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"Fire leveled five stores, and the dwellings above them last Wednesday afternoon. The alarm sounded at 1:10 o'clock and destroyed were Harry's Meat Market, the Model Bakery, Evan's Men's and Boy's Wear, Breen's Refrigeration Service and the Bradford 5?? to $1.00 Store. Mrs. Bannerman, owner of the latter store, who had her apartment over the store also lost her home, as did those residing in the rooms upstairs over the bakery and the men's and boy's wear store. The tenants upstairs in this building were Mr. and Mrs. Ward and their children, 4-year-old son Graham, and 3-month-old twins; Mr. and Mrs. Van Der Donke, and Mrs. Olive Evans the mother of D. Arthur Evans, owner of the building in which their quarters were located. They lost everything. Mrs. Evans, who was in the restaurant, got her purse but that was all.

Wednesday being a holiday in Bradford, it would appear that the fire gained considerable headway before being discovered, because almost immediately after the alarm billowing clouds of smoke marked the scene and this smoke spread very rapidly through the buildings. So quickly did this smoke spread that re-entry to the buildings was almost impossible, and practically nothing was saved by the occupants of the buildings. They were fortunate that the fire occurred at an hour when they were awake and thus alert to make good their escape.

The fire was noted by a waitress in the Model Bakery restaurant, when smoke became very noticeable. Finding the phone out of order, Mrs. Floyd McDonnell rushed to the street to give the alarm. She called to a man, who ran to the Queen's Hotel from where Russ. Tupling, who was talking to Eddie McEvoy, turned in the alarm. The impression seems to be that the fire started in the meat shop, but smoke poured so quickly from all three buildings - the meat shop, the bakery and the mens wear - and excitement was so great, everyone seems to be confused.

Bradford firemen were on the scene within a couple of minutes of the sounding of the alarm and made a terrific fight to check the fire, but the meat market, the bakery and the mens wear stores were so quickly engulfed in flames that very early in the fire the fire-fighters knew that the entire section was doomed and that the best they could hope to do was to stop the fire's progress at the brick walls at the west and east ends of the fire - Evans & Evans law office building and the Bank of Commerce. Holland street, in that section, was darkened by the think smoke and, but for the fact that roofs were snow covered, the danger to buildings on the south side of Holland street was great. A window in Bradford Bargain House broke as a result of the heat. Then the wind veered, carrying the danger away from Evans & Evans law offices, but making the fight to save the Bank of Commerce more desperate. Until the Bradford 5?? to $1 building toppled many thought the bank was doomed, and had it gone there is no guessing where the fire would have ended. Smoke by that time was dense along Barrie street and burning materials were falling on the roofs on the east side of that street.

Calls for assistance were sent to neighbouring firemen and their response was prompt.

To name those who stood by, lending assistance in their own way, through the long hours of the afternoon, the evening and the night, would be risky, in that someone would be overlooked,but the locals who provided a continuous service of hot coffee and sandwiches, as did the Salvation Army, gave a tremendous service, making it possible for the firemen to stay on their job throughout the long hours of cold.

Very early in the fire, the explosions of ammunition in Evan's Men's and Boy's Wear stores, added to the excitement.

The only standing object, in that entire section of the Holland street north block between Evans & Evans law office building and the Bank of Commerce, today is the oven which was at the rear of the bakery. It alone "marks the spot". All else is a blackened mess, in a dark hole, beside the street. The loss is complete."

Municipality :
Community : Bradford West Gwillimbury
Lot :
Concession :
Description : Mrs. Austin Zoeller, vice president of the Federated Women's Institutes of Canada, speaking last Wednesday night at the 50th anniversary of Bradford Women's Institute said, "There is no other organization like the W.I. in the whole wide world."

She recalled the W.I. was born on tragedy - the death of a child from drinking impure milk. Mrs. Adelaide Hoodless, the founder of the W.I. was the mother of that child.

Mrs. Zoeller told how the secretary of the Farmer's Institute, Erland Lee at Stoney Creek, Ontario, promoted hearing a woman speaker against the wishes of his all-men organization.

Mrs. Hoodless, that speaker, made a dynamic speech. Lee told the men after if they believe it important to have an organization to learn how to feed their animals, then it was equally important their wives have an organization to educate themselves on how to feed their families.

And so the Women's Institute was organized in 1897 through the efforts of Mrs. Hoodless and Erland Lee.

Nutrition, at home and abroad still tops the many-facet program of the W.I. today, Mrs. Zoeller pointed out.

Ontario has just completed province-wide nutrition workshops. The Institutes of Ontario have educated nine girls in food preservation who are working in India; two mid-wives in Turkey and a nutrition project is going on in South Africa.

These and other projects for the developing countries are made possible from the interest on a $50,000 fund contributed to by all Ontario Institutes.

Mrs. Zoeller said information in the community Tweedsmuir History books completed by W.I. branches is the best obtainable anywhere. The histories are recognized by the Ministry of Education and used widely for research by students.

"No other organization is quite so flexible as the W.I.," the speaker said, "working not only in the field of nutrition and home economies, but in agriculture, immigration and citizenship as well.

"We are lucky women to be so strong and have so much to give in a collective way," Mrs. Zoeller said in conclusion.

This newspaper article is from the Bradford Womens Institute Scrapbooks.

Municipality :
Community : Bradford West Gwillimbury
Lot :
Concession :
Description : Bradford Women's Institute celebrated its Golden Anniversary, Wednesday July 2 with a key Institute personality, Mrs. Austin Zoeller as guest speaker. Mrs. Zoeller is editor of "Home and Country" the official W.I. magazine and immediate past president of the Federated Women's Institutes of Ontario.

More than 100 W.I. members, representing 12 branches, attended the giant birthday party held at the new Marie of Incarnation Separate School in Bradford.

Mrs. Jack Camplin of Beeton had the distinction of being the only lady attending that was present when the branch was organized on July 2, 1925 by the late Kate Aiken. Mrs. Camplin drove Mrs. Aiken (later nationally known on radio) to the meeting. Mrs. Camplin remembers every lady wore a hat and Mrs. Aiken stirred enthusiasm for Institute work with a stirring speech.

A surprise visitor at Bradford's anniversary was Mrs. Janet Barlow of Surrey, England. Mrs. Barlow is one of 10,000 English W.I. members. She belongs to the 150-member Nork afternoon branch that has an active choir, won drama awards and, like other English Institutes, raises money by selling baking, vegetables, flowers and plants at W.I. markets. Mrs. Barlow is visiting her son and daughter-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. David Barlow of Fountain Villa, R.R. 2, Bradford.

Members of Bradford W.I. were honoured for 25 years of service in Institute work with presentations of pins and plates. They were: Mrs. C.A. Dimock, Mrs. Alex Spence, Mrs. H.W. Curry, Mrs. H.L. Blackwell, Mrs. A.M. Dow and Mrs. Jack Rumble. Bradford W.I. Secretary Mrs. Gordon Church, made the presentations.

Mrs. H.W. Curry, who presented each guest with a history of Bradford Women's Institute read the minutes of the first branch meeting. There were 55 members by the end of 1925 and by 1927 membership grew to 96.

Institute colors of blue and gold predominated in the flowers and decorations; piano solos by prize-winning Bradford students Karen and Jimmy Brinkos and paintings on display by Pauline Kulha added to the evening celebration.

Bradford Deputy-Reeve Ken Wood extended congratulations on behalf of Mayor Joe Magani and the town council. Bringing greetings were W.I. leaders: Mrs. Norman Tuck, Barrie, provincial board director; Mrs. R.W. Margurie, Minesing, area president (Simcoe County) and Mrs. Paul Tipping, Tottenham, vice president of South Simcoe District.

Mrs. H.L. Blackwell cut the anniversary cake fashioned in the shape of the figure 50 and Mrs. A.W. Spence and Mrs. Ted Dow poured tea.

Convening the celebration were Mrs. Alfred Tizzard, Mrs. Howard Tizzard, Mrs. Jim Church and Mrs. Jack Rumble with the latter being co-chairman with president Mrs. Dan Clements.

This newspaper article is from the Bradford Womens Institute Scrapbooks.

BRADFORD - Life-long Bradford resident and lawyer C.T.S. "Charlie" Evans last week shed further light on the history of the old convent on Barrie St.

The convent it currently the object of a legal tussle over ownership between the town and the contractor Fred Picavet.

Mr. Evans said he recalls being told by Kate Stevenson, the daughter of 19th century Bradford lawyer John MacLean Stevenson, that her father constructed the house based on plans of a Scots castle.

A CASTLE
"I recall her telling me that at one time he had gone to Scotland and had come back with plans of a castle and that he had this house built according to that plan," Mr. Evans said.

According to his personal records, Mr. Evans noted that Mr. Stevenson had been a Master of the Masonic Lodge in Bradford in 1877, a post usually held by older men.

"So hazarding a guess I would have to say that that house would be 150 years old," he surmised.

FIRST WAR
He said that the Lukes family, who owned the Bradford flour mill in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, likely moved into the house around the beginning of the First World War.

"Dick Crake bought the Lukes' house (where the Anzil Plaza now stands) around that time and the Lukes moved into what everyone now knows as the old convent."

Mr. Evans said a check could be made in the registry office in Barrie to determine when the property was originally purchased by Mr. Stevenson.

The Grand Old Dame of Bradford

It's been a convent and home for the rich in the past 111 years.

It stands like a grand old lady on Bradford's main street, its ancient facade belonging to a bygone era.

But time has chipped the regal bearing of the building, wrinkling its paint and the once shiny windows that surveyed a street filled with horses and carriages are now broken and empty.

Originally a home for the town's wealthy and prominent, the 1876 mansion was also used as a convent and as an apartment building.

The building was stripped of the last vestiges of stateliness in the last five years when the Town of Bradford and its owners were embroiled in a legal controversy over ownership.

Plagued by Vandals

Left in limbo, the house was plagued by vandals and disuse. It was then that Bradford resident Jim Culbert launched his one-man crusade to have the home returned to its former glory.

The town council wanted to tear the house down to make way for a library, but now as the dispute with owner Fred Picavet is settled and the town takes possession under a new council, the future of The Old Convent is once again up in the air.

While Mayor Bill DePeuter says it isn't economically feasible to retain the complete house, he plans to hold a public meeting for residents' input into the building's fate.

But 36-year-old Culbert insists the town landmark should be preserved intact and renovated "as a tribute to those men and women who gave us our historical heritage."

He spent many an hour in libraries and registry offices and spoke to past owners in an effort to trace the heritage of the historic house.

The building is steeped in the town's history, back in 1871 when John and Eliza Armstrong sold their three-acre parcel of land bound by Letitia, Barrie and Moore streets to John MacLean Stevenson for $1,200.

Stevenson wanted a unique design for his dream house and on returning from a trip to Scotland, the Bradford lawyer brought back plans based for a Scottish castle.

At that time, English aristocrats, and later the wealthy in Ontario, were copying the design of Queen Victoria's and Prince Albert's country retreat on the Isle of Wight.

It soon became apparent to curious onlookers that the home under construction in 1876 was to emulate this popular Italianate style.

Topping the majestic home was a widow's walk or Italian campanile, an octagonal tower with windows on each side that provided a breathtaking view of Bradford and the surrounding countryside.

Inside the house, an enormous, graceful staircase spirals upwards, from the large foyer. The cherrywood that it is made of borders doors and windows throughout the house.

Off the entrance lies the formal living room with its three large windows, separated by pockets doors from a games room with oak panels, fireplace mantel and broad ceiling beams.

Beautiful Interior

A mahogany fireplace and large picture window grace the music room at the front, connected by an arched doorway to the sun room.

The back of the mansion houses the large dining room and kitchen with wainscotted walls. Behind the kitchen lies a storage room for food and meat curing. Stairways lead to the basement and second floor.

On the second floor, a distinctively etched window once separated the stair landing from the hallway, but was recently smashed by vandals. That window was the sole source of natural light for the hallway.

The upstairs landing and hallway floors are made of oak with intricate designs. Three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a dressing room complete the second floor.

Another spiral staircase leads up to the tower landing and widow's walk from where the climber can see the lake to the northeast, Newmarket to the southeast, the marsh to the south and Bradford to the north.

It is this that Culbert is fighting to keep from becoming a memory, lost in the name of progress.

The dignified house was resided in by Stevenson, the reeve until 1877. Later that year it was sold to Robert Bingham for $5,500.

Seventeen years later, Robert's widow Caroline sold the home for $2,000 during a depression. James Boddy, the reeve from 1894 to 1896, took over the house, calling it Fairview.

The deed passed through several hands until famed Canadian missionary and author Rev. Egerton R. Young of Bradford bought the house for $2,300 in 1903.

Renamed Algonquin Lodge, the minister made it his home shortly after marrying one of Bradford's most attractive ladies, Libbie Bingham. After his death in 1910, the house was again sold, going to Samuel Lukes for $3,600.

Renovations

The Lukes family, which operated the busy Bradford Flour Mill on Holland Street, made several repairs to their house, replacing the verandas with one large one.

In 1929, Samuel's son Gilbert continued alterations, adding a sun room, changing the location of the driveway and entrance steps as well as stuccoing the home for warmth.

Artie Saint. the town's popular house and barn builder, was commissioned to do the renovations, converting a bedroom into a dressing room and building the unique bathroom with bidet, shower, bath and toilet that still stands today. A garage and stable were added to the rear of the house.

Lukes began selling off parcels of land surrounding the house in 1945, and in 1949, a For Sale sign went up again on the front lawn of what was then called Luxalean.

The Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation for the Diocese of Toronto bought the house for $19,000 but soon sold it to the Ursuline Order of the Diocese of London, a group of teaching nuns.

However, the plot of land south to the house was retained and St. Mary's Catholic School was built.

The stately mansion passed through on era of grandeur and spacious living, the huge terraced gardens becoming a concrete driveway and then in 1969, it was converted into an apartment house by John and Maria Moniz.

Despite town bylaws prohibiting such use, it was used as a multiple family dwelling for 12 years until 1981 when the 105-year-old building was sold to Fred and Betty-Lou Picavet for $90,000.

The Picavets hoped to restore the house but had only stripped plaster from the inner and outer walls, in tending to insulate for a warm and comfortable home, when they were halted by a certificate of lis pendents filed by the town in February, 1981.

The town had issued a stop-work order and Picavets in turn sued the town.

Mayor DePeuter said although the town had offered to buy the house and placed a deposit, the Picavets stepped in with the cash.

An agreement was reached this month, ending the lawsuits, and the town will purchase the house from the Picavets.

The mayor said council will discuss ways that the building can be used by residents, adding the neighbouring old St. Mary's school is well-used as a nursery school and community meeting hall.

While DePeuter says he realizes some residents will want the building retained for historical reasons, he feels it would cost too much. Instead, certain parts such as the facade or tower could be kept, he adds.

Community Uses

The dispute over ownership was of little concern to Culbert, a self-admitted antique lover and owner of The Furniture Doctor. He only wishes to see the house restored without the loss of its original character.

Culbert says the house could have a number of community uses, adding if elevators were installed, it would make a beautiful library.

He estimated the 111-year-old house would need about $250,000 in repairs including new plumbing, drywall, insulation and doors and windows.

"It may be in disrepair but it's never sagged," he says. "It still is standing."

The mayor says council isn't in a hurry to make a decision about the building but will likely decide its fate by the end of the year.

Until then, like any grand old lady, the house patiently waits, accepting the ravages of time and age with stoicism while memories dance inside.

This newspaper article is from the Bradford Womens Institute Scrapbooks.

Municipality :
Community : Bradford West Gwillimbury
Lot :
Concession :
Description : Bradford Women's Institute now in 50th Year

A host of women in the Bradford area are members of the Women's Institute, an organization working for "Home and Country," its motto.

Mrs. Dan Celements heads the 25 member Bradford W.I. this year celebrating its 50th anniversary.

In days past this active group once raised $1,200 to furnish a room in York County Hospital. Secretary Mrs. Gordon Church notes Bradford members are getting older and not able to undertake such ambitious projects now. New members are always welcome, she says, and especially younger women, the greatest need of the branch.

In 1974, members heard excellent addresses on topics such as Unemployment Insurance and the care of lawns. Christmas boxes were prepared for residents at Simcoe Manor, Beeton and Martingale Villa.

Bond Head Women's Institute was instrumental in securing the warning light on Highway 27, at the dangerous hilltop at the north end of the the village, Mrs. Hulse Stoddart, the secretary reports.

The first library in Bond Head was started by the W.I. in Hipwell's store many years ago. This branch has donated furnishings, including pianos, to the community hall and stocked the kitchen with dishes and silver.

Dozens of teenage girls have benefitted from 4-H Homemaking Clubs sponsored by Bond Head W.I. and 20 have received provincial honors for the completion of 12 projects.

Mrs. William Reynolds is president of the 31-member branch organized 55 years ago.

On May 6 this Institute will be host to the South Simcoe convention known as the District Annual. Mrs. Sinclair Stevens will be the speaker.

Tec-We-Gwill W.I. draws members from two townships, West Gwillimbury and Tecumseth, as its name implies. President Mrs. Allan Orr lists its most ambitious project as a new furnace for Newton Robinson Hall installed in Centennial year.

This winter the branch sponsored a quilting course open to anyone in the area. A class of 37, many non-institute members, profited by the course.

Secretary Mrs. Milton Calder notes this branch sponsors an Austrian girl through the Canadian Save the Children's Fund and 4-H Clubs at home.

Tec-We-Gwill, which boasts 40 members celebrated its 25th anniversary three years ago.

Fisher's Corners, organized in 1921 still has an active charter member, Mrs. W.J. Hounsome. The 20-member group raises funds by opening food booths at auction sales. Recently, it presented stacking chairs to Newton Robinson Hall. Secretary Mrs. Ben Steers reports Don Jackson from the Children's Aif Society, Barrie, gave an educational address to them on "stress". Mrs. Clarence Noble is the president.

Bradford GO Station - An important part of Simcoe County History. This is a historical fact sheet about the progression of the railway system in Bradford and how the Go Station came to be the commuter terminal it is today. The location of the Bradford Go Station has been the site of the railway since the early 1900's.

Municipality :
Community : Newton Robinson
Lot :
Concession :
Description : Hon. Earl Rowe Pleads to Electors for Strong "Yes" Vote on Plebiscite

Newton Robinson, Ontario,
April 22, 1942

TO THE ELECTORS OF DUFFERIN-SIMCOE:

As your representative in the House of Commons, I did oppose the principle of a Plebiscite. However, our government has asked for an expression of public opinion and, under our democratic system of government, it is your responsibility and mine to exercise our franchise on this very important question.

To those who feel this vote to be an entirely unnecessary evasion of responsibility, and to those who are indifferent because in their own minds they question the value of voting at all, I would ask that they let the past go until the future permits its review.

Self-preservation is the first law of National life. If we are to preserve our existence as a nation, then our Government should feel free to take whatever action may be deemed necessary to defend and preserve Canada. Since our Government has asked for this freedom of action, it is our responsibility to give it to them.

This is a war for our very existence. Either we win by making sacrifices now, or we lose and pay tribute to Hitler and his gangsters in the future. The entire Continent of Europe, which a few years ago was composed of free nations, is now reduced to a continent of servitude.

It is perhaps difficult for us, being yet distant from the field of actual conflict, to fully realize the necessity of our Government exercising freedom of action so essential to maintain freedom itself.

Never in the history of all mankind should our people be so firmly attached to freedom of religion when such is brutally denied in other lands; to freedom of speech and press when elsewhere terror and fear stifles comment; to freedom from unreasonable searches and seizure when practically the whole Continent of Europe languishes under the heel of the Gestapo; to trial by jury when thousands in other lands are rushed to concentration camps or firing squads by courts which make a mockery of justice.

These things are part of us and our mode of life. They will endure only so long as we continue to believe in them and possess the will to defend them.

The decision which our Government asks of us far from ends the bound of political faith or party allegiance , because the Government of Canada is your Government and mine alike.

I would ask the people of this loyal constituency of Dufferin-Simcoe to vote "Yes" on the Plebiscite and do everything in their power between now and April 27th to assure its passage with an unmistakable majority.

Yours faithfully,
W. Earl Rowe

Tornado Hits Bradford

Bradford - A tornado smashed through Bradford yesterday at around 3:30p.m., causing considerable damage. There were no reports of injuries. Fletcher St. was the hardest area hit, with residents reporting shingles torn off roods, trees uprooted, windows smashed, small sheds torn to pieces and fibreglass insulation spread everywhere. Part of the roof of the Fletcher St. home of Bradford doctor Larry Barcza was ripped off. Stanley and Muriel Cairns were driving to their home at the corner of Scanlon Ave. and Colburne St. when the twister struck. "There was a great ball of flames," Mr. Cairns said. It was later found that they saw an optical illusion caused by the wind ripping off red fibreglass roofing insulation. Mrs. Cairns added "When we were coming down the road we could see debris flying through the air."
The couple, who moved into their house six years ago, lost their back patio. Mrs. Cairns said the sound of the storm was "terrible - just like a roar." She said she'd never seen such a storm, and added "you wouldn't want to, either." Just down the street form the Cairns on John St., Luis Moniz didn't see the storm, but he felt it. He was inside his house when the tornado hit and told reporters he could feel the velocity of the winds. At Fred C. Cook Public School there were a few children playing on the school grounds just before the twister struck. A workman at the school, Robert Laraby, told The Witness the doors of the school couldn't be closed because of the force of the wind. he said the lights went out and a picnic table outside was blown away. "The kids were getting extremely nervous." He said the tornado lasted about two to three minutes. Desmond Paul Smith was on his way home to his Holland St. apartment when it struck. He was heading north through the main intersection when he saw "stuff going up in the air and a big bolt of lightning. It knocked lines out and I saw flames from the hydro poles."
He said he saw branches as long as 6 ft. going 300 ft into the air, and saw huge trees knocked over with their roots exposed. Mr. Smith said he warned a man on the street that there was a tornado coming and the man didn't believe him. "Then he looked behind him and started to run." The Bradford man also saw the 20-ft. hole in the roof of International Fruit Distributors and said staff there showed him a huge tractor trailer which had been lifted several feet to a new resting place by the force of the winds. Traffic lights at the main intersection were knocked out and power was blacked out in several areas around town. Power was restored in some areas at 6 p.m.
Hail the size of mothballs also swept through the town. By press time damage estimates were unavailable. Shocked resident toured Fletcher St. to view the worst of the damage. Bradford police reported numerous minor car accidents, and the Bradford Fire Department was kept busy responding to calls about downed power lines. Minutes after the tornado struck, an official of the weather office at Toronto International airport confirmed that tornado warnings had been issued for a large area of southern Ontario. It appears Bradford was the hardest hit area. The Witness office on Dissette St. was also blacked out by the tornado, and staff put together the final pages of this edition with manual equipment by candlelight. Our thanks to Newmarket photo lab for the use of their facilities.

Municipality :
Community : Bradford West Gwillimbury
Lot :
Concession :
Description : Cabinet Post Eluded Art
By John Slykhuis

Arthur Evans' 17 years in the Ontario legislature - now coming to an end - were not without disappointment.

The position of cabinet minister has always eluded the Simcoe Centre MPP, and he frankly feel sit was because he supported the loser in the progressive Conservative leadership race of 1961.

"Politics being what it is, I guess I could have been a cabinet minister if I had supported John Robarts. I supported Bob McAuley," Mr. Evans said in an interview.

During thar critical leadership race, John Robarts approached Mr. Evans for support. "He indicated to me that I would have a chance of getting into the cabinet if I would support him."

HARD WORK

Many of the top Robarts supporters who came to persuade Mr. Evans to change his mind ended up with cabient posts.

"All I got was hard work," Mr. Evans says. "That's politics...there's nothing you cand o about it, and that's the only regret I have, the fact that I wasn't able to be a cabinet minister."

And now that his political career officially ended with the election announcement, Mr. Evans, 62, is busy campaigning actively for his successor as a PC candidate George Taylor of Barrie.

"Yes, I'm trying to help George get elected. As far as I'm concerned we need a private enterprise government in this province. That's what made this country great."

Arthur Evans' fondest memory is not one of a political triumph or an election victory.

It's one of an elderly lady who travelled by bus from Barrie one cold and snowy Christmas season, walked the half mile or so to Mr. Evans' home in Bradford, just to give the family a turkey for Christmas dinner.

"This is for all the things you've done for everyone," she said.

RETIRING

It's the kind of memory that indicates the man he is, the grassroots, close-to-the-people politician on which the Conservative party of Ontario built and maintained such a powerful level of support.

Mr. Evans' long and distinguished political career began in 1942 when he was elected to the Bradford Public Utilities Commission.

The following year he led the polls and captured a seat on council.

Running on a platform of building a new community centre and providing increased parking, Mr. Evans was elected Reeve of Bradford in 1953, defeating Frank Allan by only 39 votes.

That was the year of the Hurricane Hazel disaster, and Mr. Evans had to forgo building the community centre to handle the sudden emergency.

"I was responsible for organizing the rescue of people on the Marsh. When the first call came to me I had to ring the firebell, get the firemen, help get the sandbagging operation going on the dykes. I never went to bed until those 3,500 people had found a place to sleep.

After that came the long period of rebuilding with his establishment of the Holland Marsh relief fund in which he had $60,000 in personal cheques sent to him. He turned them over to the national hurricane relief fund.

With the financial skill that had made him a successful businessman - he ran a bakery and clothing store - Mr. Evans managed to turn the massive clean-up of the marsh refugees' trailer camp into a plus for the taxpayer.

ASSISTANCE

He went to the relief fund organization in Toronto to ask for assistance. "I wanted to make sure that I had enough money to clean up so that the taxpayers of Bradford wouldn't have to pay a cent. I said, "I want to be guaranteed $2,000 plus whatever I can salvage our of the trailer camp."

When it was all over, he still had $2,000 left, and this became the first contribution to the arena fund, listed in the Bradford Witness of the say as an "anonymous" donation.

After the completion of the Bradford community centre, Mr. Evans was elected Warden of Simcoe County in 1958.

And while ordinarily this post mean retirement afterward, he was re-appointed after the sudden death of the succeeding warden to deal with the separation of Barrie from the county in 1959.

"We did settle the financial situation between the city of Barrie and the county in about one year... it was an unusual thing to settle in so short a time. It took York and the city of Toronto over seven years to settle."

FIRST MAYOR

With Bradford growing enough to achieve town status in 1960, Mr. Evans decided to stay on to run for the first post of mayor. He was acclaimed to office.

He had decided the previous year to run for a provincial post, but the Progressive Conservative incumbent, George Johnson, decided to stay on and Mr. Evans withdrew in favor of him.

Mr. Johnson died the following year and Mr. Evans was persuaded to run in the byelection.

"I didn't really have any political aspirations then. I had just gone through the fire (which destroyed his business) and rebuilt everything. I was quite happy. I was just going to finish off the year as mayor and get out."

Little did he realize then that his political career had another 17 years to run.

He won that byelection on September 29, 1960 and four other elections since then in 1963, 1967, 1971 and 1975.

Several of his committee appointments in the legislature have been vital ones, including heading the select committee on conservation authorities 1964-67, which laid the foundation for much of the government legislation on preserving farmland and protecting the environment.

DIPLOMATIC

With a unique display of diplomacy and political skill he also averted a showdown with unions over a bill which would see non-engineering personnel involved in boiler maintenance.

"When the bill was going through committee and they (the union members) came, there wasn't room for them to all get in the hear the bill. I had to ask the speaker of the house if I could use the Legislature...This had never been allowed and he said no.

"So I called the premier, John Robarts, and I told him the situation. I said, "you could very easily have a riot on your hands if you don't allow me to do this." He said, "do you think you can handle it?" and I said, "I think I can," so he said OK and called the speaker.

The maneuver worked, and the union members wen away satisfied.

"I'm going to miss politics," he admits, but he vows to keep active in a variety of things.

He hopes to do more work for the Lions Club of which he was the district governor in 1960, and continue as director of a savings and loan corporation.

But today?

"well I'm painting the house. I'm just about finished now."

The kind of thing that appeals to people, a man just like them, not concerned with appearances or image.