Photocopy of an article from the May 18, 1993 issue of the Era Banner, about historical walking tours hosted by the Friends of the Library to raise money for the Bradford West Gwillimbury Public Library. The photocopy includes some parts of the surrounding page.
Article text:
"The Friends of the Library will hold a walking tour through history this month in order to help raise money for the library.
Even though Bradford West Gwillimbury's public library is down on its financial luck this year, it still has some good friends.
Town council has cut the library's proposed operating budget by $75,000, but the Friends of the Library hope to gain increased support for the facility.
On June 5, the group hosts two historical walking tours in town. The tours begin at 10:30a.m. outside the library and cost $1 for adults and 50 cents for children age five and older. The walks will cover 30 points of interest and are expected to last one hour.
One well-known stop will be the town hall at 61 Holland St. E., which was built in 1862. Over the years, it has served as a school house and a community centre.
Today's community centre at 125 Simcoe rd. is the youngest building features [sic] on the tour. It was built in 1956.
The town's oldest building is the former Edmundson Hotel at the corner of Nelson Street and Holland Street East. It was constructed in 1831 and is now a private residence.
Other major attractions include the railway station on Hwy. 11, constructed in 1900 and visited by Bob Hope in the 1930s, and Bradford Quality Meats, which has operated as a local butcher shop since it was built in the 1840s.
The library board's liaison to the group, Lesley Coo, says the walk is a fitting way to raise funds for the library.
'The tour is an appropriate project because the library has a history room and a collection. Our town has a very rich history,' she says.
Organizers hope the tour will raise $500 toward the library's automation efforts. Each day, more than 400 books are manually checked out.
Over the past five years, circulation has increased by 33 percent.
The board is now considering closing the Bradford Public Library two days a week to get the automation in place. Program cancellations and the closure of the Bond Head branch are also being considered as possible cost-cutting measures.
In the days following the tour, the Friends of the Library will be selling memberships to the group. A one-year membership is available for a minimum donation of $10 and lifetime memberships are $100. They can be purchased at the library, 100 Holland Crt."
