This ongoing series from Barrie Historical Archive curator Deb Exel shows old photos from the collection and one from the present day, as well as the story behind them.
Alex Milne – Tailor
The merchant tailoring business of Alex Milne was considered a complete operation: from the variety and qualities of domestic and imported goods, to the competent workmanship and the courteous service.
Alex Milne was born near Dundee, Scotland in 1858.
In 1866, he came to Canada with his family, settling in Sault Ste. Marie. A scant year later, Alex’s father died and his mother, along with her brood of three girls and three boys, moved to Barrie.
Alex learned the cutting and tailoring trade with Alex McRae, a merchant tailor who had a business on Dunlop Street opposite the Barrie Hotel (now the Queen’s Hotel). McRae advertised “nobby” suits of the latest and most fashionable goods, promising a perfect fit and cheap prices, with plenty of tweeds to choose from.
The Alex Milne and Sons Merchant Tailor shop was established in 1895 in the Glebe Block. Founded on solid business methods, astute buying, excellent stock and good prices, Milne’s clothing house became extremely successful and boasted a booming business. His store was large, well-lit and organized, with expertly equipped workrooms located on the upper floor for his skilled employees. He later added hats and other high-end furnishings to his already impressive line of clothing and fabrics.
Besides overseeing his thriving business, Alex Milne became deeply involved in his community over the years, as chairman of the management committee of the public school board, director of the Barrie Agricultural Society, Sunday School librarian and chairman of the board of managers at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, as well as membership and prominent positions in other organizations such as the Mackenzie King Club, Sons of Scotland, Royal Arcanum, Oddfellows, and the Masonic Order. People found him to be hard working, dedicated to education for all ages, with a kind and buoyant personality.
Being so well regarded and connected around town, it was particularly shocking and sad, that just days before his 64th birthday, Alex Milne was struck by a Huxtable Bus Service jitney on Dec. 13, 1922, while crossing Bradford Street, just south of Prince of Wales school.
Milne apparently stepped into the path of the Barrie-bound jitney driven by James McLean, a 30-year-old who had been driving for the Huxtable company for six months. McLean sounded his horn, braked, slammed the car into neutral and gave the wheel a hard turn to the left to avoid hitting Mr. Milne, who did not stop or turn in reaction to the oncoming vehicle.
Given the icy road conditions, the jitney slid forward and hit Alex Milne, in spite of all efforts to prevent it. McLean’s two passengers leapt from the car and picked up the injured Milne.
Hunter Huxtable, who was driving a bus toward Allandale, passing just as the incident occurred, told McLean to finish the Allandale run while he would take his car back to Barrie. McLean completed the run then met Chief Robert King to relay the details of the accident.
Dr. William Little attended to Mr. Milne, who died of head wounds 32 hours later at Royal Victoria Hospital, without ever regaining consciousness.
A jury exonerated the jitney driver of any blame in Alex Milne’s death and ruled the tragedy accidental.
The room in the Milne family home at 111 Mulcaster St., where funeral services were conducted for Barrie’s well-loved citizen whose greatest pleasure was spending time with his grandchildren, was overflowing with flowers and tributes.
Alex Milne was then laid to rest in Barrie Union Cemetery alongside his mother, sister Mary and three sons, William, Frank and Orville. A fourth son, Edwin, sleeps in Flanders Fields.
Milne’s son Harry G. remained with the family business until 1929, then joined the A.E. Smith Furniture Company as bookkeeper in 1930.
In June 1929, Alex’s other son, (James) Dalton, had purchased the business outright, changing it to Alex Milne and Son and implementing a selling for cash-only policy effective July 2.
In 1949, Fred Grant, while reminiscing in a newspaper column about the old days, remembered a time when suits were handmade by tailors such as Alex Milne.
Alex Milne’s shop at 55 Dunlop St. E. remained a clothing store (Wilfred H. Todd Men’s Furnishings) into the 1950s, then was home to other businesses over the years, such as Lincoln Shoe Canada Ltd (1961), The Uncommon Touch (1972), Heritage China and Gifts (1982), Hildegard’s (1992), and now the charming Our House store.
