Paula E. Kirman
The Jasper Place Department Store opened in September 1950 at 15311 Stony Plain Road with a staff of 10 employees. The original owners were Simon Russ and Joe Grossman. This first department store in what was then the Village of Jasper Place featured dry goods, frozen items, and fresh fruits and vegetables. Hours were 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on weekdays, and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturdays. The store took advantage of the lack of bylaws relating to closing hours to offer these longer shopping hours to try to attract farmers and those living further away to be able to shop conveniently (1).
Information in an ad placed in the Edmonton Journal in June of 1951 indicates that the Department Store had to be sold because of its owners’ ill health. It is believed that Charles (Chuck) and Estelle Silver, who lived a few blocks away in Edmonton, purchased the store in 1952.
“The store was somewhat like a small town ‘country dry goods’ store. It included sections for women, men, boys and girls. Plus shoes, toys, and some household goods. No hardware, because across the street was an Imperial Lumber store,” says Phillip Silver, one of Charles Silver’s sons, in an interview with his brother Richard and himself conducted via email in July of 2022.
Richard Silver adds, “JPDS was the home of TK’s, a popular casual brand made in Winnipeg,” and recalls that the store had two parking lots, with one on either side. He also notes, “The reason Jasper Place’s shopping hours were important is that in Edmonton a store had to close by 6 p.m. and was only open till noon on Wednesday, and there was absolutely no opening on Sunday.” Phillip adds, “The opportunity to shop was perfect for people on shift work and I think some came from across the city as well as those in Jasper Place itself,” indicating that there was a shift in the type of consumer from farmers to city dwellers within the span of a few short years.
Phillip Silver has a theory about why his parents chose to operate a business in Jasper Place.
“My parents had been operating a dry goods wholesale business, primarily feeding retailers north of Edmonton. That involved a lot of our dad travelling and I suspect that our parents decided it would be a simpler way of life to ‘settle down’ and move into retail. They already had the contacts with various suppliers. That accounts for going into retail from wholesale. I think the reason for moving onto JP was that the operation would be a size that they were familiar with, plus the advantage of the hours that Richard and I already mentioned. JP must have been seen as a good future.”
In 1962, on its 10th anniversary, the store expanded from 3500 to 6000 square feet, and included a new shoe department (2).
Charles Silver was elected as President of the Jasper Place Chamber of Commerce in 1956. He was a fervent advocate of extended shopping hours. Phillip Silver explains that the extended shopping hours was a major attraction to the business, and explains how amalgamation affected this aspect and was a contributing factor to the eventual demise of the store.
Our dad, Charles ‘Chuck’ Silver, worked with the others in the local business crowd to promote this unique aspect of shopping in Jasper Place. Consequently, when amalgamation loomed and with it an end to those open hours, he was very active with other businessmen in opposing amalgamation, if it meant restricting the hours to match Edmonton’s.
After the Jasper Place Department Store closed, Charles Silver opened “Chuck’s Silver Saddle,” a saddlery, first at 14219 Stony Plain Road from 1973, then on 152nd Street and 111th Avenue in the north part of Jasper Place. Chuck’s Silver Saddle moved to Westmount Mall in 1986, and closed in 1988.
1 “Jasper Place Getting Big Department Store.” The Edmonton Bulletin, Wednesday, September 27, 1950, page 2.
2 “Store is Expanded for Better Service.” Edmonton Journal, Tuesday, August 28, 1962, page 17.
Paula E. Kirman is a freelance writer who grew up, and still lives, near the Jasper Place area.
[This post is an expanded version of an article that appeared in Spring 2023’s SPANN]
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