 Sobey and Eliza Sobey, he was three years old when his family moved from the farming community to the nearby then-booming coal mining town of Stellarton.In 1907, his father purchased a meat retailing business in town and became a butcher, peddling meat products door to door on a horse-drawn wagon.In 1912, his father built a 2-storey store in Stellarton's central business district, selling mostly meat and vegetables.