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THEN AND NOW: The face behind Burn's Grocery

It's had some different looks over the years, but Burn's Grocery site definitely a well-known spot on Blake Street in Barrie's east end
Deb Exel

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.

This piece of real estate is sure to trigger a few memories for some readers.

Harry Burns was the ‘Burns’ behind Burn’s Grocery, an early east-end Barrie market. Harry was born in Toronto in the 1870s, living in Chicago until his father died. At 14, he came to Barrie to live with his grandfather, Thomas Fox Davies.

Grandpa was an interesting guy. Thomas Davies was a printer. As a youth in Great Britain, he ran the first cylinder press operated outside of London. When he came to Canada, while at the Toronto Globe, he ran the first cylinder press in the country. An innovator in the industry, it was Davies’ suggestion to a leading press manufacturer in New York, that led to the web press, the process where paper is fed from a roll into the printing press.

Thomas Davies was Barrie’s first publisher, starting the Barrie Magnet in 1847, bringing the materials to town via an ox team, the trip taking two entire days. By 1852, Davies had changed the name of his paper to the Northern Advance.

In his newspaper, Thomas Davies was the first to advocate for a railway line from Toronto to Georgian Bay. Even while ‘retired,' Davies remained in the newspaper business as a member of the Examiner staff. When he died, he was thought to be the oldest printer in the business.

Harry Burns was only in the printing trade with his grandfather for two years. Harry worked with John Carley, the boat builder for several years before going to British Columbia for six months. When he returned from the west, Burns became an employee of the Barrie Carriage Company and later worked as the caretaker of King George School. It was in the 1920s that he became his own boss.

About 1914, Harry married Olive McKee. The Burns family, Harry, Olive and their kids Hazel, Hudson, Reina and Oriel, would live in the house that Olive was born in – 196 Blake St. The family home grew to include the family business: the market and later a service station.

If you don’t remember Burn’s Grocery, perhaps you remember another business that operated in that old house – Frank’s Seafood.