We, Rob Bradley & Shelagh Wallace, purchased Creek Road Paints in February 2003 from Bert and Mimi Davesne, who had Virgil Decorating for more than 30 years. Rob's been in the paint business for more years than he cares to remember. He owned Bradley Decorating, a paint & decorating store (where Rest now resides) for several years in the 80s and has had a paint crew (formerly Bradley Decorating, now Creek Road Painters) for more than 35 years. My (Shelagh's) background is in book publishing.
We are blessedly lucky to have three great colleagues: Cindy Hernder, Barb Chappell, and Janet Marcnyuk.
Both Cindy & Barb graduated from Niagara College in interior design. Barb is our Benjamin Moore-approved Colour Consultant. For more about Barb, click here.
Janet's great with colour too; she's also been a Mary Kay consultant for 17 years. Cindy Hernder is an insanely talented decorative painter: the tiles and "wood" cupboard door all created with just paint!
Russ Brady and Henry Wichert standing in front of the Virgil Garage in 1936. The signs on the barn indicate they sold gas and tires, and repaired carriages and harnesses.
A Short History of 1596 Four Mile Creek Road, Virgil
In the mid-40s, the garage was sold to Jake Penner, who owned it until the mid to late 50s, when it became the Crystal Ballroom, one of hundreds of similar dance halls (jukebox and snack bar) that sprang up with the advent of rock and roll. It cost a nickel a song, and the snack bar sold hot dogs, burgers, chips, and soft drinks. There was a stage with piano at one end of the hall, and local bands played, charging 50 cents a ticket. The musical comedy team, Malton & Hamilton, started out there. Many locals celebrated their weddings at the Crystal Ballroom.
At some point, the owner disappeared and the Crystal Ballroom closed for one week, before it reopened with a new owner, Carl Sullivan, whose control over thousands of area jukeboxes meant he was able to bring in some one-hit wonders, who would sing along to their jukebox hit.
By the time Bert and Mimi Davesne bought the building in 1967, its days as the Crystal Ballroom were long past; it had been used for storage for years. The Davesnes added the two storefront spaces and opened Virgil Decorating, which remained in business until 2003, when Mimi retired. Next door, Hartman’s Delicatessen opened, followed by another butcher, a hairdresser and, in 1992, Hope & Harder Insurance.
The Crystal Ballroom’s hardwood dance floor is still visible in the paint store’s back storage room.
If you know a story about this building, we’d like to hear it. Thanks to Allen & Hope Bradley, Mary Klassen, John Neustaedter, Rob Pospeich, Mary Ann Janzen, Ward Simpson, Bill Hope, Bert Davesne, Bob & Brenda Wichert, and John Harder.