Ten Cents Worth of Rubber Candy: E. Paddock & Sons

Exterior view of E. Paddock & Sons. Circa 1960s.

“That was a grocery store [and a meat market] and upstairs I can always remember the dresses. Oh my God. I mean, we couldn’t go in and buy a dress, but always in my mind is the top of that store,” remembers Imelda Elson.

Moving from Little Bay Islands to Windsor, Ernest Paddock initially worked with his brother-in-law, William Anderson, in William’s shop on Main Street. He decided to start his own business and set up a general store in a rented building on Bond Street around 1930. Quickly outgrowing that space, Ernest partnered with Lorenzo Moore to establish the Jubilee Store on Main Street.

During the Second World War, Ernest spent time overseas with the navy, and when he returned to Windsor he opened the Victory Store. That store had two addresses on Main Street and was eventually renamed and expanded as E. Paddock & Sons.

Cecil Paddock writes:

“Just about anything you could mention was sold in those stores. Groceries, patent medicines, Purity Factory candy, meats, small wares, dry goods, hardware, building supplies, horse feed, poultry feed, chinaware, crockery ware, fishing gear, toys, and gifts. You name it and it was in stock, in season.”

Interior of E. Paddock & Sons. Circa 1960s.

Audio clip with transcript: Elizabeth Münch Power discusses Paddock’s.

The store consisted of three sections: the front store for customers, the back store where the salt beef and other barrels were stored, and the cellar where the fruits and vegetables were kept. A second storey was added later for extra storage with the front used for dry goods, then as a toy store, and later rented to a finance company.

“I was talking to Mr. Paddock and he used to deliver groceries around to people with a horse and cart. Roy’s TV, I think, is now in Paddock’s Store. There used to be an alley going up between there and Riff’s Store. There were many fights there, I can tell you that, in that little alley. Paddock’s Store, they were an all-round general store, I guess. Groceries, and candy and other things.”

As Ed Power recalls, E. Paddock & Sons closed in 1973 and the building sold to Roy Mercer of Roy’s TV. The building was demolished in 2010 and a new building was erected.