is W T C . 0. ac ks 0| f g'l'l‘;' an S Or | * es ols 4c ta t. t 1 ~3p, | he loaner t ts | 0| ®& Last Saturday at the Keeler Centre,The i â€" » &7A CR nsz ‘ w words of those who spoke at the Olan Ovaâ€" 46 iss mm o. .O tion, eloquently outlined the importance of PA t2 . a f‘:g _ ree se 1 M N the Castleton General Store and the impact its ownâ€" ud _ s o s Ree (P_ ers have had in the community. | 2 > us <y."=l ‘, The role of a store in a hamlet or village «T . m C NL " _ Kg,,3 ‘ W is unlike that in a large centre. As Keith ‘ â€"" Ka:~/ :W y rfli’ 3 ‘ 3. â€" Olan explained in his closing remarks, the | (ha : ‘ > V x store is a source of contact for the commuâ€" P ;‘ ‘;, 4 * & . 7 nity. When a school is closed or the Townâ€" Es l s i \ ship offices move, or a business closes, the | | Pp Te CR y community loses one of the things that ' ts " * i g, binds it together. If you lose contact within %fg};“@i{{fabci{gz i;ï¬f&‘g; n%Zâ€E'ï¬;EtECK' goes over | ~} the community, you lose the community. es | & _ For the past 18 years the Castleton Genâ€" Q eral Store, through the wisdom and the 4 © genius of the man who ran it, maintained | rama e d ?i that contact and more. An intelligent busiâ€" | g 2 AR nessman, and a welcoming personality, C y\\ Y Keith built a business that became the | | x focal point in Castleton. Through the supâ€" | ge ts IleW y 3\ port that he and Eileen have given to innuâ€" W â€" merable ventures in the area, and their o & E S3 involvement in the everyday life of the 'Web t o ~\/ hamlet, their store has become a hub, and Sl e g \‘: a place to go for a few idle minutes in a Y N_ busy day. It has held that place as a comâ€" }’ Nb y s By Bos Owen 3 munity contact. point. % â€" chronicle@belinet.ca is \â€", _ Somehow his staff learned from their esinen mss maoaen gias: gregarious boss those intangibles that P eoaasitecamane cameraie cogel" wgbsne. make a customer feel like more than a cusâ€" information than in the old one. k i4 tomer, along with the parameters of good Website designer Dan Labecki of Wake Media service. The store has grown to be a gathâ€" says that the Township needed a "wider frame" in ering place ie putryuut s i Y $ chnology use The Olans have done that and mainâ€" | in it was outdated. This one represents the Toxgnship tained the historic nature of the building. and its place on the Apple Route and in the County of George Chandler commented that the store Northumberland. . is older than the Canadian Pacific Railway, Dan explained last week that the new site is more and the helicopters operated by the Canaâ€" | dynamic and easily updatable. It already contains dian military. It has maintained its hisâ€" bhetwee“ 130 and 140 pages and the final section on toric footprint. ‘ the Keeler Centre }gn t in yet. : L e e _ The one down side of that is that it is difficult for Yet, underneath all of the jests and jibes | | dialâ€"up users to move through the site. Dan is doing last Saturday, there had to be an underlyâ€" what he can with the images to make it more user ing and unspoken sense of impending loss. _ friendly for those not yet on high speed internet. For one day soon, the Olans will close | 135?32;1301( a few minutes to walk through the site the doors of the Castleton General Store The home page sets the tone with the colour for the 1?St time, leaving behind then} a scheme and five pullâ€"down navigation titles at the community blessed with a wealth of upliftâ€" | ; top. ing experiences, a debt unpaid for at the | : Under "government", the visitor to the site can ; | general store. ; sc attaa‘s C N. 4 mployment or tenâ€" y Perhaps the WPFdS of Ray Rolfe summed ] der information, even find eLr)negrgencs' cgntacts(? it up best, in his comments to the.Olan | ; ceminncdionpasce extended family: "Thanks for loaning us ; your parents for 18 years." } : 5 [ 2A )