GHS - Newsletter
September 2010 Issue #63
We’ll start off the newsletter with an acknowledgement of the comic strip “Non Sequitur” which we’ve used for the masthead this issue. It leads us into the first topic, that of the headstones photography project begun last spring. When we first started, there were about 34,000 entries for Ontario. At last count (it changes daily), there are over 76,000 entries for the province. Glanbrook has contributed its share, over 2,200 entries with more each month. North Glanford, on Dickenson Road and St. Paul’s, Upper James Street, have been completed and White Church is about half done. It’s been interesting, along with mud, dust, grass and heat. Some of the older stones have grass growing over them to the point where they’ve virtually disappeared. Some of the engravings have eroded to the point of being unreadable. The good news is that the Hamilton Branch OGS did a recording of the stones in the 1980's and the booklets have been invaluable. Newer stones have been included along with few that were missed. A few errors in transcriptions have been
corrected and extra information included, such as full names instead of initials and ladies’ maiden names
where possible. The web site for the information is www.canadianheadstones.com
Another project that is in the revision stage is our inventory of heritage buildings. The original
survey was done in 1984 and the first updates have been done in the past three years. The final drive-by
verification of addresses is currently under way and there are hopes that all will tallied by year-end. The unfortunate news is that the inventory is a constantly-changing one and will never be completely up- to-date. We’re hoping that our final version, saved in a database, can be sent to the city’s heritage staff for inclusion in their records.
There’s been an on-off-on book project that’s been floating around for a couple of years involving
North Shore Publishing and local heritage societies. Its topic was loosely called “Prints of Wentworth” which would showcase photos of the original political make-up of Wentworth County. At first, it was based on assistance from the Trillium Foundation. A collaborative application was submitted and early this
year, the result was negative. Since then, there appears to be a revival with private funding but we’re not sure at this stage. Photos of Wentworth County (never before published) are not a problem, so we’ll wait and see what comes of this idea. Gary Evans, of North Shore Publishing, has a series of “Prints” books, such as “Prints of King”, a photographic history of King Street in Hamilton and we hope this will be a successful addition.
Attached to the newsletter is a copy of a petition regarding the proposed development of the Hatt-
Cooley cemetery, Lime Kiln Road in Ancaster. The private member’s bill, which would have given the
same protection to inactive cemeteries as those considered active ones, died with the summer break of
the Ontario legislature. With the support of the Ontario Historical Society and other interested groups,
there is a possibility that the proposed act may be re-introduced and passed this year. There’s a full article online at www.ontariohistoricalsociety.ca (photo below). Completed petitions should be mailed to :
Ontario Historical Society, 34 Parkview Ave.Willowdale ON M2N 3Y2
Glanbrook Heritage Society has registered as a participant in an OMB hearing on the Hatt-Cooley
development plans next month. This allows a presentation to be made to the Board and any comments that members may wish to make should be forwarded to Art French for inclusion. One short sentence that has been heard is appropriate, although perhaps not strictly legal is: ?It`s just not right.” We agree. When the early settlers created a family cemetery almost two hundred years ago, they did not foresee a 21st century land development wishing to either pave over or move the graves. A minor road change would alleviate the graves problem but paraphrasing the planner for the site, they would lose two, possibly three building sites. Tough!! There can be no excuse that the cemetery was unknown to the purchasers. It`s been there since 1819 and written up in Ancaster Township history throughout the decades. Buyer beware!
The Binbrook fair is coming up shortly and the annual plea goes on for volunteers to help. This
year`s theme focuses on the four corners of the village and the development and changes that are taking place.
It’s been fifteen years since the first Society newsletter was published and was datelined ?Summer
1995”. We have most of the copies but might be missing a few. Just a passing note of historical interest.
We’ve been changing things in our garden(s) and one does appreciate the struggles that our ancestors went through clearing the land for crops. We only had three half-dead maples to remove and with the aid of a mechanical digging device (backhoe in plain language!), it still took a couple of days to clean up the
brush, roots, dig up the sod, spread organic fertilizer,fill in the resulting craters and level the mini-
mountains. Without mechanical help, we’re not sure if the project would have even been contemplated. Here’s to our ancestors and their perseverance in taming the Glanbrook wilderness.
Upcoming Events:
Monday, October 18 at 7:30 pm - Regular Meeting at Orchard Court, 2800 Library Lane in
Binbrook
Monday, November 15 at 7:30 pm - Regular Meeting at St. Paul's Anglican Church, 2869 Upper
James Street, Mount Hope
Monday, December 13 at 7:00 pm - Annual Christmas Social at Orchard Court, 2800 Library
Lane in Binbrook. Bring a few treats to share and donations to the food bank are welcomed