For more than four decades, the buzz of the bandsaw inside Conroy’s Grocery was the soundtrack to Francis Conroy’s days.
Since buying the Chapeau grocery store in 1972, Conroy worked long days – and often long nights – behind the butcher’s counter to feed steaks, bacon and custom cuts to generations of customers.
After suffering a fall last December which left him unable to walk or cut meat, the 91-year-old heard that familiar buzz once again this past Saturday.
His daughter Shelley Conroy and family organized a retirement party for Conroy, marking not only his first visit back to the store since December, but the culmination of a 54-year career.
For generations of Chapeau residents, many of whom gathered at the store on Saturday to celebrate his retirement, Conroy’s has been more than a grocery store. It has been a community gathering place where neighbours caught up, shared local news and were greeted by name.
Conroy bought the store while he was still working full-time at the mill in Waltham. When it closed, Conroy transferred to the mill at Braeside. Shelley said her father would come home, scarf down dinner, and get right back to work cutting meat in his store.
“He was working more than 70 hours a week,” she said.
From a young age, Shelley bagged groceries in the store, occasionally peeping into the back to see the butcher at work. Sometimes he’d even enlist her to help.
“Sometimes he’d let me grind the hamburgers, and I thought that was pretty cool,” she said.
She remembers hunting season as an especially busy season at the store, as hunters came in to stock up on meat for their camps. At the time, Conroy’s was allowed to butcher game animals for hunters after they returned from the bush.
As Shelley became more involved in the business, she said she learned a lot from her dad – everything from cutting meat to greeting customers to the behind-the-scenes operations. But at the end of the day, she said the heart of the business was the butchery.
“I learned that running a small business is not an easy task. Our meat was our draw, so he made that really perfect, and he made sure that that was our staple. And it brought everybody in, the longtime customers and the new customers,” Shelley said.
Shelley wasn’t the only one who remembers the store as the centre of village life. Former employee Colleen Fleming said in addition to being the local grocer, Conroy’s also acted as the unofficial hub for community news.
“There is a bench attached to the main counter, and regulars would often come in and park it right there, sit, and expect you to continue going about processing folks’ food orders,” she said.
“If anything was happening, you could guarantee that you’d get the news at Conroy’s store before anywhere else. There’s nowhere else to go.”
Longtime customer Lisa Swarbrick remembers the “magical” sound of the bandsaw and the cash register from her many visits to Conroy’s as a child. She said it was the family nature of the business that kept her and many other customers coming back over the years.
“It’s family and community [here],” she said. “You’ve got generations here. You’ve got his daughter Shelley, you’ve got the grandchildren, you’ve got the great-grandchildren. People know each other, so of course you’re going to be loyal to your people.”
For Pat Therens of Chichester, it’s the personal service that always stood out. He said the staff know you by name, and have a knack for remembering just what their customers want and how they like it cut.
“She’ll custom stock stuff for you too. ‘Shelley, have you got any of this?’ ‘No, but I’ll order it.’ You can’t get service like that with big box stores,” he said.
Shelley said her father’s commitment to customers went beyond simply selling groceries. He extended credit to customers who needed it, and occasionally opened the store after hours when someone was in need.
“I like to say if you’re good to good people, they’ll be good to you. And I worked hard to service people and help people. Nobody was ever stuck for a dollar or for groceries with me,” said Conroy of his philosophy.
That commitment continued for years, even into his nineties. Shelley said her father was behind the butcher counter almost every day before his fall in December.
On Dec. 20, the 91-year-old ended up in a hospital in Ottawa, where he underwent dialysis before his kidney function improved.
Shelley said she pushed to have him sent there for the treatment. Despite his age, she said, doctors were struck at how strong he remained.
“He worked 70 hours a week right up until Dec. 20. They couldn’t believe it. I think that’s why they gave him a chance on the dialysis, to see if he could come back from it, and he did.”
After spending about a month at Manoir St-Joseph in Campbell’s Bay, Conroy was recently transferred to a care home in Pembroke. He was allowed out for the day for Saturday’s party.
Friends, family and customers lined the aisles of the store to greet Conroy and offer him words of encouragement and appreciation. Seated at the back of the store, Conroy received handshakes, hugs and many compliments for a job well done.
“I never thought that anybody thought any more of me, running a grocery store. I just wanted to do the best for them,” Conroy said of the community’s response.
Since her dad’s fall, Shelley has taken over store operations, which she said has been a steep learning curve. It’s hard to replace 54 years of experience, she said, adding that he has taught her well. With her own family always ready to lend a hand, she feels ready for the next chapter.
“Working with my dad has been a privilege in my life, and he’s been such a mentor. He’s been such a force. I don’t know how he kept up the hours he did at his age, because I’m half his age and I’m tired, you know. But it’s been a privilege, and he’s taught me a lot about work ethic.”
Conroy is still adjusting to life away from the store, but is looking forward to some restored health. Shelley said it has been a difficult adjustment for a man who has lived and breathed his work.
“He feels guilty sitting around, knowing how busy we are at the store. But I said, ‘Dad, you did your time. I’m doing the time now, and I know you’d be here in a heartbeat’,” she said.
Throughout the party, as well-wishers continued to file into the store, Shelley and helpers buzzed around in the back as they continued fulfilling meat orders. Business doesn’t stop, not even for a retirement party.
From his seat near the back of the store, Conroy watched as staff fed slabs of bacon into the slicer and guided steaks through the band saw. For the first time since December, he saw the work carry on without him.
“If I could give a million dollars to get on that saw, I would. Just the sound of it makes me lonesome.”
