Schlick Hardware

The Schlick Hardware building dates to about 1933, when Austrian immigrant Ben Schlick (1894-1970) opened his garage and blacksmith shop on Harris Road at the new Lougheed Highway. He worked in partnership with Richard Koopman (1904-1985), a German-born blacksmith. Until 1938, Schlick also acted as an agent for McCormick-Deering Company, which supplied tractors and harvesting equipment.

The building has changed shape substantially over the years, with second storey living quarters being added in the early 1950s for Ben Schlick’s new wife, Ida, and her son, Victor. The building evolved into a hardware store and after Schick’s death in 1970 the family continued to operate the store until 1977.