02/28/2025
đ I have some shocking, heart shattering, unbelievable news, I am about to share.đ
đTo start, I would like to thank everyone for all your heartwarming condolences and love for my dad. It means a lot to see how much he was loved and cared about!
This post is just as hard and heartbreaking as having to announce the passing of my dad Marty, the last owner of Bernsteinâs.
My face is soaked with tears because I canât stop crying. my stomach is in knots, and my hands are trembling as I try to write this!
After more than 100 years, 4 generations of family running Bernsteinâs, my family's legacy has come to an end!
I have tried my hardest to do everything possible to save Bernsteinâs and keep it open. Unfortunately, due to greed, ignorance, manipulation, and not wanting to be part of the family or family legacy, I am being forced to close Bernsteinâs! Forced to allow some stranger to come in and liquidate everything for pennies and sell Bernsteinâs. With the probable tearing down of Bernsteinâs!
The only option for me to be able to save Bernsteinâs and keep it going would be to come up with hundreds of thousands of dollars and that isn't something I can even come close to being able to do!
It is amazing how greedy people can be, and how quickly they turn on you with nothing more than lies and dollar signs in their eyes when money comes in to the picture and they would rather money then working with me to keep a piece of history alive, and not just what should be âourâ families history but the great town and community of Haliburtonâs history. Bernsteinâs has to be one of our townâs oldest businesses/buildings, if not the oldest! In the world we live in, it is rare to have a business lasting this long, staying with the same family. Itâs sickening just knowing more than a century of history is going to be lost!
Originally, a general store in 1923 selling meats, cheeses, and other groceries and switched to a clothing store in the 50âs because Haliburton got its first grocery store I found a receipt book where Bella, my great grandmother, and the original Bernstein of Bernstein's kept records of credit given and paid. Bella gave locals credit to get groceries for their families and pay later when they had money. When it turned into a clothing store Bella, Betty(my Grandmother) and Ron(my Grandfather) would give locals credit to get clothing, footwear, work clothing whatever they might need until they got money. Betty still did that when she was the sole operator of Bernsteinâs. When Betty passed and my dad(Marty) and uncle(Randy) took over, they also gave locals credit for clothing and footwear whatever was needed and to pay for it when they had money. Because Bernsteinâs customers were more than customers, you are part of our family!
Bernsteinâs has offered many services to you and your family over the last 100+ years. Bella and Betty always tried to feed people, and many ladies sat over on the ladies' side drinking coffee and talking with Betty. We have also offered Lindsay Drycleaners longer than I have been alive, we have done suit rentals for weddings and proms, one of the 4 generations of family might have even measured you for a rental for your special occasion. More recently we have offered you local pickup and drop off for FedEx, Purolator by Swift Post, and I fought for 3 years to be able to offer UPS to the community as the closest location to Haliburton was Kinmount, last year I won the fight to offer you a closer location for UPS. Most recently, Canpar has asked if we would add them to our services offered, but with the looming closure, Bernsteinâs will not be able to. Bernsteinâs doesn't make much money for offering these shipping services, but we were happy to do it for our local community and our tourist community. Unfortunately, with the forced closure, we will no longer be able to offer you these services. H&R Block in Haliburton is a Purolator location. Iâm sure FedEx will find someone else in Haliburton to offer their services until then. Home Hardware in Minden does FedEx and John Austinâs in Kinmount offers UPS Glecoffs formally Steadmans/V&S offers Lindsay Drycleaners.
It still doesnât feel real, I feel like I am in a nightmare and will wake up any second and find out it was just a nightmare! My great-grandmother, my grandparents, my dad, and my uncle would never want this to happen to Bernsteinâs. I donât want this to happen to Bernsteinâs. There is a heavy weight on my shoulders, as I feel like I let everyone down, I know it's not my fault, but it still doesnât make the loss of everything any easier. And to have to go through all of this without my dad, my superhero is devastating!
When I was 2, my dad moved back from Toronto with me because he wanted me to grow up with family, as well as this amazing community. My grandma gave my dad the main apartment above Bernstein's, so he could raise me here. Any days that Bernsteinâs was open, my grandma would make dinner for the family, and we would all sit around the dinner table at Bernstein's! Eating, laughing, sharing memories, and making new memories.
As a kid growing up I begged my Grandma to let me work/help in Bernsteinâs she said when I was as tall as her, I never got to help my Grandma but helped out when my dad and uncle had Bernsteinâs. When Randy got sick and he wasnât able to be in Bernsteinâs I was in there more. That is when I really got to experience being in Bernsteinâs. I got to speak with and hear all your stories about my family and Bernsteinâs. Locals and tourists shared many precious stories and memories, and I thank you for sharing them with me! I will miss talking with people most of all!
I am not sure the date of Bernsteinâs final day, but I know I don't have long! I am in complete shock at this outcome! Before Marty became sick in 2024, and eventually he ended up in the hospital to never leave again, I would have never imagined having to announce our closure within less than a year or any time soon. And now the ugly truth that my dad had tried to hide from everyone, I am tired of hiding the truth, I am tired of pretending everything is ok!
Anyone who knows the family knows how much I loved and helped Randy in his personal life and with Cool Licks! He made promises to me, of what one day he would leave to me, and in the end, the only thing he left me was to be the one to decide to take him off life support! Unfortunately, Randy really screwed his actual family! At the time, I didn't care that I got nothing, but I definitely never thought my dad and me, and now just me, would lose Bernsteinâs! All because Randy was manipulated and taken advantage of when his mental health was in decline! Randyâs estate was not handled correctly by his first executor, so when Marty took over the estate, it was in total chaos because the first executor did and paid nothing! They took anything of value and kept it for themselves, not putting it into the estate! Marty took over, none of Randyâs records were turned over, the bank was asked on numerous occasions for the bank records, and they never gave them to Marty! So, a lot of things that needed to be done for Randyâs estate couldn't be completed! When Marty was sick and in hospital and unable to give me any guidance. I was told they wanted to name a new executor, and I didn't fight it. Randy had appointed Marty and me as 2nd executors. I didn't agree to it I didn't want to be part of it and I never had anything to do with it, I missed spending time with my dad in the hospital, because I was trying to figure out all the stuff needed by the new executor, which is an impossible task to put on someone when you don't know what you are doing! I was set up to fail. The most heartbreaking thing was when my dad passed away and I was making arrangements for him, the local funeral home said they would work with me but there were issues because Randyâs first executor paid 0 for his services, My dad paid over half of it before becoming sick himself! But the funeral home understandably wanted assurances that they would be paid. I agreed to that even though there was a new executor for Randyâs estate, and I didnât understand how they could hold me responsible for this, not being the executor, but I agreed to sign the paperwork, I would have signed almost anything just to get my dad home! This was started several days before I took my dad off life support. When I took him off life support, I was under the impression that they would be bringing my dad home that day. That never happened, several days and phone calls later I was told the funeral home did not want to bring my dad home until paperwork was signed and we were waiting for the funeral home's lawyers to send the paperwork. The other option was to pay around $6000.00 to pay the rest of Randyâs funeral bill. I wish I had that, but I did not have that kind of money! My dad spent 2 weeks in the Peterborough Hospital Morgue, like some unloved, unclaimed person, waiting for whatever happens to unclaimed people! I was losing my mind over this! No one could understand why it was taking so long. I couldnât wait any longer and ended up calling a funeral home in Peterborough. They got my dad the same day I called them! We had a small family only service there. I am still trying to arrange a celebration of life for my dad here in Haliburton! All this is on top of never being told or shown how to run the taxi company! It was like being thrown in the deep end of a pool, not knowing how to swim! But the phone keeps ringing no matter what is going on in life, people need to get around and the taxiâs are the only mode of transportation in Haliburton County! So, I am doing my best to figure it out as I go! There is also a charge for contempt of court pending against me, possible fines(more money), or jail time thanks to Randyâs estate that again I had nothing to do with! With my dad passed away, I have no one to stand up for me to say I had nothing to do with it!
I really tried to keep Bernsteinâs, but I don't have the money, and that is all that is wanted is money! I know money is needed to survive, but everything shouldn't just be about money! To force me out of not only a 100+ year old business, but also my dadâs home and my childhood home for money shows what some people think about their so-called family and what is important to them! Itâs because we werenât really family, it's all about money that doesnât exist! When Randy passed away, he had no money, only a lot of debt because he was living way beyond his means! Marty tried to save the house that not only my grandparents built but many local people helped to build! My grandparents threw many get-togethers, and the 3 boys regularly had friends over! It was a local hangout for many. Unfortunately, my dad should have never taken out a loan to save the house as it has caused many problems! Also, they are trying to say Marty spent Randyâs money, Randy had no money, and any money that came into Randyâs estate was used to pay expenses. This still wasnât enough income, and Marty put a lot of his own money into the estate! Putting Marty in major debt himself! It will be a big fight to get anything back that Marty put in, especially since he is no longer with us and unable to testify to all the money that he put in!
I really want to thank you for your support of Bernstein over more than 100 years! Without you, we wouldnât have made it this long, so thank you for that! I wish I had more time being the 4th generation of this amazing family business, but unfortunately, wishes don't always come true!
I am sorry that the Bernsteinâs you grew up with will no longer be here for you, and for any inconvenience that not being able to use our services offered may cause you!
I would like to ask one thing from you: If you have any stories or pictures about Bernsteinâs, or my family that you would want to share, please do. You can inbox me if you want to share something without your name being posted. I would like to make this page into a memorial page from the last century!
Thank you again for your 100+ years! With lots of love from the last remaining Grant!đđ
