Salisbury House

Tom was a fixture of the Salisbury House, having worked at the locally established restaurant chain for nearly 60 years.

It all started in 1948, when the young 17 year old stepped off the bus at Hargrave Street and Graham Avenue and found himself in front of Salisbury House. "They looked like they were having a good time" stated Tom, so he walked in the door where he was hired on the spot to wash dishes.

Five short years later, Tom was managing the Princess Street and Notre Dame Avenue location. His wage at the time? A mere $60 a week. He caught wind of the firefighters wage of $296 a week and almost left the chain. After being convinced to stay and work on the off-days from his newly acquired firefighter job, Tom continued the Salisbury house shuffle.

A few years after becoming a firefighter, Tom took on the Osborne Street and Broadway Street restaurant, leaving his managerial position at Princess & Notre Dame. He rubbed elbows with some of Winnipeg's finest - the 'cream of the crop' as Tom called them - at his new home. Politicians, hockey players, football players were all frequent customers of his. He knew a handful of Manitoba premiers (including Douglas Campbell and Howard Pawley) as well as the former Governor General of Canada, Ed Schreyer, who gave Tom the royal nickname.

Another transfer in the chain would find Tom managing the Broadway and Langside location, when the Queen and Prince Phillip visited Winnipeg. Tom being the ever-so-bold individual, blew a kiss to the Queen and saluted the prince, as the royal procession made their way down Broadway. Schreyer saw the scene unfold and later returned to the restaurant, dubbing the manager 'the Duke of Broadway'.

After his retirement - from fighting fires, certainly not from flipping burgers and serving fries, Tom suffered a heart attack days shy of his 67th birthday. He underwent a triple bypass surgery, and was as anxious as ever to get back to work. "You may like curling or golfing. To me, this is my evening out" spoke Tom of his employment at Salisbury House.