Gordie Timmons

It was years before I discovered Almonte's Secret Society.  It wasn't the Independent Order of Oddfellows whose former iconic symbols were painted on the crumbling ceiling of the attic of an old building on Mill Street. Nor was it the more modern but equally arcane Masonic Lodge whose members continue to foregather to this day.  It was instead the congregation of men who met every autumn for the annual hunt. Not being partial myself to forests, guns or hunting, the allure had entirely escaped my interest and knowledge - at least that is until I further learned that some of the parishioners met in what was equivalent to a luxurious rural resort outfitted with the finest culinary equipment.  Indeed it was disclosed that many of the regular communicants were not hunters at all but rather preferred to discuss and create fanciful and extravagant meals nursed by the finest vintages and fermentations. All the while they hardened their nascent masculinity by abandoning shaving and bathing for a week.

One of these unlikely members was Gordie Timmons.  I say unlikely because Gordie - aside from being a quiet man of implacable reserve - was the owner of the very popular and successful gentleman's clothing store in Almonte bearing his family name; viz., Timmons Clothing. To imagine him diluting his customary sartorial activity and demeanour with the traditional features of out-of-doors living was not what I would have expected to see.

This particular alliance speaks more broadly to the fact that Gordie easily qualified as one of Almonte's Good 'Ole Boys.  To begin with he enjoyed the advantage of historic connection with the community including his well-known parents and brothers (one of whom was Ray Timmons who piloted the Almonte General Hospital through many of its popular advancements). Gordie's long-standing presence on Mill Street (Almonte's central commercial area), first as an assistant to Carson Johnson at Johnson's Clothing and then as owner of the business for many years, assured him a notable profile among Almonte's confederates. Gordie ran an extremely reliable undertaking and never failed to satisfy his customers.