Chamber History
The South Shore Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1944
as The Crapaud-Victoria Board of Trade.
The thirty-two men who founded what is today known as
the South Shore Chamber of Commerce represented a true cross-section of
the community. Eighteen were farmers and one a bank manager; there were
two merchants, a produce dealer, a saddler and a garage manager, an
electrician, an egg grader, two clergymen and a priest, plus a barber
and a creamery manager- but with one concern in common: the future of
the South Shore.
For these men knew that only as an organized group
would they have voice... And it must be a determined voice that would
grow stronger as time progressed.
The time frame was shortly after D-Day in 1944; an end
to World War II was in sight and improvements to Island infrastructure
that had been postponed, of necessity, were now under consideration by
Government. And some were of immense importance to the South Shore
area... It was essential, for example, that The Trans-Canada Highway,
then in the planning stages, pass through our community. Snow removal
was also a vital necessity, for it would make our roads usable by truck
and auto traffic all year-round.
The names of those Founding Members are familiar today,
for they are all around us. They grace street signs and store-fronts
and are listed in present day directories. And their descendants form
most of our current Members' Roster.
We can also boast of continuity. Early in 2003 our
community lost Ralph Myers, a valued resident who had been the last
living signer of our original charter when he was a 26-year-old farmer!
William Waddell who joined shortly thereafter has retired from his
original enterprise but continues to run a small 'hobby' business and
regularly attend our meetings. Scott Dawson, grandson of yet another
signator, a 1940's merchant, is one of our past Presidents.
Those visionaries whose conviction and willingness to
act guaranteed many of the amenities our community can now take for
granted deserve our gratitude.
On March 2, 1970, the name was changed to "The
Crapaud-Victoria Chamber of Commerce" and in 1996 in an effort to
reflect the broader area of responsibility we now cover, we officially
became "The South Shore Chamber of Commerce".
Although the name may have changed over the years, the
original concept remains:
...one body that can speak for ALL the people!
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