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Municipality :
Community : Bradford West Gwillimbury
Lot :
Concession :
Description : Local Ladies Attend WI Conference
By Mrs. Harold Watson

WATERLOO - The 34th annual officers conference Women's Institute of Ontario (WI) was held May 4 to 6 at the University of Waterloo. The theme of the conference was: to accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream, not only plan, but believe.

The 1982 conference year was public relations officers at branch districts, area levels and branch members at large. Mrs. Keith Hiepleh of FWIO chairman, chaired the meeting. Mrs. Hiepleh introduced Mr. R. McNeil, minister of agriculture who urged all to help support agriculture, to believe in Ontario for it is a great province to live in. We must dream, but also act in the future, self sufficiency, produce our own food. Buy Ontario foods, keep our money in our province, we are helping our economy. This is good PR.

SPEAKER

Guest speaker, Walter Borosa, chief of protocol, government of Ontario, was born in Yugoslavia. Protocol is the rule book that they must follow to gain respect of one another. He has conducted 17 royal visits to Canada, we well as many friends from other countries. This mean good public relations.

Mrs. Hiepleh, in her address, said we, as chosen delegates from 14 subdivisions, had been given a golden opportunity to promote PRO with each other. The WI is celebrating its 85th anniversary. In honor of the founding of the first WI, near Stoney Creek. Mrs. Westerbring-Muller, president to ACCW will be the guest speaker. The topic will be a flicker to a flame. Over 1,000 women are expected to attend.

4-H

Miss Molly McGee, director of home economics branch, Ontario ministry of agriculture and foods brought greetings. Miss McGee reported 4-H groups are the only groups in Ontario who have maintained the highest membership in 1982 with 5,000 leaders and 2,020 WI assistants. These are enthusiastic young women working for our country and WI.

Mrs. Verna Mulloski gave the Erland Lee presentations. This is the 10th anniversary of our purchasing of the Erland Lee home, near Stoney Creek by WI. The committee worked very hard to maintain this home to the original state. The home was built in 1864. The first year, 6,000 visited the home. Mr. Lee organized the teaching of domestic science in the schools in approximately 1885.

DIED?

Bruce Johnston of CKCO TV in Kitchener, was asked to speak to WI. Mr. Johnston said he knew nothing of WI, he thought it had died and gone to heaven. Looking into WI activities and history, he found they were a very large group of dedicated women of the world and deserved a great deal of credit.

A musical, Gilbert and Sullivan's Princess Ida, by students from Waterloo's Oxford Secondary School presented the play Wednesday evening. This was enjoyed by all.

Thursday morning, plenary session conducted by Mrs. J. Born, PROFWIO. Through the untiring effort of Mrs. Adelaide Hoodless, and Mr. Erland Lee cofounders of WI, there are 1,207 branches in Ontario with 27,490 members, 113 districts in Ontario associated country women of the world, nine million members with 30,000 across Ontario.

These people made it possible for over 560 PRO officers of the FWIO to attend the officers conference. These are most important.

Who am I? I am a member of the Women's Institute. Those attending from the Bradford area were: Mrs. Harold Watson, district 14 PRO Simcoe South; Mrs. O Hughes, Mrs D. Jebb, Mrs. A. Haines, Mrs. A. Orr and Mrs. H. Campbell, Shanty Bay musical directors.

Municipality :
Community : Bradford West Gwillimbury
Lot :
Concession :
Description : Women's Institute Celebrates 60 Years

Bradford Women's Institute celebrated their 60th anniversary July 3 at the Bradford United Church.

Women's Institute members from 11 area branches were on hand to help celebrate the occasion, as well as district heads of the organization.

Special guest speaker was Janet Heplieth, past provincial president of the Federated Women's Institutes of Ontario, from Springfield, Ontario. She gave an inspiring speech on the opportunities available for members and spoke of the accomplishments of the organization.

She pointed out that the organization tries to deal with current topics. Recent workshops have dealt with such topics as wife battering, acid rain, and nuclear arms.

"We must continue to speak out on current issues. Our role is to investigate and try to understand the problems, because understanding is necessary to build a better world to follow us," said Mrs. Heplieth.

Mrs. Ada Watson, president of the Bradford branch, and Mrs. A.W. Spence, a long time member, participated in the cake cutting ceremony. Entertainment was provided by the Newmarket Scottish Dance Club.

The first meeting the Bradford Women's Institute was held July 2, 1925, and it is the oldest active women's organization in the town. Projects of the branch have included donations to many charities, help for victims of the 1954 Hurricane Hazel, and more recently the donation of a clock to the Lions swimming pool.

Municipality :
Community : Bradford West Gwillimbury
Lot :
Concession :
Description : Bradford High Thanks Women's Institute for Tree
By Carol Simone

The Bradford Women's Institute has received a thank-you note from Bradford District High School for the mountain ash the institute donated for the school's Arbor Day project.

The women chose a mountain ash because it also provides berries for feeding wild birds in the area.

The women discussed their upcoming trip to Toronto to see a musical at the Royal Alexandra Theatre, and Mrs. H. Steyn and Mrs. S. Klop volunteered to work on the York County hospital cart for the next while.

Guest speaker for the meeting was district president Mrs. Paul Tipping who told the group how women's right have changed over the past years.

The next meeting will feature a pot luck lunch at the home of Shirley Carter. New members are always welcomed and this will be at 1 p.m. on June 20 at Apartment 106, 200 Holland Court. The topic will be educational and cultural.

Municipality :
Community : Bradford West Gwillimbury
Lot :
Concession :
Description : Firemen Handle A Call A Week
By John Slykhuis

The 23-man Bradford volunteer fire brigade handled 46 fire calls during 1976, Fire Chief Harold "Butch" Boyd reports.

That's almost one fire a week, and while most of those blazes were of the minor variety, they kept the men busy.

In addition to protecting Bradford and part of West Gwillimbury, the Bradford firemen also participate in one practice a week, every Monday evening.

The weekly drill includes fire extinguishing practice, movies, and lectures on new fire fighting techniques - all designed to keep the men abreast of the new technology.

The department is equipped with four trucks, a 1955 pumper truck, a 1969 pumper, a 1975 water truck, a 1969 rescue van, all crammed with the latest equipment including power packs, resuscitators, ladders and thousands of feet of hose.

Last year the men also acquired pager communicator units, eliminating the noisey fire alarm downtown and ensuring that every fireman gets the fire call.

Chief Boyd said that when someone detects a fire and calls the emergency number, 775-2121, a switchboard operator hooked into the pager system will immediately call the firemen.

According to Chief Boyd, one of the major causes of fired in Bradford is careless smoking and he urges families to "sit down and plan a route of escape when there is a fire."

He said not enough people plan for such an emergency, and therefore they needlessly endanger their lives.

He had a special message for Bradford residents who live in high rise apartment buildings.

If you detect fire, sound the alarm. If you are in your apartment and you hear the alarm, firs feel the hall door. If it is hot, don't open it.

If smoke begins to trickle under the door, stuff wet rags under it.

The chief said the most dangerous part of any fire is the smoke, which actually causes the majority of the fatalities.

In his 40-year career with the Bradford fire department, Harold Boyd has seen a lot of fired but he remember the February 1, 1959, blaze as the most severe.

"That was a rough one," the chief recalled. "It was so cold, we had to get buckets of hot water from housewives to thaw the equipment."

That fire destroyed the entire block of stores between Evans and Evans to the old Bank of Commerce building.

It took the men all afternoon and most of the night to extinguish it.

The Bradford fire department was well-equipped to handle that blaze, and now, 18 years later, Chief Boyd said, it is better equipped and trained than ever.

It's a comforting thought.

This article was found in the Bradford Womens Institute Scrapbooks.

Municipality :
Community : Bradford West Gwillimbury
Lot :
Concession :
Description : House Damaged by Early Morning Fire

Passerby and the Fire Brigade Control Blazes at Home of Mrs. Geo. Mapes

Fire which is thought to have started from a spark from a freshly lighted stove in the summer kitchen of the home of Mr. and Mrs. Geo Mapes, almost completely destroyed the summer kitchen (a frame extension to the main building), together with many kitchen utensils, grocery supplies, electric washing machine and other household articles, about 6.30 a.m. Friday.

Mr. Mapes had just kindled the fire in the summer kitchen and was in the adjoining room about five minutes later when he heard a sound beyond the door which he thought to be the family cat prowling about there. Upon opening the door leading to the summer kitchen, however, he was met by a sudden burst of flame which enveloped him and scorched his hair and whiskers.

Mr. Mapes rushed outdoors, shouting "Fire!" Mr. Harvey Aikens, his nearest neighbour, already up but not completely attired, heard the shout and at once made all haste to the fire hall, where he rang the fir alarm bell and then started the engine of the fire truck and got it on its way, picking up members of the fire brigade along the route.

In the meantime, Mr. Newman, proprietor of Bradford Dairy, who was passing on his delivery route when Mr. Mapes called, went to the latter's assistance. At this juncture a pail or two of water probably would have quenched the blaze, which appeared to be confined to a small space between the stove and wall of the summer kitchen. No pail was available, however, and the blaze made rapid headway during the very few minutes of delay. Mr. Newman then procured the garden hose, attached them and played water on the house until the arrival of the fire brigade, when the blaze was soon under control.

The summer kitchen was destroyed and all contents. The dining room was badly damaged with water and goods stored in the room above were destroyed. The repair work to be done will be considerable because as well as fire and water damage to the rear wing of the building the whole house was badly smoked. The loss is largely covered by insurance.

Municipality :
Community : Bradford West Gwillimbury
Lot :
Concession :
Description : A Medical Missionary's Life in the Congo

Editor's note:

Dr. Jim Evans is the son of Bradford lawyer C.T.S. Evans and is currently serving with the United Church of Canada's Institute Medical Evangelique in the Republic of the Congo.

Jim and his wife will be writing to The Witness periodically on his experiences in the Congo.

Dear Friends,
We are somewhat uncertain as to how we should formulate our first circular letter as a married couple. Since many of you know only one of us, we feel that some sort of introduction is called for. Thumbnail biographical sketches will be unnecessary for some of you and inadequate for many of you. But they seem to be our only alternative for this kind of letter so we hope that you will understand.

Jim's home is Bradford, Ontario where he lived until he entered the University of Toronto. There he gained his medical degree and completed a year's internship. He then went to British Columbia to work in a home mission hospital of the United Church of Canada. After two years there he had a marked change of scene by going to Congo for four months. Upon his return he "dabbled" in theology for a year and then took a year's surgical residency in Vancouver. It was during the later experience that he decided to return to Congo. Thus, as an appointed missionary of the United Church of Canada, he took a tropical medicine course in Belgium and arrived in Congo in 1965. Three and a half years in Africa were not only quite interesting, but provided Jim with an opportunity to assess the needs. During an extended furlough he took various refresher courses and completed a Master of Public Health program at John Hopkins University in Baltimore. This new experience and knowledge should be helpful as he now oversees the Public Health program here at I.M.E. (Institute Medical Evangelique).

The ship docked in Baltimore on July 29 and it was exactly one month later that we were married. The first week back was spent with Jim's family in Canada and at the end of that time Jim's brother, Bob, was married -- two family weddings in one summer! Then Patty began a very busy but happy three weeks at home in California seeing family and friends after a year's absence and finishing up wedding plans.

Short Honeymoon

Our wedding was as meaningful and happy an occasion as we could have hoped for. All of our family and friends who were able to share this experience with us made it all the more special. For those who could not come, we wish we could tell about it in detail but there just is not enough space.

After a "mini honeymoon" of two days, we returned to pack our possessions and make arrangements necessary to enable us to leave a week and two days later! It was a hectic time but somehow everything was accomplished and we left Covina September 10, spent a day and half in Seattle seeing many of Patty's friends and family there, another day and a half in Toronto and Bradford, and on September 14, left for a two week honeymoon in Scandinavia.

What a wonderful two weeks that was! We spent the longest time in Norway where the scenery was spectacular. We traveled by plane, steamer, and train, thus getting a variety of views of many areas. We stopped in Stockholm for a couple of days and ended our Scandinavian visit in Copenhagen which is, indeed, the charming city it is reputed to be. This stay in Denmark included a trip to the Hans Christian Anderson country which was one of the highlights of our two weeks. September 29 we began the trip to Congo which included a planned layover in Brussels of eight hours and an unplanned layover in Geneva of six hours due to technical problems and the strict security measures. Were we ever happy to arrive in Kinshasa! We were happier still to arrive at I.M.E. which is now our home! After our many travels over the last year we were eager to settle into one place.

Like Home

We have been here six weeks now and, indeed, it does seem like home. Jim is very busy in the public health program for even as current programs continue, the public health team is evaluating the direction in which it is moving and potential opportunities for contributing further to the rural health program of this region, as well as public health interests here on the I.M.E. grounds, Jim is teaching two courses in the school of nursing in addition to taking his share of night calls for the hospital.

Parry has been quite busy as she supervised the painting of the interior of the house after our arrival and is presently doing those final touches to make it look like home. She is discovering the challenges of keeping house and cooking where there is no hot water (although now there is running water all day since the rains started), where there is the constant battle with the bugs, where all water must be boiled before drinking, where doing the laundry is not just pushing buttons on a washer and dryer, etc. One could go on forever -- but the important point is that such aspects of life do not continue to seem as inconveniences but rather become those things one just does in daily living. Patty is also making some progress in her Kikongo study as she attends class two times a week and tries to keep to regular study hours. Her best opportunities to hear it spoken so far have been on road trips when she has accompanied Jim. One trip was to a village with the public health team to carry on clinics, another to a village where T.B. patients were being followed up, and the third to a community health centre which was originally sponsored by I.M.E. and is now becoming independent. These have been fascinating trips as they have been opportunities to see some village life, to meet village people, and to understand better the physical, social and spiritual needs of the Congolese.

Hope

These are happy days for us as we are beginning our marriage, establishing our home, making and renewing many friendships, and joining in the effort to provide better health care. It is with the hope of helping to meet the many needs of these people that we have come; and we trust that our efforts, your prayers and God's participation turn our hope to reality, through our lives Christ himself will become a reality to those we encounter.

Especially, now as Christmas approaches, we are thankful for God's Gift of his Son and we want to take the opportunity of this season to share with each of you our wish that yours will be a most blessed Christmas and a very happy New Year.

Sincerely, Dr. Jim and Patty Evans

Patty Evans

Patty (nee Parks) spent her pre-college years in various California cities where her father has pastored American Baptist churches. She began her college days at Whitworth College in Spokane, Washington, and after two years there, transferred to Standford University to complete the work for her nursing degree. Following a year's work in Covina, California (where her family now lives), Patty entered a Master's program at the University of Washington. She changed the role of student to that of faculty member at the end of a year and taught in a coronary care program at the University. In August, 1969 she began the challenging and exciting experience of sailing on the hospital shop the S.S. HOPE as it made its 8th voyage -- this time to Tunisia. It was a full and busy year as she worked in the Intensive Care Unit and had an opportunity to learn about the language and culture of the patients and the Tunisian counterpart nurses. It turned out to be a year not only for new nursing experiences but also for travel as well throughout Tunisia and to parts of Europe. One of these times was to meet Jim in London for two weeks at Christmas which was, of course, a most happy holiday. The year in Tunisia ended on a delightful note, for Jim, on completion of his program at Johns Hopkins, was able to go to Tunisia to work with the HOPE public health team for the last five weeks and then sail home with all the other "Hopies".

History Group is Established

An historical society for the Scotch Settlement was established last week at Fred C. Cook Senior Public School.

Mrs. Eleanor Reid, of Lefroy, a descendant of one of the Scotch settlers, was named the president of the group, and Dave Sheppard, was named secretary.

The group will gather historical data pertaining to the history of the settlers, from their tragic exile from Scotland to their settlement on the lands in this area.

The most important priority for the group now is to collect all of the information concerning the Scotch Settlement that they can.

Mr. Sheppard said it was crucial that the information was gathered soon, because much of it is in the minds of elderly people in the community, and if they fail to pass it on, it could be lost forever.

Mrs. Reid said she was "really quite pleased with the turnout last week and the interest and enthusiasm shown."

She said the Scotch Settlement was one of Ontario's most important historical sites, and the story of the hardships of the settlers is not only historically interesting, but also romantic.

Many descendants of the settlers still live in the area, and former Prime Minister John Diefenbaker also traces his family back to the Scotch settlers.

The historical society is appealing to anyone who has information, photos or other memorabilia, to contact Mrs. Reid at Box 148, Lefroy.

The next meeting of the society will be held in the Scotch Settlement church June 10.

Description : The flooding of the Marsh on October 15th, 1954, is one occasion not easily forgotten by those who were part of the Springdale community at that time. It had already rained for weeks. We were behind in the harvesting, and most of the onions were still in the field, bagged up and stacked in long rows. On that Friday, October 15th the rain kept pouring down, and an all-time record of 7" of rain was recorded for the Toronto area. Hurricane Hazel had entered the mainland just south of Myrtle Beach, leaving a path of destruction and devastation with winds over 90 miles per hour, and torrential rains. It crossed Lake Ontario near Toronto. At 7:30 p.m. that Friday we received a phone call to leave for higher ground. Laying sandbags on the dikes had proven a hopeless task, as the water that came roaring down from the surrounding hills was just too much. We put some suitcases on the truck and left our house. For a few minutes, the rain stopped, the sky was clear above, and the stillness was eerie. Then it started again: the wind, the rain, the darkness. The roads were full of gullies. Weston Road, then the 6th Concession of King Twp., was under construction, and turned into a river of mud. The water in the canal was close to the top of the dike. I got out of the truck to check whether the bridge was still there. We followed the townline eastward. A 3' wide creek east of Highway 400 had turned into a raging river, boiling 2' high over the small bridge. About 10 cars were standing there, the drivers debating whether it was safe to cross. One look was enough. We turned around and went back to the wooden canal bank road to Wist Road. This road was also full of gullies, washed out by the water coming down from the 400. While travelling south on the 400, we encountered a huge landslide just south of highway 9. The whole side of the hill had slid down, all but blocking the southbound lanes. A Gray Coach bus was lying on its side in the median. That was enough. We turned off at the Aurora side road and sought refuge at the farmhouse of George and Helen Sportel. Already 30 people were there. The men slept downstairs and the women and children upstairs, where the bedrooms were, We had no blankets, beds or pillows for the men, but at least we were high and dry. At 11 p.m., I went back to take a look at our house. It was still there, but the land was under water, and water levels were creeping up the driveway. When I tried to drive a little further, the road disappeared under water. I brought some furniture upstairs, but still did not think that the water would reach the floor, which at that time was still at least 2' above the flood. The next morning at 6 a.m., we climbed a hill, and saw a Holland Marsh that was now a large lake. Only the roofs of the houses seemed to be above the water. It was a cold, still morning, but sunny, and for the first time in weeks it was not raining.

Municipality :
Community : Other - Bradford
Lot :
Concession :
Description : Lieut.-Col. Richard Tyrwhitt.
Born in Simcoe County, on November 29, 1844.
Represented South Simcoe in the Commons in the Conservative interest since February 16, 1882.
Appointed Lieutenant-Colonel commanding the 36th Peel Battalion in February 1886.
Married Emma, daughter of the late Ven. Archdeacon Whitaker, in April 1870.
Interred at St. John's cemetery, Tecumseth.

Contains the exact editions of the Bradford District High School and Holy Trinity High School yearbooks in our catalogue. As well as other miscellaneous school yearbooks.

If you would like to donate any of the missing editions, please contact the Library at lhistory@bradford.library.on.ca