Barbara A. Martindale- For What It's Worth
There are a few around Caledonia who go back to the days of years gone-by. Jim Vlachos is one of those people.
Jim would have been about 10 years old when his parents, Harry and Pauline Vlachos, moved to Caledonia from Mitchell, ON in 1936. On March 11, 2016, Jim will be celebrating his 90th birthday.
With Greek heritage, the Vlachos family emigrated to Canada from Sparta, Greece in 1912. Restaurant ownership was in Harry's blood. He set up the Caledonia Restaurant (near the Opera House at the time) shortly after moving to Caledonia. Using recipes that dated back to the 1840s, Harry also went into candy making within the restaurant.
There were six children in the family: Marion, Ted, Lula, Beatrice, Jim and Helen.
Jim and his brother Ted went off to serve in WWII. Jim signed up at age 18 in 1944 with the 4th division. He served with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders overseas and with the army of occupation in north Western Europe. He was honourably discharged September 16, 1946. Jim has three medals from those days: The War Medal, Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and the Clasp Medal.
On March 25, 2000, Jim laid the wreath for the Unknown Soldier at Gore Park in Hamilton for a special ceremony. He introduced Mayor Bob Morrow at the time.
Brother Ted served with the Navy receiving the British Empire Medal for his services. While their brothers were away at war, the four girls worked in the restaurant.
When Jim and Ted returned home, they helped their father modernize the restaurant, opened the Caledonia Candy Company and took over the running of restaurant on October 1, 1948.
Their father, Harry, went into real estate and developing. Although not well known, Pauline Ave., between Peebles and Selkirk Streets, was named after Jim’s mother Pauline. The family owned some of the nearby property at one time.
Another piece of property, sold years ago to the municipality, was just below the family home off Shetland St. Today, the pool and splash pool are in that location.
Jim is well known for the many years that he was employed at Winegard Motors. For 34 years, he was a salesman under owner John Winegard Senior.
During the 75th anniversary year of the Ford Motor Company in 1970, Jim was honoured as one of the top 50 Ford salespeople in Canada. The ceremony was held at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto. He received an award plaque and a watch.
Jim played baseball in his younger years and he won the lawnbowling championship in 1952 for Hamilton/Burlington.
Jim and his wife Eva have two daughters, Elaine and Kelly, and four grandchildren, all of whom will be sharing in Jim’s 90th birthday on March 11.
