This ongoing series showcases historic photos in the Collingwood Museum collection, with research and writing by Melissa Shaw, the museum supervisor.
For well over a century, Collingwood residents have been learning to ride bicycles along our local sidewalks and roadways.
If the buildings could talk, they would no doubt have a story or two (and perhaps a scar or two) to share.
Bicycles brought a newfound freedom to the town’s early years as residents could travel more freely, without the use of a horse or automobile.
And it seems bicycles were a relatively big business as it’s difficult to find a photograph of Collingwood’s main street without a bicycle in the frame.
In 1923, Collingwood boasted three bicycle shops for a population of approximately 5,900 residents.
One of these shops, operated by Frank Occomore, is pictured in today’s featured photograph.
Mr. Occomore stands proudly at his store’s entrance, beneath a sign that proclaims “F. Occomore Agency Cleveland & Brantford Bicycles.”
Two bicycles are visible beside him. Additional signs for Dunlop Tires, bicycle repairs, and accessories are above him. A few bicycles are visible inside the store alongside electrical appliances.
This photograph was taken on the occasion of the Welcome Home Parade for returning soldiers from the First World War on August 21, 1919. Occomore’s own son, Frank, was killed in action in 1918 and his name is engraved on Collingwood’s cenotaph.
During the parade, local soldiers made their way down Hurontario Street to the Great Northern Exhibition property on Hume Street, today’s Central Park, for a formal welcome by Mayor Robert Arthur.
The day was declared a civic holiday and the parade itself included numerous floats and three bands.
Several booths were set up along the parade route by various local lodges and societies, and the storefronts of downtown businesses were decorated for the occasion. In the early evening, a hockey game was played on the main street.
Originally from Salisbury, England, Frank Occomore made a short stop in Madoc, Ontario, before venturing to Collingwood in 1892 with his brother, Harry.
Together, they operated a hardware store before Frank moved to the bicycle and electrical trade, and Harry relocated to Guelph.
Frank became one of the key suppliers and installers of electrical appliances in the Town of Collingwood, outfitting and wiring many of the largest business establishments, churches, private houses, and a number of ships entering Collingwood’s harbour.
Locating Occomore’s bicycle and appliance shop in historic photographs of Hurontario Street is a relatively easy task as his brightly painted storefront stands out from those of his neighbours.
Occomore’s storefront is visible in the stretch of buildings along the right side of this photograph, taken on the occasion of the Royalton’s launch at the Collingwood Shipyards on August 4, 1924.
The bicycle shop appears just five storefronts to the left of the “Smoke Old Chum” tobacco advertisement and is marked by a red arrow for easy reference. Several cyclists are visible, although mostly blurred, as they pedal along the street.
The intersection of Hurontario and First Streets is located at the bottom of the photograph.
Another earlier photograph, taken on August 1, 1896, shows this stretch of buildings prior to Occomore’s tenancy. A cyclist can be seen heading north toward First Street.
The stretch of buildings that housed Occomore’s shop has vanished from today’s landscape. This now unrecognizable section of Hurontario Street is home to Loblaws and its adjoining parking lot. And while the buildings are no more, the tradition of cycling along the main street, and throughout Colllingwood, continues into the present day with no signs of declining.
If you have any information or stories to share about the history of cycling in Collingwood, please contact Collingwood Museum staff.
