A few weeks ago, we decided to venture out on the country roads. You don’t really need a map as long as you enjoy an exciting adventure of traveling through small towns – some are so small that if you blink … you know what happens then, you miss the town. But sometimes these small towns are a little deceiving. If you simply turn down a street, you may find a whole village that you never would have known about had you simply continued past the town sign.
Many of the towns around Stratford and throughout Perth County appear to be very small. Sometimes there is a “Welcome to …” or sometimes there is just a blue sign that says the name of the village. Some of the signs announce the town and what they are famous for or some tell you about an upcoming event. For example, when you drive through Wellesley, the sign tells you what they are famous for – apple butter and cheese and they even have a fall festival based on these 2 items!
Many of the towns around Stratford and throughout Perth County appear to be very small. Sometimes there is a “Welcome to …” or sometimes there is just a blue sign that says the name of the village. Some of the signs announce the town and what they are famous for or some tell you about an upcoming event. For example, when you drive through Wellesley, the sign tells you what they are famous for – apple butter and cheese and they even have a fall festival based on these 2 items!
But other signs give you the name of the town, a nice “Welcome” (and then when you are leaving a “Thanks for Coming”) and a symbol of what the town is about. When you come to Millbank, they have a great sign that has a metal cut-out of a horse and buggy – typical of the people who live there.
So we started driving north on Waterloo Street from Ontario Street. At the end of Waterloo Street, it turns into Mornington Street (which is Perth Road 119). It was our intention to drive to Millbank as we had heard there was a really nice little restaurant there – and I know it is my duty in life now to tell you where there are good little restaurants in Perth County. So we drove past the town of Gads Hill until the road veered left, saw a sign for Poole on the right (we did know Poole was near Millbank) so took the first right (which was Road 121) and continued heading north. A few minutes after we left Poole, we passed a sign for Zehr’s Country Market saying it was in the business section of Millbank. As we turned east on Perth Line 72, I said “Well, if they have a Zehr’s – it can’t be that small”. We were used to shopping at Zehr’s (in Bolton when we lived in Kleinburg). Zehr’s is a subsidiary of the huge chain of grocery stores under the “Loblaw” name. So we drove a couple of minutes and saw Anna Mae’s – the restaurant we had been told about. Opposite Anna Mae’s, was a small sign for Zehr’s – south from the restaurant. So we drove down this little street, only one block, and came upon some Mennonites in their carriages. We saw a couple of little stores and on the next street we found Zehr’s Country Market.
Well, was I surprised – this wasn’t our typical Zehr’s market. This Zehr’s country market is a sweet little corner store with fresh fruit and vegetables outside on the front stoop. A Mennonite lady was replenishing the fruit stand out front and helping a customer pick our the best basket of strawberries. Well, I must admit we all laughed at our own naivete -- or at least at my naivete. Us city girls are so used to huge grocery stores, that it never occurred to us that it might be a different Zehrs. So we continued on down the street past a hardware store, a stable for carriages, and a cheese shop.
I must tell you that days later I was speaking to someone from Stratford and told them of our tour to Millbank and our visiting the Zehr’s market. So let me first say, that I don’t know if what I am about to tell you is all true or not, but it sure does make a great story.
My friend told me that Zehr’s was first opened in 1950 in Kitchener by Emory Zehr. Mr. Zehr offered good quality produce and meats, but with a strong emphasis on customer service. As business was doing well and having a good reputation with his customers, Mr. Zehr started opening more Zehrs markets around the area. However, in 1963, Loblaw Companies acquired the Zehrs Markets from Mr. Zehr and, therefore, the Zehr’s Market name continues to thrive – but as a major grocery store. Apparently, this little market in Millbank is one, if not the only, private little Zehrs market left and is currently run by Dave and Barb Zehr and family.
I must tell you that days later I was speaking to someone from Stratford and told them of our tour to Millbank and our visiting the Zehr’s market. So let me first say, that I don’t know if what I am about to tell you is all true or not, but it sure does make a great story.
My friend told me that Zehr’s was first opened in 1950 in Kitchener by Emory Zehr. Mr. Zehr offered good quality produce and meats, but with a strong emphasis on customer service. As business was doing well and having a good reputation with his customers, Mr. Zehr started opening more Zehrs markets around the area. However, in 1963, Loblaw Companies acquired the Zehrs Markets from Mr. Zehr and, therefore, the Zehr’s Market name continues to thrive – but as a major grocery store. Apparently, this little market in Millbank is one, if not the only, private little Zehrs market left and is currently run by Dave and Barb Zehr and family.
So Millbank has many other stores to visit that you would miss if you hadn't come down the road. There is the Millbank Cheese Factory that has been in business since 1908 and offers a variety of best cheddars and specialty cheeses. The Mennonite Family Furniture stores makes beautiful hand crafted solid wood furniture with a 10,000 sq. ft. showroom (hard to believe all that furniture is in this little town). There are stores that offer fabrics, quilts, honey, bird seed and almost anything else you would need or want. There is even a store, The Orange Barn, that imports freshly picked citrus fruits. They have set dates where different varieties of fruits are shipped in and they sell them only that week.
As you drive in and around the town of Millbank, you see many of the locals driving in their horse and buggies. It is such a quaint site to see the ladies and girls in their hats and long dresses, and the boys and men with their straw hats. They are a proud but private society that have their own values and lifestyles which we can admire. Please note that I never taken pictures of these people showing their faces. I wouldn’t like it if people stared and took pictures of me – I only want to admire their carriages and their beautiful horses. Some families have Clydesdale horses, but many families choose to use miniature horses to pull their carriages.
As you drive in and around the town of Millbank, you see many of the locals driving in their horse and buggies. It is such a quaint site to see the ladies and girls in their hats and long dresses, and the boys and men with their straw hats. They are a proud but private society that have their own values and lifestyles which we can admire. Please note that I never taken pictures of these people showing their faces. I wouldn’t like it if people stared and took pictures of me – I only want to admire their carriages and their beautiful horses. Some families have Clydesdale horses, but many families choose to use miniature horses to pull their carriages.
After circling around a few farms and villages, we decide it is time to eat and head for Anna Mae’s Bakery and Restaurant. Let me say first – what a charming, but busy, restaurant! Anna Mae's restaurant specializes in good old-fashioned Mennonite cooking. The menu has items like Broasted Chicken (a baked chicken with a type of breading on top), pork roast, pork chops, salads, burgers, fish and chips, wraps and sandwiches. The spinach salad is fantastic and has a sort of citrus dressing. I have asked if they sell the dressing bottled, but unfortunately they don’t. If they did – I would buy lots of it as it is so good and it is very difficult to replicate (believe me – I have tried). They also serve their hot meals by a small portion (great for light eaters), a regular plate, platter size, and even a Full Meal Deal (with soup or salad, meat, potatoes, vegetables, choice of dinner roll and dessert) for a very reasonable price. They also have a chicken deal for four people which includes 4 Full Meal Deals plus 4 regular beverages for a total of $41.99 (the price as of today). How can you beat that? Trust me -- you can't! So this variety of sized meals are great for families, seniors, etc., as everyone gets just the size they want! They also have a 5-week rotating menu which is listed on their website so you can see what the specials are for a certain day (so please check it out at www.annamaes.ca).
There is a small gift shop to browse through while you wait for a seat – and yes, chances are you will have to wait. You go to the front entrance inside the building and add your name to the list of people hungry for a good meal. It normally doesn’t take too long to get a table (but don’t go around 4 p.m. as I hear you can wait half an hour to get seated), but you can browse in the shop and go past the sign-in table and to the right, you can see locally made products as well as a great bakery to wet your whistle! They have great cookies and tarts (especially the peanut butter cookies and the walnut tarts), breads, buns, Chelsea loaves, Cinnamon buns, muffins and tea loaves, cheesecakes as well as fancy squares – and of course pies! They have soooooo many pies such as:
Apple (2 different types)
Blueberry
Cherry
Elderberry
Raisin
Raspberry (2 different kinds)
Shoofly (Mennonite specialty)
Pumpkin
Rhubarb (2 different kinds)
Pecan
Strawberry Rhubarb
Coconut or Chocolate Cream
They also have specialty seasonal pies and also offer 4 types of sugar-free pies. But go on their website and you can see all the baked goods they make – it will make your mouth water! As always, we have tried to test many of their baked goods on your behalf – but we really love their Lemon Meringue Pie! In fact, it was Mom's birthday this week and she said she didn't want a birthday cake, she wanted a Lemon Meringue pie. Quite a sight to see candles glowing on a lemon meringue pie! So we have decided that because we all love it so much, we have voted it the Best Ever Lemon Meringue Pie in Perth County!
There is a small gift shop to browse through while you wait for a seat – and yes, chances are you will have to wait. You go to the front entrance inside the building and add your name to the list of people hungry for a good meal. It normally doesn’t take too long to get a table (but don’t go around 4 p.m. as I hear you can wait half an hour to get seated), but you can browse in the shop and go past the sign-in table and to the right, you can see locally made products as well as a great bakery to wet your whistle! They have great cookies and tarts (especially the peanut butter cookies and the walnut tarts), breads, buns, Chelsea loaves, Cinnamon buns, muffins and tea loaves, cheesecakes as well as fancy squares – and of course pies! They have soooooo many pies such as:
Apple (2 different types)
Blueberry
Cherry
Elderberry
Raisin
Raspberry (2 different kinds)
Shoofly (Mennonite specialty)
Pumpkin
Rhubarb (2 different kinds)
Pecan
Strawberry Rhubarb
Coconut or Chocolate Cream
They also have specialty seasonal pies and also offer 4 types of sugar-free pies. But go on their website and you can see all the baked goods they make – it will make your mouth water! As always, we have tried to test many of their baked goods on your behalf – but we really love their Lemon Meringue Pie! In fact, it was Mom's birthday this week and she said she didn't want a birthday cake, she wanted a Lemon Meringue pie. Quite a sight to see candles glowing on a lemon meringue pie! So we have decided that because we all love it so much, we have voted it the Best Ever Lemon Meringue Pie in Perth County!
After leaving Millbank, we did drive up and down a few country roads. We got to admire the flat landscape, the red barns popping up in the horizons, a few cows, goats, sheep, horses, miniature horses, a bull and the occasional buffalo. Yes, I did say buffalo! Near Donegal, there is a farm with some donkeys, a bull and a family of buffalos roaming in the front yard. It is the funniest thing to see these buffalos roam around the bull and up near the road. But they are the most endearing of animals with their big brown eyes and wooly coats! And just in case you think we had had a little drink at Anna Mae's, we snapped a couple of pictures for you.
So next time you are in or near Millbank in Perth County, drop by Anna Mae’s Bakery and Restaurant – but remember to sign in to get a seat, pick up some baked goods to take home, and note that they don’t accept credit cards – only cash or interact and reservations can only be made for groups of 10 or more. Can't wait to see you there!
Cheers for now!
Heather
Cheers for now!
Heather