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Contact: Rod Jerred Phone: 905-845-3824 (ext. 5559) Fax: 905-337-5567 e-mail: rjerred@haltonsearch.com W EI JNESDAY. NO VEM BER 2 4 . 2 < X )4 BUSINESS · Page 1)4 Pick of the Crop watches young clientele grow up By Melanie Cummings SPECIAL i p THE BEAVER old. Being surrounded by playthings through their working careers, as the ow ners o f Pi^k t>f-riw C rop -Tt»ys iS. Bonks. is bound to produce a youthful out look. But as generations o f custom ers pile in through the doors o f the 245 Lakeshore Rd. E., store, it makes Scott and M acLennan all too aw are o f the passage o f time. The question "do you rem em ber m e?" is asked o f the two women almost weekly. Back in March 1979. six m oms in search o f a decent toy store in town solved the problem by filling up a 300-sq. ft. shop on Church Street with an inventory o f toys. "O ur entire stock sold out in one w eek." said Scott. The need for more floor space becam e im m edi ately apparent. In short order, the current location soon enveloped a nearby bookstore and for the past 21 years the shop has spanned 1,900-sq.ft. "We were the first around to com bine books with toys," said M acLennan. Among the original six partners one moved to Burlington to set up her own toy shop there, anoth er parted w ays amicably, another m oved out o f town, and the other went back to her full-tim e job as a teacher. For the recent 25th anniversary celebrations all six w om en and previous staff m em bers cam e together to celebrate the business' achievem ent. Five years earlier, when Pick o f the Crop Toys & Books turned 20, the local Rotary Club voted the landmark store Retailer o f the Year. The business has thrived mainly because "igno rance is bliss," joked M acLennan. With built-in expertise and, ready and w illing toy testers in their children to offer advice and opinions, the toy and bookstore has done well. Their offspring also becam e handy after school and weekend staff. But. true to its nature, tim es have changed. " Kids are more sophisticated now." said Scott. "They grow up faster." Toys once suited to six year olds are now a L ynne Scott and Jane M acLennan are not sure whether being in the toy business 25 years makes them feel very young or very Popular downtown toy and book store celebrates 25 years of making children, adults smile Photos by Ashlea Wessel · Special to the O akville Beaver A bove, Pick o f the C rop ow n ers Jane M acL ennan and Lynne Scott receive a big bear hug from G eronim o Stilton and Peter Rabbit (C harles and Laura O 'C onnor). E njoying the em brace is M acL en n an 's grandson W illiam Pearson. R ight, C onnor and C arson D ejon ge w atch Mr. Dale do m agic tricks. The activities were all part o f Pick o f the C rop's recent 25th anniversary celebrations. Previous sta ff m em bers and form er partners joined in the festivities. draw to four year olds. "N ow adays, kids are very educated and grown up," she added. The ever-fickle evolution o f toys has m ade keeping up with the latest trends a challenge. N evertheless, the old favourites are alw ays in stock: bingo, board gam es, Yo-Yos, craft kits and baby toys. A recent visit from poet Dennis Lee who has also been in business o f entertaining children for two decades, is evidence that as much as playtim e has been affected by technological advancem ents, many popular favourites endure. Puzzles are alw ays in vogue in Scott's eyes, and for M acLennan, w ind-up toys, and gam es o f all varieties rem ain a personal draw. Currently, 14 loyal, part-tim e students staff the retail enterprise. Scott credits a little bit o f luck, hard w ork and mostly excellent staff with their long-lived success. Retirem ent is in the future but exactly when remains up in the air. M acLennan has four grand children ages one to 12 and Scott has five ranging in ages from four to eight years old, all spread out across the country. Being surrounded by so many children still gives the duo an inside edge on what appeals to their young custom ers. " But I d o n 't think another 25 years in business is in the cards for us," added Scott. House of Kangaroo has customers hopping over leather accessories By Kim Arnott SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Paul D onolo's g o lf gloves began their life hopping around a country on the other side o f the world. For that matter, so did his w allets, g o lf shoes and briefcases. In fact, at the < >r iiu iip n M L m ost products ow e their existence to A ustralia's m ost fam ous m arsupial. T h e b ran d -n ew O ak v ille sto re, w hich opened its doors last Saturday, specializes in a variety o f m erchandise m ade from kangaroo leather. ver / Ashlea Wessel · S pecial to the O akville Beav D onolo, a form er g o lf pro, has the exclusive rights to retail and w holesale VIP GREETERS: B ren d a B a r rin g to n , P aul B a r r in g to n a n d B arrin gtoift *s o ver 100 kangaroo leather products lo n g tim e m od el D ia n e V in cen t w ere on h an d to w e lc o m e c u sto m e r s to th e ir m anufactured by H ouse o f K angaroo at a n n u a l T ru nk S ale on S a tu r d a y at liw i lll£t(Mi i'lir s L td ., 2 0 9 L a k e sh o r e R d. a plant in Indonesia. E . in d o w to w n O a k v ille. It's the golfing item s, how ever, that are the centrepiece o f the product line. His in v o lv em en t w ith kan g aro o leather started a num ber o f years ago, when a friend gave him a kangaroo g o lf glove to try out. He says he tested it out on a sweaty round in Florida, then tossed it in his go lf bag. T he next day, he was am azed w hen the glove was supple enough to easily unfold, rather than stiff, as most leathers get after being wet. That introduction had led him to w here he is today - an unabashed fan o f kangaroo leather. D onolo's w ebsite, w w w .thehouseo fk angaroo.com , describes kangaroo leather as stronger, more durable and m ore w eath er-resistan t than leather products m ade from skins o f cattle, sheep or goats. Because o f the structure o f kangaroo leather, it can be shaved much more thinly than conventional leathers w ith Ashlea Wessel · Special to the O akville B eaver out losing its strength, the w eb site says. "K a n g aro o leath er is the fin est NEW OFFICE FOR LASER NETWORKS: G r a h a m W o o d ,v ic e -p r e sid e n t ex am p le o f lig h tn ess, strength and o p era tio n s fo r I m u r Mwtworks, H a lto n R eg io n a l C h a ir J o y c e S a v o lin e , durability in the anim al kingdom ," it L aser N etw o rk s P resid en t an d C o -fo u n d e r C h r is S to a te , O a k v ille M a y o r goes on to add. A n n M u lv a le an d J a n n e t M cC o n n e ll, L a se r N e tw o r k s N a tio n a l A c co u n t T he W eb site also d escrib es, at M a n a g e r cut th e o fficia l rib b o n to o p en th e c o m p a n y 's n ew o ffic e a t 2 8 2 3 length, the species control process the B ristol C ircle , U n it 1. A ustralian governm ent uses to cull Ashlea Wessel · Special to the O akville Beaver O w n er Paul D o n o lo tries on a K an garoo leath er golfin g g love at the H ouse o f K an garoo g ra n d o p en in g. kangaroos in overpopulated herds. K angaroo skins are then sold to be used in the pro d u ctio n o f various leather goods, including shoes and gloves. For the curious, D onolo has kanga roo skins on display in his shop, locat ed at 481 North Service Road West, a location he describes as "only a driver and a three-w ood from G len Abbey." " It's a great golfing com m unity here," adm its Donolo, who is hoping A ustralian leather will soon be hopping in O akville as well.