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.
Sign of the Bear – Barrie Hat and Fur Store
As the barber pole is a trademark of barbershops, so is a bear to a fur store.
The Simmons family, owners of the Barrie Hat and Fur Store, were no exceptions by using bear references in their advertising copy and, literally, using them on site.
The Simmons were furriers for generations. Simeon Simmons was born in Prussia about 1827 and his wife, Rosamond, was born in the United States.
They opened their first shop in the McCarthy Block on Dunlop Street in 1876, later moving to another location on Dunlop Street, before finally settling back in the McCarthy Block at what is now 39 Dunlop St. E., where they would operate for decades.
In the 1920s, a handsome new storefront and entrance featuring a tiled doorway, marble baseboard, oak flooring and transom of prism glass welcomed shoppers to the furrier’s premises.
Besides a large selection of furs, they carried hats and caps of every description, importing goods directly from Germany. They had a workroom of skilled employees who were always busy altering furs or making repairs.
Simmons also paid top dollar for rare furs. By the 1940s, Simmons offered cold storage service for fur owners, which included first cleaning the garments with compressed air, then sealing them in a gas chamber for 24 hours to eliminate any germs or moth larvae.
Even in the 1950s, the descendants of Simeon Simmons could not remember a time when there was not a trademark bear standing out front of the furrier’s shop.
A news item in 1909 reported that the Simmons Co. purchased the pelt of a magnificent back bear that Charles Hickling had shot on his farm. It would be speculation to assume this became the first bear to protect the doorway to the fur shop, but it could be.
We do, however, know the origins of the last bear to guard the entrance to Simmons. Fellow downtown merchant Bill Fleming, of Graham and Fleming, used to joke with owner Ray Simmons that someday he would replace the shabby bear with a sleek, new one.
And in the early 1950s, that’s exactly what happened.
While deer hunting northwest of Ottawa, Bill Fleming met — and shot — the bear that would later greet Simmons shoppers until it was retired as the last Simmons bear.
