"At 2 p.m., on Saturday, October 7, a weekend which will long be remembered, began for the residents of Newton Robinson and the Newton Robinson community, when friends of former years came to celebrate the village's Pioneer Family Days. The activities for the celebration were introduced with a parade, which assembled a Poole's garage, and was led by two pipers, Paul and Marilyn Moir of Cookstown, up the hill and into Lloyd Coburn's orchard, which was prepared in readiness for celebrating the occasion." ...
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 Fire of May 25, 1871, and the businesses which rebuilt on Holland Street after the fire, is the topic.
"Friday, June 30th, Midnight, the Centennial of Canada's birthday was welcomed bu the ringing of all the church bells and fireworks. There was quite a crowd of people on the street in Centennial costumes. This proves the point that we are proud to be Canadians. Many thanks to Rev. Saunders for looking after the preparations for the event. The United Church was a very interesting sight on Sunday." ...
"With the Hurricanes battering Florida and the Caribbean this season - Charley, Frances, Ivan and now Jean - residents may be thinking about Ontario's own brush with a hurricane, back in 1954. Fifty years ago, Hurricane Hazel swept into Southern Ontario, confounding the meteorologists who were predicting little more than the usual "tail end" of the storm, and days of moderate rains. Instead, residents were buffeted by hurricane force winds and heavy rains that caused severe flooding - especially in the Holland Marsh. ..."
Newspaper photo of two women, Joan and Mary Holancin, crouched in front of a sign reading "Bradford: The Heart of Canada's Vegetable Industry" with a second sign below it reading "Centennial - Celebrating 100 Years of Progress 1857 - 1957." Part of the centennial festivities was the opening of the district community centre for which residents contributed close to $100,000. The most popular sport in village community at the time was hockey, and the village acquired a new team that year.
"The home-coming for the Bradford Centennial Reunion has brought sons and daughters from the length and breadth of the continent, and even guests from Bradford, England. Bradford churches were filled to capacity on Sunday, when old boys and girls added to the regular congregations, and friendships were renewed following these services." ...
Photograph of Norman McKinstry from the Bradford Centennial edition of the Bradford Witness. He was one of many who returned home to Bradford for the celebrations.
The following set of photographs were taken from the Bradford Witness August 21, 1957 edition, highlighting the Bradford Centennial parade and celebrations. The third prize float of the Centennial Parade was Bradford's Women's Institute float.