Thomas Wells Opens School

The new Bradford District High School was officially opened by Education Minister Thomas Wells last Tuesday in a ceremony involving dignitaries from the province, the county, and the town of Bradford.

About 400 people braved the cold and blowing snow to attend the event, highlighted by a policy statement from the education minister, a tribute to Bradford resident Tom Gardner, and a key presentation from architects Adamson Associates and contractor C.A. Smith to principal Alex Taylor.

A moment of silence was also observed for Simcoe County Board of Education superintendent of planning Syd Owens who died the previous Sunday of a heart attack.

Trustee Sam Neilly said of Mr. Owens, "He was one of the most important men in the planning and design of this school. His sudden passing leaves us saddened."

Addresses followed by MPP George McCague (Dufferin-Simcoe), West Gwillimbury Reeve John Fennell, Bradford Mayor Roy Gordon, and York-Simcoe MPP Arthur Evans who introduced Mr. Wells.

Principal Alex Taylor gave a brief history of education in the Bradford area, which began in 1852 with the opening of a grammar school in Bond Head.

After the railway was opened to Bradford in 1859, Mr. Taylor said, the growth of Bradford warranted the establishment of a school there, and the grammar school was loaded onto wagons and moved to Bradford.

He joked that it was the first portable in the county.

Another school was built in 1890 which burned two years later, and a new brick school was built in 1893, but it too was destroyed by fire in 1923.

In 1923 Bradford District High School was constructed (now the Fred C. Cook Senior Public School) which served as the high school until last year.

Bradford's 1976 citizen of the year Tom Gardner, a long-time member of the school board before his retirement, was honored by the chairman of the Simcoe County Board of Education, C.W. Brown.

Mr. Brown called Tom Gardner "Mr. Education," and described his life-long efforts on behalf of education in the country.

He then presented Mr. Gardner with a plaque naming the resource centre in the school "The T.H. Gardner Resource Centre."

Mr. Gardner received a standing ovation from the assembly, and called the tribute "the highlight of my life."

Director of Education Jack Ramsay pointed out to Mr. Wells that the pressure would soon be on for the go-ahead to an extension for the new school next year.

He laughed, "We are optimistic that there will be no delay for that since Mr. Wells is present here."

Trustee Sam Neilly told the audience that today was Mr. Ramsay's birthday, and everyone promptly broke into a rendition of Happy Birthday.

The program concluded with a guided tour of the new high school.

"As Bernard Horn retired after 30 years of teaching at Bradford District High School, the building ceased to be a high school. Mr. Horne saw each addition built on the old school built on the old school building but he will never teach in the new school, scheduled to open in September. Mr. Horne, geography teacher at Bradford District High School, taught for 42 years. He wasn't always a geography teacher nor was he always a high school teacher. His first post was at a log school house in Muskoka Township. He taught six elementary grades which was a real challenge. Children had to do a lot of seat work as instruction time was limited. During the winter, they were isolated. The nearest doctor was 16 miles away in Gravenhurst."

This portrait is of Robert Stewart as part of the Members of Bradford High School Board of 1906. Other members were T.W.W. Evans, H.S. Broughton, A. Neilly, E. Garrett, and Dr. L.H. Campbell.

Contains news clippings and articles on Bradford High School in Bradford West Gwillimbury

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth visited Canada.One warm evening in June 1939, the elementary school children and parents of West Gwillimbury drove to Alliston to see the Royal Couple on board the train as it passed through the little town. But the train did not stop and thousands of disappointed onlookers did not get a glimpse of the King and Queen. Engineer Harry Toman (brother-in-law of Herbert Bowles) was under instruction not to stop the Royal Train as it was late leaving the Toronto Station. At Midhurst, where 28 peoples were gathered, the train stopped to take on water supplies. King George VI stepped off the train to shake hands with the small group. One of those present was Edith Belfry, teacher of S.S. #9 Mount Pleasant. The Bradford High School students went by train to Toronto where they saw the Royal Couple riding in the Royal Car. The pupils had been given flags to wave and in some places the children put pennies on the railroad tracks.

Contains articles, clippings, and photographs of Bradford West Gwillimbury sports and athletes

This high school was located on Queen Street in Bradford. This is a picture taken soon after the building was constructed in 1892 as the trees and bushes surrounding the school are still quite small. The first head master was S. Arthur Marling. This building burned down in 1924.

This high school was located on Queen Street. It consisted of four large classrooms, two upstairs and two down, and a natural history room. It was built in 1892. The school employed three teachers. In 1900, the number of students was 87. In 1904, it was 144. The first head master was S. Arthur Marling. This building burned down in 1924.

Built around 1923, it is now Fred C. Cook Public School.

This portrait is of A. Neilly as part of the Members of Bradford High School Board of 1906. Other members were T.W.W. Evans, H.S. Broughton, Robert Stewart, E. Garrett, and Dr. L.H. Campbell.