On a Tuesday morning, business is brisk at Castle Antiques in downtown Haliburton. It’s farmers market day, and customers have spilled in to get food and drink, and browse vintage heirlooms.

Owner Anna Lowes has just been cleaning windows and on Sept. 17, with temperatures in the mid-20s, comments, “you wouldn’t know that school was in right at the moment.”

It’s been a “good” summer season for the village staple, though Lowes concedes, “I’d say maybe a bit slower than, for example, last year, but definitely we had a really nice, steady, busy, summer.”

She added she had not heard a lot of customers comment on the recent Bank of Canada interest rate decreases, which some experts say have helped the economy to rebound – or mention the high cost of living.

“No one has outright said anything. I feel like we’re still constantly seeing all the familiar faces as well as new people. I’m sure it’s playing a role in people’s spending but I can’t say I’ve really noticed anything,” Lowes said

With autumn officially set to begin this Sunday, Sept. 22, businesses are reviewing the summer season and looking towards the fall.

Highlands Cinemas owner Keith Stata is preparing for another night of screenings as he stops to reflect on the 2024 summer season.

He said he was concerned this year that revenues would be down quite a bit because of a Hollywood actors’ strike that resulted in fewer movies being made. However, that has not been the case.

“I was pleasantly surprised, it appears we’re going to come up a bit over last year, rather than under.

“You only have to look at the fact that we just took out Despicable Me 4, which we started the last week of June, the first week of July. This is all fine and dandy when the tourists are moving through, taking vacations at different times, movies can have a long life. But when you are back down to the locals who have already seen it, it all starts to fall apart.”

Looking back at the books, 2003 for example, the cinema is making the same gross revenue as it always has. “That’s great except for the fact everything went up in price… so basically the business went down,” Stata said. He said over the past 20 years, the business had declined. Numbers are on par with pre-COVID.

“I think right now people don’t have disposable income either. But, at the end of the day, we’re above last year by the looks of it so I’m happy with that.”

Let’s Get Local owner Mary Douglas said her downtown Minden shop did not have a great summer season.

“Slow compared to last year,” she said the morning of Sept. 17. “Lots of foot traffic but people aren’t spending a lot of money.”

“Slow compared to last year,” she said the morning of Sept. 17. “Lots of foot traffic but people aren’t spending a lot of money.”

She attributes it to the cost of living. She is getting feedback such as, “it’s hard enough just to keep food on the table.”

She said they carry “the extras” and don’t buy bulk so can’t sell at lower prices.

“Everyone is looking for a deal these days. It’s been rough for sure.”

She lives on Water Street and said the Gull River was “jam packed” with families floating from Rotary Park to the downtown this summer as it is “a fun, cheap, outing

“I don’t want it to be totally negative.

My business is my business, it’s different. It’s convenience. It’s a difficult time for everybody unless our groceries go down… everyone is not shopping locally because they have no choice.”

A household name in Haliburton County has now expanded into western Canada – as well as opened three new retail stores this year.

Kawartha Dairy owner Mike Crowe told The Highlander that since his family’s company was founded in 1937, it has
become a staple in Ontario cottage country. It has a retail store in Minden and its products can be found across the Highlands.

He said their ice cream is still made the traditional way with fresh milk and cream from local farms, and people can find it in most major grocery stores across Ontario, a large number of partner scoop shops, and 13 Kawartha Dairy stores.

He added Kawartha Dairy ice cream is now available in Calgary Co-op and Freson Brothers in Alberta, and 12 scoop shops in British Columbia.

“We’re excited to bring the taste of the Kawarthas to consumers in Western Canada,” he said

Crowe added they are also “thrilled” to share that they have opened three new Kawartha Dairy retail stores this year, with customers in Burlington, Cobourg and Danforth now experiencing their “small-town values, and high-quality customer service… and we’re excited to be part of those communities.”

Crowe said this year they also launched four new ice cream flavours – Dockside, Cappuccino, Grape, and Nanaimo Bar

“And this September, look for our new Spiced Apple Ripple,” he said. They now have 50-plus flavours.

Crowe teased, “we can’t give you the inside scoop on 2025 just yet, but let’s just say you can expect some new flavours and more exciting news in the future.”

In 2017, the Kawartha Dairy Company celebrated its 80th anniversary of the 100 per cent Canadian, 100 per cent family-owned company. It is still operated by the same family that started it back in the beginning.

In 1937, Jack and Ila Crowe took a leap of faith and bought a small dairy in Bobcaygeon. The early 1960s saw the
company expand to Minden, where it opened a depot and its now famous dairy bar.

“Although the office and plant are in Bobcaygeon, to many cottagers and summer visitors the heart of Kawartha Dairy lies in Minden, where stopping for a cone is an essential part of summer,” the company says on its website.

When Minden’s Riverview Furniture first opened its doors, it was the year Bill Murray starred in the movie Meatballs, filmed at Camp White Pine in Haliburton County

Much has changed in the intervening 45 years as owners Derrick and Craig Box celebrate another business milestone.

They started working out of a tiny 400 sq. ft. building in 1979, that over the years has grown into more than 7,000 sq. ft. of space; their main store has three levels featuring handcrafted custom wood, leather and upholstered furniture, as well as blinds, appliances, and flooring. Their Cabin Country next door, is dedicated to custom bedroom suites, bunk beds and mattresses.

Derrick credits their ongoing success to, “carrying the product that the market bears at that particular time.”

He said when they started out, nobody wanted to spend money on their cottages, so they sourced cheap furniture. Customers raised their expectations but the overseas market was huge so they outsourced – along with the rest of the world. But Derrick said it didn’t take long for problems to arise, and call-backs.

“It was junk so we went back to Canadian. It was rough for a couple of years because people didn’t want to spend $2,000 on something they could buy for $600 from overseas. We really just evolved and watched what people were buying and just made sure we had the right things at the right price and have always carried quality
without making gigantic mark-up on it.”

The store is known for its custom wood products, sourced in Ontario. They sell over 90 per cent all-Canadian
made products designed to last.

Derrick said they have also always strived for decent customer service. “Make sure the people are happy, then they come back, tell their neighbours. We’re at the point now we’re so busy.”

Changes

Cottaging has also changed dramatically, Derrick said. It used to be 60 per cent of cottagers shut down after Labour Day, and another 25 per cent after Thanksgiving. Few came over winter and they were not buying furniture.

Now, he said nearly every cottage road and driveway is ploughed in winter “and cottages aren’t cottages
anymore.” He said many customers have nicer cottages than homes in the city.

“We did all of our business virtually between May 24 and Labour Day (at the start). If we didn’t make it in those
months, we were sunk. By the time May came again we were crawling up the walls, trying to get by to make a go
again. But now it’s more allyear, we don’t slow down. We’re still busy in July and August but we’re always going.”

“We did all of our business virtually between May 24 and Labour Day (at the start).If we didn’t make it in those
months, we were sunk. By the time May came again we were crawling up the walls, trying to get by to make a go
again. But now it’s more all-year, we don’t slow down. We’re still busy in July and August but we’re always going.”

They have consistently been open seven days a week and if someone comes at closing, don’t chase them off.

“Last night, I was locking up, and saw a car drive by, and someone got out. They came to the door. I unlocked it. They came in and bought a bed. A lot of places don’t do that. They say, ‘I’ve had enough today, I’m going
home’.”

Asked about working with a brother all these years, Derrick jokes, “we’ve never come to fisticuffs but we’ve had some times.” He said they’d both learned to “go with the flow” and it works out well. He adds they are opposites and bring different strengths to the business. And one of them is almost always in the store for those customers who want to talk to the owner. In their absence, Haley Lynch is there to competently pick up the slack.

Reflecting back on 1978, Derrick said, “we left Scarborough and wanted to be up north. What a place to bring up kids.” They love the outdoors, and have never looked back.

Reflecting back on 1978, Derrick said, “we left Scarborough and wanted to be up north. What a place to bring up kids.” They love the outdoors, and have never looked back.

As to the future, “we’re probably ‘work until we die’ people… I love to travel, spend a lot of money on things, to do that you can’t retire and live on a fixed income, and we both still enjoy working.”

Is he proud? “I’m not a look at me, guy. I’m a don’t look at me guy. It’s what it is. It’s a lot of hard work and there’s been a lot of years where we have thought we might not be here for the next year but you just keep
plugging away.”

Riverview Furniture is at 94 Bobcaygeon Rd., Minden, 705-286-3167, info@ riverview-furniture.com or go to riverview-furniture.com