The Royal Honey Harbour; Didace Grisé and Sons (4 photos)

Monsieur Didace Grisé and his people came by way of Fenelon Falls in 1879, George Osborne tells us in his ‘Midland and Her Pioneers.’

Madame Grisé was met by William Hartley at the train station in Midland on July 12th, not speaking a word of English, said her son George.

Didace set up at King and Bay as a butcher, on the site of the old CPR shed ‘corner; of King and Bay, with James Stafford. He prospered, bought the Courtemanche building northeast corner King and Victoria ( Hugel), then sold to F.W.  Jeffrey of hardware-fame and bought the old Victoria House in Honey  Harbour from Nickerson Brothers.

He  operated this for a year, then built the  Royal Hotel.

Ernest, George, Fred and Philwere were the sons of Madame and Monsieur Didace Grisé.

George and Fred, in 1939, operated  what had been called the Victoria House, but was now the Delawana Inn.

The other brothers owned the Royal  and did so for many years. The old Free Press wrote, “Being Midland boys, these young men will no doubt build up a large and lucrative trade in the line of business they have adopted.”

Frank Grisé, scion of the family,  practised law in Penetang for many years. He and his wife, Deb, a talented  painter, had a gracious and historic home on Robert Street for many years.

The Grisé family played a very large part in the early history of Honey Harbour and for this the larger, Georgian Bay community is most grateful.

René Hackstetter,

June 16, 2021.