One of the two men turned around and put a switch blade knife against Mr. Johnston’s chest and mumbled something about giving them money.Johnston called the police, who soon located John Prochownik, 17, of RR 4, St. Catherines, and Peter Donald Holmes, 18, of Toronto, and charged them with attempted armed robbery and other crimes.
The proprietor backed his way out of a kitchen and managed to lock the two inside where they ransacked the premises but could not find a cash drawer.
They then fled from the unlocked entrance to the kitchen and disappeared shortly after 4 o’clock.
The Rockhaven Motel stood on at 780 York Road, on the north side, just opposite the driveway entrance to the Ontario Reformatory, in Guelph Township just outside of the Royal City. The armed robbery attempt by Prochownik and Holmes was possibly the most exciting or newsworthy event that happened there. Otherwise, the motel seems to have garnered little in the way of press attention.
Local phone books and city directories provide some basic information. The "Rockhaven Motor Court" first appears in the 1949 phone book, with W.H. Beacom listed as proprietor. It's name changes to Rockhaven Motel in 1956. Beacom's tenure seems to last throughout the 1950s, when Gladys Hill is given as proprietor in 1963. Harry Johnston takes over in 1964 and endures the armed robbery attempt four years later. In 1971, John and Alma Cimerman succeed Johnston and are followed in turn by Jack and Margaret Randall in 1980. In the 1988/89 city guide, the motel is listed as belonging to Trans Cities Realty, followed by Clarence Close in 1989/90 and 1990/91.
In the 1991/92 directory, the address 780 York Road appears to be the private address of M Lajeunesse. Rockhaven Motel, it seems, had seen its final curtain and was shortly replaced by Yorkhaven Place. Yet, it deserves to be remembered. The fact that it is the only "motor court" listed in 1949 directory suggests that it was Guelph's first example of that up-and-coming means of motorist accommodation, the motel.
The first motel of record seems to be the Milestone Mo-Tel, opened by Arthur and Alfred Heineman on 12 December 1925 in San Luis Obispo. The location was significant because SLO was half-way along the highway between Los Angeles and San Francisco and thus a convenient stop-over for folks travelling between California's best-known cities in that increasingly popular means of personal transportation, the automobile.
Until that point, auto travellers had two choices. One was to drive into town and stay at a regular inn or hotel. But, that option was becoming increasingly inconvenient given increasing levels of congestion in big cities. Also, downtown locations were often relatively expensive. Another option was to stay at an "auto camp," a road-side camp ground where travellers could pitch a tent and start a camp fire, and then enjoy the communal facilities. Cheap but not convenient or comfortable.
The mo-tel (a portmanteau of "motor" and "hotel"), located on the outskirts of town, offered a respite from city traffic and prices, combined with the convenience of an auto-camp but featured private rooms and facilities. Plus, guests could drive right up to their room doors! What's not to like?
The motel business prospered in spite of the Great Depression. After the Second World War, car production resumed, the economy boomed, and motels began to spring up along roadsides near every major (and not so major) city across North America.
Readers may have fond memories of stays in motels during road trips. Motels invested in more and more amenities to compete. A land line telephone in every room! A swimming pool! Colour TV! And, of course, postcards. While postcards had faded as a means of communication or civic display, motel postcards flourished as advertising for businesses and as a way of recording or sharing a record of one's exotic travels.
The Rockhaven Motor Court was no exception. In the motel's early days, the proprietors invested in an inexpensive postcard, as shown below.
Three people appear to be standing outside the motel office to the left, while three vehicles demonstrate that guests could indeed drive right up to their room doors. The ridge looming in the background is the raised rail bed of the Canadian National Railway track. Decorative rocks add a touch of class to the entrance and the foundation of the building.
No printer is listed on the card but text on the back does extol the amenities of the establishment: "A Restful Motor Court—Good Food, Centrally Heated—Open the Year Round." Nice!
Fortunately, a copy of this postcard from the Keleher collection was sent through the mail, 27 August 1951, suggesting that the postcard records the motel as it appeared in its earliest days. Furthermore, the postcard was sent by the proprietor himself:
Hello GordonIt seems business was good.
This is a picture of our motor court. Hope you are real to all. We are very busy here.
Wm. & E. Beacom
From this postcard, we also learn that W.H. Beacom's first name was William and his wife's first initial was E. Beyond that, I have not been able to find out anything about the Rockhaven Motel's founders. In fact, information about the other proprietors is not plentiful either. Harry Johnston, John & Alma Cimmerman, and Clarence Close are largely cyphers.
Some things can be found about Jack and Margaret Randall, who owned the motel from 1979 through 1989. Jack married Margaret Schmidt on 7 December 1956 in Waterloo. It's not clear how they got into the motel business but they remained in it after leaving Guelph. They are given as owners of the Cedarcourt Motel in Southampton in 1998.
There is an interesting photo of Jack Randall in the Kitchener-Waterloo Record (1 December 1982):
At present, the reasons why the motel went out of business can only be guessed at. Perhaps increasing competition from big chains played a role. Also, the importance of York Road as a convenient route for motorists to reach Guelph likely dwindled with completion of the Hanlon Expressway in 1975, connecting the city to Highway 401 to the south.
In any event, if you happen to drive along York Road opposite the Reformatory east of Guelph, spare a glance at the former motel and imagine pulling in and driving right up to your door at the Royal City's first motor court!
It would be great to learn more about the Rockhaven Motel and its former owners. If you have some information to share, please leave a comment in this post!
Works consulted include:
- McCrea, M. (2025, Oct. 22). "100 Years of the Motel: Neon Signs, Swimming Pools and American Dreams." New York Times.
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