A Slice of Town

by Angela Sanford

Last week I drove a colleague to South Rawdon. She had never been past Kennetcook’s village centre. As we drove we discussed the “names” of various establishments along the route – among them were Arie’s (Centre Rawdon Variety), Skip’s (Rawdon Gold Mines Campground and no longer owned by Skip), Kennetcook Pizza and Variety, better known as Sammy’s. These names provoke the nostalgia that abounds in small towns, where well known locales are known by the names of their owners.

30 plus years ago, Sammy’s opened adjacent to the NSLC and Cathy became a cornerstone in his business. Kennetcook was a booming place  - having a dining option open until 2am on a Saturday night! We’d leave “Keith’s” or a local dance and jump in line at Sammy’s for late night snacks and we were never disappointed in the quality of the food prepared for us or the social banter with the hard working team.

When Sammy moved to his now iconic location on the corner of one of the two intersections in the village, he began to offer even more variety on the menu, holding a monopoly in the heart of Hants North for dine in and take out.

With the move , Sammy took on some additional services and another role, one you likely knew noting about – I know I didn’t until his services were called upon for me. 

If you’re old enough, you’ll remember that this corner store had already been a distribution point for Sears, having orders from their catalogue be delivered here for community members to pick up,  and Sammy honoured that commitment and occasionally had to go a step further for them.

About 24 years ago, we had just moved into our current home and had unpackaged the living room furniture ordered from Sears. Less than six weeks later, the seams of the sofa and loveseat were burst along every edge. A call to Sears and they informed me that a representative would be in touch to determine if the furniture was to be covered under their warranty.

Frustrated, but recognizing there was no point in debating, I begrudgingly obliged and accepted my fate was in the hands of the appraiser. About an hour later a car pulled in the driveway and Sammy got out. I wasn’t sure what he could want but I greeted him at the door and he laughed, “I didn’t know you lived here.”

  “Just moved in a month ago,” I replied. He continued to laugh and said he was supposed to check my furniture to see if the warranty was good. We both had a good chuckle about his new career development, chatted for a few moments and shortly after he left I received a call from Sears saying they would honour my warranty – Thanks Sammy.

  We were weekly regulars at Sammy’s and some weeks more than once, until I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease and my days were finished for Sammy’s Pizza but not for my children. Dan, well he’ll eat pizza, but it isn’t his first choice. However, if he had enjoyed some adult beverages, the boys and I knew we could easily convince him into a pizza and so came one of our favourite family stories ( at Dan’s expense) was the one and only night that we knew he was well under the influence, as he announced, “Let’s order pizza!” 

  Sammy’s saw many changes over the years, physically, in terms of availability/hours, the employees (Always Cathy, though), its consumers and much more but one thing remained the same throughout its course – Sammy, himself: kind, giving, and always a welcoming smile.

  I’m still a huge pizza fan, despite it having to be gluten free these days, and the next slice I have will be in honour of Sammy and I’ll top the pizza with redolent stories of Sammy and his contributions to Kennetcook.I’m positive I will not be alone as we all have a “Sammy’s Pizza” story to share.