Requiem for Mac's

The familiar logo for the Mac's convenience store.
Source: https://logos.fandom.com/wiki/Mac%27s_Convenience_Stores?file=7ee810076a3c626a3481a31b31b93628.jpg
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From the moment I bought my first Slush Cat right around the time the 80s started, Mac’s has been a part of my life in so many different ways.

The change occurred some time ago, but every time I drive by the “Circle K”, I think back to a convenience store with a weird cat for a logo, and a location never more than a few blocks from wherever I lived.

I have a tough time going in to “Circle K”, because it is still Mac’s to me.

Getting a slush
It all started one day on the school bus when my neighbour Mike told me about getting a slush at this new store in Coaldale. Up to that point, 7-11 had Slurpees, which were the gold standard for refreshments, but the nearest one was in Lethbridge. The closest thing we had in Coaldale was Red Rooster and its “Slush Puppy”. That, however, was essentially crushed ice with flavouring squirted over top. It was basically a snow cone in a cup. Once the flavouring was sucked out, all that was left was half a cup of off-white crushed ice.

Enter Mac’s, a brand new convenience store in town and its signature drink – the “Slush Cat”.

It was just like a Slurpee, but it was in Coaldale.

Interestingly, back then, the slush machine was behind the counter and you had to order one at the front. That changed long ago to self serve – thankfully.

Special cups
One day, we were in Mac’s and, behind the counter stacked on the slush machine, were decorative collector cups. They were plastic with a different logo of an NHL hockey team. Being a collector – and a completist – I set out to collect all 21 cups.

They did not cost extra when you bought a slush, so I really did not have to convince my parents. Instead, I methodically worked until I assembled a complete collection of NHL cups. What made it easier, was I could ask the guy behind the counter for a particular one, and he would do what he could to find it.

I found those cups again when I was cleaning out my mom’s basement a couple years ago, and I am pretty sure I kept all 21 cups. I know for sure I kept the one for my beloved Boston Bruins.

Not big Coolossal
After awhile I tired of “Slush Cats”. They were refreshing, but when I was really thirsty, drinking them too fast game me a brain freeze. What ended up being more refreshing for me, especially when I finished playing outdoor basketball, was a Coolossal Cooler.

The Coolossal Cooler was Mac’s answer to another big 7-11 seller – the Big Gulp. The Coolossal Cooler was just a big cup that we filled with ice and pop. It sure went down nice on a hot day.

For whatever reason, I got it in my head I would look cool if I had the floor of the backseat of our family car, a 1974 Oldsmobile Omega, full of empty Coolossal Cooler cups. After awhile, it did not look cool, it was just kind of gross, and I cleaned it out.

Still, I distinctly remember, in the summer of 1987, just after Grade 12, I would drive through Coaldale on the way back from work or a trip to Lethbridge, and shoot hoops on this outdoor court in Coaldale. The session always ended with a trip to Mac’s for a Coolossal Cooler, which never survived the trip back to the farm.

Hanging out
The Mac’s in Coaldale was also a place to hang out. I did not drive to school until Grade 12, but I do remember after school one day going to Mac’s, and it was packed with cars from Kate Andrews – the high school I went to – and it was a really neat place to be, hanging out with everyone, but not at school.

What really stands out is this memory, again from the summer of Grade12, not too much before I left for university in Edmonton.

My best friend had dated this girl, who then cheated on him. He ended up being okay with that, but I was not. I was the loyal wing man. Well, Chris and I were at Mac’s one day, just climbing into his orange Pinto with a couple drinks. He had just installed a new stereo, and we had it on a pretty low volume. Well, she appeared at Chris’ door and, much to my chagrine, he rolled down the window. Then he started talking to her. When she responded, I turned the volume way up. Without looking at me, he turned it down and kept talking to her. When she started to respond, I turned the volume way up. This went on for a couple minutes, until they both realized they had nothing much to say.

When Chris pulled out, he asked me why I kept turning up the volume. I didn’t even like the song.

“Nobody cheats on my friend,” I said.

He half smiled and gave me a nod.

A change of scenery
That pretty much was the end of my relationship with Mac’s in Coaldale, but the story does not end there.

Right across the street from Kelsey Hall, the student residence I lived in, was another Mac’s. That would become a regular spot for the first two and a half years of my time in Edmonton

Night life after dark
Starting in my second year, various members of my floor – 5K – and me, would go to Mac’s usually after midnight. That’s when life got strange.

It started when my friend James got drunk one night and harassed the night staff, a fellow who I discovered was named Scott. James stared him down, weirded him out, then grabbed Scott’s broom, broke it over his knee and threw the pieces on the roof. Apparently, this was triggered by Scott mentioning he could sense things. He had psychic powers.

James told me this story so, a couple days later, I went to Mac’s with someone and Scott was working. The guy I was with had come to know Scott. When we got there, he was very nice to Scott and Scott was nice too. As for me, Scott did the 1988 equivalent of ghosting me. I ended up going back to 5K, while my buddy stayed to talk to Scott.

A few days later, I was back after midnight, and Scott was working. This night, he apologized to me.

“You know – Rob – that’s you name right? I see things.” I smiled as he said that.

“I see things too,” I replied.

“No I, you know, sense things,” he said. “I have psychic powers.”

“Oh, okay,” I said.

“The other night, I had a very bad feeling about you,” he said.

“Maybe it’s just the company I keep,” I muttered.

“But I was wrong,” Scott said. “Your friend vouched for you.”

After that, Scott was not only nice, but shared more about his psychic journey.

The other outstanding memory was that Scott had this tiny oblong head with a wispy beard. He wore a big tan-coloured parka, and it looked like his head just floated on top of the coat. It was kind of odd.

Games night
It was a long time ago, in a place far away when we still had to leave our homes, and pay money, to play video games. At least the games with the best graphics and playability.

So, yet another service Mac’s provided was a stand-alone video game that was available literally 24/7 (before that was even a term).

Back then, the goal was to advance as far as you could until you “wrapped the game”. That meant you played until the programming ran out and the game went back to the beginning, usually at a much higher speed.

Today, after you died with your final life, you can pick up exactly where you left. In 1988, when your paid time was up, you went right back to the beginning. But soon, you could pick up where you left off – by popping in another quarter. So, getting as far as you could, or getting the high score, was as much about money as skill.

There were two games at Mac’s that I spent a small fortune on trying to get the high score, and get as far as I could.

One was Wonder Boy, a game similar to the Donkey Kong and Mario games, where you ran and jumped, picking up treasure and points by walking or running over things. The other was Armor Attack, where you ran a tank through various missions that got harder as your tank got more and more powerful.

They were both highly addictive, but a lot of fun.

Hockey time
Mac’s was also synonymous with a hockey tournament in Calgary that brought in some of the best Midget, now Under-18, teams in the world. Dozens of players from a variety of countries beyond Canada and the United States played at the Mac’s Midget Tournament. That was where a young Czech player named Petr Nedved defected, and where I saw Stacy Roest, a player from my own hometown of Coaldale, play. He was the first player from Coaldale I ever watched play on TV, I’m pretty sure.

Parting thoughts
When Mac’s became Circle K, it truly was the end of an era. Mac’s was more than a convenience store, it was a part of the fabric of Canadian culture.

It was also part of my life.

From the time I left home in 1987, I would never be without a Mac’s close by. When I moved out of res for the summer of 1994, I lived in a house literally next door to a Mac’s. When I lived in Fort Macleod, initially there were two Mac’s, with one in walking distance of where I worked. The same held true when I moved to Claresholm.

Whether it was where I bought Slush Cats with special NHL collector cups, or Coolossal Coolers after a basketball game; hung out with my friends; played video games; or flirted with the occult, Mac’s was always the back drop.

I was sad to see it go, because it felt kind of like my cat died – or at least Slush Cat.