Showing 14391 results

Municipality :
Community : Holland Marsh
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Concession :
Description : When the Holland Marsh was first cleared, back in 1927, it seemed as if there was an unlimited supply of the unique organic muck soils, so well-suited for onions and carrots. Even after years of drought, the erosion was seen as more of a nuisance than a threat to the Marsh. In the 1960s and 1970s there were fears that "muck soil subsidence" could result in the disappearance of the Marsh. For some areas the conservation efforts may have come too late. The question of what to do when the muck is gone isn't simple.

Municipality :
Community : Bradford
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Concession :
Description : D-Day had launched the greatest invasionary force in recorded history. The allies, from their toe-hold on the beaches of Normandy, were driving the Nazi armies back toward Germany. On the home front, the mood was one of optimism, even though items were still in short supply, and rationing a fact of life. And in Bradford, on July 15th, 1944, William Compton opened the "Carload Groceteria" on Holland Street West. Compton purchased Sutherland's grocery and bakery shop, which had been in business since the 1850's. With the assistance of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, he managed to stock his shelves, despite war-time restrictions. After the war, rationing came to an end, and Bradford began to grow, as immigrants, most from central Europe and the Netherlands, moved to the area. William's son, Gordon, grew up in an increasingly cosmopolitan town, and remembers primarily the "absolute honesty" of the new arrivals. "Their sense of honor was the only thing they arrived in Canada with," Gord Compton says. "Bradford was a heck of a nice place to grow up in." Gord helped out around the store, as soon as he was old enough to stock the shelves, and prepare and deliver orders. In those days, deliveries were complicated by the lack of street numbers. Residents would phone in an order and identify themselves - either by name, or if they were new to the area, by their residence: the old Smith house, the Jones house. "It was a very different era," Gord remembers. "You knew everybody in town, and of course, everybody knew you." The end of the war also brought the rise of the Chain Store. In 1951 William Compton joined with other independent grocers and Oshawa Wholesalers to form I.G.A., and the store became Compton's I.G.A. Compton's kept pace with the growth of the town, moving to new and larger premises on John Street in 1966 and finally to its current location, in August 1983. The store is now under the management of the third generation, Gord's son David. It is David who is organizing the 50th anniversary celebrations.

Municipality :
Community : Bradford
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Concession :
Description : Royal Banks across the country celebrated the 125th Anniversary of the Royal Bank of Canada last Wednesday, with birthday cake, balloons and giveaways. The first 125 customers through the door received free pine tree seedlings, and the Bradford Branch also gave away five copies of the illustrated history of the Bank, "Quick to the Frontier." One of the recipients was 92 year old Bill Fuller, a life-long resident of Bradford who, with his wife Mae, helped to cut the cake. Bill Fuller shared his reminiscences of the early days of Bradford; he and the Bank represent 217 years of experience. The Bradford Branch opened its doors in 1955. A number of photographs of the bank when it first opened are on display. 125th Anniversary draw winners at the Bradford Branch of the Royal Bank were Eileen Madden, Pat Pitre, Jack Eek, Margaret Brush, Carol Harmon and Sharon Beamish.

Municipality :
Community : Bradford
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Concession :
Description : You might think that the original event of Confederation would be front page news. Not in Bradford. This excerpt comes from page 2 of the South Simcoe News, from the July 4th, 1867 edition. And what was on the front page? A continuing serial entitled "The Pot Of Gold - A Pretty Cute Story."
Comments of confederation
"The long anticipated commencement of our national existence as the Dominion of Canada is at length realized. Henceforward, the four millions of British subjects on this continent will exist but as one people. We began our new era of history under most auspicious circumstances. The causes that provoked so much strife and bitterness between us and our sister provinces are at length happily removed; the objects for which, as a people, we have so long struggled have been in the main, effectually secured, and the calamities that loomed so ominously in the future have vanished altogether from the political horizon." No mention of the celebration of Dominion Day made the pages of the June 30, 1943 edition of the Bradford Witness. No parades were planned, and the only outlet for social activity seemed to be the Holland Theatre, which was offering a double bill. The 'A' feature was "Desperate Journey", starring Ronald Reagan and Errol Flynn, preceded by "Tarzan's Triumph." And, 100 years after the fact, the event of the Canadian Centennial passed with no fanfare, and little official recognition. The Rotary Club held their annual Carnival and Car Draw, but no mention was made of the anniversary. One of the few indications of the historical significance of the date was to be found on the masthead of that week's Bradford Witness, which proclaimed "Bradford - 10 years older than Confederation." The Editor at the time made this comment: "Canada's 100th birthday passed very quietly in Bradford, with almost the only indication of the special day being the heralding of church bells at midnight."

Municipality :
Community : West Gwillimbury
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Concession :
Description : Scenes from the past entertained members of the Tecumseth and West Gwillimbury Historical Society at their September meeting. Slides from the collections of David Chambers and Franz Aschwanden highlighted projects from the Society's 15 year history. House tours, dedications of historic plaques, and trips of discovery on highways 27 and 88 were recalled with pleasure. Annual Christmas Parties and June Picnics provided fun and fellowship, then and now. Lastly, members were reminded of the significant amount of published material produced by the Society. The October meeting will continue the tradition of promoting local history. Members of the Alliston Historical Society will show a video which documents the architecture of Alliston churches. Shirley Gibson, President, will provide an update on progress of renovations to the South Simcoe Pioneer Museum. Please join us for an interesting meeting and refreshments, 8 p.m., on Monday, October 17th at the Newton Robinson United Church Hall. The November 21st meeting will be equally exciting. Russell Cooper, formerly of Black Creek Pioneer Village, will display some of his collection of walking sticks, and share their histories.

Municipality :
Community : Holland Marsh
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Concession :
Description : We are a bus company from Grey County near Durham. Recently, we ran a mystery tour in your area. Our customers were thrilled with the part of the trip that included a guided tour of the Holland Marsh. Our guide was Mr. Edo Knibbe. We started out by contacting the Chamber of Commerce, who introduced us to Mrs. Barbara Verney. She is so knowledgeable of the area, and hence was a tremendous help to us. We also received excellent response from stops at the Bajar Greenhouses and Bradford Oak Ridges Market. We wish to thank the Chamber of Commerce and local businesses, Mrs. Verney and Mr. Knibbe for their kind assistance.

Municipality :
Community : Bradford
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Concession :
Description : The Stoddart family has owned their farm on the 6th Line of Bradford West Gwillimbury for only 60 years. But the family has lived in the area since first emigrating from Ireland - in 1819. The Stoddarts were one of the first to clear land and settle in West Gwillimbury, carrying out mixed farming, and raising hogs. It was about a year and a half ago that simply organizing a hog operation was no longer sufficient, in a difficult economy. Their answer to the difficult economy was to open the "Pork & Herb Shoppe." The Stoddart Family Farm Pork & Herd Shoppe is open four days a week, Thursdays to Sundays.

Municipality :
Community : Bradford
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Concession :
Description : The Bradford West Gwillimbury Local History Association will be working with architects Nancy Smith and Gillian Hurley to undertake an Historic Building Inventory of the old town of Bradford. The project started about two years ago, when members of the Association found a 1924 map of Bradford in the Ontario Archives. Since then, the BWG Local History Association has been taking photographs and preparing background material, relating to the homes, stores and other buildings that appear on the old map. There are over two hundred locations involved in this study. Smith and Hurley will be working with all available records to "produce an easy-to-understand working record and analysis of the built form in town." The work is being done on a volunteer basis, and the BWG Local History Association is asking for the assistance of residents - especially those who live in a home that was built before 1924. The study team is interested in any old photos of your home, and descriptions of construction details and additions.

Municipality :
Community : Bradford
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Concession :
Description : Last year, Fred C. Cook Public School took an innovative approach to welcoming the kids back to school. Instead of the usual temporary homerooms, followed by classroom shuffles, tears and disappointment - moving some students to a new setting, just as they began to feel comfortable - the school embraced a week-long "Whole School" entry. All during week one, students were divided into teams, not classrooms, and participated in a unit that combined team spirit and fun with course material, in math, history, sports, arts, crafts, language and geography. Last year's theme was "The Olympics", coinciding with the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. The unit was such a success, promoting "a positive school environment", that this year the school has done it again, with a unit titled, "Bradford, Then and Now." A look at the history, geography, crafts and cultures of Bradford West Gwillimbury, the unit drew upon the expertise of local volunteers to give students a multi-dimensional introduction to their own community. The students were divided into "Guilds" - merchants and blacksmiths, tailors, weavers, saddlers, stonemasons and millwrights, eighteen in all. As "Guilds", they traced the origins of the settlers, the agriculture of the area, participated in mathematical activities, played traditional sports, and listened to presentations on topics like "Building Bradford" and "Hurricane Hazel", from special guests who included local historians Barb Verney and George Jackson. Friday was the "grand finale." Gordon Marriott piped in the Guilds for an outdoor assembly, followed by a speech by Mayor Frank Jonkman, and performances by a choir and Irish dancers. Then each Guild made the rounds of the special displays, games and demonstrations. Scotch Settlement Apple Orchard brought bushels of crisp apples, and made cider in an old fashioned cider press. Hank Vanderpost of Vanhaven Farms demonstrated the art of preparing a calf to be shown at a Fair. The students asked questions, and experienced history, hands-on. And only at the end of the week did each child receive a letter, designating their classroom for the year.

Municipality :
Community : Tottenham
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Concession :
Description : Go west on Aurora Road past Hwy. 27. About a kilometre down that road, you will find a village with no stores. There is also a pioneer cemetery and a cairn. Lloydtown was a large centre in the early 1800s and had a post office. For some reason, Schomberg became the hub of the area in later years. Lloydtown is farmed for the town where the Rebellion of 1837 began. Jesse Lloyd (1786-1838), a Pennsylvania Quaker, came to the tiny colony of Upper Canada in 1812. where he began to build mills on the Holland River. In 1826, he obtained 60 acres of land in King Township where he built a grist mill on Con. 9. Lloyd was an enterprising man and he began to subdivide and sell his land to settlers, who were attracted to a thriving community with a busy mill as its heart. Sometime in the early 1830s Lloyd became friends with the fiery journalist and charismatic reform politician, William Lyon MacKenzie, the member for York in the legislative assembly. The Lloyd mill inevitably becamse the rallying point for settlers disaffected by the abuses of the colonial government. The disgruntled citizens had assembled at Lloyd's grist mill (since demolished) from all over York and adjacent counties because Lloyd's Town was, at the time, the most important centre between York and the lake port of Collingwood. Pennants with such stirring slogans as Liberty or Death festooned the streets of the village. Weapons were scarce and local blacksmiths and handymen toiled to manufacture axes and staves. The famous rebel march began on a frosty Dec. 4 from Lloydtown. The ragged band, armed with muskets, sharpened staves and pitchforks, marched toward Yonge Street with the expectation of being joined by others at Montgomery's Tavern at Yonge and Eglinton. The weaponry they had been promised had not arrived, nor had some of their leaders. But thy were convinced that a show of force was all that was necessary. Captain Anthongy Anderson of Lloydtown was almost immediately killed. On Dec. 7, the ill-fated rebellion was over. MacKenzie and others sought sanctuary in the United States, from whence some never returned, including Jesse Lloyd who died of fever. The battle had been lost but not the war. The unpopular and stubborn Lt. Gov. Sir Francis Bond Head was recalled to London and a known reformer, the Earl of Durham, was named governor-general of Canada, charged with the task of investigating colonial grievances. Lord Durham's Report on the Affairs of British North America (1839) led to the granting of full responsible government in 1848 in both Upper and Lower Canada. There is a pioneer cemetery on landed donated by Lloyd in 1834. The Lloydtown Rebellion Association was formed in 1990 and has worked to keep the stones in the graveyard from deteriorating. Also, a rustic pergola has been built at the entrance and a short trail made, called the 1837 Rebel Trail, which includes a wooden bridge over a stream that meander through woods west of the cemetery.