One hundred years of selling worms in Muskoka

[Spiel]

One hundred years of selling worms in Muskoka

 

 

May 28, 2008

Amberly McAteer / .muskokan.com

 

Photo by Amberly McAteer / BALA LANDMARK. The owner of Purk’s Place, Bill Purkis stands in his store in Bala. The famous slogan ‘boats and bait since 1908’ is a bit of a fib, as the building has been there since 1905, but that year did not rhyme with bait.

 

 

Purk’s Place, a bait and boat shop, has been a landmark in Bala for decades but it faces an uncertain future

 

The small wooden house stands perched on the shore of the Moon River sandwiched between the north bridge and the CPR railway tracks. The building shakes and business comes to a standstill dozens of times a day as the train trundles through Bala.

 

“After this many years, you definitely get used to it,” says owner Bill Purkis, his tiny eyes lighting up from behind round metal glasses. “It’s sort of a ritual now.”

 

In a plaid shirt and green rubber boots, you’d never guess that Bill was a systems analyst for IBM, living the bustling city life 20 years ago. His leathered skin and infectious, crooked smile lead you to believe he’s been selling bait and boats here his whole life.

 

But it was just two decades ago when he and his family left their Lawrence Park home and went in search of a simpler life. They settled on a 20-acre farm in Huron County, where neighbours nicknamed Bill “Old McDonald”. But they didn’t stay for long. When Bill’s father and longtime owner of Purk’s, Tom Purkis became ill and passed away, Bill knew he had to take over.

 

“I’ve been coming here since I was a kid,” he says, his voice deep and sprightly. “I came in here every week when I was going to Camp Pinecrest as a little boy. This was the place to buy our bait for our day out on the water and maybe a treat or two.”

 

At that time, the store was W.D Cunningham’s boat livery, and the Purkis family was Toronto-based and coming to Bala every summer to enjoy their cottage on Moon River.

 

Tom Purkis was a wildly successful ad salesman for the Globe and Mail for years, but when the Toronto Telegram offered him a higher wage, he jumped at the chance.

 

With his higher pay, he took off for a celebratory vacation to England with his wife. But when he returned, he learned the paper had gone under and he was out of a job.

 

“Dad needed a new job and had the opportunity to do something completely different,” says Bill. Plus, Tom’s lungs were damaged from a heavy cigarette addiction and from serving in the navy during the Second World War.

 

“The doctor told him he had to change,” recalls Bill. “But instead of quitting smoking, he just moved up here for the fresh air.”

 

He looked after his customers and was always giving people deals. Bill recalls the company accountant paying Tom a visit to tell him he had to stop, if he wanted to make money. “But before the accountant left, he asked for a deal on a canoe. No word of a lie,” Bill exclaims, bending over with his hearty laughter. He slaps his knee. “And, of course, dad gave it to him half price.”

 

It wasn’t the money Tom was interested in, but the opportunity to get to know Bala locals and cottagers. Owning a bait and boat shop on the water seemed like the perfect answer.

 

For Bill, too, the shop provides an easygoing life. “There’s not too many worries or stress out here,” he says from the dock, squinting his eyes in the sun.

 

But the future of the shop is uncertain, as the Ontario government plans to build a hydropower plant near the shore that Purk’s Place currently uses to dock its boats — although the area is legally Crown land and belongs to the province.

 

The exact location of the plant is still in the works, so Purkis is unsure about what it will mean for his business. “I just hope I can keep doing what I do, for many more years,” he says. “I love the water. I love the rocks. I just love Bala and this is where I’m meant to be in life, in my opinion.”