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"After 31 years of teaching about 1,000 pupils at Bradford public school, Barbara Stewart is retiring at the end of this school year. It's a thought that brings a mixture of emotions for her. On one hand is the anticipation of doing the things she has been dreaming of for years: travelling extensively in winter and relaxing at her cottage in Minden in summer. On the other hand: "I'm going to miss the children," she admits, 'And the staff too. I have many good friends here. I retired as the organist last June. I guess you could say I'm tearing up all my roots...no, routines. I'm tearing up all my old routines.'Although she is leaving Bradford for good at the end of this school year, Miss Stewart has reassured her friends that she will be coming back often to visit."

"Doug Bone, who began collecting old telephones only three years ago, says he now has the largest private collection of antique and unusual phones in Canada. He stumbled into his hobby quiet by accident. Doug and his wife, Joan, who shares his interest, visited the Bruce peninsula in search of glass insulators. While there they were offered two old box telephones. They were not especially interested but bought them anyway. Doug cleaned them inside and out, which was all he needed to stir up the unbounded enthusiasm for the hobby for which he is known today in both Canada and United States. Since that time, he has purchased a major part of one man's collection and all of another's. In addition he visited many of the 30 independent telephone companies still operating in Ontario. He bought a few old phones and a few parts and threw his energy into restoring, trading, and buying phones. His collection includes 160 telephones, all clean and polished like new."

The Standard Bank is located at 65 and 67 Holland St. West. It was built in the Romanesque Revival style around 1860-1900. O.M. Seim, previous owner of the Bradford Witness newspaper (1916-1932), and his family (Gordon, Ken, Marjorie, Maurice and Betty) once lived here. Dr. McMichael, a dentist, lived on John St. but had his practice here many years ago. Aubrey Stewart (and her son Bruce) at one time had an Insurance company here and the living quarters were rented. The building was eventually converted into apartments.
The commercial building (67 Holland St. W.) is set close to the street. Originally, there was a large, walk-in vault at the rear of the building on the ground floor. Residential quarters were on the second floor. The two-storey building has tall window openings with high floor to ceiling heights and an asymmetrical façade with a simplified ‘temple’ form. There is a medium-pitched, ‘pediment’ gable roof facing the front and a tympanum with a rose window. Brick pilasters support a plain cornice and frieze at both the ground and second floors to create the image of a classical Greek temple (combined with the more Roman arch form). The commercial entrance is contained within one of the two corbelled arches and is raised slightly. A double-panelled door is topped by a multi-paned transom light. The ground floor bank window is set into a corbelled arch opening with a transom light and stone or concrete lug sills. Upper windows are set into rectangular openings with transom lights. The cornice and frieze at the ground and second floors are ‘supported’ on corbelled brick brackets. This building has brick masonry construction and a cut-stone foundation.
The residential wing (65 Holland St. West) is set further back from the street to provide greater privacy to the living quarters. It takes a more recessive form with an open verandah at the ground floor and an enclosed porch on the upper floor running the full width of the house. There is a hipped roof on the residential wing. The entrance door to the house also a transom light, but like the rest of the residential wing, it does not have the rich texture or detail found on the more public portion of the building. The residential porch posts, railing, door, and windows are not original. According to the 2000 inventory, the structure is in good condition with many original details remaining. (1, 2, 3)
Please contact the Bradford West Gwillimbury Public Library (905-775-3328) if you have any other information about this photo.

The Neilly House is located mid-block on the north side at 51 John Street West. It was built around 1900 in the Eclectic Edwardian style. The structure was designed by the same architect who was responsible for designing Bradford’s Anglican Church. This house was built for jeweler Andy Neilly. His business was on Holland St. (across from the Queen’s Hotel). He was a good hunter and sportsman and belonged to the Neilly Rifle Club. The club members met at Eagle Hill on the 13th Line (at the canal on the end of Back and Bingham Streets). This building was later the home of Mac Tobias and his wife. They ran a clothing store on Holland St. (in the second building east of the Queen’s Hotel) before moving to Toronto after World War II. Dr. McMichael, a dentist, lived and had his office here until he moved to Barry’s Bay. Merle and Shirley Woodcock and their family eventually bought, repaired, and remodeled the house.
The two-storey, ‘L’-shaped building with gable roofs has a smooth, brick exterior. There is full height projection with a projected, gable roof above. A textured, wood-shake finish at the flared front gable and the elaborate trim and decoration at the gable window are also Edwardian features. The house has precast voussoirs above the semi-oval transom at the main front window and precast, lug sills. It has loadbearing, brick masonry construction and a stone foundation. According to the 2000 inventory, the new front addition is unsympathetic with the original building. A new, cedar-shingle roof with copper valley flashing was also noted. It considers the building to be well-maintained. (1, 2, 3)
Please contact the Bradford West Gwillimbury Public Library (905-775-3328) if you have any other information about this photo.

The William Campbell House is located mid-block on the north side at 43 John Street East. It was built around 1880 in the Gothic Revival style. This structure was once the home of William H. Campbell Sr. (a grain merchant) and his wife Bessie (Sutherland). His son Lewis was a doctor, and William L. (Billie) was a druggist. His daughter (Elizabeth/Libby) was born close to the day of the great fire of 1871 (Libby was born 15 May 1871 while the fire began on 25 May). She never married, though she took over her father's business after his death and remained in this house until her own. Dr. S. Hecking and his family purchased the house in the 1950’s and had it remodeled. He had one son (Stephen Jr.) and one daughter. As of 1995, Doctor Hecking was retired, training horses, and still riding occasionally.
The 1½-storey, ‘L’-shaped main building has a one-storey, rear addition. It also has a medium-pitched, gable roof with tall chimney stacks. An elaborately-carved bargeboard and brackets support the wrap-around porch. The wide entrance has sidelights and a transom. There are large window openings, high floor to ceiling heights, and large windows (4/4 sash windows at the ground floor). The structure has load-bearing, brick masonry construction and a stone foundation. According to the 2000 inventory, additions, replacement doors and the second-floor windows on the well-maintained house stray from the original design intent. (1, 2, 3, 5)

The original building located at 4 Holland St. West (on the southwest corner of Holland and Simcoe Streets) was built in the 1840’s and was situated on land originally owned by James Drury. He was one of the early immigrants who reached Upper Canada. Drury rented the corner lot to Thomas Driffill (a blacksmith), who opened a hardware store at that location. The lot was later sold to Robert Cooke, who leased the property to Driffill for another 20 years. Thomas Driffill became the village of Bradford’s first reeve when it was incorporated in 1857. The great fire of 1871 destroyed all but the building’s foundation. It was rebuilt incorporating the intact, old vault and locally-made bricks. Thomas Driffill bought the building in 1885, eventually retired, and left the business to his sons, Joseph and James, who eventually sold it to Andrew Thompson, Driffill's partner. It became Thompson's Hardware. A series of different owners and different types of enterprises followed. William Barron bought the building in 1946 and relocated his hardware business to this site. He made several renovations, including adding a new stone façade, new plate glass windows, and an elevator to facilitate deliveries to the tinsmithing shop upstairs. He retired and left the business to his son Norman. The building later became a motorcycle shop, and eventually, for several years, the Winchester Arms Restaurant. (1, 2, 4, “Four Holland Street West: A Short History” by Lorraine Philip - Bradford West Gwillimbury Public Library, Local History Collection).

The structure located at 38 Holland St. West (on the southwest corner of Holland and Drury Streets) was built around 1900 in the Ontario Vernacular style. B.B. “Ben” Collings lived upstairs with his wife (a Waldruff), and children Bernice, Kathleen and Norman. Both daughters became school teachers and Norman (“Dodger”) was a professional hockey player who helped his father and later took over the business. Ben’s workshop was also located here and there was a horse stable at the rear of the property many years ago. The back end of the building was destroyed by fire in the 1920’s. Ben Collings was involved in several businesses. He was also known as an organizer and sports manager. At one time this building was the site of the Collings’ mattress factory. Ben also cut marsh hay and hauled it down the river on a scow. Sometimes the hay was stacked for winter baling. The horses wore four wooden boots and wouldn’t get off the scow until they were applied. Ben was a furniture maker and an undertaker. His first experience as an undertaker was with the body of his own father. He bought Jack Spence’s fishing business (including nets, reels, pulleys, ropes and the fish shanty at the mouth of the river on the east side opposite the 8th Line). His largest catch of fish was five tons of carp. He fished in the spring and fall and put nets under the ice in winter. Carp was caught (when in season) and had to be kept alive for the Jewish market. He employed about eight men all year round. Later he had old cars cut down to make tractors. Ben and another man broke (worked?) Col. Bar’s marsh land at the north end of Federal Farms Rd. (Bathurst Street). The Newmarket Canal started and died on this property.
The two-storey, commercial ‘row’ building has second floor offices (or living space), a wide, rectangular plan with symmetrical organization, and a flat, built-up, tar and gravel roof. The ‘Main Street’ frontage with a typical, storefront façade is located at the street line. The Drury Street façade on the north portion of the building (fronting Holland Street) has a more informal façade with openings placed as required to suit the building’s requirements. The Drury Street building has a plain, symmetrical façade and is dominated by a wide, segmented, arch entrance raised slightly above the sidewalk. A loading door to the rear portion of the Holland Street building has a segmented, arch opening and a concrete sill raised above street level. The existing doors and windows are not original. There are several window openings with segmented, arch openings and concrete lug sills. Several basement windows (all topped with segmented arches) have been fully, or partially, blocked in. This suggests that the building was built before the existing road or town services were installed. The building has masonry construction, brick cladding, and a parged, stone foundation. According to the 2000 inventory, this modest, commercial building is in good condition with some original details. (1, 2, 3)

The frame building located at 38 and 40 Holland St. East was bought many years ago by Mr. McWilliams. He remodeled the structure and put the entrance for the upstairs apartment on the east side (42 Holland St. E.). He died many years ago and Mrs. McWilliams (a sister of William Hirlehey) and her son Bill lived in the apartment. Bill worked on the marsh and in a hockey stick factory. There were two shops downstairs. Joe Scotto barbered at 40 Holland St. East (on the east side of the building) for a number of years before moving across the street to “Rusty” Worfolk’s property at 27 Holland St. East. There was a shoemaker and leather shop for years at 38 Holland St. East (on the west side of the building). There have been several other businesses here including Joyce’s Curio Shoppe (as seen in this photo taken in 1995). (1, 2)

The building located at 30 Holland St. West (on the southeast corner of Holland and Drury Streets) has been the site of many businesses, including Bradford Travel (as seen in this photo from 1995). Many years previously, George Ogilvie, a tailor, moved to this area from Bond Head. He employed five or six cutters and seamstresses to help run his business. It occupied the first and second floors of the building. John Depew moved here years later. He ran a barbershop on the ground floor and lived upstairs with his children (Oswald, Eddie and Georgina). The two boys became barbers and Georgina was a nurse in the Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital in Orillia. Archie Hammell and his wife Minnie (Spence) opened and ran a grocery store here for a time. Gerry McTavish worked for them, and he and his wife took over the business when the Hammells retired. (1, 2)

The structure located at 29 Holland St. West was vacant for many years. Howard Bowser bought and restored it as a shop with living quarters upstairs. Ted and Audrey Gapp lived here for a number of years. Helen Bantam ran a ladies’ shop downstairs and lived upstairs. She may have bought it from Bowser. At the time of this photo (1995), it was a barber shop.
The building located at 31 and 33 Holland St. West (on the northeast corner of Holland and Moore Streets) was built around 1880 in the Ontario Vernacular style. It was constructed on the site of the former Edmanson Bakery (33 Holland St. West). The bakery was the origin of the big fire on May 23, 1871 that destroyed much of downtown Bradford. E.P. Snow had a harness and saddle shop at 31 Holland St. West for many years. He lived on the north side of John Street. Later it was bought by Secondo Cavallo, who ran a shoemaking business at this location. He lived on the south side of John Street. Cavallo’s daughter (Aida) ran the business for a few years and then it was sold. Lash Davey and Bill ran a butcher shop at 33 Holland St. West for several years. They had a slaughter house on Piccadilly Hill (Simcoe St. South). James Webb, a butcher and lacrosse player, later ran his shop here. Webb was joined by his son Jim, who eventually took over the business and employed Harold Boyd. Jim originally had an ice house at the back of the property. A freezer locker was built later by Len Saint at the back. The building and business were eventually owned for many years by the Pezzanitti family.
The one-storey, commercial, semi-detached ‘row’ building has a wide, rectangular plan with an asymmetrical organization. There is “Main Street” frontage with a typical, storefront façade located at the street line. A plain façade is characterized by a high, flat, ‘boomtown’ façade with brick dentils. The two-bay façade is dominated above the storefronts by an applied, pressed- metal cornice with stone brackets at each end. Existing doors and storefronts are not original. Wide, glass, storefront windows with stone sills are also not original. The building has masonry construction with brick cladding, a stone foundation, and a flat, built-up tar and gravel roof. According to the 2000 inventory, the modest building is in good condition. (1, 2, 3)