William (Bill) Mont

May 21, 1929 – October 28, 2025

At the great age of 96, a Halifax Legend has left us. Although small in stature, he was big in creativity, imagination, and ideas. Bill was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was predeceased by his parents Gerald Allen and Mary Mont, and his daughter Christine Mont. Bill is survived by his daughter Janice (Brad), son Shane (Allison), former wife Dorothy Mont, sister-in-law Joan Fredericks and nephews John, Barry, and Scott Fredericks.

Bill grew up in a small community in Halifax, known as Greenbank. He started his work life at 11yrs of age at the Halifax Shipyards. Within a year, he started his career at the CN Railway, holding many positions throughout his time there. During the war years, Bill enlisted in The Princess Louise Fusiliers, a reserve infantry unit of the Canadian Armed Forces. Following his seventeen years with the Railway, he was self-employed as a general contractor and then moving on to California with his family.

In 1965, Bill followed the old adage “Go West Young Man, Go West”. Bill purchased and operated an employment agency in Anaheim, California. While there, he also worked as a carpenter at the Erickson Yacht Company. After enjoying seven years in California, he moved his growing family back to NS and settled down in the community of Eastern Passage.

Next, being the entrepreneur he was, Bill introduced to HRM the concept of a “Flea Market”, after attending many large Sunday markets in California known as “Swap Meets”. His idea took off, attracting thousands of people every Sunday, originating at the Sackville Drive In Theatre and expanding to Sackville Downs Racetrack, Bedford Place Mall, Penhorn Mall, and the Halifax Forum. His Markets became so successful, that the term “Flea Market” became a household word. Bill was dubbed the “Flea Market King”.

In 1976 he purchased Melvin S. Clarke, Canada’s oldest auction & real estate company, He conducted weekly auctions and was directly involved in the appraising, auctioning, and liquidating of estates and businesses. The flea markets and the auction business fuelled his passion to collect, resulting in the accumulation of a lifetime of “treasures”.

Bill’s next venture was near and dear to his heart. With his great love of animals and saving them, he opened a no-kill shelter called the Animal Friends Society in Halifax, which he ran for five years. Through this venture, he was able to provide many animals with a second chance at a forever loving home.

Another passion for Bill was saving heritage properties, such as the Parrsboro Post Office, Oland’s Mansion on Young Ave, and the old Halifax/Dartmouth Ferry (Dart II), to name a few. With this interest, it was fitting that he would join the Halifax Preservation Society. In fact, Bill has been involved with over 50 charities and societies over the years. A few of these included Friends of the Public Gardens, The NS Museum Board of Governors, the SPCA, The Royal Canadian Legion, the Ecology Action Centre, The Sierra Club and Crime Stoppers.

Real estate was another one of Bill’s interests. Some of his acquisitions included Oland’s Castle on Young Avenue, Glenhart Castle in Ireland, Devil’s Island at the entrance to Halifax Harbour, the old Horton High School in the Annapolis Valley, Noonan’s Beach, a portion of Lawrencetown Beach, an Amusement Park at the Reversing Falls in NB, and the Pleasant Hill Cemetery.

Bill led a very interesting life, wearing many hats. With his love for dancing, he could be seen at the weekly Northwood Seniors dances (where he resided for the past ten years). He also volunteered his time, for the past twenty five years, at Northwood, helping the seniors. He also frequented a number of the local legions, and even dancing for the residents at Parkland at the Gardens. He also appeared in over twenty movies (including Titanic), hosted a local Cable TV program (Hobbies & Collectables), and wrote a column for the Dartmouth Free Press Newspaper.

Bill took pleasure in some of the simple things in life, such as having a meal at the former South End Diner (then situated on Barrington St), where he sat and chatted with the regular patrons. Another favourite spot was the former Athens Restaurant on Quinpool Road, where he frequently dined, and savoured a great meal, always making sure to stop and have a friendly chat with the owners before leaving. Another pastime of his, was sitting in his car at Black Rock Beach parking lot, in Point Pleasant Park, and feeding the birds. This allowed him to revisit what he called his childhood “playground”.

Most of the residents and staff at Northwood will remember his passion for jewellery. He loved working with jewellery, often taking apart old pieces to create new ones and giving them to his friends at Northwood. He found working with jewellery to be relaxing and therapeutic.

Bill also enjoyed expressing his views and ideas. Bill was a long time caller to his favourite radio station 95.7 (The Todd Veinotte Show formerly The Rick Howe Show), offering his “advice” on various topics. This was a daily ritual for Bill, which he thoroughly enjoyed, as did his fellow listeners. Another way in which Bill reached out to offer “advice”, was in the “written form”. For example, in the early 1970s, he wrote to President Richard Nixon with his plan to end the Vietnam War. President Nixon’s advisors responded to Bill, suggesting that he should apply for a job at the White House.

On a more serious note, Bill was proud of his Lebanese heritage. His family were among the first Lebanese immigrants to arrive in Halifax. In 2024, he was honoured by the Halifax Lebanese Society with their lifetime achievement award, at it’s annual Gala. He is the only person who has been honoured with this award.

Bill lived a full and complete life, and as one of his friends said, “He touched many of us in a very positive way, and will be greatly missed by all who knew him.” Although he had many friends, the family would like to thank a few of his dearest ones including Don, Ruth Ellen, Sam, and Ken & Margie.

We will end with just a couple of Bill’s humorous comments.......

When asked why he purchased the Horton High School, his response was “I never got to high school, so I bought one.” On another occasion when someone said, “Bill, you better do something with all of your stuff, because you can’t take it with you.” His reply was, “Yes I can, I own a cemetery.”

Donations in Bill’s memory can be made to Hope for Wildlife, Bide Awhile Animal Shelter, and the SPCA. A Celebration of Life will be announced, in the near future.