" West Gwillimbury council has nominated Earl Rowe of Newton Robinson to receive one of the jubilee medals being minted by the federal government in recognition of Queen Elizabeth's 25 years on the throne. Mr. Rowe is a former MP and MPP and he was Ontario's lieutenant-governor from 1963 to 1968. Bradford council also recently nominated lawyer Charles Evans, former Warden of Simcoe County to receive a jubilee medal."

"Mrs. Gwen Kilkenny has been chosen as Bradford's Citizen of the Year by the Bradford and District Chamber of Commerce. Mrs. Kilkenny will be honored at a banquet and dance at the Community Centre this Saturday, April 5. She received the award for her work over a period of years particularly with the Canadian Cancer Society."
Note: the banquet was delayed for a week (to April 12th) because of a massive snow storm on the original Saturday (April 5th).

"Innisfil township's first historical plaque was unveiled Sunday afternoon at the farm of Harold Webb on the 13th concession. The plaque commemorates Innisfil's part in 1853, of supplying the tree that would be the mast for the largest ship in the world -- the 693-foot Great Eastern. This 120 foot log was hauled to the water by ten teams of horses. The plaque was unveiled by Hilton and Judy Webb, fourth and fifth generation members of the Webb family."

"Constable Easterbrook of the Alliston detachment of the OPP is shown here with Carl and Clara Pleasance and school bus driver Vera Marie McKenzie. Carl and Clara were presented with pins by the OPP for their great help during a school bus accident, October 3. Carl and Clara escorted students off the bus after it was struck by a car. There was no serious injuries."

"He was a special kind of man. A ready smile, a razor-sharp wit and a concern for his fellow man.... these were the engaging qualities of Frederick Christopher Cook, town councillor, churchman and fraternal brother. Fred Cook was an unassuming man, who reached out and touched the lives of thousands of people. His dedication to public service as a town councillor will be remembered by the many Bradford ratepayers who came to know him and trust him as a man of honesty and directness. Fred was a warm man, who understood people's problems and did all he could to solve them. Besides his open humbleness, he was a man who was concerned about the future of his community."

"Scores of friends, relatives and politicians, undaunted by Sunday's rainy weather, gathered to honor Gwen Kilkenny, Bradford's Citizen of the Year for 1975. During the afternoon, the
Community Centre was filled with well wishers who have known Mrs. Kilkenny and her husband Keith over the years and many of whom she had helped in her long association with the town. Chamber of Commerce President George Allison acted as the master of ceremonies for the informal program. In all, 10 speakers took the floor to express their appreciation for Mrs. Kilkenny's work with the Canadian Cancer Society, Trinity Anglican Church, and her willingness to help anyone in need. Mr. Allison presented Mrs. Kilkenny with a silver try honoring her as the Bradford's top citizen. His presentation was followed by a presentation of flowers by Mrs. Marion Folliot, a good friend of the Kilkenny family. Mrs. Folliot praised Mrs. Kilkenny for her unselfish work in Bradford."

"Stewart Scott McKenzie, a man who was a strong and active force in Bradford for more than 35 years as a politician and publisher for the Bradford Witness and South Simcoe News, died last week in York County Hospital in Newmarket, last Thursday following a short illness. Mr. McKenzie was born in the Village of Paisley in Bruce County where he grew up and was educated. The former publisher of the Witness has a long tradition in newspapering and was one of four sons born to a former publisher of the Paisley Advocate. Mr. McKenzie served in the Canadian Army during World War I. When he returned after the war he resumed his newspaper career and joined the production department of the old Detroit Times. In 1931, he and his wife Ina, also a native of Paisley, moved to Bradford and purchased the Bradford Witness and South Simcoe News from Publisher O.M. Seim. That began a career in this town that stretched over 35 years until the couple retired in 1968 following the sale of the Witness to Gerry and Nona Barker. Funeral services for the man who devoted so much of his life to his community were held on Saturday morning in the chapel of the Lathangue and Skwarchuk Funeral Home on Simcoe Street, in Bradford."

Photograph of the Cookstown cenotaph

"When Jean Keffer asked me to sign her petition to keep Gwillimbury in the Town name, I did so with the following in mind...Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Gwillim was an aide-de-camp of General Wolfe. He was with Wolfe when the General died on the Plains of Abraham in 1759. His daughter Elizabeth married John Graves Simcoe; the rest is history. My own connection to the "Gwillburys" began in 1803, when my 5G-Grandfather, John Eves, a Quaker from Pennsylvania, built one of the first settler dwellings, after he was patented with Lot 108 in West Gwillimbury. He is credited with the first industry in the "Gwillimburys", when he built a sawmill on the Holland River soon after. I even found reference to North Gwillimbury in the 1881 census where my Great-Great grandparents Thomas Lamb and Rachel Eves briefly lived. When I wrote on the Millenium Clock Monument, with assistance from George Jackson, I tried to balance the story of the Town and Township, so that one can see the relationship that existed, where we were intertwined socially, economically and emotionally. My wife Julie and I both spent our formative years in West Gwillimbury, and our two sons are the 9th generation in Ontario as descended from those original settlers on Lot 108. The name Bradford West Gwillimbury may be long and unwieldy, but historically and emotionally it is ours alone."

Medal presented to Canadian Military member, Private E.J. Billings by the citizens of Bond Head in appreciation of his service during WWI. The medal was made by A. Neilly Jewelers in Bradford.