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Newspaper article dated 1889 from the South Simcoe News, describing the disappearance and drowning death of William Sutherland, son of Alexander and Elizabeth Sutherland.

Funeral card for William Campbell from 1914. His death occurred on March 29th, 1914 at the age of 75. William was a grain dealer in Bradford.

"Bradford, Jan 22 - A few hours after Mr. and Mrs. Frank Stephenson had been happily skating at the community rink here their bodies were found in their bedroom by their five-year-old daughter, Joan..."

"Mystery, beyond the understanding of the closest friends of the family, surrounds the horrifying tragedy of the deaths of Mr. and Mrs. F.W. ("Bud") Stephenson in their home above the Bradford Bakery, in which business the former was a partner, sometime about midnight on Saturday. ..."

An obituary of William John Watson who died on the 28th of February, 1951 --only about 3 months earlier than his daughter Karolyn Watson. Husband to Ida Banting.

"Charges of neglect have been laid against the mother of the 12-year-old girl who drowned in the Holland River on Monday, August 5, according to the Executive Director of the York Region Children's Aid Society, Donald Van Camp.
Eleanor Lowder, mother of Betty Lowder, the girl who drowned, has been charged under Section 40 part (1) of the Child Welfare Act which makes it an offense for anyone to leave a child unattended for an unreasonable length of time without proper supervision. Under the provisions of the act the maximum fine the court is able to impose in such a case is $200 and a maximum one year prison term.
Hearings on the charge will take place in camera on September 3 in Newmarket family court.
The surviving five Lowder children are in the care and custody of the Children's Aid Society, according to Van Camp. After the accident one of the children was in the care of relatives, according to him, but now all are with the society.
Any inquest into the drowning will have to wait until the charges have been taken care of by the courts, according to Dr. Robert Seaver, who is acting as coroner in the case.
"Its all up in the air right now," said Doctor Seaver, "any charges will take precedent. Until some of these things are straightened out," he said referring to the charges, "we can't go ahead." He is also waiting on further details on the accident to become available from the police and the autopsy report.
The possibility of an inquest will still be up in the air, according to Dr. Seaver, until it is decided if some particular aspect of Betty Lowder's death has to be "...brought out."
The police will only be acting as witnesses and assisting the Children's Aid Society in this case according to Deputy Chief Robert Hood of the York Regional Police. Police could have laid the charge against Mrs. Lowder, but they deferred to the Children's Aid Society in the case.
The drowning was the first case in which Bradford firemen were called to the Marsh area which recently switched to Newmarket for its fire protection. The Bradford department's answering of the call raises the question of the $800 charge which King Township is supposed to pay when the Bradford department enters King.
When asked about the fee and whether it will be charged, Bradford mayor Joe Magani replied, "If someone is drowning and we coulz be of some assistance, I don't think its a matter of dollars and cents."

BRADFORD - They came by the hundreds yesterday (Tuesday) to pay their respects to a dedicated fire fighter - Harold "Butch" Boyd, Bradford's fire chief, who died Saturday in York County Hospital in Newmarket.

He was 64.

Firefighters from across southern Ontario came to pay a final tribute to the quiet, modest man who was buried in full uniform yesterday at Newmarket Cemetery.

His comrades formed an honor guard after a simple ceremony at the Lathangue and Skwarchuk Funeral Home.

Up until the morning before he died, Butch was preparing for a fire safety campaign involving his pet project: having smoke detectors installed in every home in Bradford.

WORK TO DO

His widow Eileen recalls him telling fellow Bradford firefighter Jim Church Friday, "I've got to go down to the fire hall. There's a lot of work to do."

"Being fire chief was his whole life," said Sherran Breedon, his daughter. "The only time he ever went anywhere - Quebec and Regina - was to a convention as Bradford's fire chief.:

Former Fire Chief Ted Gapp remembers Butch as a "real good, dedicated fireman."

He was born in Newmarket, moving to Bradford in 1937 where he opened a butcher shop. He married Eileen in 1942 and moved into the house, coincidentally, directly across from the future fire hall where he would spend so much of his time.

Eileen smiled when she remembered his unorthodox style of buying a home.

"He never even looked inside the place. He just figured that since he was getting married he needed a house."

She fell through the floor as soon as she stepped in for her first look.

36 YEARS SERVICE

Butch joined the fire department in 1943. He was also a charter member of the Bradford Lions Club, although he stopped his activities with the club some time later.

In addition to his profession as butcher, Butch was also a restauranteur, pool hall operator, and manager of the first vacuum plant in Ontario - "A jack-of-all-trades," according to his daughter.

Butch became fire chief after the retirement of Ted Gapp in 1975.

He was an avid curler and belonged to the curling club up until three years ago.

But his first love was the fire department.

Despite recent hospitalization, he continued to organize his safety campaign, arrange the weekly practice drills, conduct school tours, and when the need arose, supervise firefighting.

He was rushed to York County Friday evening after he developed breathing difficulties. He died the following morning.

Harold Boyd leaves his wife Eileen, daughter Sherran (Mrs. George Breedon) of Bradford, three grandchildren, Laurie, Paul and Trish, and a brother Glenn of Scarborough.

Pallbearers were Orville Hand, Bill Breen, Ron Bannerman, Lawrence McKnight, Jim Church and George Allan. Flowerbearers were Ted Gapp, Ken Carter, Roy Storey, Bev Everitt, Gordon Church and Ted Bulpit.

"Excessive Speed is Cause of Fatal Accident on Highway 11
William J. Lees, 28, of 612 Harvie Ave., Toronto, was instantly killed late Saturday afternoon when the car he was driving swerved off the highway south of Mr. Clarence Wood's gateway, snapped off a Hydro pole in the ditch, and threw the driver partly out of the right window..."

"The brutal murder of Robert McKay, young RCAF veteran and his wife, Gloria, on Monday evening [August 1, 1949] of last week, has aroused the people of this province as few such tragedies have ever done before and the setting for this crime appears to be definitely established in the Bradford area..."

Describes the events leading up to Mr. and Mrs. McKay's murder. The two were shot to death and found in Toronto. The killer, Stanley Buckowski, was found in Los Angeles as a serial robber and murderer, where he was charged and executed in 1952 by gas chamber. He was never charged for the McKays murder, though admitted to the crime and of another murder of RCAF veteran, Alfred Edward Layng, in Toronto on July 30, 1949.

Bradford Witness
Vol. LXVIII, #04
January 25, 1933
Page 1