Sexsmith Garage

With the economic boom of the late 1920s, and the growing extent of mechanization in the district, there was a need for a full time truck and automobile garage, in addition to farm implement repair shops. In about 1926, Jack Neys established a garage on the corner of 100 Ave. and 99 Street which sold gas and oil, serviced vehicles, and eventually sold Ford products. About three year later, Don Innes established the Sexsmith Garage on Main Street, 4 lots north from the bank. It too sold gas and oil, provided service, and replaced Neys as the Ford dealership. In 1947, Innes sold out to Louis Stojan and his sons, Charlie and Jerry, who soon made the Sexsmith Garage the largest one in town, switching to Chevrolet products in the mid-1950s. With the loss of the Connaught Hotel building and Case implement dealership by fire in 1951, the Sexsmith Garage eventually came to occupy almost half of the entire block. With the tragic death of Charlie Stojan in 1962, the garage evolved into the partnership of Jerry and his son, Chuck, who assumed full ownership in the mid-1960s and became village mayor. With the recession of the 1980s, Chuck closed the garage and re-focussed on sports vehicles, while his buildings were rented out and converted to other purposes.