| From 1981-86, I was a member of the 2nd Battalion, the Royal Canadian Regiment posted at CFB Gagetown. As one of a large number of living in members of the battalion, largely young single men, the CANEX adjacent to the main gate was the main provider of the sundries, which made life in the shacks workable. This was particularly true prior to our tour in Cyprus in 83 as many of us younger soldiers were sans vehicle. Yet besides the many requirements of day-to-day life (polish, brushes, shaving gear, cleaning gear etc.) it is the reading section of the CANEX I remember most. A voracious reader myself, I had routinely tried to interest my comrades in the wide variety of paperbacks I kept in my room. However, apart from a few fellow bibliophiles, very few of my mates took up my offer. As my time in the battalion grew, I came to realize that the reading skills of the NCMs varied from abysmal to post secondary level with the majority falling closer to the former. I despaired of sharing my growing love of the fantasy genre with my fellows. CANEX, however, knew their demographic! Their reading section ran to motorcycle magazines, Soldier of Fortune, and comics (now graphic novels) with Conan the Barbarian being by far the most popular (I may have indulged myself in this vice for a few years). Each month’s edition of Conan was eagerly awaited and made the rounds of most of the barracks before retiring to the washrooms. Over time, I saw fellow Royals who had difficulty with the comic originally, graduate as their skills improved to more advanced reading material. By the time I moved on in 86, we had a large cadre of readers eagerly awaiting the release of the next Donaldson novel or pondering whether it was time for a reread of the Lord of the Rings. Just goes to show that there’s a lot to be said for a good story, buxom warrior lasses, and a retailer who know its’ clientele. |
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~ Michael
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| I met my husband 11 years ago at my brothers wedding. He was a soldier posted to Shilo, and I quickly moved here to be with him. Being new in the community and wanting to keep busy, I started to work at the CANEX. It was much smaller then than it is now, but it was a great place to work. My fondest memories are of all the soldiers on basic training that came into the CANEX. They had to march and stand at attention everywhere on Base, but when they entered the CANEXthey were allowed to walk normally and socialize. For these young soldiers in the first few weeks of basic training, I think this was their only break. I talked with these soldiers when they came in and could tell that it sort of brightened their day. After these guys and gals graduated, several of them were posted to the same unit as my boyfriend / future husband. One day my boyfriend came home and told me of these new soldiers that were posted to his Battery. Apparently they were asking him if he knew who the “CANEX girl” was? Whose daughter was she? My husband-to-be quickly responded, “She’s not anyone’s daughter, she’s my girlfriend!” I guess these guys were totally shocked and didn’t know if they were going to get in trouble for flirting with the MBdr’s girlfriend. After 9 years of marriage, we are still in Shilo and are still friends with several of these guys. And when we get together, every once in a while the “CANEX girl” story still comes up. Thanks for the memories. |
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~Alexandra
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| A friend of mine, Stephanie wanted to buy her husband a 62" TV for his birthday and wanted me to go along. We headed straight for CANEX. I was shocked at how much they had to offer since the last time I had shopped there when I was a military wife, in the 80's. The furniture was amazing, the selection of fashionable clothing, remarkable but the friendly and courteous staff was the most remarkable! They were friendly and helpful without being pushy or intrusive. My friend got her 62" TV and I have become a loyal customer of the CANEXin Petawawa, Ontario. |
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~Morah
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| Well, on this special Friday back in 2006, we had gotten ready to head out to see a close friend of the family as he was getting married and when we got there, his mom was frantic because they had a family member doing the photo's for the wedding but he couldn't make it for some uncanny reason so I took it upon myself to find someone else to replace him. After a bit of time, I realized that I just wasn't going to come through for her son so I decided to buy my own 'nice' camera myself. Being in CFB Greenwood, there's not alot to choose from as far as purchasing items like a quality camera until I realized that the CANEX sold some nice items that would do the trick, so off I went. After browsing quickly through what was available, I found a very nice Canon Powershot A95 that I knew would do the job just fine, so I proceeded to the checkout and with some unsurprising quality customer service, I had my payment plan setup in no time at all and was on my way. I still made it to the wedding in enough time to catch their memorable moments and ended up saving the day. Was a very good feeling to know I came through for them and the CANEXcame through for me once again. You have my thanks and appreciation. |
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~Darryl
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| I bought my first computer from the CANEX and I am still using it today. Since then, any time I pass by the CANEX I can't help but stop in to see what's new. Keep up the good work! |
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~Sean
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| One of the great things about CANEX ever since we started shopping there upteen years ago is that the store only stocks quality goods. So when we got to the point where with our kids were grown up and moved on that we felt we could safely upgrade our worn out livingroom furniture.We really wanted leather but weren't sure if the price would be in our comfort range or would mean an hours long trip to a major city to find a store that carried a style we liked. We were so pleasantly surprised when we walked into our Petawawa CANEX and saw a set we instantly impressed with at a price that was hard to beat. We've been enjoying our comfortable purchase ever since. Thanks CANEX. |
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~Peter & Jean
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| This is just a really nice, good-news story that recently happened in Kingston. One of my colleagues is presently on a UN Military Observer mission in Sudan. When he reached back to the office and asked that we forward a few work-related items to him, we asked whether there was something of a personal nature we could send him in a care package. He thanked us but declined, saying he was fine but, in closing, mentioned in passing that if we wanted, we could 'throw in a few soccer balls' as thousands of kids occupied nearby refugee camps with little to do for fun. I explained the situation to staff at our CANEX and they sold us their entire stock at close to cost. As I was at the checkout, I came to realize that I was short donated funds to purchase the last remaining ball. Well, instead of placing the ball to the side, the checkout girl reached into her own wallet behind the counter, in front of a number of other waiting customers, and made the purchase complete! I was really, really, impressed! Thanks CANEX! |
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~Cory
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