"Some of the queen contestants in the International Harvest Festival assembled on the weekend, representing many of the ethnic groups in the Bradford area. The festival is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, November 5 and 6. Front row: Penny Ackerman, Stella Balon, holding a Ukrainian doll, Shelley Rainey. Rear: Eileen Ferragine, Debbie Riffert, Phylomena Moniz, Michele Wierenga, and Oksana Luczka. Also entered are Karen Brinkos, Christine Jolivel, and an unnamed Canadian girl."
"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."
"Clarence Ritchie (left) of 69 Frederick Street, Bradford, accepts tickets for a trip for two to Mexico from Lawrence de Peuter, owner of DePeuter Interiors. Mr. Ritchie and his wife were the winners in the third annual draw sponsored by DePeuter Interiors."
"The Harvest Queen contestants posed in their ethnic costumes Sunday at the Ukrainian Cultural Centre. From left: Christine Jolivel, Debbie Langley, Fil Moniz, Stella Balon, Harvest Queen Karen Brinkos, Penny Ackerman, Michele Wierenga, Debbie Riffert, Shelley Rainey, Oksana Luczka."
"Karen Brinkos had good reason to smile last Saturday. The attractive 19-year-old Bradford girl was chosen Harvest Queen at the first Harvest Festival held in the Ukrainian Cultural Centre on the weekend. Karen represented the Slovak peoples. Her parents, Mike and Julia Brinkos, won't learn about their daughter's achievement until they return from vacation in their native Czechoslovakia."
"West Gwillimbury Township council appeared to be quite a sedate crew in 1903, when this week's historical photo was taken. Standing are John Lee, grandfather of Sam Lee of Bradford; Charles Stewart; and S. George Hodgson, father-in-law of Mrs. Ernest (Lillian) Hodgson of Frederick Street, Bradford, who submitted the photo. Sitting are Jack Neely; Robert Thorpe; William Wood, one-time postmaster; and Tom Ritchie."
"Leo Catania (centre) accepts congratulations from his wife, Wilma, and his former boss, Jack McInally, at his retirement party last week. Mr. McInally holds a plaque with model inspection tools which was one of the gifts Mr. Catania received. He was director of the farm products inspection service of the provincial Ministry of Agriculture."
"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."
"This week's photo, submitted by Jim Catania of Church Street, shows the Bradford Brass Band in about 1928, on the Speziali Farm on Bathurst Street, now known as Jamaica Farm. Mr. Catania says the band broke up in the mid-1930s. Back row: Emerson Faris, Jack Armstrong, Tom Speziali, George Manton, John Speziali, Wilfred Faris, Jim Catania, and Bill Carlton. Front: Ossie Depew, Roy Delahaye, Ed Callendar, Tom Batchelor, Mr. Eadie, Mac Campbell, and unidentified member. Sitting in front of the group is Dominic Speziali, bandmaster. Also members of the band were Mike Catania and Lorenzo Harvey."
