He may have moved his business three times, but a former Okotoks mayor didn’t let anything get the better of him – even a devastating fire. His legacy lives on in an Okotoks neighbourhood east of the recreation centre, where a subdivision built in the 1990s was named after him. David John Downey and his wife, Mary Florence (Collier) moved to Alberta from Ontario in 1906 with plans to settle in the growing city of Calgary. On their way through, they fell in love with the small town blossoming on the banks of the Sheep River and decided to put down roots south of the big city. “Their first home was a room at the Grand Central Hotel, which is where the Royal Duke is now,” said Kathy Coutts, Okotoks museum specialist. Downey was in the process of establishing his menswear business, so a long-term room rental at the hotel made the most sense as they adapted to Alberta life. The store opened on McRae Street approximately where On Tap Oil & Vinegar stands today. It was a small wood-frame building and was replaced in 1927 by a new structure that only stood for five years before being lost to a major fire in 1932. “It burned the whole strip, from the Stockton Block right through to the corner,” said Coutts. “So the Merchant’s Bank at the corner, which is now Monkey Mountain, it was untouched. The Stockton Block is still there, but everything in between. The joys of wooden stores.” Afterward, Downey rebuilt his menswear store for a third time, to the west of Stockton Block, next door to the telephone company office, which would have been where the parking lot for the current Chamber of Commerce office sits. He operated his store there from 1933 until he retired and moved to Victoria, B.C. in 1941. “He had three different stores but he didn’t venture too far,” said Coutts. “They were all on McRae Street.” Besides being a man of business, Downey was involved in many other aspects of the town. He and his wife belonged to St. Peter’s Anglican Church and he served as secretary-treasurer and a member of the church council, where he also held the title of “perpetual advisor in the matter of church finance.” According to his daughter Katherine’s entry in the 1983 Okotoks history book, A Century of Memories, Downey was also the secretary-treasurer for the Town of Okotoks in addition to serving as mayor from 1916 to 1917, and being president of the Board of Trade. Downey was a life member of the Corinthian Lodge and served as master twice. He loved playing tennis and watching hockey, his daughter said. “The seating arrangement for the Okotoks arena of the thirties was his design,” wrote Katherine. Coutts said the family took up residence on Elma Street, living in the house immediately to the east of the former United Church, which is currently the Rotary Performing Arts Centre. “And they had indoor plumbing, which was probably very rare in those days,” said Coutts. In fact, Katherine shared that the family had many visitors while living in that home, and for good reason. “I recall that the clergymen who visited St. Peter’s very often stayed at our house, and I used to marvel at my father’s obvious importance,” wrote Katherine. “I have since come to believe that the reason these distinguished visitors were our guests was because we had the only bathroom, at least the only Anglican bathroom, in town!” Shortly after their retirement to Victoria, Downey died in 1946. Mary then settled down in Houston, where she lived until her death in 1977. Both are buried in the Okotoks Cemetery.
