EDITOR'S NOTE: This article originally appeared on Milton Today Nov. 11.
A small farming community – one with few enough streets to be able to list off from memory, and with a population that makes today’s size look like a bonafide metropolis by comparison.
This is the Milton Dan and Derek Tielemans remember when the downtown store bearing their name first opened in 1971.
A vastly different community in so many ways.
“The fire department was downtown, Milton Hydro was down here, there was angle parking on Main Street,” recalls Derek.
Added Dan, “Derry Road seemed like it was halfway to Oakville. I used to hang out at the pool hall downtown, and if I had a cigarette there my parents knew by the time I got home.
“I tell people when we moved to Milton there were two stoplights. There may have been three, but I say two. That gives you an idea of how small it was.”
Multiple trips down memory lane will no doubt be taken in the coming days, as the flooring brothers prepare to close up the business father Bill started more than five decades ago.
“It was time,” said Dan, who recently sold the Main and Court property and will shut down at the end of November. “There’s mixed emotions. I think we’re ready to move on.”
Noted Derek, “I’m sad… I wish I was young again. This has been my whole life.”
A downtown fixture throughout the town’s explosive growth, Tielemans Interiors was originally a paint store after Bill and wife Rita heard Milton was set to expand and came here from Burlington.
They moved into their new home on a Friday and broke ground on construction of the store three days later.
Upon opening, the family’s patriarch was soon approached by drop-in salesmen looking to add a number of different items to his shelves – most notably carpeting.
From there, Bill was asked if those purchases could come with installation. And the rest is history.
“Long story short, the paint section got smaller and the carpet section got bigger,” said Dan, as Derek explained how back then peddlers would come in and try to sell business owners just about anything.
Living right next door to the family business, the brothers helped dad with numerous projects while still in high school and joined him full-time right after graduation.
That met with some questioning glances when the Tielemans’ next generation first arrived for a job.
“I remember say doing a kitchen floor at 19 years old and I’d get to the door and the lady’s looking over my shoulder asking ‘Where’s your dad?’ And I’d say, no, it’s just me,” said Dan, who recalls moving the store shelves to play hockey or hide and seek at night..
Embracing the high standards demanded from their father, the brothers have carried on a meticulous attention-to-detail tradition for the past 45 years.
All told, the Tielemans have done an estimated 15,000 various installations – with many, many repeat customers along the way.
Among them are Myrna and Howard Leaman, who note that not one square inch of their home’s flooring doesn’t have the Tielemans’ touch of craftsmanship.
Recently that extended to the couple’s cottage in Haliburton, which left Myrna “over the moon.”
It was during this latest project that she learned of the store’s impending closure, which was met with a heavy heart.
“It’s an end an era for sure for Milton,” said Myrna, who added that along with the brothers’ quality and integrity the business has a hidden treasure in sales associate Wendy Hodgkins’ creative flair. “They’re perfectionists… so careful and thorough with their communication and work.
“They’re the best of the best, and when someone’s that good you stay with them. And they’re such kind people.”
Echoing those sentiments is Bev Hadley, who’s used the Tielemans for eight or nine jobs over a 30-plus year stretch, including one set for later this month.
“I can always trust them to do a good job, be on time and clean up well,” she said. “Some people go to the big box stores, but I like to support the community.”
Priding themselves on longevity and a strong connection with customers, the brothers’ emotional investment in their work shines through while speaking of jobs both recent and decades ago.
Derek smiles as he shows a photo of his latest stairs handiwork that left the homeowner “thrilled,” while Dan muses about a memorable sports-related discovery during an installation on nearby Pearl Street.
“I was ripping up the old flooring and saw like the top batting order for 1941, the American League. It was an old newspaper and Joe DiMaggio I think was at the top. I should have kept it.”
The hospital, town hall and original Milton Canadian Champion newspaper office were all worked on by the brothers, who figure they'll "cherry-pick" the occasional job after closing the store.
That’s hardly surprising, given their deep-rooted connection to the community.
“The trust we have with our customers is unbelievable,” said Derek.
Added Dan, “It’s a different clientele, the customer who’s looking for the mom and pop shop compared to the ones going to Home Depot. To some people the dollar’s everything; you lose a job over $20. To other people it’s like ‘I hear you’re really good’. We like to think we provide a better service, just working on a personal level.”
Tielemans customers can leave a message for the brothers and/or staff at tielemansfineflooring.com.