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Description : Tom Fuller Remembers Working on Marsh with Professor Day

Tom Fuller is one of many long-time Bradford residents who has a wealth of information about the town and surrounding area's past, as well a as few good anecdotes.

This article is the first of what is hoped to be many featuring some of our long time residents wo have a good story to tell.

Mr. Fuller was one of the early workers on the Holland Marsh. He knew and worked for, and later alongside Professor William Day, who is generally credited with "creating" the rich farmland of the area.

When Professor Day died in his fields on July 5, 1938, Mr. Fuller was nearby. He served as pall bearer at both Professor Day's and his wife Ethel (Williams') funerals.

The first job Mr. Fuller has in the marsh was in 1927 as a diver, swimming down under the dredges that had been used to construct the canals. His job was to undo bolts, in order to dismantle them.

"I'd dive down, take the wooden deck plates off, come up and have a cigarette, and go back down again," Mr. Fuller said, in an interview at his home in town.

He got the job because he knew how to swim. He had arrived from Australia on "Friday, the 23rd of May," he says, and he needed a job.

He was 19 at the time, having arrived in Australia three years earlier from his birthplace of London, England.

He left for Canada with friends, and ended up in Bradford because his older brother Bill lived in town.

At that time, the canals that outline the farming area had been dug, and all that was left was to build a dam to link the two, he says.

"They buried old car bodies by the dozens to get a footing, then planting willows to anchor it," Mr. Fuller says. "That's when I met (Professor Day) and found out he'd planned and supervised the draining of about 10,000 acres."

Mr. Fuller remembers how the marsh came to be drained and eventually became one of the richest agricultural areas in the province. He doesn't think enough people remember Professor Day's part in making a dream he and few other shared, become a reality.

While there had been plans as early as the late 1800's to drain the area to use the peat for fuel, it was not until about 1910 that a Bradford grocer, David Watson, approached Professor Day at the agricultural college in Guelph.

The professor tested the muck soil and decided it was ideal for vegetables.

At the time, hay was harvested from the area to make mattresses.

Horses were used to cut down the hay, and Mr. Fuller says they were equipped with wooden "shoes," so they wouldn't sink too far down into the mucky soil.

Professor Day developed a syndicate that purchased 4000 acres by 1912. But the draining of the area was delayed by the war and depression.

After many submissions to the local councils in Bradford, King and West Gwillimbury, provision was made for the draining in the Municipal Drainage Act of 1924.

In that year, Professor Day resigned his position as head of the agricultural and engineering departments at the Guelph college, and moved to Bradford.

"He gets 100 per cent credit," Mr. Fuller says. "Many farmers here had useless land but when it was drained, it became valuable."

But it was to be many years yet before the marsh was to produce at its potential.

Mr. Fuller worked on the finishing portions of the drainage, and for a few years left the marsh to work at the Toronto Furniture Company on Holland Street East, next to Spence's Mill.

"We made reed and fibre furniture - summer furniture," he says.

When the depression hit in 1929, Mr. Fuller went back to Professor Day for a job.

"He had the land going by then," Mr. Fuller says. "The wages were good, 20 cents an hour. I worked that year cleaning up the crop." Professor Day owned a large portion of the land at that point, Mr. Fuller says.

"But it didn't do him any good because of the depression. You couldn't sell anything. They were really hard times. Married men worked for 17 cents an hour, single for 15 cents...I got a raise as foreman the next year and got 20 cents."

Most of the crops were lettuce and celery, and those were considered luxury items during the depression, Mr. Fuller said.

A lot of other men who worked in the marsh still live in the area, he says, and as he starts to name them off, he says he'd better not forget anyone, or he'll hear about it.

"Harold Taylor still lives in town, and Homer Henbest. His father was principal of the school at Amsterdam."

Amsterdam was a community between Bradford and Holland Landing, Mr. Fuller explains.

"Harold's mother was a teacher there, and his dather was a minister."

Other names Mr. Fuller remembers from the early 30's on the marsh included Wilbert Mullus, Herb Taylor, Bob Edney, Bill Semenuck, Frank Marino and Gordon McKelvie.

"I musn't forget any, they'll never forgive me," Mr. Fuller said.

There were also many families from Holland Landing -- the Fosters, Ellis', Wests, Landridges, Thompsons and Bekes, who were from Amsterdam.

"I worked for Mr. Day from 1930 till 1938, when he lost his land. He lost everything," he says.

"You have to keep in mind the great depression. We had thousands of crates of celery and lettuce. They were considered luxury foods which no one could afford.

Although Professor Day, along with many others, recognized the potential of the marsh, it was never really successful because of the depression, legal entanglements, and the Canadian farmers who weren't used to farming the muck soil.

While Tom Fuller Remembers 1930 as the year Professor Day visited the Dutch embassy in Toronto, other reports state the Dutch ambassador, John Snor, visited the area and decided farmers from the Netherlands would be ideally suited for the land.

Fourteen families that had settled in the Hamilton-Burlington area were convinced to come to the marsh, and settle in the southeastern portion. They were helped out by a three-way loan of $600 split evenly between the three levels of government.

When the three municipalities involved couldn't come up with their portion, Mr. Snor obtained the money from his government.

The first small settlement on the marsh was named in honor of Mr. Snor and his daughter Anne. The Dutch heritage of the hamlet of Ansnorveldt is still felt in the community just south of Bradford.

The first two years, 1934 and 1935, were not very successful, but by the next year, farms were flourishing.

Professor Day, "saw the marsh become successful," Mr. Fuller says.

"He talked to himself quite a bit...I remember his looking out and saying he wished his father could see him now, how successful he was."

The professor was speaking of the success of the farms, not his own financial success, Mr. Fuller said.

"He never cared about making money."

The marsh never really took of financially until halfway through the war, Mr. Fuller says. The government needed crops for the troops in camps all over Canada, and many of the vegetables were purchased from the marsh farmers.

Before that Professor Day had lost much of his land because he couldn't sell his crops. But he kept a small parcel, and called his farm KingGwillimBradGardens.

It was on his farm on lot 8, as Mr. Fuller describes it, that Professor Day suffered a heart attack.

"I was on my own lot, number 5, and he was on lot 8, I saw Bill (Day) go roaring out saying something was wrong."

"It was mid summer, a hot day. He had a heart attack right in his celery field."

Mr. Fuller continued farming for a few years after Professor Day's death, and decided h was going to expand his small roadside vegetable stand into the largest on the highway.

It was not to happen though. While at his friend Ron Bedford's cottage on the Severn River one day in the spring, he heard the news the Germany had invaded France.

"I'd been listening to that, and watching the trains go by taking the first divisions to fight."

"I told my wife one day I was going to Barrie and when she asked why, I said because I had joined the army."

Mr. Fuller fought in France, Holland, Germany and Belgium.

"I was taken prisoner in the last month," he says. "On the 10th of April we were out in Germany between Bremen and Hamburg."

His brother has taken over the farm, and when he got back to Canada, Mr. Fuller was determined to get back on the land.

He knew his land on the edge of the marsh had been farmed for enough years that it wasn't as productive as it could be. He wanted to get more toward the centre of the marsh, where he says the land is better.

He got his land, and made a living selling his produce from his oldest son George's truck, which they drove throughout the area - Queensville, Keswick, Jackson's Point, Sutton are the places he mentions.

With the money he made, he was able in 1958 to pay off the mortgage on the home he bought through the Veteran's Land Act in 1946.

He still lives with his wife Ethel in the home at the corner of Colborne and John Streets.

"This house was built in 1945," and was at the limits of the town then, he says.

"The fence at the back is from the 1800's. North was the Stoddart farm."

"There are boards in this house from the old Good's Elevator," that was built in the mid 1800's near where the GO train station is now, he says.

"It was pulled down in 43 or 44. Don (Collings who built the house) knew where to get good wood."

When he "retired" from farming, he worked for eight years at the Federal Farms chip plant.

"Do you remember Mad Hatter chips? I cooked Mad Hatter chips and cheesies."

After he "retired" from that job in 1965, he went to work in the town liquor store, where he had worked in the farming off-seasons in the past.

After four years in the liquor store, he finally settled on a real retirement.

The spry 78-year-old is kept busy around town and in his large backyard garden. He does the shopping because his wife is mostly confined to home with arthritis.

"I do everything," he says. "Unless I get a chance to go fishing, and if I get a chance, well that takes precedence over everything."

Retiring After 31 Years Brings Her Mixed Emotions
By John Slykhuis

After 31 years of teaching about 1,000 pupils at Bradford Public School, Barbara Stewart is retiring at the end of this school year. It's a thought that brings a mixture of emotions for her. One one hand is the anticipation of doing the things she has been dreaming of for years: travelling extensively in winter and relaxing at her cottage in Minden in summer. On the other hand: "I'm going to miss the children," she admits, "And the staff too. I have many good friends here." Her last class, she says, is particularly special. "I'm really enjoying this last class. This is one of the nicest classes I've ever taught." This Grade 3 class, like the one she started with in 1941, is small and close, almost like a family. She had 13 children to teach in a small one room schoolhouse in Markham Township that first year, and they represented all eight grades. Five years later, she started at the old Bradford Public School, and she has been here ever since. There are so many memories here for Miss Stewart that it is difficult for her to pick out any one, but one does stand out in her mind. Several years ago, the Lions Club of Bradford brought over a crippled girl from India, Vanita Khubchandi, to have an operation at Sick Children's Hospital in Toronto. While here, she attended Miss Stewart's Grade 7 class. "She came every morning in an ambulance on a stretcher. She had to lie flat on her back all the time...The children really took to her." Then the day arrived for her operation. "The biggest thrill was the day she walked back into the classroom. Oh, the children were so excited. They had a party for her." Miss Stewart still hears from her occasionally and reports that she is walking well and has just finished high school. There are other memories too: walking through snow bank in the early years only to find out when she arrives that the school was closed; teaching her favorite subject, music; and taking the girls' choir to Newmarket where it won first prize. She taught a huge 45-pupil Grade 4-5 class a few years ago ("that was the most challenging and the most rewarding"), and watched the growth of children just arrived from other countries ("It was most rewarding to see them learn the language and go on to do well"). And what about the modern school system? "Well, I approve of the new standard of reporting the progress of a child. But I would far sooner talk to the parents. It's better than any report card. You find out so much more about the child." She adds however, "I believe in marking. I don't see how you can teach without it." Home for Miss Stewart is Markham, where she spends every weekend with her family, and until recently she was the organist at the Markham Presbyterian Church. "I retired as the organist last June. I guess you could say I'm tearing up all my roots...no, routines. I'm tearing up all my old routines." Although she is leaving Bradford for good at the end of this school year, Miss Stewart has reassured her friends that she will be coming back often to visit.

Description : Early Days of the Marsh

Today, one of the richest and most widely known Garden Tracts in Ontario is the Bradford or the Holland Marsh. In the vegetable stores across Canada and in parts of the United States you will see potatoes, celery, lettuce, onions, and carrots, etc., bearing the label "Bradford Marsh" or simply "Marsh" as a sign of quality. But, the Bradford Marsh was not always a gardener's paradise. Unbelieveable as it may now seem, it was once nothing but an impassable marsh of Tamarack swamp, covering thousands of acres.

Beginning about Schomberg and flowing, or moving in a very sluggish manner in a northeasterly direction towards Lake Simcoe is the stream known as the Holland River, so named after a Major S. Holland, Surveyor General of Canada, who in 1971 visited the river in making a general survey of the Lake Simcoe region. This is the main river and it is joined by an eastern or Holland Landing tributary at a place called Soldier's Landing or Soldier's Bay about seven miles from the mouth. At one time, navigation to Lake Simcoe points from Soldier's Landing consisted of small craft. In 1850, when boats were larger and the western or main branch of the river was found to be much easier to navigate, having deeper water and broader streams and not so choked with marsh as the eastern branch, the steamer "Beaver" went on to the Bradford Holland River Bridge.

In 1819, the first settlers in South Simcoe, the Wallaces, the Armstrongs and the Algeos, crossed the river with great difficulty and landed at what is now known as the old wharf in the Scotch Settlement. Here for some years was the only river crossing and that was by a ferry pulled by ropes.

But by this time, the settlement at Bradford had become an accomplished fact and the question of some method of crossing the marsh and so as to give easier access to the Holland Landing had arisen. Petitions were sent to county councils and to the Government and finally under the constant urging of William Armson, Reeve of West Gwillimbury and Warden of the County, money grants were given and a road was made from Bradford to the river by laying logs across a width of marsh and filling in with earth. This was the corduroy road, the logs of which were still visible many years afterwards. Then to cross the river a floating bridge was laid down and a through direct road from Bradford to the Landing was completed and the Marsh was at least partly conquered. The ferry at the old wharf was discontinued.

In 1837 George Lount, Government Surveyor, surveyed as a townsite, the spot on the south side of the river just beyond the floating bridge, known as Amsterdam and the streets were laid out bearing such good Holland names as DeRuyder, DeWitt, VanDyke, Rubens, etc., but the townsite remained as only a townsite and no town arose, so in 1869 a lumberman named Thompson Smith acquired the patent of the unused site and built two sawmills, one on each side of the road just beyond the bridge. And the marsh was still largely unconquered. Rafts of logs were brought up the river by the tugs Victoria and Isabella, and this helped to keep the river fairly clear of weeds. The wreck of the Isabella lay near the railway bridge not so many years ago and it now probably lying on the bottom of the river.

The superintendent of the sawmills was James Durham and in 1870, Mr. Durham cut the floating bridge in two in order to get his logs through and this caused a lot of trouble but led to the erection of a bridge above the water. This bridge was 420 feet long and was complete in April 1871, the builder being Thomas McKonkey of Gilford.

To the many men working in the mills the great marsh became a familiar sight and the thought entered someone's head, why not cut that marsh grass or hay, twist it into ropes and sell it, and so was born the marsh hay industry and some use at last was made of the great wasts of land. The hay was twisted into long ropes. Later, hay-balers were brought into use and the hay was baled instead of twisted into ropes.This marsh hay was used for stuffing mattresses. Marsh hay twisting and baling went on for years and might still be the only marsh industry had not a bright idea entered the head of one D. W. (Dane) Watson, an intelligent, energetic young farmer of the Scotch Settlement who, however, had come into Bradford and acquired a grocery business where the Village Inn now stands.

This bright idea was, why not dredge a canal and drain the marsh and so turn waste land into productive soil? Mr. Watson got Professor Day of Guelph Agricultural College, interested in his idea and so was laid the germ that has sprouted into the now famous Bradford Marsh Gardens.

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 : A short essay about the Children's Entertainment Series in Bradford West Gwillimbury.

For more information on the Children's Entertainment Series please visit the BWG Public Library Local History Room.

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.

"Tom Gardner, longtime hardware store owner and active member of many community groups, has been named the Bradford and district citizen of the year by the Chamber of Commerce. ..."

Event Date : January 25, 1891
Event Type : Death

Synopsis:
Age: 73 years, 9 months, 26 days. Born at Old Castle, County Meath, Ireland in 1817. Emigrated to Canada in 1819, and settled on lot 24, concession 5, Tecumseth. Married Margaret Sutherland of West Gwillimbury, and they moved to lot 4, concession 6. Widowed, and married Miss Sharpe of King Township. He had a daughter who married Ingham N. Sharpe, and now lives in West Toronto Junction. Died of a paralytic stroke. Interred at St. John's Cemetery, Tecumseth.

Event Date : Thursday, April 10, 1902
Event Type : Death

Description : "Age: 64th year. Born in Bradford on December 12, 1838, as the second, but oldest living son of Thomas and Jane Driffill. His father, Thomas, had come to Bradford before it was a town, and was first married in 1830. His first wife died, and he remarried, and had eight children. Only four survive: Mrs. Jeffs, Bond Head; James Driffill, Toronto; Mrs. T.S. Graham, Bradford; Miss C.E. Driffill, Newmarket. Joseph was married in May 1869 to Margaret E. Clinkenbroomer, daughter of Joseph Clinkenbroomer, then of Bradford. They had four children, of whom Alfred and Edna survive. Arthur died in 1894 at age 24 (or in 1895 at age 25), and Louisa in 1898, at age 23. Joseph partnered with his brother James and ran a hardware store on the corner of Holland and Simcoe Street. Interred in Mount Pleasant cemetery."

Contains an index of titles in the George & Helen Jackson Heritage Room based on genealogical resources specific to Simcoe County, including specific sources on Tottenham, New Tecumseth, Alliston, and Oro Medonte. We also have a large section on Barrie and Innisfil history within the collection.