Future of iconic 75-year-old Cape Breton chip wagon in limbo after owner dies
The street corner where the iconic Glace Bay, N.S. chip wagon has sat for decades is empty, and it will remain that way for the foreseeable future after the man who kept it running for so many years died Oct. 10 following a battle with cancer. He was 67.
"Mike's passion for the wagon goes beyond any words. Next to his family, that was his life," said Brian Shaw, a family friend of late chip truck owner Mike Yorke and his wife Marielle.
Shaw said he was always amazed at the dedication Yorke had not only to serving the perfect box of fries but to the upkeep of his 1942 vintage truck, which still has most of its original parts and features.
It all made for a throwback experience that was a must for locals and people visiting back home.
"They came to the chip wagon with their sleeping bags still in their vehicle because they wanted a box of fries," Shaw said. "That was the first thing they wanted when they got back to Cape Breton. That's how iconic it is."
Glace Bay-Dominion MLA John White said when he heard of Yorke's passing, he knew it might mean the loss of two community institutions: the wagon itself, and the man he describes as its beating heart.
"When you go to Boston, you have to go to Cheers, for example," White said.
"When you come to our area, it's the Miner's Museum, it's Dominion Beach, it's Savoy Theatre and it's the chip wagon."
White said for Yorke, the chip wagon was a labour of love.
"I don't think the chip wagon was a business for Mike," White said. "I think it was a social event. Whenever you came down here and order your chips, you had to wait around a bit while they were cooked up. If he was cooking them, he was reaching out talking to you. If he wasn't, he was on the outside of the wagon talking to people."
The chip wagon came to Glace Bay from Montreal in 1946. Many who were customers as kids have returned over the years with their own children and grandchildren.
Now, some are now wondering if this may be the end of the line for this 'mom and pop' style business.
It's like trying to live without a heart," Shaw said.
"Mike was the heart of that chip wagon and the soul. So I really don't see anybody else being able to do what he did."
"I hope they can pick it up and keep it going, I really hope they do," White added.
"I'd be here to help them with whatever they could get going. I'd love to see them keep it in the family and keep it going."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.