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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.

Rescuers search for trapped families in the Marsh, in aftermath of Hurricane Hazel. From "And The Swamp Flourished", by Albert VanderMey, published 1994, available in Bradford at d'Olde Stee.

This photo is taken from west of Hwy. 400 after Hurricane Hazel (Oct. 15, 1954). Debris is shown piled up along Hwy. 400, which is on the far side of the hydro poles. The top of a long pile of bagged onions can be seen in the foreground. Note: onions were not used as sandbags.

Meeting on the Highway 400 for clean-up. Photograph from in Betty Kennedy's 'Hurricane Hazel,' found in the Local History Collection.

Index to the Map & Plan Collection held in the Bill & Erica Marks Archive Room.

Jake Verkaik's house and Rhebergen's trailer after Hurricane Hazel hit.

Photograph of John Stam and Gertie (de Haan) Stam. John was born on July 20, 1907 in the Netherlands and died February 21, 1986. Gertie was born on April 17, 1915 in the Netherlands and died April 13, 2003. They married May 4, 1935 in the Netherlands, immigrating to Canada in 1953 and then moving to the Holland Marsh area in 1954. John's occupations included river barge operator and contractor and Gertie's was as a RNA in a Bradford nursing home. The couple had 11 children.

Mrs. Katarina Spek made the front cover of one of the Toronto newspapers after Hurricane Hazel struck. The caption reads: "Work of saving what they can from desolation of what was one of Canada's richest market gardening areas continues. Mrs. Rudolf Spek, mother of three children, including a son in the Canadian Army in Korea, has salvaged a bag of onions."

"George Murray Gillam, 29, of R.R. 3 King, was drowned in the canal, Holland Marsh, in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Werner Ploder, son of Mr. A. Ploder, Holland Marsh, was returning home around 1:50 a.m. when tat the bridge, located at the far end of Ansnorveld, he saw the lights of a car in the water, and hurried to his home from where he called the King township police.
Bradford firemen were called, responding to the call at about 2 a.m. and they took the young man's body from the water, and a few hours later hauled the car out.
The car had gone through the guard rail of the bridge, where the water is about seven feet deep. Mr. Gillam was alone in his car."

"Had Come from Toronto Thursday - Went Bathing After Day's Work

Mushaelo (Michael) Bohoniuk, 25-year-old Ukrainian, of 70 Runnymede Rd., Toronto, was drowned in the Holland Marsh irrigation cala, at a point where the canal skirts the rear of Mr. J.W. Wilson's farm, late Saturday afternoon.
The drowned man, it appears, had come up from Toronto on Thursday and had secured work with Anglo del Zotto and F. Bollsanelo, market gardeners. Having finished work on Saturday afternoon, he had decided to bathe in the canal. Undressing and donning a pair of trunks, he left his clothes in his employer's shack, started out apparently for the canal, and nothing further was seen of him alive. ..."