"A 50 suite senior citizens apartment building will be built in Bradford early next year. Last week, council and the town planning board met with officials of the Ontario Housing Corporation and the plans were revealed. OHC recently purchased five acres of land from the municipality in the west end of town on Miller Park Avenue. The suites will be available to senior citizens who presently reside in Bradford and West Gwillimbury. The rents will be geared to income. The contract for the building is expected to be let later this year and construction to be started in the spring of 1975. Town council has been working for almost four years to obtain the senior citizens apartment. The long delay was due to difficulty in obtaining a suitable site for the project. Last year, the town purchased almost 13 acres of land from the provincial government following the closing of the old Department of Highways garage. The original proposal was for 15 units but it was increased when West Gwillimbury council expressed an interest."
"A pressure vessel manufactured by Bond Head Welding is seen here starting its route to Toronto. Weighing 18 tons and holding approximately 15,000 gallons the tank was ordered by B.P. Oil. It took two men four weeks to construct the vessel."
"Bruno Cavallo is having a good time in Bradford. At least you'd think he would be, having sold 'about 10' paintings from his showing at the Royal Bank. Mr. Cavallo has also painted five local scenes from around Bradford and the local countryside, some of which are on display. The show, which ends on Wednesday, September 25, features a draw for one of Mr. Cavallo's paintings."
"Mrs. Gwen Kilkenny has been chosen as Bradford's Citizen of the Year by the Bradford and District Chamber of Commerce. Mrs. Kilkenny will be honored at a banquet and dance at the Community Centre this Saturday, April 5. She received the award for her work over a period of years particularly with the Canadian Cancer Society." Note: the banquet was delayed for a week (to April 12th) because of a massive snow storm on the original Saturday (April 5th).
"The tenth running of the Canadian Open Sheep Dog trails, held in Bond Head last weekend, drew contestants right from Oregon through to Nova Scotia. In spite of inconsistent weather, Dog trail organizer Bill McMichael says, "the spectator attendance was about the same as last year, standing at about 1,000 over the two days." He also said, 'The interest in sheep dog running is very strong in the U.S. However, there the interest is more in running the dogs than in the spectator sport.'"
The one-storey building with a flat roof located at 21 Barrie St. has been used by many businesses over the years. Tommy Lautonee owned the blacksmith and carriage factory once situated in this structure. George Geddes was the blacksmith there until late in 1937. There was a stable door at the south end of the building and two sets of windows running along the front. There was also a large door going to the rear where there was a stall for shoeing uncooperative horses and a large flat stone circle with a hole in the middle (for pestling steel rims on wheels). In later years, the Bradford Witness (owned by Stewart and Ina McKenzie) moved from Holland St. to this structure. The newspaper also ran a printing shop here. Harvey Marks was a typesetter. Frank Edney and Fallis also helped. After Stewart passed away, Ina ran the business until she retired. (1, 2)
The one-storey building with a flat roof located at 23 Barrie St. (as seen in the photo) replaces the round, metal building originally found on this site. It was an implement store and later the home of a pop business moved here by Keenty O’Keife (?) and run by Dave Smith (who helped deliver in and around the county). The building became a Chinese restaurant owned by Jack Pong around 1938. He ran it until after WWII (when he moved to Holland Street). (1, 2)
The southwest corner of John and Barrie Streets, which is now recognized as 28 Barrie St., was a vacant lot for many years. When Highway 11 was widened, Allan (Wink) Crake built a service station here. Bill Aikens ran it until his death during WWII. After the war, Mr. Hodgson (a retired O.P.P. officer), and then Frank Adamson, ran it. When the station closed, the pumps were removed and the structure became a Becker's Milk store. It was still in operation when this photo was taken in 1995. (1, 2)
The house located at 111 Barrie St. was owned many years ago by Minnie (Spence) Hammel. It was rented to Alec and Mary Spence and Betty. When this house was built (before WWI), a wooden tank with a zinc liner was erected in the floored attic. Water was pumped to the tank by a wobble pump from a cistern in the basement. The cistern collected water from the eaves- trough around the roof. The water that flowed (by gravity) from the wooden tank was used to flush the toilet and fill up the tub before the town had water sewers in 1931. Annie Stone (from Bond Head) eventually moved into this house. She had it updated and an apartment was added upstairs. (1, 2)
Construction of the house located mid-block at 123 Barrie St. (and six others) was begun in 1912 by Lieutenant George Stoddart. When Stoddart went overseas during WWI, the project was completed by builder Art Saint. The house was built in the Edwardian Classicism style. Archie and Minnie (Spence) Hammel moved up the street into this house. They ran a grocery store on the south side of Holland St. (in the second building from Drury St.) and they both died in this house. Minnie left a lot of the Spence records in the attic. These records dated back to 1900 when her father ran a lumber company in Bradford. The two-storey structure has a bell-cast, hip roof. A square plan and simple form are highlighted with a large, classically-inspired porch. The hip roof at the entrance porch is supported by painted, wooden columns and simple, rounded bracket supports. Simple, double-hung windows are balanced within the façade. The dormer window mimics the roof line of the main house. Construction is solid, smooth brick with simple details. According to the 2000 inventory, the house is well-maintained. (1, 2, 3)
