Deegan's Shoes,one of the mainstays of North Bay's downtown, has issued a commemorative coin to celebrate the store's 125th anniversary of its historicbusiness.

"Being that it's the 125th anniversary of our store, we thought it was quite appropriate to create a souvenir coin that has a mintage of only 125pieces", says Ralph Diegel, owner of Deegan's Shoes on Mainstreet. "Pat and I (Ralph's wife) are quite excited that the coins have come in just ontime for the annual downtown Christmas walk this Friday (November 28th). We'll be selling the coins then (at $25 each). Come in early, though,because 125 pieces won't last long" added Ralph.

The 50 millimetre coin is indeed impressive. One side features the iconic rocking horse, enjoyed by so many customers who came into the store overthe years. The other side shows the building which housed the original Deegan's store until it was destroyed by fire in January of 1945. It wasrebuilt in the same location soon after and now, 125 years later, the business is still going strong.

"It's hard to believe that it's been 125 years", says Ralph, who himself has been working at the store for nearly 70 years. "I ended up here byaccident really", he adds. "I was originally supposed to work at the store over the pre-Christmas rush in 1946 and never ended up leaving."

Deegan's will be part of the old fashioned Christmas Walk this Friday and will open their doors to new and old customers alike, or to anyone whojust wants to enjoy the friendly staff at the store along with a warm beverage and snacks and of course, one of the souvenir coins. It is believedthat this is the only souvenir coin ever issued in North Bay specifically for a downtown store.

To read the complete article, see:
City's oldest business celebrates by issuing coin(www.baytoday.ca/content/news/details.asp?c=69730)