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Proceed down the south side of Main St, site is on the right.
Stephensons
Stephensons
Denning's of Ailsa Craig, formerly Stephenson's, is the oldest building in Ailsa Craig.
Thomas Stephenson Sr., who emigrated from England with his parents in 1835, learned the trade of cabinet-making and started building caskets in a shop in Carlisle. He started a funeral business in 1854.
Two decades later, he dismantled and moved the funeral home and cabinet-making business to Ailsa Craig. It took three days to bring the building across the fields, rolling it on logs drawn by horses.
The funeral home stayed in the family for three more generations. Thomas Stephenson Jr. took over after his fathers death and ran it until his death in 1957; his son John T. took over the business and ran it until his death in 1972; and his daughter, Pat Fraser ran the business until it was sold to Denning Funeral Homes in 2008.
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At one time, most small-town funeral homes had a furniture store, and Stephenson's was no different. While Bruce Fraser was involved in this business he ran a furniture order service as well as selling carpet and flooring until the business was sold. His daughter Deb Fraser ran the local outlet of the Sears order office and a dry cleaning depot at this location for a number of years.
Jack Stephenson, as he was known, was also the town clerk-treasurer for years and operated out of this location.
At one time, the Stephensons operated a shoe store and also sold radios, including radio licences, and did radio repairs. In the early days of radio transmission, it was illegal in Canada to own a radio without a licence.
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