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A hand powered wheat seed grinder. The grinder can be used by holding the handle and rolling it back and forth over seeds until ground. Wheat was one of the agricultural products grown in the Holland Marsh area. Part of a donation by Tom Fuller Jr. that consists of items used in agriculture on the Holland Marsh.

Please contact the library (905-775-3328) if you have any additional information about the contents of this photo.

"A freight train with 22 cars filled with gravel tore up 100 feet of track after it hit a spot on the tracks that was washed out by the more than three inches of rain that poured down on Bradford and Holland Marsh. Damages is estimated at over $1 million for the train wreck alone."

"A 19-year-old Downsview man, Robert O'Brien, was the second driver to end up in the canal in the past four weeks. Mr. O'Brien lost control of his car on Friday night after freezing rain covered area roads with slick ice. O'Brien was not hurt in the mishap."

"Temperatures which dipped below freezing Monday night met resistance from warm water early yesterday, creating what appears to be a grass fire. Icy weather did some damage on the Marsh, but farmers were expecting it. Warmer temperatures are expected later this week."

"The Toronto Telegram, now defunct, ran this week's photographs in the 1950s, showing the Holland Marsh harvest. Even then the marsh was prized for its productivity and the great opportunities for employment it provided. The photos are included in a collection at the Simcoe County Museum in Midhurst."

"After several years of hard work by many people in the Holland Marsh, the senior citizens building in Ansnorveldt was officially opened in a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday. King Township Mayor Margaret Britnell, after complimenting the people of the marsh for their efforts, cut the ribbon to open the club. Secretary of the club, John Van Dyke said the need for a community centre had been growing for several years. In the summer of 1972, Mr. Van Dyke said, a group of marsh citizens decided to organize a senior club. For a while the members used a church hall for meetings but it became apparent this would only serve as a temporary measure, and plans for a building were started. A building fund raised $8,000 in the tiny community and by the fall of 1976 the shell of the building had been erected. More fund-raising efforts through the winter brought the total donations up to $17,000, and grants from Wintario and the federal New Horizons programs added $26,700. Mr. Van Dyke thanked York MPP Bill Hodgson for his efforts, and York-Simcoe MP Sinclair Stevens for helping the club get registered as a non-profit organization."

"'For the fun of it.' That's the reason Grade 9 student Sandra Smith gave as she and about 180 other young people from Bradford District High School (BDHS) pitched in last Wednesday to help six Holland Marsh farmers with the harvest. Sandra and her co-workers came to the rescue after hearing that many farmers are behind in their work because the wet summer and fall limited the use of heavy harvesting machinery. The students worked free of charge and earned the gratitude of the farmers, including Jack Van Es who asked some of them back on Saturday to work for pay. Walter Yarmoluk said the students harvested about $2,000 worth of onions for him, focusing mainly on land still too wet for machinery. Mr. Yarmoluk said he has never experienced such wet conditions in 32 years of farming, from 1938 to 1955 and from 1962 to the present. This year he lost three acres of carrots and two acres of beets because of the rain. The project had to be approved by the Simcoe County school board superintendent, according to Carrol Good, guidance teacher at BDHS. It was considered an emergency situation that is not likely to be repeated this year, she said."

"Twenty-eight years ago, Peter Bierling was helping farmer John Rupke build a new storage barn in the Holland Marsh. Before starting work, Peter carefully wrapped plastic around an old pocket watch his grandfather gave him and placed it in a shoe polish tin. He didn't want to lose it because it was a family heirloom, and he tucked it away in his pants' pocket. A few hours later, Peter discovered to his dismay that the tin containing the watch had fallen out of his pocket. An exhaustive search failed to turn up the watch. Last week, John Rupke was in the process of tearing down the storage barn, and - you guessed it - the shoe polish tin, with the watch intact, turned up. A worker helping tear down the now-old structure found the tin lodged between the walls, in sawdust used as insulation. Mr. Rupke wound the old watch and, sure enough, it ran. He quickly called Peter's son, Louis to inform him of the find. (Peter died a few years ago). The watch had survived almost 30 years, including Hurricane Hazel in 1954 when the barn was half-covered with mud and water. Louis said afterward, "I had always kept the location of the watch in mind. I always thought I knew where it was. I think it's about 100 years old. "It was still in good shape, and it should be - it's had a rest for 30 years," he said. Louis, production manager at Bradford Frozen Foods, plans to have the watch completely overhauled. The shoe tin in which it was found has also become a collectible."

"The Schomberg River dredge was finally launched last Tuesday after an abortive effort the day before. The ponderous machine, built by Louis Devald, slid slowly into the water near Wanda Street, and to the relief of everybody it not only floated, but operated like a charm. Celebrating the event with a bit of the bubbly at right are Art Janse (left) Louis Devald, and John Rupke. The dredge has its work cut out, clearing tons of silt from the Schomberg River."