise that he cares enough about telling the story of Seaforth that he’ll take time out of his birthday - we only get so many of them, after all - to preach the good word of his home town.

 

Over the years, he says, he has been a collector of many things, from historical, antique firearms to cars, both of which he still dabbles in, but the collection on offer that day is his collection of memories of a childhood, life and retirement spent in Seaforth on the cusp of it marking its 150th anniversary.

 

In his youth, he lived on John Street, which runs adjacent to Highway 8 through the town, also known now as Goderich Street. He lived near the pharmacy and variety store, neither of which are there any longer.

 

Speaking of the shops and which of them are no longer standing leads Matthews directly into one of the biggest changes within the Town of Seaforth in recent years, which is how different the downtown looks now, compared to how it looked a few generations ago, when Matthews and his friends would frequent the shops and the stops, spending their free time out on the streets.

 

When he was a young man, Matthews said, there were seven grocery stores in Seaforth, two butcher shops, a handful of clothing stores, three restaurants and more. He told about the clothing store that pretty much clothed the children of the community for their youth. Not only would the owner have what the boys needed, but he’d be willing to work with them on creative payment plans and wasn’t shy about making recommendations. Matthews said he remembered being talked into a suede jacket in his youth, being told it would be a great fit for him. The store owner was right and Matthews liked the jacket, but knew he didn’t have the means to pay for it right then and there, but the owner let Matthews take the coat and said they would work something out.
Very often, he said, when you went in to pay your regular bill at the end of the week, you left owing more than you did when you first walked in that day.

 

Speaking about his friends, he said there was a group of young boys who used to chum around together in those days and while some have passed away over the years, others still keep in touch. In fact, one of the men was over earlier in the day, Matthews said, to bring him a birthday card - a favour he always returns later in the year when the time comes. He says they first met one another when they were about four or five years old, meaning those relationships are nearly 80 years old now.
Another thing that’s changed over the years is the level of familiarity members of the community had with one another. If someone would pull over in town to ask for help finding an address, Matthews said, he and his friends wouldn’t ask for the address, but, rather, who the person was looking for. They knew the people far better than they knew the town in those days, he said.

 

As for Matthews’ life, he left school early - when he was about 15 or so - and began work at what was then known as Seaforth Shoes, a factory in the heart of the town. That wasn’t unusual for a town like Seaforth during that time, he said, with a furniture factory, a mill and a full Canadian Tire store all situated in the small town at that time.

 

He would eventually move on when the factory closed in the 1980s, working in the maintenance department at the Seaforth Community Hospital, working his way up to a management role until he retired in 1996.

 

As for the Seaforth experience, Matthews said he can’t, in good conscience, complain, as Seaforth has provided him with a good life, friends and a family, a good job and a life he can look back at and of which he can be very proud. That’s not, of course, to say that it hasn’t changed. It has changed and he feels like he doesn’t know nearly as many people in town as he once did, but that that’s alright.

 

He said that, in his day, there were dances, community get-togethers and more, but those times have changed. However, that’s why something like a robust Seaforth 150th Homecoming is important... to bring everyone together.

 

He’ll be taking in some of the events, he says, like the historical displays and the reunions, but he’ll leave the concerts and beer gardens for the younger members of the community.