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Steer's White Rose Gas Station and Cabins (4 photos)

It was a destination for those lovers of Little Lake, Charlie Parker’s Dancehall, Madame Modova’s Tea Readings, and all the little camps and cabins

Postcard Memories is a weekly series of historic postcard views and photos submitted by René Hackstetter.

I rented a cold water cottage on Seventh Street from Alvin Steer in the summer of 1973 for $35 per month all in.

Alvin Steer, it seemed to me, was a reasonable guy. He owned Steer's White Rose Gas Station and Cabins on Yonge, pumped gas and rented to tourists visiting Midland.

The Steer family has been in Wyebridge and Midland for years and this place was a landmark. There was a Steer Blacksmith shop in Wyebridge at the turn of the last century, so I guess they settled here early on.

I believe there was a Steer family member that practised law in Midland as well. These are sketchy biographical details, but enough to hang the story on.

They had cabins in the back when that stretch of Yonge Street still had the Hartman, McCullough farms and all of the Ingram Bush to the west.

Parts of Norene Street toward Yonge still retain some of the old cottages, now converted to permanent homes.

During the 1950s there were horses for hire, Marylou (Steer) Kiefer recounted to the author. Imagine horses for hire within the town boundaries today? A certain councillor tried chickens in the backyard and there was a hue and cry raised. This is Midland after all.

Highway 27 is the listed address for Steer's and it was indeed a destination for all those lovers of Little Lake, Charlie Parker’s Dancehall, Madame Modova’s Tea Readings, and all the little camps and cabins that surrounded the lake.

Getting out of the stifling city to breathe the fresh country air and relax was the objective. I cannot recount this story without mentioning the bush that ran between the high school and over to Yonge Street.

With all the mystery and hijinx associated with forests, I am loath to reveal any details of who was there and who did what, bound as I am in one of the many cohorts who passed through.

Suffice to say, the entrance was on…….and let out at Steer's. Alvin tried to police the unruly who lingered there, sometimes to no avail. Those days have passed and now it is the site of Norman's Garden Gallery.

Thankfully, they preserved one of the old cottages and it forms a charming part of the place. The forest is there, providing a bower of shade for another generation.