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Article on the upgrades to the dePeuter building at 113 Holland St W., operating a decorating business.

Description : Over 250 people packed the former Danube Countries
Community Centre, to participate in an historic event - the opening of the Danube Seniors Leisure Centre, on Saturday, April 25th. The event was also a "thank you" to the members of the Danube Countries Unity Club, and John Zima of Luxury Homes Ltd., whose donations, made the Leisure Centre. The German Club built the Hall 27 years ago, as a venue for its monthly dances and special events, but over the years, the members found it more and more difficult to maintain the facility. "So many parties and weddings, we really couldn't handle it any more," said Club president Matthias Naunheimer. The kitchen, for example, was equipped with huge pots - "not the easiest thing to lift!" Last year, the Danube Countries Unity Club approached the municipality, and offered to donate the Hall, with all of its furnishings and equipment, for use as a Seniors' Centre. It took months to finalize all the legal requirements, but last Saturday, the final hurdles were cleared, and the keys handed to the Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury. Mayor Frank Jonkman called the donation "the most wonderful gift that this municipality has ever received." Mayor Jonkman noted that the agreement still needs to be ratified by Council, but is basically "a done deal". Even so, he said, the facility is "just an empty building" - until the members of the community participate. He hinted that a "little greenhouse" would be donated and added to the facility. The Mayor thanked all of those involved and presented plaques of appreciation.

Article about the history of the Phillips-Stoddart mud brick house, built circa 1837.

Description : William Armson came to West Gwillimbury in 1820, from Nottingham, England. He served in the Britisharmy and had been decorated for outstanding service during the Peninsular Campaign of the Napoleonic Wars. In recognition of his military service, he was granted the 200 acre parcel described as Lot 5, Conc. 7 in West Gwillimbury, on the northwest corner of County Rd. 88 and Sideroad 5. At the farm gate, a Simcoe County Historical Plaque states, "William Armson - elected as the Township's first Councillor in 1843, appointed Warden in 1846, and first elected as Warden of Simcoe County in 1847. He served this position until 1852" - the longest-serving term for a Warden of the County. Armson played a leading role in establishing the County of Simcoe in the 1840s, and was the first Reeve of West Gwillimbury, in 1850. On his death, his son John took over the arm. The south half of the lot was sold to Robert Wood in 1881, and was in possession of the 3rd generation of the Wood family when it was recently sold to developers. The two families - the Armsons and the Woods - had owned this farm for 180 years. While the Armson home is of historical interest because William Armson lived there, it is also of architectural interest. Built in 1843, this farm home is the only two-storey mud block house in Simcoe County, and one of the few remaining mud block houses built in the Township. It was built as a full 2-storey in the prestigious "five over five bay front" style, with end gables and chimneys, and a wing on the rear. It is an excellent example of the impressive homes built in the mid-19th century. As evidenced by the photograph, the exterior - except for the modern window sash - remains largely original. Much of the interior detail is also original, and well-preserved. The remarkable and rare feature is the mud block method of construction. Clay, likely from the farm was mixed with straw in a mud puddle. The mixed mud was placed in moulds, and set out to dry. After baking in the sun, the blocks were removed from the moulds and laid out on boards to dry. This mud block building is and excellent example of the ingenuity of the pioneers in employing local building materials to build their new homes, as they became established in West Gwillimbury. The Armson-Wood house is a building that embodies both local and provincial heritage attributes, and is a wonderful part of the Heritage of Bradford West Gwillimbury.

Article on the murals of Bradford as part of the Downtown Revitalization Project in 1995-96. This article features the Holland Marsh mural on Holland Street West, and the postcards mural on John Street.

"The long-awaited Heritage Assessment of the Armstrong - Van Voorst home on the 6th Line was presented to Bradford West Gwillimbury Council, in Committee of the Whole on May 2nd. Prepared by Su Murdoch Historical Consulting of Barrie, the Assessment was carried out as a condition of draft approval for Christina Homes Ltd.'s proposed 66 unit subdivision on the 10 acre property." ...

"For those of you wondering about the new real estate office, bank and newspaper in town, (and why they're already gone), worry no longer. The film's been shot, the sets have been struck and the actors have all gone home. But for three days last week, Bradford was transformed to the sleepy town of Hope Springs by means of movie magic." ...

Description : These days, there are very few businesses that have been around for 100 years. The Bradford law firm of Evans and Evans is one of those few. Founded in 1894 by T.W.W. Evans, the firm was augmented by his sons, Charles and Brock in the 1920s. Today, "Evans and Evans' refers to grandsons Thomas and Robert. On Thursday, the law firm, which has been in the same building for more than 75 years, opened its doors to family, friends, clients and celebrated its first 100 years. There were photos on display that not only chronicled the history of the Evans family, but the history of Bradford and West Gwillimburry, from turn-of-the-century lacrosse teams, to Bradford's centennial celebrations in 1957, to the sod turning for the new library and West Gwillimbury Administration centre.

Well-trained, service-minded employees. A friendly atmosphere. Quality products at competitive prices. Those are part of the "Homecare" promise - but they have always been the goals at Spence Homecare, even when the business was primarily a lumber yard. Spence Lumber was founded in 1919 by James Spence, on the site of what is now MacDonald's Restaurant and South Simcoe Square. James was followed by his son, A.W., then grandson, Keith Noble. Now it's the 4th generation, great grandson Ron Noble, who runs the operation. Spence Lumber weathered the Roaring Twenties, the Dirty Thirties, the war years, the post-war baby boom, the changes of the '60s and '70s, at its old site. But in the '80s, the increasing trend towards home renovation, and "do-it-yourself" repairs led to a decision to move, and expand. The old retail space, notes Ron, covered only 800 to 1,000 square feet. "We were kind of land-locked, and there was no real growth potential." In 1900, the store moved to its current site at 90 Dissette,where it has 6,000 square feet of retail space, and over four acres of lumber yard - and joined 160 other stores in Ontario under the "Homecare" banner. "It was always a traditional lumber yard, whereas now I would consider it...a building centre," Ron says, explaining the change. The Centre offers "a complete range of everything you need for building, renovating, decorating." The transition from lumber yard to building supply centre has been a smooth one, he says, helped in part by the affiliation with Homecare, "which gives us volume buying power - which, in turn, can be turned over to the consumer," as a competitive prices. But the best part has been the consumer response. "When we moved to this location, the support we've had from our customers and friends was just about the nicest thing." To say thank-you to those customers, Spence Homecare celebrated its 75th anniversary, October 14th to 16th, with a special sales, lucky draws and a charity barbecue.

"Frank Jonkman got into politics very much the same way that he got into the greenhouse business - to meet a need. Jonkman started by building greenhouses for his father's farming operation, using recycled materials that included old television aerials. In the 1970s, other Marsh farmers began to call on him for help with putting up their greenhouses, as his reputation gre for getting the work done at a reasonable cost..."