"Dear editor, We, the Gwillim group, a sub-committee of the Bradford West Gwillimbury Local History Association, are delighted to inform the community about our project to commemorate the Town's 150th Anniversary. We have commissioned a bronze sculpture of Elizabeth Posthuma Simcoe (nee Gwillim), to be placed in the Post Office Parkette on the corner of John and Barrie Streets (on the Yonge St. route). The sculptor is Brenda Wainman Goulet, who created the bronze sculptures of Dr. Bethune in Gravenhurst and the Tom Thomson in Huntsville."...
"The countdown has begun for Bradford's main 150th Anniversary celebration - the August 17th to 25th Homecoming Week, which will include a Midway, Carrotfest Street Party on August 18th, Sesquicentennial Parade on August 19th, Music in Rotary Park every evening from Aug. 20-24, a Euchre Party at the Happy Sixties Seniors' Club, and more. This weekend, the Scotch Settlement Historical Society is hosting a Special Memorial Service at the Auld Kirk on Sunday, July 29th at 3p.m." ...
"Local businesses are beginning to catch the 'sesqui-centennial fever' - businesses like eSIGNS Canada, which specializes in banners, storefronts, signs, and vehicle graphics. To celebrate, president Gary Brickell decided to have his company's service van 'wrapped' in photos relating to Bradford's 150th anniversary." ...
"Led by the combined Colour Parties of the Bradford, Sutton and Newmarket Legions, and the Bradford Pipes & Drums, Bradford residents turned out to participate in or to watch the Sesquicentennial Parade on August 19, celebrating the town's 150th Birthday." ...
The annual Meeting of the Bradford West Gwillimbury Local History Association will be held in the Compton Room of the Bradford Public Library on Saturday, December 8th, 1:30 p.m. The BWG Local History Association was formed 17 years ago, in the spring of 1990, and has retrieved and documented many of the details of the history of this area, supported the Local History Room in the Library, and recently, published the 2-volume book, "Governor Simcoe Slept Here." The Association is now taking on new responsibility as the umbrella organization for other history-related groups in the community - The Gwillim Group, which has brought the statue of Elizabeth Gwillim Simcoe to Bradford; the Scotch Settlement Historical Association; and the WEGWHIST Group. The arrangement will provide an affiliation with the Ontario Historical Association that will open the door for sponsorship and fundraising in support of the Town's historical features. The Association has been involved in book writing, editing and sales for the past 4 years; now that Governor Simcoe Slept Here has been completed, the focus is returning to researching and recording local history, and there are opportunities for residents to get involved. Are you interested in history? Do you have time to research on line, index and file, or set up and explore your own special local history project? Come to the meeting to discuss the opportunities.
A proposed drainage scheme to relocate the drainage canals in the Holland Marsh will cost an estimated $8.7 million. This sum is too great for the Marsh farmers alone so they are attempting to extend the assessment area to 65,000 acres of upland property in Bradford West Gwillimbury, King Township, New Tecumseth, Newmarket, East Gwillimbury, and Caledon but this idea has been met with legal challenges. Due to the legal fees surrounding this the Holland Marsh Drainage Committee has asked the province for $2 million in extraordinary funding for the scheme. After being completed in 1930 the 17.5 miles of canals that ring the Holland Marsh have been dredged several times, and after Hurricane Hazel were even widened and deepened. Although, recent studies show that the canal is almost filled in at certain points. Studies have also shown that due to south canal being filled in so much the north canal is handling four times the flow of the south canal. Relocation of the canal is the preferred solution to this problem.
