The following notes on the history of this bible were written by George Jackson in 2008:
"The Gardener Bible In the winter of 2008 this bible was offered to the BWG Local HIstory Room as a memento of the Gardener family who lives at Steele's Corners, the 14th line of West Gwillimbury. The bible came to us through the auspices of Mrs. Kay Boer of Stroud. Her family home had been near the Gardeners and it was through her efforts that the connections were made to have the Bible come to our Library. In this case there were two Bible's involved in this story which goes something like this. The lady who found theses Bibles worked at the Barrie landfill. She noticed these two Bibles when they were brought to the "dump" on top of a load of articles that appeared to come from a home that was being cleaned out. She retrieved them. The one Bible she has retained and the other one is here..... As I mentioned there were two Bibles. This Bible does not have any marking to identify it with the family. We assume it was in the Gardener family because it was associated with the other Bible that had the births marriages and deaths associated with thte Gardener family inscribed in the centre pages...."
"Fred Cook, a man who for many years was a social and political influence in Bradford, died last Thursday in York County Hospital at 73. Mr. Cook was admitted to the hospital April 6 suffering from a heart attack. Funeral services were held in Trinity Anglican Church, Bradford, on Monday afternoon with the Rector, Rev. Jack House and Bishop Hunt, a lifelong friend of Mr. Cook's, conducting the service. Hundreds of friends and associates gathered in the little church on Church St. that Fred Cook served so well. Mayor Joe Magani led a delegation of members of council and the town administrative staff. Many officials representing the various surrounding municipalities also attended the special funeral service. During his 73 years, Fred Cook's life revolved around the town of his birth, Bradford."
"The Tee-We-Gwill chapter of the Women's Institute held their first meeting with this year's officers last Monday night at the home of Mrs. Barbara Wilcox on Beeton Road. The Women's Institute was originally founded in Ontario to educate women in rural areas in the homemaking field. Since then it has become a world-wide community services oriented organization. The Tec-We-Gwill chapter sponsors a Can-Save Child in Austria, as well as sponsoring the Tec-Gwill 4-H Club for young women."
Back Row: Mary Orr, Marguerite Ramsay, Margaret Jessop Front Row: Lois West, Jean Calder, Barbara Wilcox
"A congregation of more than 150 people gathered at the Auld Kirk in the Scotch Settlement near Bradford on Sunday afternoon. The churchgoers were attending an outdoor service arranged by the South Simcoe Presbytery."
"The Auld Kirk, a historical church located at the Scotch Settlement will be the scene of an old time church service Sunday, June 22 at 3:00 p.m. The service is being jointly arranged by the Barrie Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church and the Simcoe Presbytery of the United Church. The Auld Kirk is on the 6th line of West Gwillimbury Township south of Highway 88 at the Scotch Settlement. The outdoor service will be led by Rev. Henry Dahlin, minister of Bond Head United Church and Chairman of the Simcoe Presbytery. Also participating in the service will be Rev. Ken Purdon, minister of Burton Ave. United Church in Barrie and Rev. Ed MacDonald, minister of the Presbyterian Church in Orillia and moderator of Barrie Presbytery. The guest preacher will be Rev. W. Stanford Reid, Professor of History at the University of Guelph. The Auld Kirk's beginnings go back to 1823 when a log church was built by the settlers of the Scotch Settlement. In 1827, a frame church was built and the original log building was moved and used as a school until 1840. The present Auld Kirk building was erected in 1869 at a cost of $1,000. Due to a dwindling population the church was closed in 1885 and for some years fell into disrepair. In 1912, it required a new roof. In 1953, the restoration of the cemetery was started and in 1958 restoration work began on the church."
