GHS - Newsletter
June 2010 Newsletter Issue #62
Let’s start off with the most recent “heritage” event, which happens to be featured on the newsletter’s
masthead. The weekend of May 29-30 was highlighted (for farm antique fans) by a multi-site display of
agricultural history in the Niagara area. We were interested in our local attraction at the farm of Larry
and Lindy Smith, White Church Road, showing off International Harvester tractors, implements and
memorabilia from the past 100 years. The eye-catching display at the entrance is the old and the new; a 1934 steel-lug Farmall and a 2010 Case IH 210 four-wheel drive. Note the natural air-conditioning and easy-ride seat (steel!) on the Farmall. Just remember this when you talk about the “good old days.”
There are on-going projects at different stages in their life cycle. In 1985, an inventory of pre-1920
historical buildings was completed and recorded in printed form. The books were re-indexed and most of
the changes were incorporated in the past three years. We’ve found dozens of changes in the material, not all good. There were a few errant addresses, some with just R.R.# including a lot and concession (vague at
best) and the major problem was the disappearance of dozens of buildings. The final “drive-by” inspection is under way and by the summer’s end, we hope to have a final summary. It will never be completed since
changes occur monthly but it will be up-to-date as of 2010.
One idea for a bit of research that came from the drive by was the Talbot family. Little has been
written about them, yet there is a road named for them:Talbot Lane, off Upper James Street, just north of
Dickenson Road. Once again, it’s an idea but does require “someone” to do a bit of investigating.
A couple of weeks ago, Ron Sinclair and Art French met for a morning coffee with Jim McKane,founder of
the Canadian Headstones project. Jim was on his way to Hagersville and a common meeting place was found
in a Caledonia bistro. Jim is an interesting person, full of enthusiasm for the headstone photos and
other heritage issues. Being somewhat prejudiced, our opinion was that anyone with a farm background was
“OK.” (Ed. Note: We were right!) The local headstones now on line are St. Paul’s Glanford and North Glanford cemeteries. Between the two, there are 650-700 photos and over 1,600 entries with info on the pics. You may find them at www.canadianheadsones.com
Staying on the cemetery theme, the Book family cemetery in Ancaster is in the final stages of
heritage designation under the Ontario Heritage Act. This will be the second designated cemetery in the city (in reality, they’re both in Ancaster).
Earlier, we mentioned heritage designation for the Book cemetery. We’ll bring the process closer to
home and report that there are two such designations on the “to do” list at city hall. Glanford Community
Hall, 3027 Homestead Drive, Mount Hope, is scheduled for 2012, while Woodburn Centennial Hall,
1062 Golf Club Road, Binbrook, is a year later, in 2013. Both are owned by the city and are considered
not to be in danger of demolition or collapse. Circumstances can change, so the heritage staff’s work
schedule may vary, mainly according to the whims of development and stability of existing heritage
structures throughout the city.
The double-trunked maple tree may have died and fallen down, but there could be a phoenix-like
appearance in years to come. The idea came from Al Rumbles to re-create the double-trunk effect with new
sugar maple saplings at a different location, so.......At an undisclosed location, Ron Sinclair and Al
Rumbles have planted four maple trees with the hopes that at least two will survive. Once they’re established,an effort will be made to graft a pair in hopes of replicating the action of two hundred or more years ago. More on this in future letters.
Our Society president, Ron Sinclair, has an interesting hobby - he collects postmarks from all
post offices in Wentworth County. While working with another group, we came across a number of
photos from Ancaster and found one that we thought might be of interest to Ron. It’s a picture of Trinity
Post Office, Ancaster. The location was the southeast corner of Book and Trinity Roads. The photo, from the early 1900's, featured Carrie Bishop on the front porch of the post office.
Not to leave out our local ones, here’s a photo of Nebo Post Office, located on Airport Road at the
now-extinct Hamilton-Caledonia rail line. It was in service from 1908 to 1918 with Hugh Spittal as the
post master.
The Society’s office will be officially closed for the summer months beginning June 21. We’ll re-open
on Thursday, September 2, just before Labour Day weekend. For summertime research, one can call for an
“appointment” - contact Art (905) 679-6315. No guarantees but open to negotiations!
The Strawberry social time is approaching and for the Society, it will be on Monday, June 21, beginning at
7:00 PM. The location is the Newport residence, 7349 Airport Road. It’s on the south side of the road, in the general area where the speed limits change from 60 to 80 (or 80 to 60!) Lawn chairs are optional, but if you have one that fits a particular contour, bring it along. Once again, Al Rumbles has guaranteed local strawberries will be in abundance.
Next newsletter will be the first week of September.