Growing up I used to hear the term one horse town and I figured that pretty much described where I lived and I owned that horse.
Cloverdale, British Columbia was a small community part of the district of Surrey, about 30 miles from the big city of Vancouver. The main street was about 4 blocks long, part of the Pacific Highway, and big semi trucks rattled through town, using this route to get to the US/Canada truck crossing at the border.
Cloverdale Elementary School was about one mile from out house and a huge hill, Broadway Road, was part of my walk to and from school each day. One mile is a long way for a six year old girl to walk, but walk I did both ways for the seven years I went there, rain or shine, and mostly rain in this part of the country. I sometimes rode my bike, but pushing it up that huge hill was exhausting.
I remember a lot of snow when I was a kid and we’d all go to Broadway with our sleds and toboggans. No car was going to attempt that hill in the snow and icy conditions. Especially not confronted with a couple of dozen kids careening down the hill. But again, only one or two trips down and the walk back up in the snow was enough to call it quits. And the local cow fields would flood over in the fall and freeze in the winter and we’d all go ice skating out there. The worst thing that could happen if the ice was too thin and we’d break through standing ankle or shin deep in water.
Friday after school was my favourite time and I’d accompany my mother grocery shopping at the Co-op. This was a two story building with groceries on the first floor and a flight of stairs up the second floor for the hardware and clothing. And the building behind was the Co-op’s feed store where I’d buy oats for my horses when I got a little older.
A typical little sixties town with assorted stores: a five and dime, a couple of clothing stores, a couple of shoe stores, a jewellery store, a delicatessen, a few diners, the Clover Inn with a restaurant and lounge, and the Clova Theatre where we often went on Saturday matinees. Dann’s bicycle and appliance store is still operating in Cloverdale, for over fifty years. The Clova is still running too. The five and dime has long since closed as have most of the other business, many replaced by antique stores for awhile, and now assorted other businesses, many that don’t stick around too long. The bowling alley, Clover Lanes, has been there as long as I can remember. In the late 60’s or early 70’s Aaron’s Pizza opened just off the main street. Kind of a competition to the Shakey’s Pizza parlours with its picnic tables and casual dining. Aaron’s is still there, but the picnic tables have been replaced by family seating and they still serve pizzas along with pastas and other meals.
Cloverdale was always known for its rodeo held on the long weekend in May. For a time it was the 2nd largest rodeo in Canada, behind the Calgary Stampede, then it became the 3rd largest. I’m not sure what its status is now. It lost its ranking with the pro circuit because it no longer allows some events, particularly those that deal with tying calves. But every long weekend in May Cloverdale was transformed from a sleepy little town to a whoop hollering party town carnival. It was a good weekend to get out of town.
And then in 1975 the harness horse racing came to town, using the fairgrounds, and Cloverdale no longer was known as a one horse town with hundreds of Standardbreds calling it home. Horse racing was huge back in the 1980’s. Cars lined way out of town on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights. And the horses also raced on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. These days with so many casinos around and other entertainment venues horse racing has dwindled to 7 or 8 months a year on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. The racetrack even converted over to a casino, Fraser Downs its now known as. The casino is the main form of revenue.
When I was growing up and a new neighbour moved in the neighbors would all come over with baking and to introduce themselves. When I was going to school I knew almost everybody and their brothers and sisters too, if not by face, then by name. Walking down the main street of Cloverdale always meant banging into someone I knew.
But nobody does that anymore. Cloverdale outgrew itself. But the small town atmosphere still kind of remains. This is home to Smallville and often the TV cameras and crew will have part of a street blocked off for filming. Likewise with other movie and TV projects that want a small town look. A few years ago in August Coca Cola filmed a commercial here that was a snowy Christmas theme and they trucked in snow to the streets and sidewalks. Several semi trucks decked out in Christmas lights are featured driving through town and a boy is racing across the fields yelling the Santa trucks are coming.
And maybe they’ll be back someday. Or maybe they'll find a real small town out there....
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