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Prelude to a child;s tragic death
Part of Local History Collection
" 'Could the life of one child have been saved and the lives of five others been improved if the Children's Aid Society had acted sooner?' This is the question that Mrs. Carol Simone keeps asking herself after the drowning on Monday of her neighbor's child, Betty Lowder, aged 12..."
Bradford Witness
Part of Local History Collection
"Life ended suddenly on Monday afternoon for a 12-year-old Holland Marsh girl who went swimming in the Holland River. Betty Lowder, R.R.2, Newmarket, was swimming under the bridge at the intersection of No. 3 Concession and the Graham sideroad with her brothers and sisters, when she submerged in the middle of the murky river in about eight feet of water. There were no adults present..."
Bradford Witness
Part of Local History Collection
"Charges of neglect have been laid against the mother of the 12-year-old girl who drowned in the Holland River on Monday, August 5, according to the Executive Director of the York Region Children's Aid Society, Donald Van Camp.
Eleanor Lowder, mother of Betty Lowder, the girl who drowned, has been charged under Section 40 part (1) of the Child Welfare Act which makes it an offense for anyone to leave a child unattended for an unreasonable length of time without proper supervision. Under the provisions of the act the maximum fine the court is able to impose in such a case is $200 and a maximum one year prison term.
Hearings on the charge will take place in camera on September 3 in Newmarket family court.
The surviving five Lowder children are in the care and custody of the Children's Aid Society, according to Van Camp. After the accident one of the children was in the care of relatives, according to him, but now all are with the society.
Any inquest into the drowning will have to wait until the charges have been taken care of by the courts, according to Dr. Robert Seaver, who is acting as coroner in the case.
"Its all up in the air right now," said Doctor Seaver, "any charges will take precedent. Until some of these things are straightened out," he said referring to the charges, "we can't go ahead." He is also waiting on further details on the accident to become available from the police and the autopsy report.
The possibility of an inquest will still be up in the air, according to Dr. Seaver, until it is decided if some particular aspect of Betty Lowder's death has to be "...brought out."
The police will only be acting as witnesses and assisting the Children's Aid Society in this case according to Deputy Chief Robert Hood of the York Regional Police. Police could have laid the charge against Mrs. Lowder, but they deferred to the Children's Aid Society in the case.
The drowning was the first case in which Bradford firemen were called to the Marsh area which recently switched to Newmarket for its fire protection. The Bradford department's answering of the call raises the question of the $800 charge which King Township is supposed to pay when the Bradford department enters King.
When asked about the fee and whether it will be charged, Bradford mayor Joe Magani replied, "If someone is drowning and we coulz be of some assistance, I don't think its a matter of dollars and cents."
Bradford Witness
Part of Local History Artifacts
Event Date: 1974
Event Type: Educational Film
Description: This film profiles the vegetable growing industry and people of the Bradford Marsh, and talks about how farming practices have changed from past to present.
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food - Information Branch
Part of George Jackson fonds
"A freight train with 22 cars filled with gravel tore up 100 feet of track after it hit a spot on the tracks that was washed out by the more than three inches of rain that poured down on Bradford and Holland Marsh. Damages is estimated at over $1 million for the train wreck alone."
George Jackson
Part of Vital Statistics
Event Date : Friday, October 17, 1975
Event Type : Death
Description : Vic Turner, veteran councillor and past reeve of West Gwillimbury, died at his home in Bradford on Friday, October 17, at age 85. Mr. Turner, whose son Art is now Reeve of Bradford, came to Canada in 1907 at the age of 16. He came alone, leaving behind his family in South Chinford, just outside London. Mr. Turner first came to Toronto, then moved up to Bradford where he worked on the Pulford family farm on the 12th Line of West Gwillimbury. Bobby Pulford, a son of the family, is now coach of the Los Angeles Rams. After taking jobs in Toronto and in the west of Canada, Mr. Turner moved back to West Gwillimbury and farmed there for many years. He married three times, his first wife being Esther Brown; his second marriage to Elizabeth Riley was in August 1921. During their long marriage, the Turners farmed locally, then moved to Bradford in 1949. The second Mrs. Turner died in 1962. In 1963, Mr. Turner married for a third time, to Irene Brown of West Gwillimbury. Mr. Turner is survived by five children: Mrs. Margaret Summerville of Guelph, Bruce Turner of Kemptville near Ottawa, Art Turner of Bradford, Doug Turner of Timmins and Mrs. Dorothy Hodgson of Thunder Bay; and by 11 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren. Mr. Turner first became involved in local politics when he became a councillor in West Gwillimbury around 1937. He stayed on council becoming reeve in 1946 and holding this position in 1947 and '48.Mr. Turner left active politics and worked for Holland River Gardens (now Hardee Farms) following this. He retired from work seven years ago. While working at Hardee, Mr. Turner was appointed to the Bradford Public Utilities Commission in 1951. Appointment to the commission was then a council decision and not an elected post. Mr. Turner's proudest achievement was opening up Simcoe Road to the marsh and pushing for a bridge to be built linking the marsh to the main Bradford area, thus making it possible for the marsh to be developed for commercial farming. While serving on the Public Utilities Commission, Mr. Turner was instrumental in the decision to buy the present PUC building on Barrie Street. Mr. Turner was also involved in the Bradford Masonic Lodge, but his main interest all his life was in the marsh and the people living and farming it. The funeral service was held at the chapel of the Lathangue & Skwarchuk Funeral Home, Simcoe St., Bradford, followed by burial at Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Monday, October 20.
Bradford Witness
Part of George Jackson fonds
"A 19-year-old Downsview man, Robert O'Brien, was the second driver to end up in the canal in the past four weeks. Mr. O'Brien lost control of his car on Friday night after freezing rain covered area roads with slick ice. O'Brien was not hurt in the mishap."
C.E. Jackson
Part of Vital Statistics
Event Date : Thursday, February 20, 1975
Event Type : In Memoriam
Description : In loving memory of a dear husband, father and grandfather, who passed away February 20, 1975 - Lovingly remembered by wife Elizabeth, Edward, Margaret, Darlene, Cathy, Sherri and Steven.
Dudo, Emily Laurie Elizabeth birth
Part of Vital Statistics
Event Date : Friday, January 09, 1976
Event Type : Birth
Description : A daughter to Ladislav and Margaret (nee Gres) Dudo, a sister for Steven.
Bradford Witness
Part of George Jackson fonds
"Temperatures which dipped below freezing Monday night met resistance from warm water early yesterday, creating what appears to be a grass fire. Icy weather did some damage on the Marsh, but farmers were expecting it. Warmer temperatures are expected later this week."
George Jackson