"He was a special kind of man. A ready smile, a razor-sharp wit and a concern for his fellow man.... these were the engaging qualities of Frederick Christopher Cook, town councillor, churchman and fraternal brother. Fred Cook was an unassuming man, who reached out and touched the lives of thousands of people. His dedication to public service as a town councillor will be remembered by the many Bradford ratepayers who came to know him and trust him as a man of honesty and directness. Fred was a warm man, who understood people's problems and did all he could to solve them. Besides his open humbleness, he was a man who was concerned about the future of his community."
"The Grade One students at Bradford Public school performed two plays last Friday for their parents. One play dealt with Santa and his reindeer, while the other was about the birth of Jesus. The shepherds and wise men gathered 'round and looked on as Jesus was born in a manger."
The former Anglican Church Manse is located at 81 Frederick St. (on the northeast corner of Church and Frederick Streets). The structure was built around 1880 in the Eclectic Neoclassical style. The two-storey, rectangular building has a medium-pitched, hip roof. The line at the front façade suggesting that the building originally had a full-width, front porch is another Regency Revival feature. The symmetrical window openings (with high floor to ceiling heights), a centre hall plan, and a wide entrance with sidelights and a transom are neoclassical features. Dichromatic brickwork at the quoins and window labels, as well as the ‘droopy’ label stops at the windows are Gothic Revival features. The house has solid, brick construction and a stone foundation. According to the 2000 inventory, the existing porch and entrance motif are unsympathetic with the original design. It also notes that, unlike the originals, the replacement windows have no muntins. (1, 2, 3)
The Church was built in 1893 on the corner of Church and John Street, during the pastorade of Rev. F. Smith. It replaced a frame structure that was sold to the Anglican Church to be used for a parish hall in 1893, it was demolished in 1953. The Stonework is by George McDonald, a stonemason. The original name was Bradford Presbyterian Church but was later renamed St. John's Presbyterian Church in 1966. The seating capacity is 350, and the tower stands 65 feet high.
"The established church in Canada is nothing to crow about, according to the new minister at St. John's Bradford Presbyterian Church and Second West Gwillimbury Presbyterian Church. Student minister Bill Lennips, 39, sees a lot wrong with the organized church and he wants more emphasis on the age-old teachings of the Bible. The new minister laments over the church's loss of a leadership role in the issues of the day. Mr. Lennips is replacing Rev. Harold Heustin, who retired earlier this year. He is no stranger to the Bradford area, having worked as a Christian Reformed lay evangelist in River Drive Park from 1969 to 1974. He left the Christian Reformed Church, feeling there was undue pressure to have children attend Christian separate schools. He and his wife Betty have six children: Cindy, Jim, Martin, Robert, Douglas, and Billy. Mr. Lennips says the church should be more active and its ministers less distant from the public. He said new policy committees that have been established by Canadian churches - including the Presbyterian Church - are a step toward a more active role for the church and an impact on world events."
"On September 29th, Trinity Anglican Church in Bradford welcomed Right Reverend George Elliott, Area Bishop of York-Simcoe, to dedicate the altar at the church, and a new set of stain glass windows titled Faith Love Hope"
Sketch of the Rev. Featherstone Lake Osler (1805-1895), who was the first resident clergyman in West Gwillimbury. Rev. Osler was born in Falmouth, England, and left for Bond Head with his wife, Ellen, in 1837. He was an Anglican minister who looked after parishioners spread out over 240 square miles (of Simcoe County). He set up the Anglican Church in Bond Head, which still has a pew from his era in the church.
