Another Canadian

Probably but I think he also meant in general Teabag.

When you stop and think of the number of troops in a given area, plus wives and kids, it all adds up to a significant population of consumers, not all of whom confined themselves to CANEX or NAAFI stores, so I would think that, over a 25-30 year period, local shops and such absolutely enjoyed a significant amount of patronage...some more than others, of course, as each new "generation" that got posted to an area would be told or carry on patronizing many of the same establishments the previous lot had.

Once we were all gone, their sales graphs would take a sharp decline.

I think larger stores like Karstadt and and Familia and such would likely not feel the pinch as much but here too there'd be an impact. Certainly smaller shops (and for sure specific gasthofs and night clubs!) would be drastically affected.

I'm not sure if this has anything to do with Canadians leaving Soest or if it was just a matter of a retirement, but the gasthof we all knew as "Isenbeck's", along Hiddingser Weg, across from the Belgian Kaserne, was never really that busy with the locals but heavily frequented by Canadian teens.

I remember going in when I returned to Soest in '73 and it was almost empty. "Our" table was still there in 'Canada Corner', and still had our names and nicknames carved in the soft wood. It was rather bittersweet....

Isenbeck's is now a veterinary clinic.