Event Date : Wednesday, July 08, 1981 Event Type : Death
Description : Former owner and publisher of The Bradford Witness died after a lengthy illness. Beloved wife of the late Stewart S. McKenzie, beloved sister of Donalda Crosbie, Toronto, dear aunt of Robert W. Crosbie, loving great-aunt of Alexander, George and Cynthia. Dear friend of Mrs. Ella Langford. Rested at Lathangue & Skwarchuk Funeral Home, 30 Simcoe St., Bradford. Service was held in the chapel Friday at 1 p.m. Interment Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto.
This portrait is of George McDonald, a stonemason and contractor of Bradford in the early 1900s. An article with a short biography accompanies this picture. McDonald worked on the A.E. Scanlon's law office and the Presbyterian Church.
Event Date : Thursday, August 17, 1978 Event Type : Death
Description : One of Bradford's most active and well known women, Dorothy "Dode" Marks died August 17 in York County Hospital in Newmarket. She was 68. Mrs. Marks was born in the home she lived in most of her life the daughter of Walter Reeves, a Bradford police officer for 20 years, and Sadie Saint. She was educated in Bradford attending both Bradford Public School and Bradford High School after which she worked for a short time in the Stein Furniture Factory which stood on the property now occupied by Toby's Restaurant. In 1930 she married Harvey Marks and spent the next few years raising three children Noreen (Hodgson), Beverley (Sanders), and Bill. She also had seven grandchildren and one great-grandson. An active woman Mrs. Marks was a member of the Women's Institute and also enjoyed bowling tennis badminton and baseball. She worked off and on for The Witness for 25 years often working well into the night organizing subscriptions. A tireless worker she was never heard to complain according to co-workers. Mrs. Marks was a member of the community centre board from its inception in 1956 until 1974 running for no wage the concession booth. According to former board member and co-worker Joe Magani, "Dode and Ted Dow ran that thing all year and the only compensation they got was a steak dinner once a year. For almost 20 years they kept that arena out of the red and that's a fact. Our expenses for running the arena were paid by the proceeds of that booth." A descendant of Bradford's pioneer families Mrs. Marks had a thorough knowledge of the history of the area and provided The Witness with many of the historical photos used in the Yesterdays column. Many of those same photos were used in the Bradford Centennial Book of 1957. Funeral service was held Saturday August 19 in the chapel Lathangue & Skwarchuk Funeral Home. Pallbearers were James Church, Jack Church, Gordon Church, Robert Watson, Kenneth Saint, and Bill Enwright. Burial took place at Mount Pleasant Cemetery.
The Bradford Witness decided to release a series of articles from local townspeople on the history of certain events in Bradford and West Gwillimbury's time. This week, the history of the Bradford newspapers are the topic.
Late Mrs. (John) Stibbs, her daughter, Florence (Mrs. Geo. Fogel) and son, Norman. The late Walter Probert was the sign painter. The sign in the window offers "$50 reward for Robber", as stated by Mrs. Fogel in later years. S.S. McKenzie owned the storefront later. Walter Probert was the sign painter.
