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Thomas Wells Opens School

The new Bradford District High School was officially opened by Education Minister Thomas Wells last Tuesday in a ceremony involving dignitaries from the province, the county, and the town of Bradford.

About 400 people braved the cold and blowing snow to attend the event, highlighted by a policy statement from the education minister, a tribute to Bradford resident Tom Gardner, and a key presentation from architects Adamson Associates and contractor C.A. Smith to principal Alex Taylor.

A moment of silence was also observed for Simcoe County Board of Education superintendent of planning Syd Owens who died the previous Sunday of a heart attack.

Trustee Sam Neilly said of Mr. Owens, "He was one of the most important men in the planning and design of this school. His sudden passing leaves us saddened."

Addresses followed by MPP George McCague (Dufferin-Simcoe), West Gwillimbury Reeve John Fennell, Bradford Mayor Roy Gordon, and York-Simcoe MPP Arthur Evans who introduced Mr. Wells.

Principal Alex Taylor gave a brief history of education in the Bradford area, which began in 1852 with the opening of a grammar school in Bond Head.

After the railway was opened to Bradford in 1859, Mr. Taylor said, the growth of Bradford warranted the establishment of a school there, and the grammar school was loaded onto wagons and moved to Bradford.

He joked that it was the first portable in the county.

Another school was built in 1890 which burned two years later, and a new brick school was built in 1893, but it too was destroyed by fire in 1923.

In 1923 Bradford District High School was constructed (now the Fred C. Cook Senior Public School) which served as the high school until last year.

Bradford's 1976 citizen of the year Tom Gardner, a long-time member of the school board before his retirement, was honored by the chairman of the Simcoe County Board of Education, C.W. Brown.

Mr. Brown called Tom Gardner "Mr. Education," and described his life-long efforts on behalf of education in the country.

He then presented Mr. Gardner with a plaque naming the resource centre in the school "The T.H. Gardner Resource Centre."

Mr. Gardner received a standing ovation from the assembly, and called the tribute "the highlight of my life."

Director of Education Jack Ramsay pointed out to Mr. Wells that the pressure would soon be on for the go-ahead to an extension for the new school next year.

He laughed, "We are optimistic that there will be no delay for that since Mr. Wells is present here."

Trustee Sam Neilly told the audience that today was Mr. Ramsay's birthday, and everyone promptly broke into a rendition of Happy Birthday.

The program concluded with a guided tour of the new high school.

S.S. #10, Newton Robinson, c. 1884.

S.S. #11, Pinkerton School
This school was named after surveyor and settler Matthew Pinkerton. He built the log schoolhouse in 1840 on the NE corner of his lot (Con. 10, lot 6). A new, brick school was built in 1873 kitty-corner to the old one by Thomas Sleight, and was the first of its kind in the area. By 1908, a better brick school was built with two entrances and a bell tower, the one seen in the photograph. The school was in use at least until the late 1950s.

Bradford High School 1939-40. Principal Mr. G. K. Brunt.
Back Row (l-r): James Shaw, Bill Martin, John Worfolk, Vincent O'Donnell, Donald Rutherford, Bob Faris, Calvin Lapp, Bill Rowe, Howard McKay, Gordon Cillingham, Bill Moriarty, Selby Kneeshaw, Campbell Prince, Gordon Bateman, Andrew Bell, Milton McMillan, Eveleen McDonnell, Muriel Gibney, Betty Camplin, Mary Scott, Lylia Bell.
Third Row (l-r): Marie Valenteyn, Helen Porritt, Doreen Simpkin, Marion Worfolk, Margaret Hill, Joyce Steers, Vera Huck, Lorna Dixon, Irene Mestdagh, Beatrice Zlotkin, Catherine Lukes, Betty Seim, Marie Moriarty, Helen Snor, Audrey Mapes, Dorothy Seim, Ruth Stewart, Jean Wilson, Jean Bell, Ruth Noble, Helen Cave, Freda Doane, Helen Brown, Isabel Blackwell, Gladys Bell, Doris Fennell, Marjorie Creighton.
Second Row (l-r): Helen Noble, Mary Meher, Etta Noble, Ruth O'Neil, Jean Campbell, Reta O'Neil, Phyllis Edney, Elsie McKnight, Isobel Kneeshaw, Marie O'Donnell, Marie Caesar, Evelyn Doane, Eileen Iceton, Velma Valedon, Ruth Stewart, Margaret Graham, Constance Nolan, G. K. Brunt, W. K. Gray, Helen Saint, Phylis Robson, Marjorie Horsley, Lorraine Lapp, Isobel Lennox, Marjorie Botham, Betty Spence, Joyce Gibney, Shirley Armstrong, Helen McDonald, Margaret Coates, Jean Bannerman, Josephine Orr.
Front Row (l-r): Ivan Wilson, Irwin Collings, Murray Quinn, Ross Melbourne, Frank Carter, Alan Atkinson, Joe Wood, Alex Geddes, Maurice Roberts, Donald Gardner, Bert McArthur, Earl Jessop, Jack Glover, Wallace Fuller, James Lennox, Willard Budd, George Allan, Keith Bowles, Keith Langford, Arthur Turner, Murray Wilson, Arnold Fraser, Jack Gardner, Charles Doane, John Fennell.

WEGWHIST (the West Gwillimbury History Project) book, Governor Simcoe Slept Here: The Legacy of West Gwillimbury, is now at the printer. The project needs a volunteer who can help develop a marketing plan and sales program for this unique chronicle, which captures the stories of the families who settled and built the Township. The book could be available as early as December.

Description : The reprint of the magnificent 2-volume local history book, Governor Simcoe Slept Here: The Legacy of West Gwillimbury is now available. Those who wish to mail out a copy as a Christmas gift should call Bill Marks or George Jackson.

Description : The WEGWHIST Project volunteers were busy during the week of October 17th, collating the pages of the History of West Gwillimbury that has been 4 years in the making. They were joined by professionals, Orland French and Sharon Voth of Friessens Publications, out of Altona, Manitoba, who provided advice in matching up text with the hundreds of photographs contributed by residents. The two-volume History, titled Governor Simcoe Slept Here, will come off the presses in December. Pre-publication price is only $55 if ordered now; post-publication price is $65.

Description : The WEGWHIST (West Gwillimbury History Project) team has engaged the services of the Friesen's History Book Division, to help publish and print the History of West Gwillimbury. This Division specializes in helping local history groups, such as WEGWHIST, produce their own local history books. To this end, WEGWHIST will be assisted by Orland French, Friesen's Ontario representative. French was raised in Waverley, just south of Midland - so he is no stranger to Simcoe County. He was a reporter and columnist for the Globe and Mail, and now owns Wallbridge House Publishing, based in Belleville, Ontario. In his career as a writer and publisher, French has produced a number of history books and recently assisted with histories of Bancroft and North Hastings, and Northumberland County. His experience, and the support of Friesen's History Book Division, will provide a guiding hand as the project is completed.