10/05/2026
The last post I made about our 78th Anniversary made me realize how people are interested in the history of Pinecroft. On this Mother’s Day I thought I would honour my Mom with her story. My mom . Theresa May Johnston was born in Palgrave Ontario in 1914 . She had 2 sisters and a brother who passéd away at a young age. Her father was a blacksmith and her mom a homemaker. When she was in her early twenties their family moved to Toronto . To help support the family she began a career at Simpson Sears as a secretary. During the war she volunteered to drive transport when needed as many young men had gone off to fight. A sports woman she also played baseball for the Lakeshore Ladies in a league made famous in a movie many decades later. She eventually met and married David Caverly whose family called the area of Pinecroft home. David , when he retired, was Deputy Minister for the Environment for the Province of Ontario and Chairman of the International Joint Commission responsible for water quality in the Great Lakes. They retired to the home farm in Aylmer and although David continued on in an advisory position , Theresa found herself with idle time on her hands. Anxious to find something meaningful to do, she came up with the idea of a tearoom at Pinecroft and looked forward to filling her days with purpose again. Convincing Selma and Jimmie that it would be a good idea and with the enthusiastic support of myself , we set to making it a reality. The thirtieth anniversary of Pinecroft in 1978 seemed to be a good date to aim for and after some minor renovations to the main building a tearoom was opened in May 1978. Tea, bran or blueberry muffins and homemade bread were all that was on the menu. Not even coffee! We were not busy and it was all we could due to manage enough business to have one server hired, but there was interest. Eventually we added my mom’s mushroom soup and tomato soup recipes , an egg salad sandwich and our garden vegetable pie. We knew from the start that we wanted to make it unique , to feature country fare and to keep it manageable. Word spread and gradually we became busier, hired some extra help and the foundation of the restaurant you see today was born. Everything we have accomplished over the years could not have been achieved had we not had a wonderful crew of employees, and the support of family and friends and of course the support of our customers. There is much more to the story for another post, but today I wanted to honour my mother’s part in the success that we enjoy today. She remained an important part of Pinecroft as she continued to participate regularly into her nineties and continued to be an encouraging and sometimes critical voice until her passing at age 101. We loved her and on this Mother’s Day miss her dearly. May all the mothers out there have a wonderful day and get to enjoy it with their families. All the best from us to you!
Pictured below is Theresa , Tress, on opening day, Selma Jimmie and myself and an early menu.
Pinecroft,
8122 Rogers Rd S
Aylmer West, Ontario
www.pinecroft.ca
