I had been with the Victorian Order of Nurses (VON) in. Timmins and .... south underneath the stores on the west side of
© Copyright 2009 Brampton Library
Acknowledgements Through Our Eyes – History, Community, and Diversity is a project designed to document Brampton’s local history through the eyes of the people who have lived it and are living it still. In this booklet, seniors share their memories of growing up in Brampton, or moving here from near or far away. They talk about the changes they have seen over the years, and of the highlights that stand out most in their recollections. From floods to flowers, Dick Smith’s pond to the Brampton Mall, from fishing to tobogganing – the stories are here. Brampton Library would like to thank all of the authors who submitted their stories for inclusion in this book, as well as all of the seniors who told their stories on camera in the Through Our Eyes video interviews, which are available through Brampton Library as well as being viewable online (for more information see www.bramptonlibrary.ca). Special thanks go to Brampton Library staff members Pam Martin and Elizabeth Patterson, and to the volunteer project committee for their contributions: Swetha Christabel, Everton Dixon, Tristan Irvine, Francine Labelle, Vera Macdonald, Saniya Tariq and Madonna Vas Rodrigues. This project was made possible by the financial support of the Government of Canada’s New Horizons for Seniors Program. Sincerely, Chanda Gilpin and Sarala Uttangi Information Services Coordinators Brampton Library
Table of Contents Stepping Stones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 South from Timmins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Remembering My Childhood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Brampton Business and Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Volunteers Make the City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Winter Wonders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 The Dale Estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 The Rose Theatre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 1940s Brampton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 McHugh Public School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Three Generations in Bramalea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 The Brampton Cardinals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Bramalea: Satellite City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 Brampton Citizens’ Band . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 Early Memories of Brampton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 Brampton Clown Band . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 The Heritage Theatre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
Carabram: A Horticultural Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 Home Again . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 The Home Front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 The Vivian Family Businesses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41 Peel Memorial Hospital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 Down Memory Lane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44 To Our Nurses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46 Gage Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48 The Brampton Mall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48 Brampton on Parade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51 How Do You Say “Bramalea”? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53 Calvert-Dale Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55 Sources / Further Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59
Stepping Stones Ken Cuthbert
There is a saying that you are not a real Bramptonian until you know where the Brampton “stepping stones” were located. So let me tell you that before the river diversion channel was built, the Etobicoke Creek flowed under the Church Street bridge to the foundation banking of the C.N.R. railway, running parallel to the tracks. Big stones (the “stepping stones”) were placed in the creek for people to get to Queen Street. E. without going all the way around Main Street. So now you know the story and you are a real Bramptonian!
South from Timmins Irene Black (Based on a Brampton Library interview)
We moved to Brampton from Timmins in 1952. My husband, Lloyd, worked for Armbro—they built everything. We came to Brampton because the company moved. My husband was a sales clerk, I guess you’d call it. He did a lot of things. 1
People didn’t have titles so much in those days. I always said I’d never live in southern Ontario; Gravenhurst would be my cut-off point. But here I am! It was hard to find anywhere to live when we first moved to Brampton. People rented out their upstairs rooms—made them into apartments. Anything they could rent out to make a little extra money. The first place we lived in Brampton was in one of these upstairs apartments. When the Etobicoke Creek flooded Brampton, I remember great floods of water rushing down the streets. We looked down on it from our upstairs. Eventually we moved to 36 Rosedale. It was a lovely little home. I felt great. We couldn’t find a place for so long and then to finally get our own home—well, my goodness! The neighbourhood was fine. But I worked and didn’t have time to mix. I didn’t have time to go with the ladies for their morning coffee. It wasn’t that I wasn’t friendly, I just worked. You can’t do both very well. Women who worked weren’t the usual then. I tried to work as many nights as I could so someone was home, at least in body, to look after our daughter. I had been with the Victorian Order of Nurses (VON) in Timmins and worked for VON in Brampton. They sent us out wherever we were needed. I walked from my house on Rosedale to Peel Memorial. I had a good workout! I walked like the wind. There was a drugstore in the last block and I remember one time this little kid jumped out of the doorway 2
in front of me. I would have just mowed him down, I was moving so quickly, so I just picked him up and set him aside. I must have scared the living daylights out of him! I remember home births. At that time many of the babies were born at home instead of in hospital because women didn’t want to go to a strange place. One morning I went out with my black bag and forgot to bring a razor. Then I thought, “The husband will have a razor.” He had an electric razor! Shaving isn’t part of preparation any more; they stopped doing that a long time ago. Brampton was quite small back then, a little place it seems, but typically southern Ontario. It was completely different from Timmins, which was a mining town. It was like day and night. People are the same everywhere, though. What they do makes the difference. The Four Corners intersection was all there was to Brampton. Saturday mornings we would have a sidewalk meeting to catch up with friends. That was the big outing. I shopped in downtown Brampton. There was a good A&P then. I would take my daughter’s wagon and do my grocery shopping. And every summer, before we drove to my parents’ cottage near Huntsville, I would borrow a shopping bag of books for the whole summer from the library on Queen Street. I had them read in no time. I loved the library—it was a great place to go. 3
We used to drive by Peel Manor and I’d say, “Now there’s a place I’ll never live.” Well, here I am. I said that about southern Ontario, too. I have to stop predicting!
Remembering My Childhood Lorraine (Lewis) Baker
My neighbourhood was so different then, in those wonderful childhood years. One of the most memorable places was Dick Smith’s pond. Such a beautiful natural setting. It was at the end of Centre Street South, just past Peel Memorial hospital, over the tracks. There is a park there now. Many animals and birds resided there: rabbits, muskrats, turtles. We used to swim there in the summer and skate in the winter. We could look out the kitchen window and see the cows on the opposite shore coming for a drink. Also in the winter, we used to slide down the hill on flattenedout cardboard boxes. In my dad’s time, they used to cut ice off the pond. I recall him telling me about a team of runaway horses, heading wildly down Wellington Street, right into the pond. Wagon and all was lost. How very sad! 4
I spent a lot of time down in the flats (or 40 acres) with my dog Lassie. My friends and I used to build forts in the pine trees where John Beck Crescent is situated today. There used to be a huge beech tree there and my dad and many of his friends carved their initials in it. In the springtime the entire area was covered with mayflowers and other wildflowers. I recall one time finding a nest of baby bunnies. So sweet! Down the lane at the end of the street lived the D’Angelos. They had a small farm there with a cow and a gaggle of geese who were really mean and chased me all the time. They also had a pig named Linda who was just like a dog. She would follow Mr. D’Angelo up and down the path between the house and barn. Oh yes—I almost forgot about the little flock of sheep who were in the field. Along Queen Street East there is a section of the street that was referred to as “the jog.” It is the area of Queen and Centre Streets. Further west towards downtown on Queen Street was Aziz’s Woolen Mill. The lane running beside it led to Rosalea park. To get to the park one had to cross over the “stepping stones” in the Etobicoke Creek. They were directly under the railway bridge which stands there today. We would go to Rosalea park to swim in “the tank” (the swimming pool). Looking back now, I guess it was tiny, but then there weren’t many kids back then—certainly not like today! Another place that I recall well was the Moore family’s hill. It 5
was on Mary Street and Peel Avenue, right where Mary Street ended. Today, houses stand where the Moore family’s garden was, and that was our sledding hill. Jean Moore was the cashier at the Capitol Theatre, which became the Heritage Theatre. Back then there was a little road continuing from Mary Street where a house once stood. If you went down this road there was a path that led to the flats and there were many icebergs there in the springtime. This is now the site of the Legion.
Brampton Business and Industry Brampton Library staff
Brampton began as a farming community in the late 1820s. The community was supported by shoemakers, saddlers, tanners and a flour mill. There were a few taverns and a distillery and brewery. In 1849 John Haggert opened a factory that manufactured agricultural implements. The company flourished, growing from a payroll of ten to 140 by the 1870s. In addition to farm machinery the company made stoves, steam engines, and horse powered threshers. For 40 years Haggert Brothers Manufacturing was Brampton’s largest employer but the company faltered in the agricultural recession of the 1890s. The old Haggert building was, in turn, occupied by another 6
engine and thresher manufacturer, shoe companies, knitting mills and a dairy. About the time of World War I, two shoe companies opened in Brampton: J.W. Hewetson and Williams. Hewetson had 50 employees who turned out 240 pairs of shoes daily. By the 1950s there were 50 industries in Brampton, employing 3000 people. And by the 1970s more than 10,000 people were employed by such companies as Nortel, Ford, Sara Lee, and Thomas J. Lipton. In addition to manufacturing, there were family businesses such as Dale and Fendley Florist, which is still in business. Harmsworth Williams Shoe Co. Ltd., factory, Decorating Centre has been in c. 1915 (Image courtesy of business for more than 100 R.L Frost Collection, Region of Peel Archives) years. Gummed Papers, originally makers of craft tape and labels, remained in business from 1913 to about 2007. During World War II it manufactured a product that scrambled the German radar system. When a group of farmers in Brampton had trouble getting insurance from city-based companies, they founded the County of Peel Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance Company. 7
The company was renamed Peel Mutual Insurance Company in 1955, and it is the longest running company in present-day Brampton.
Volunteers Make the City Eleanor Yard (Based on a Brampton Library interview)
My first memory of Brampton was when I attended a hockey game here with my father, David Appleton, when I was seven or eight. He was always coaching or refereeing games somewhere. For that particular game he was the referee at the arena on George Street. When the game was over and we tried to go home, we found we were flooded in! Home at the time was the borough of York, where I was born on January 10, 1939. I was the youngest baby seeing her father off to war at Union Station, December 13 of that year. The 48th Highlanders were the first contingent outside of England to serve, and King George VI was waiting to greet them and shake their hands. My picture appeared in the Toronto Star! After the war, my father worked in York as a recreation director. He started one of the first seniors’ clubs in Toronto 8
and my family often volunteered at the various activities. As a young teen I helped serve at the free Christmas dinners he arranged. In the Appleton family you were never too young to volunteer! I lived in York right up until my marriage in 1959. My husband Al and I moved to Bramalea in 1961. We had been driving everywhere in the area, looking for the right place to raise our family. We wanted a planned community and found just what we were looking for in Bramalea. The home we purchased was in the first section— “A”—and was built by Bramalea Consolidated. When we moved to Bramalea there were only 1400 people living there. We were on the outskirts of town, overlooking a field and highway. We have lived in the same house all this time. My children attended Aloma School, the first public school in Bramalea, then Balmoral Senior Public, and finally Bramalea Secondary. They were all within walking distance and the children didn’t have to cross any streets. I quickly got involved again in volunteering when I registered my daughters, Cori and Michele, in figure skating with the Chinguacousy Figure Skating Club. They said they needed a nice mother to help monitor the children on the free ice while they waited for their lessons. I eventually became membership chair and then president of the club. The club started the first preschool skating program in the city and enrollment reached more than 300 children! 9
As I continued volunteering, my daughters continued in competitive skating. In 1976, Cori and her skating partner Jeff were the first skaters from the Chinguacousy Skating Club to compete in the Canadian Figure Skating Championships in Calgary. Michele was also involved in skating and went on to become a Gold Test Judge. Meanwhile, I served in various volunteer positions with provincial skating associations and divisions. All in all, I was involved with figure skating from 1967 to 1985. In 2002, at a friend’s suggestion, I joined the Knightsbridge Seniors Club to play cards. I was asked to volunteer on the social committee. I later served as the vice president, and am currently in my second year as president. I can usually be found at the club five days a week assisting the 625 members and working with more than 125 volunteers. The club is more than 30 years old. We stay younger, more active and brighter in mind, because we all volunteer at Knightsbridge. To date we have over 29 “over-90s” people who still come to dance, play bingo and cards, and even travel every week. I encourage more to join in the fun and laughter that makes life worth living. The biggest change I have noticed in Bramalea over the years has been how quickly and how much both Bramalea and Brampton have grown. The expansion of recreational facilities by the city of Brampton has always been supported.
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Winter Wonders Ken Cuthbert
As I write these thoughts on a cold, snowy winter day, scenes from my childhood winters in Brampton are prominent in my memories. We lived on Mary Street and it was my job to pick up the mail at our post office box located in the federal building where O’Malley’s pub is now located. Next to the post office on the east side was The Pool Room, and alongside the entrance was a huge thermometer advertising Yellow Briar Tobacco. I always glanced at the thermometer when passing to get the mail, and I remember one winter in the early 1940s when it read -20˚ Fahrenheit for two weeks. That was cold enough to freeze the Etobicoke Creek so that the boys could play shinny. We were also able to skate underneath the town on the creek as the diversion had not been built. It was dark in there, as the creek ran underneath the stores on the east side of Main Street, west underneath Main Street, and then south underneath the stores on the west side of Main Street and underneath Queen Street West to the cenotaph, where we saw daylight once more. If at any time we heard water flowing while we were skating, we climbed up onto the huge cement footings on either side of the creek. During the spring thaw every year, the Etobicoke Creek 11
became a lake that spread from First Baptist Church (2 Wellington Street East) across to the rise where the Park Royal Apartments are located (8 Wellington Street West). The demolition team from Armstrong Brothers Construction used dynamite to free the ice jams on Main Street South. This may have helped a little, but the floods still came. The water would flow so fast that no one dared to go near it. One year, for a bit of fun, Mr. Jim Algie Senior got into a row boat at the intersection of Main and Queen, took out a fishing rod and dropped a line in the water. (Mr. Algie was a fantastic trumpet player and sometimes on a quiet summer evening you could hear him playing beautiful music from his backyard on Lorne Avenue.) Another winter memory I have is the snowfall of December 12, 1944. There were only two schools in Brampton at the time, and you were either a McHugh bum or a Central bum. I went to McHugh School, and on that snowy day I recall the snow being well over my knees as I walked to school. And then, after getting to school, we found that it was closed—the only snow day I remember! Armstrong Brothers Construction sent bulldozers and earth removers to clear the snow on the main streets. The snow was taken to Gage Park in these big machines and dumped in big piles. We kids had a ball playing there! Another fun winter destination was at the end of Mary Street at Chapel Street, where there was a hill which Mr. Norm 12
Moore and his sister let all the kids use for skiing and sleighing. And at The Rose Bowl, where the tennis courts are now (at Rosalea Park) there was always something going on. There was public skating in the winter along with the industrial league hockey. Another winter scene from my memory relates to the horses and wagons that were common on Brampton streets during my childhood. Eaton’s, Simpsons, Canada Bread, Brown’s Bread, Wonder Bread, as well as the local dairies all delivered by horse and wagon. We used to try and hitch rides to school or help them deliver on Saturdays. It was a big deal. And in the winter? I know the town was glad to have these horses around because surrounding each town hydrant was a five-by-five-foot, 20-inch-high frame filled with manure to keep the hydrants from freezing!
The Dale Estate Brampton Library staff
The Dale flower business, along with smaller growers like Fendley, Calvert, and Lagerquist, put Brampton on the map as “Flowertown.” At its peak in the 1950s the Dale Estate was producing and shipping 20 million flowers a year worldwide. Times were hard in the 1930s and so the autographed long13
stemmed red rose came about as a Dale sales gimmick. It was so successful that it became the Dale trademark, recognized around the globe. Business flourished and then flagged in the fifties. Overhead costs increased drastically and it became cheaper for florists to ship flowers by air from South America. In 1965 the Dale and Calvert firms combined to become the largest flower grower in North America. However, upkeep of the greenhouses proved to be too large a liability. Property was sold off in the 1970s and ’80s. By the late ’70s Dale ceased to exist in the flower business and collapsed entirely in 1980. The chimney for the huge boiler rooms that heated the greenhouse was torn down and Dale Estate Conservatories, the last remnant of the Dale Estate c. 1930 (Image courtesy of disappeared. R.L Frost Collection, Region of Peel Archives)
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The Rose Theatre Edwin Weekes
As I roam along Main Street on my ride, There shines this star with lingering pride. Rising with its commanding view of Civic Square, As people stop to marvel and stare. The “Rose Theatre” is this new structure, Boasting about its very large public infrastructure. It will attract both visitors and stars, As they joyfully arrive in their cars. Oh yes! It was a dramatic sight, To see the ground-breaking ceremony. As passersby cast eyes on this sight, They all applauded in harmony. “Years may come and years may go,” And at all times people will come and go And enjoy the shows at the beautiful “Rose.” And for souvenir pictures you can pose. So in this beautiful Flower City, Stands the tallest architectural “Rose.” And certainly every year as it blooms, From it will come “the economic boom.” 15
So let us all invite society, To come and have fun at the Rose. Shows will be of such a variety, So by all means, do come and see the Rose Of Society Evolving.
1940s Brampton Geraldine Malloy
When I was a child, there were only two schools in Brampton: McHugh Public School and Central Public School. I used to walk between my house on Clarence Street and McHugh Public School four times each day. Mr. Bell was the principal at the time, and Miss Stewart and Miss Yarrington were the well-known teachers. And then there was Miss Mosely, the nurse. The boys entered the school at the east doors and the girls used the west doors. We always had a winter carnival on the ice rink on the school grounds. 16
When we arrived home for lunch on school days, it was, “Shhh! Gordon Sinclair’s on CFRB!” And afternoons if we were ill at home it was the radio some more: “The Happy Gang” followed by “The Romance of Helen Trent.” And I still remember that radio jingle “Rinso white, Rinso bright!” Most families had only one radio to listen to “Fibber McGee and Molly,” Fred Allen and other shows. There were many other things we kids did to keep busy. Saturday afternoons were spent at the Capitol Theatre at the princely sum of 12¢. We would see the news, a cartoon and the main feature. The Brampton Library (Miss Fingland) was a favourite visiting place. We were only allowed to take out one book at a time, and it was usually read on the way home. During the summer we swam at the swimming tank, using the “stepping stones” to get to and from. The winters were spent tobogganing down the hills at the Bull Farm. Sometimes we went to the golf links, as the hills were much higher. The Etobicoke Creek gave us lots of skating practise. In our teens we skated at Rosalea Park with lights and music on the weekends. The churches also provided social activities including Sunday school. Most of the older kids had part-time jobs delivering Liberty magazine or working at Dale Estate on the weekends.
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McHugh Public School Text and photos reprinted with permission from the McHugh Public School web site: http://mchugh.peelschools.org/history/history.html In 1873 the site of McHugh Public School on Elliott and Craig Streets in the south ward was completely covered by dense bush. Fifty years later in 1923 McHugh Public School, formerly known as McHugh Memorial, was completed at a cost of $58,000. The building’s contractors boasted of the latest modern design that featured proper ventilation (the air of each classroom being changed every twenty minutes), dust proof classrooms and nearly fire proof construction. 1923: Before the addition of the The Public School Board two side “wings.” bragged “that the work was
worthy of the highest commendation and that Brampton will have an edifice to which she may point with pride,” not to mention all details were attended to without costing a cent for extras. The building, being a modified Tudor design, included many amenities: eight standard size classrooms, two teachers’ rooms, a basement with two large playrooms and more than 18
the usual facilities for lighting. Finally, McHugh Memorial was named after Thomas McHugh who for 15 years was principal of Central Public School. Remnants from long ago • Hockey and skating rink built on the playground in 1945, and provided a great deal of fun (Skating Carnival was a yearly event at McHugh).
1978: Before gardens were added to the Elliott St. side of the building.
• Kindergarten classes first began in 1946 in the basement of McHugh.
• Between 1950 and 1955 two new wings were added to McHugh to keep pace with a rapidly growing city. • In 1950 the Bantam Hockey Team from Brampton went through to the finals of the province (almost all of the team were McHugh boys). • Two teachers who retired after a full career of teaching from McHugh were Miss Edith Neeley, teaching for 33 years and Miss Helen Huxley, teaching for 37 years.
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Three Generations in Bramalea Mona B. Sinclair
In 1981 my husband Ewen had yet another job transfer to Toronto. You see, we each grew up on farms in P.E.I., met in Grade 11 and married some years later. Ewen joined The Bank of Nova Scotia right after high school, and within a year he had the first of a series of job transfers, moving from Montreal to Ottawa to Trenton and then to Toronto. But where would we find an affordable house in Toronto for ourselves, three teenagers and a dog? We had lived in the suburbs of Montreal and then Ottawa, so downtown Toronto was not considered. We had visited relatives in Bramalea, so we scouted the area. And there we found the home in which we still reside. The fantastic sports facilities were a big factor in our decision. We immediately got a family membership with Brampton Parks and Recreation, joined the library, and settled into a church. Our eldest daughter was already off to university, but our son and second daughter enrolled at Chinguacousy High School. That’s what brought us here. But what has kept us here many years after retirement? We have become active in the community over the years and in so doing have made friends. I’ve watched my husband play hockey in many venues, and both of us have watched our son play hockey in various communities. And 20
now we watch our hockey-playing grandsons, one of whom plays for a Brampton team and attends Chinguacousy High, where his parents met. Do I detect a trend? The Rose Theatre opened in 2006, bringing a touch of class to our entertainment, but we had previously enjoyed live shows at the various smaller theatres over the years. The sports facilities that so impressed us have increased even more with the growth of the city. Brampton is a progressive multicultural city with some challenges to face. But who doesn’t love a challenge?
The Brampton Cardinals Gladys Campbell
Could there be choirs without altos, sopranos, tenors and basses? No—nor a city without people from many places. We welcome many new friends from far and near. We hope you enjoy the music, good cheer and remain for years. Back in the late ’60s or early ’70s, Brampton Seniors Club 106 organized “The Senior Citizens Choir” under the direction of Frank Cuthbert and Gladys Higgins, pianist. In 1973 Mary Turpin and Isabel McKay organized a retired 21
teachers’ choir known as “Peel Women Teachers.” In late 1979 the two choirs were amalgamated under the directorship of Hilda Rowcliffe, who had been directing both choirs. The name “The Cardinals” was chosen as we wear red jackets. We have sung in many places: churches, nursing homes, Peel Memorial Hospital, schools, masonic groups, senior citizens’ homes and the Brampton Fall Fair. We perform a mixed selection of classical and popular selections. In 1984 Channel 11 (CHCH) Hamilton asked Peel County to present a programme on “New Faces.” The Cardinals were asked to participate. We all enjoyed the afternoon. In June of the same year, we entered the fifth annual Senior Choir Festival in Kitchener. Nine choirs competed and we placed second with 86 marks. The following year we competed with 10 choirs and were happy to receive 88 marks—first place! In 1987 dear Hilda Rowcliffe passed away. She was our leader for seven years. Doris Sharpe again took over with Louise Upham still playing the piano. She composed the words and music of “The Brampton Cardinals”—a song that we usually use as our opening number. She will never be forgotten! In a few months Louise retired and Shirley Clarkson (later Grice) was pianist. In October 1989 we were told that our new director would be Rev. Alan Craig. We were very anxious to welcome him. In 1998 Joyce Foster, a retired 22
school music teacher, took over as our accompanist. Thank you to our president, Isabel Moote, secretarytreasurer Jean Gillespie, the telephone callers, and others who help in various ways. We are never too old to be happy, To laugh, to smile, and to sing; Never too old for a childlike trust, That a blessing each day will bring.
Bramalea: Satellite City Brampton Library Staff
In the 1950s, Toronto was experiencing a housing shortage. In order to provide homes for people in the Toronto area who could not find housing in Toronto, the developers of Bramalea envisioned a self-sufficient “satellite city” on former Chinguacousy Township farm land. One explanation of how the name “Bramalea” was created is that farmer William Sheard combined the “bram“ from Brampton, the “mal” from Malton and then added “lea,” an old British word for meadow or grassland. Between 1957 and 1958, Bramalea Consolidated Developments purchased more than 2,000 hectares in 23
Chinguacousy Township to build this new city from the ground up. It would include neighbourhoods, industrial areas, shopping and cultural centres. The first phase of Bramalea was completed in 1960 with 300 homes. By 1964, Bramalea had grown to 1,000 homes, two public schools, a high school and a shopping centre. Industrial land was cheap, and provincial schemes provided incentive to buy houses. “Bramalea became a patchwork of people . . . in a city with only a decade of history.”1 To the west was the old established Town of Brampton. Then came regional government. On January 1, 1974 the Region of Peel was formed, incorporating the townships of Gore and Chinguacousy, including Bramalea, into the new City of Brampton. Residents of Bramalea and Brampton hotly protested the amalgamation. Residents of Bramalea enjoyed the freshness of organized planning, while Bramptonians feared urban sprawl. Debate raged over the “main” location of key community buildings and services. When Brampton and Bramalea merged, the new city’s council chambers and other facilities were moved from the Town of Brampton’s modest downtown locale and into the Civic Centre. The library systems of Brampton and Bramalea became one, creating a system of four locations, with the “main library” in the Civic Centre as well. This location for 1
Celebrating 150 Years 1853–2003: City of Brampton Sesquicentennial Commemorative Publication (Brampton: Brampton Guardian, 2003) 39. 24
City Hall and the library caused a furor. More upset followed when the new City Hall relocated to Wellington Street. In the minds of many people the “main library” still remains at the Four Corners.
Brampton Citizens’ Band George Stephens
I became a member of the Brampton Citizens’ Band in 1960, when I came to live permanently in Brampton after university. I got involved in the band through Fred Bacon, choirmaster at Christ Church, and Ken Cuthbert, organist at the church. In fact, all three of us played trombone after Ken’s father, Harold Cuthbert, taught me the trombone slide positions, and converted me from a euphonium player to trombone. During my early years, the band was made up of male musicians only, and I remember the first women becoming members in the 1960s. We were a marching band, and led the parade to the Brampton Fall Fair, down Main Street to Frederick, and across to Elliott Street, then into the fairgrounds, where holes in the field would cause minor injury to our lips as we marched and played! As trombone players, we were always at the front on parade, so the slides wouldn’t hit anyone in the back. Our uniforms were military style: red jackets with brass buttons down both sides, navy 25
pants with red stripes and peaked hats. As well as participating in local events and parades, the band played in many national and provincial competitions, including the Canadian National Exhibition. In the 1960s, the band’s practice and storage areas were on the third floor of a building on the east side of Main Street South, north of Harmsworth Decorating Centre and the Canadian Tire Store that used to be there. The local masons had their facility on the second floor. Some years later, the band moved to the main floor of the Carnegie building on Queen Street East, and still later to the lower floor of that building. I was on the executive of the band for many years, mostly as treasurer, since I was a career accountant. A bylaw of the Town of Brampton provided up to half the mill rate in those days every year for support of the town band. The band never claimed the full amount, which would have been thousands of dollars, because our annual budget was always reasonable. Imagine the dollars that would provide for the Band today, had the bylaw not been rescinded some years ago! When Fred Bacon was president, the executive put much effort into designing a band shell to replace the carousel band stand that still exists in Gage Park. The funding was all in place and all was in readiness until the town council cancelled the project, much to our disappointment. Under the 26
stage, the band shell would have had a practice room and storage space for instruments. In those days, we played regular Sunday evening concerts in Gage Park. It was not until several band members became cottage owners that the weekend concerts became difficult. The City of Brampton Concert Band, as it is now known, still offers mid-week evening concerts each summer, and participates in music festivals throughout Europe.
Early Memories of Brampton Vivian Cramp
My name is Vivian Cramp (née Hill). About the year 1929, my parents moved to Centre Street, across from the Peel Memorial Hospital parking lot. The house does not exist now, as it has been torn down. We were near the railway tracks and when we crossed them and went downhill, we arrived at the Smiths’ pond. In the summer our parents took me and my younger brother down to the pond to learn to swim. We were four and three years old at the time. They insisted patiently that we learn. My first accomplishment was swimming under water. I have enjoyed swimming ever since. The pond does not exist any more. The Wineholts lived adjacent to the pond. They had a barn that stored blocks of ice that they sawed out of the pond in 27
winter and kept in sawdust. In the summer they delivered their blocks of ice to those of us that had ice boxes. The top of the ice box held the ice; the bottom of the ice box stored our butter, eggs, milk and meat. Our milk was delivered by horse and wagon, as was our bread. Eaton’s and Simpsons delivered in a similar way when we ordered from the catalogues. My uncle who lived next door with my grandparents had a car. It seems he was always tinkering with it. We had many trips to Toronto in that car and also liked to explore further north. Midland was a favourite destination, as was Niagara Falls. One Sunday afternoon the roof blew off the car and into the middle of a field. My grandmother said, “Don’t worry about it.” We later moved to Clarence Street and often skated on the Etobicoke Creek and tobogganed down the hills. In summer we caught pollywogs and watched them develop into frogs. Once a year there was a sucker fish run in the river. I helped my dad catch these fish by stabbing them with a pitchfork. We did not eat these fish; my dad used the fish as fertilizer. We had radio, but no one had television in those days, so we did get to know the neighbours for blocks around. One thing that helped us socialize was the summer picnics. I went to Sunday School at Christ Anglican Church and we had picnics at Huttonville Park with its pond, or Eldorado Park with its river. My dad worked at the Dale Estate and they also had a summer picnic, as did the Canadian Legion. All of 28
these organizations had Christmas parties with their wider circle of acquaintances. It seemed we knew almost everyone in town. McHugh Public School with eight rooms and eight grades allowed me to start school at age five. We got to know all of these children and often their families. The custodian at the school would flood an ice rink each winter. My brother and I and neighbour children met there often. Downtown Brampton was very pleasant. We had an F.T. Hill department store and a Beamish and Chainway five-anddime store. We did love the movies—three different movies each week! I also loved the library and went on an almost daily basis. Miss Fingland would only let me have one book per day. I remember that Clarence Street had a layer of tar put on the road each spring. We used to have a tar and cinder sidewalk but the weeds took over. Brampton seemed to be a very simple and safe town for a child to walk around. In the winter, after dark, I would walk by myself from the last street in the south end of town, through town to the Legion or curling club for a dance lesson. I never heard of any “incidents.” As young teenagers, my girlfriend and I would ride our bikes nine miles to Malton Airport to watch the air force students practice their landings and takeoffs in their Harvard and Tiger Moth biplanes. We also rode our bicycles to Brampton High School and felt no need to lock them up. 29
When I started Brampton High School in 1940, there were five Grade Nine students. The required uniform was a pleated navy serge, worn above the knee. We wore black lisle stockings and black shoes. The required blazer was scarlet red serge trimmed with black braid and gold cord, along with three brass buttons. We ordered the blazers from Eaton’s in Toronto.
Brampton Clown Band Brampton Library Staff
The Clown Band, started by Andy Cuthbert in the 1940s, entertained people in parades and carnivals, but also visited hospitals and nursing homes and won several awards for their performances.
Brampton Clown Band (date unknown). L to R: Frank Cuthbert, Evie Lewis, Vic Carter, Wilf Lewis and Arnold Cuthbert. (Image courtesy of L. Baker)
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The Heritage Theatre Brampton Library staff
The Capitol Theatre opened in February 1923 as a vaudeville house. Shortly thereafter, it began screening silent films, complete with orchestra. With the advent of “talkies” in 1928, the theatre continued to draw a crowd. It still remained a venue for public gatherings and theatricals as well. The Capitol was sold to the Odeon Cinema chain in 1948 and movie goers still flocked to the theatre. However, the advent of home video and multiplex cinemas was the downfall of stand-alone movie theatres. The Capitol closed in 1981 after 58 years. The City of Brampton bought the building in November 1983 and refurbished it to make it suitable for live performances. It was reopened as the Heritage Theatre. The Heritage Theatre underwent several renovations but it became evident that it was just too small to stage the more modern elaborate productions and performances the city wished to host. Closed in 2006, it was replaced by the new Rose Theatre.
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Carabram: A Horticultural Perspective Diane Murphy
When they first hear the word “Carabram,” newcomers to Brampton might wonder, “What’s that?” After checking the dictionary I find that “cara” comes from “caravansary,” which is a stopping place for caravans or travellers. “Bram” represents “Brampton.” So “Carabram” is a refreshing stopping place in Brampton. During Carabram, various ethnic groups fill high school gymnasiums and recreation halls with displays and food, and organize entertainment from their particular country. People buy “passports” which admit them to each pavilion, and free shuttle buses run between the pavilions. Throughout the years, many Bramptonians have spent whole days at Carabram with their families, visiting far-away places— maybe lunching at the India pavilion, then taking the children to the Punch-and-Judy puppet show at the England pavilion and enjoying a traditional afternoon tea with scones, strawberry jam and cream. This could be followed by visits to other pavilions to see cultural displays, performances of ethnic dancing at the Ukraine or China pavilion and traditional food at yet another pavilion at dinner time. Carabram has 32
always been a feast not only for the stomach but also for the eyes and the mind. In 1987 the Chinguacousy Garden Club, of which I was president for 16 years, was asked to put together a large garden display in Carabram’s England Pavilion—the English being known for their beautiful gardens. We were to choose a different theme for each year. The themes for our displays were taken from English history or literature. In 1987 the Club set up an English country pub garden, with flowers cascading over an arbour, a winding path through artificial grass, and flower beds at the back (these were three dozen-plus flower arrangements!) Seated on a wooden bench, quaffing his pint of ale and dressed in top hat and tails, we had Lord Percival—a life-size model made by one of our dressmaking club members. There were also standard rose trees in tubs, a large linden tree for shade, and a bird bath. Our 1988 display took the form of an English manor garden. For many years the tea shop in Chinguacousy Park was operated by Alan and Sylvia Gibson, well known Brampton citizens and members of the Chinguacousy Garden Club. So, in the half of the high school gymnasium that we had been allotted, we depicted Lady Sylvia partaking of afternoon tea in the manor garden. The table had a lace cloth, silver tea service and bone china cups. 33
A local nursery had loaned us potted trees and shrubs, statuary and a working fountain, so we made a hedge separating the flower garden from the vegetable garden and orchard. We had a real apple tree there and hung apples from its branches. Lady Sylvia’s gardener was asleep in an old-fashioned wooden wheelbarrow, his spade propped beside him and a dozen empty English beer bottles strewn around him. These bottles were donated by the English pub that operated during the pavilion’s open hours. In 1992 we depicted Sherlock Holmes (a mannequin borrowed from a store), complete with cape, deer-stalker hat, magnifying glass and pipe. We had a Baker Street sign leading to the display and a door marked 221B—his office. Sherlock was looking for clues in a typical English flower garden. A shoe protruded from the grass. That year we also did a table-top floral arrangement of the Canada flag. In 1994 the display consisted of mannequins dressed as Queen Victoria, the nanny, and some of her children. The clothing was authentic Victorian costume that a
Sherlock Holmes in the Garden. Carabram – English Pavilion. July 1992. (Image courtesy of D. Murphy) 34
member had inherited, and the nanny pushed an authentic antique English pram. The figures were going for a stroll through the palace gardens. The England pavilion won the Best Culture/Decor award that year, as it did several other years that we were involved. A fun display one year was of Sir Francis Drake lawn bowling at Plymouth Hoe, with a gym-width backdrop (painted by high school students) of the Spanish Armada sailing up the channel. Yet another year we depicted a modern English garden wedding, with the traditional bride, bridesmaid and flower girl. There was a trellis decorated with fresh flowers, and fresh bouquets—of course in the traditional English style. Another Carabram display included a large table-top flower carpet of the Union Jack flag. This was quite tricky, entailing using coloured yarns and pins to lay out the design. We had to spray paint hundreds of white carnations deep blue, as these flowers do not come in this hue. The Carabram garden displays were something all of the Chinguacousy Garden Club members enjoyed doing—the companionship and chatter adding greatly to the pleasure. It always took eight to 10 of us the better part of a day to do the display each year. For the whole weekend, we took turns “policing” our display and watering the plants and arrangements. During our breaks, we’d go to the refreshment room, where there was always a good comedy 35
revue being enacted on stage. All of the trees and flowers we used were fresh and typical of what would have been used in England: roses, carnations, delphiniums, stocks, sweet William, snapdragons, iris, lupins, and daisies. A lot of the greenery, such as euonymous, privet and ferns, came from members’ own gardens. Unfortunately, the England pavilion closed its doors a few years ago, but Carabram is still taking place every July.
Home Again Irene Pepperall Based on a Brampton Library interview.
Our family moved to Brampton from Ingersoll, Ontario when I was two years old. There were four other girls in our family. My father was F.W. Elston, a jeweller and watchmaker in Brampton for more than 40 years. He had a store in the Capitol Theatre building where he owned the store and rented the site. Dad was a quiet, unassuming man. That’s what jewellers tend to be like—they keep to themselves. My mother was always in the background, helping my father. I worked in Dad’s store for many years. When the Etobicoke Creek flooded downtown Brampton we set everything up as high as 36
we could in the store. We sat on the counter and ate sandwiches. The water rose from the basement right up to the edge of the counter. We were cleaning up that mess for years after! When I was five, I was outside one winter morning on a sleigh coming down the hill in the back of our home on John Street. We lived in a cottage at the back of a house. My mother was doing the laundry but she was watching me. She could see the sleigh turning into the fence, but there was nothing she could do. I broke my leg. The doctor came to the house and I lay on the dining room table while the doctor set my leg. I went to Central Public School but changed over to McHugh Public School when the family moved into our own home on McMurchy Street. When I first started school it was in a tworoom school house. I was left-handed but the teachers tried to make me right-handed by moving the slate I was writing on to the other side. During my years at Brampton High School on Church Street, there was a special teacher, Mr. Lowndes, a wonderful man who played piano and sang to the students. After high school I went to the Brampton Business Institute. While I was still studying, Elmer Wright, another local business owner, asked me if I was able to handle money. “I certainly can,” I said and Elmer said, “I need you.” So I began working as a cashier and typist and didn’t finish at the Institute. 37
I met my husband Fred while he was working as a banker at the Bank of Montreal here in Brampton. At the time I was working at Rural Hydro. We moved often and our two boys were born when we lived in Stirling. From there we moved to Toronto, where we lived for a number of years. Eventually we came back to Brampton because that’s where my soul was. When we came back we noticed a lot of changes had occurred. There were a lot more houses that seemed more crowded together on small lots. When we left there weren’t so many houses and there were still lots of fields. I was still glad to be back, though.
The Home Front Ken Cuthbert
During World War II, there was an army camp on the southwest corner of McLaughlin and Queen Streets. There were thousands of soldiers training there over the years. Every morning bright and early you could hear the bugler sounding the reveille. The Armoury at Chapel and John was also a busy place. There were always sentries on guard and we used to sit on the curb and talk to them. Sometimes a convoy would stop along John Street and 38
leave the next day. Each vehicle carried a supply of gas in jerry cans, and as soon as they stopped, the soldiers filled their tanks to be ready to leave in the morning. In the parking lot between the Armoury and the Fire Hall, they would set up a kitchen and the soldiers would line up with their metal “mess” tins and get served, just like you see in the movies. Colonel Conover was the commanding officer of the Lorne Scots and probably of the whole army camp in Brampton. There was a military rule that if you marched past a church you had to do it quietly, especially Sundays, so as not to interfere with the service. One hot summer Sunday morning a pipe band from the army camp was returning to camp from their church parade, playing at full throttle. At Christ Church we had all the doors open and, being in the choir section, I could watch all the proceedings. At the time the pipe band was approaching, the minister was in the middle of his sermon, and Colonel Conover was sitting in the front pew next to the aisle. We could see the colonel squirm a bit, and then he got up, marched down the centre aisle and onto Elizabeth Street and just stood there, not doing or saying anything. Within 30 seconds the sound died away and all we could hear were the boots keeping step on the pavement. Colonel Conover came back into church with the grouchiest look you could imagine. I’ll bet someone got a blistering over that! During the war, Brampton had a curfew and all children under 16 had to be indoors by 9:00 p.m. We also had “brown 39
outs” when the electricity was cut off for an hour in the evenings. Ration books were issued to families for sugar, meat and butter, and you also needed ration stamps for gas. When we bought “tinned” vegetables, they were dehydrated. The “can” was made of cardboard, as all metal was needed for the war effort. When you shook the can, it rattled like a baby’s rattle. Before cooking, the contents had to be soaked in water. It all tasted really good. You could not get a tube of toothpaste unless you brought your old used metal tube to the store. The toothpaste tubes were a soft pliable metal, probably made partially with lead. As much metal as possible was used for the war effort. Women formed clubs to make articles for the men in the services. The Red Cross, church groups and social clubs joined in the “Win the War Drive” campaign. Mr Aziz, owner of the knitting mill on the north side of Queen Street East, used to give me skeins of wool free, so my mother could knit socks and gloves for the men overseas. Many young men from Brampton joined the army, navy and air forces. When you saw the telegram delivery man coming down your street on his bicycle, you hoped he wouldn’t stop at your house to deliver news of a loved one missing in action. Many Brampton boys gave their lives for our freedom.
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The Vivian Family Businesses Beverly Lunney (Based on a Brampton Library interview.)
My parents opened Vivian’s Confectionary in 1938 on Queen Street. It included a restaurant and a soda bar as well as selling candy, comic books, newspapers, cigars and cigarettes. During the war my dad, Gord Vivian, made peanut brittle and chocolate peanut clusters. Around 1945, my dad decided to change businesses. He saw there was a demand for sporting goods, so out went the confectionary store and in went Vivian’s Sporting Goods and Hobbies – in the same location! The family business grew over the years, with my brothers Douglas and Richard opening stores in the Brampton Mall and Closeups of Vivian Lane street Shoppers World. Richard moved sign (Images courtesy of B. his tennis and golf equipment Lunney) store from Shoppers World to a larger location on Kennedy Road. Douglas eventually moved his bicycle and hobby supply store back to Brampton Mall and expanded his sporting good offerings. 41
Through it all, the Queen Street store remained a constant until finally, after 55 years in business, all of the Vivian’s stores were closed. Several years later my brothers Chess Table in Vivian Lane and I donated a concrete chess (Image courtesy of B. Lunney) table in my dad’s name. You can see that chess table in the chess park on Vivian Lane.
Peel Memorial Hospital Brampton Library staff
“The Peel Memorial Hospital began as a house in a small town in rural Ontario.”1 Early settlers in Peel County were subject to many, often fatal, diseases. Folk remedies and Indian herbal medicine were the only treatments available. Cholera epidemics ravaged the county in 1832 and 1849. There were few doctors and little was known about how epidemics spread. Public health care improved in the 1880s but it wasn’t until 1910 that the Women’s Institute of Brampton held the first meeting to propose that a real hospital be built. Women’s 42
Institutes began at the turn of the twentieth century as a way for farmers’ wives to take part in community affairs and widen their knowledge. The Women’s Institutes were tireless community fundraisers.2 World War I, followed by the influenza epidemic of 1918, furthered the need for a hospital. In 1921 the hospital “ways and means” committee named the future hospital Peel Memorial “in patriotic remembrance” of Peel’s soldiers. Peel Memorial Hospital opened February 2, 1925 on the old Elliott estate property. It was staffed by three nurses, a cook and a handyman. A farm on the property provided fresh produce for the hospital kitchen until the late 1940s. The hospital expanded several times, but by the 1950s it had become impossibly overcrowded and in need of upgrading. The new Peel Memorial Hospital opened January 27, 1962 with air conditioning and modern equipment. Several expansions and renovations were undertaken in the 1970s and 1980s until finally the new Brampton Civic Hospital replaced the old building entirely. 1
Peter J. Faux, The House that Grew: Peel Memorial Hospital (Erin, Ontario: Boston Mills Press, 1985) 21. 2 Helga V. Loverseed, Brampton; an Illustrated History. (Brampton: Brampton Board of Trade, 1987) 116.
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Down Memory Lane Edwin Weekes
Let me begin by saying, “Long live the City of Brampton with its beautiful flowers, green hills, well kept parks and reliable, modern transportation system.” I moved to Brampton from Malton, Mississauga, in 1975. There have been quite a lot of changes in Brampton since then, but despite these changes the old scenery still lingers on in my memory. Let me take you on a trip down one memory lane: the westward route starting at Airport Road and then along Queen Street to downtown Brampton, known as the “The Four Corners.” Leaving Airport Road going west you used to see “Queen’s Nursery and Garden Centre.” This unfortunately is no longer there. Continuing along, there were bush-covered agricultural lands. Now there are many large commercial and business buildings on these lands. Alas! Passing Bramalea Road, you would have marvelled at the sight of the beautiful large new park on the right known as “Chinguacousy Park.” Shortly after that, on the left was the Brampton Mayor’s office located at 150 Central Park Drive. Next, situated between Central Park Drive and Dixie Road you saw the large “Bramalea City Centre” with its outstanding anchor stores such as The Hudson’s Bay 44
Company, Eaton’s, Sears, and a Steinberg’s grocery store. The Steinberg’s chain of grocery stores no longer exists. Continuing your trip west, there was no Highway 410—there was Heart Lake Road running north and south. At the corner of Heart Lake Road and Queen Street was a service station with a gas bar and garage known as “Lenko’s Service Centre.” The proprietor’s name was Harry Lenko. Many people used to dine at the Swiss Chalet and BBQ restaurant that was on the south side of Queen Street approaching Rutherford Road. This is no longer there. At the corner of Rutherford Road and Queen Street West was the large automotive dealership known as Brampton Chrysler Dodge Jeep. And as you passed Hansen Road, you used to spot a Canadian Tire Gas Bar and Oil Change Centre. On the left you used to see another favourite restaurant, The Mandarin, and also a small Ministry of Transportation Office where many a driver took a driving test. At the corner of Kennedy Road and Queen Street there used to be a large Dominion grocery store and, looking skyward on your right, the Brampton Hotel. On the opposite side of Queen Street there used to be a large Ford Dealership known as Bramview Ford. Further on, as you reached Centre Street, you used to see Peel Memorial Hospital. The building is still there, but is no longer open, now that it’s replaced by the new Brampton Civic Hospital. Continuing along Queen Street, you can still 45
see the Brampton Library on your left. There used to be a Canada Post Office across the street, which I visited quite often to mail letters, pick up government forms and do my photocopying. And then we’ve arrived at our destination, “The Four Corners,” with its four banks: Canada Trust, Scotia Bank, Royal Bank and CIBC. Casting our eyes north, many small buildings have now been removed to make room for the lovely Rose Theatre—such a gem for the City of Brampton! May God bless the city of Brampton and may it continue to prosper.
To Our Nurses Bert Everett
A special race of humans, of that there is no doubt; A quiet voice, a soothing touch, is what it’s all about. Their speed is so amazing; you could almost say they fly Don’t be surprised if through open door you see one flying by! Many come from distant climes, like most of us before. It’s up to us to welcome them, and make them feel at home. 46
In this great land there’s lots of space, and peace if they should roam. Their motto is “you are very welcome” and with meaning it’s oft said, As dawn to dusk they care for us, and see we are well fed. But that is not their final chore—they tuck us into bed. In the dining room they just shine, be it breakfast, lunch or dinner time. Some think their tastes are good for all, and that each nurse knows their likes, So patience is a virtue and quiet does the trick. Sadly, abuse both physical and verbal is sometimes thrown their way, But to their credit all they do is turn the other way. May the good Lord bless them, whatever be their creed. Let us all respect them as they more then fill our needs. If you don’t agree with this, don’t shout or make a fuss. Remember they are humans too, just better ones than us. —Dedicated to the nurses at Peel Manor.
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Gage Park Brampton Library staff
Gage Park, located at the corner of Main Street South and Wellington Street, was the first municipally-owned park land in Brampton. The Town of Brampton The Park, c. 1905 (Image courtesy R.L. Frost purchased 2.4 acres there in Collection, Region of 1902. In 1903 Sir William Gage, Peel Archives) owner of Gage Publishing (a publishing house specializing in school text books), donated the adjoining 1.7 acres. The combined 4.1 acre parcel had been the terraced front lawn and gardens of the Kenneth Chisholm mansion, Alderlea. The park opened to the public in 1903. The wading pool was a gift of the Kinsmen in 1955 and the skating trail was presented by the Rotary Club in 1991. The band shell has been replaced several times.
The Brampton Mall Carolyn Ross
Our little Chevy pulled into the driveway at 34 Inglewood Drive in Peel Village at 9:00 a.m. on October 18, 1967, followed 48
closely by Meldrum the Mover with all our worldly possessions. And behind Meldrum, another car pulled in whose driver turned out to be Rev. Fred Balsdon from St. Bartholomew’s United Church on Abbey Road, on the hunt (successfully, as it turned out) for new members for his congregation! Bedlam ensued as we bounded out of the car: me (seven months pregnant), my husband Ron, Heather (10), Donna (seven) Marilyn (going on six), Frisky and Lucky (our cats) and Myrtle (Marilyn’s red-eared turtle). Of course the turtle didn’t bound. She was carried in her bowl, but seemed just as excited as the rest of us to explore her new home! After a day or two we knew we had to find some places to shop. We needed groceries and the girls needed school clothes to replace the uniforms they’d worn in Quebec. Our next door neighbour, Marie Drum, directed us to the Brampton Mall about a mile away, at the corner of Highway 10 and Nanwood Drive. We were impressed! It was an up-todate mall with bright, modern stores. We recognized many of them from our former local mall in Beloeil, Quebec, so we felt right at home. There was a Steinberg’s—a grocery chain familiar to us—a women’s clothing store, a shoe store, a Cole’s book store, a tailor, Hunt’s Bakery, Kent Jewellers and—the girls’ eyes danced when they spotted it—a Laura Secord Shop! In we went for suckers. 49
While Ron located the bank, I discovered a furrier. In those days, wearing a fur coat was still the rage. The very nice gentleman who owned the store was able to persuade us that a fur coat was a necessity in Brampton so, sure enough, for my birthday in January he sold me a cozy muskrat! That coat kept me warm for many winters, until wearing fur became unacceptable. Then, the biggest surprise of all! We found a branch of the Brampton Public Library. We had to go in there. All of us loved to read, and in our former village had relied on a “bookmobile” which only visited us once a month. Ena Watson, the library technician, showed us around, and invited the children to attend story time. Our daughter Jill, who was born New Year’s Eve that same year, would later spend many toddler afternoons listening to Mrs. Watson read exciting fairy tales. Our whole family made good use of that branch of the library until it closed on June 28, 1975. Ron enjoyed browsing around Guest Hardware store and told us that anything one could ever need was to be found within those walls. While he was browsing, the girls and I found the Rosetown Restaurant, later to become the Rose and Thistle Pub. And, also at the south end of the mall, we found a large Woolworth’s five-and-dime store, complete with a soda fountain! I’m not sure when Letton Flower Shop moved in during the coming years, but we were delighted. Mr. Letton arranged all 50
the flowers for our daughters’ weddings in 1981 and ‘82, and could always be depended on to send arrangements to relatives out of town for special occasions. A bit later a pet grooming shop and a variety store moved in next to the flower shop. The LCBO was housed in a separate building beside Steinberg’s at the north end of the mall and the Beer Store was at the south end. Crystal Bowling and Billiards provided fun for many on the lower level. There was a drug store, too. Until Shoppers’ World opened in 1969, the Brampton Mall was the place to shop. We still seek it out for some things such as the drug store, bank, post office, beer store and pizza, but our favourite stores have long since gone. Peel Village men will forever pine for Guest Hardware.
Brampton on Parade Jeanne Cuthbert
Some of my best Brampton memories are of the annual floral parade. Every year all the schools, with the help of teachers, students and parents, would decorate a float and hope to win first prize. This was a time of great fun and fellowship. Other organizations such as the Lions Club, the 51
Rotary Club, the Kiwanis Club, churches, the Scouts, the Guides, as well as many businesses also had floats in the parade.
Flower Festival Parade, 1967. Top right: Bobby Gimby, who wrote the “Canada” song for the Centennial. (Images courtesy B. Lunney)
The parade was the highlight of the year, with bands from near and far. They played their way from Main Street North to Frederick Street, to Elliott Street and to the Fairgrounds. We thought that our local bands were the best; namely, The Brampton Citizens’ Band, The Lorne Scots Pipe Band, and The Brampton Clown Band. And a parade is not complete without Majorettes, clowns, and drivers in little cars from the Shriners Lodge. We had it all! People lined the streets by the thousands all along the parade route. But from 1973 to 2004 there was no parade. All the good and exciting times were history for a while, until the City reintroduced the event as the Flower City Parade in 2005.
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How Do You Say “Bramalea”? Ursula Gebessler
Once a friend from Bramalea Invited me to tea. Oh, what a lovely idea! But where was Bramalea? She sent me the direction To find her proper “section”— I think it was “B”— And there we sipped tea. When it comes to pronunciation Sometimes we are at a loss. Best to ask for information from Men of knowledge—the big boss! Ask for information from “the big boss” is exactly what I did when, back in the early ’60s, my girlfriend asked me to find out the correct pronunciation of “Bramalea,” the satellite city northwest of Toronto. At the time, she was working in the city planning department of the University of Leipzig in East Germany. I lived in Toronto at the time, and had never heard of Bramalea. None of my friends and co-workers could help; therefore, I decided to write a letter to my favourite radio station, CFRB—“10-10 on your dial”—with my special request. Lo and behold! One Saturday morning, while working in my 53
kitchen, I heard the CFRB radio announcer’s voice, loud and clear: “Mrs. G.? Are you listening? I’ve got your letter here in front of me. I put your question to the Region of Peel office, and was told that ‘Bramalea’ is pronounced like ‘tea’, not like ‘idea’, and not like ‘Emily,’ where the first syllable is stressed.” I was amazed! I was delighted! What service! I wrote my girlfriend a letter that included the requested phonetic symbols for the pronunciation of “Bramalea”: bræma'li. She forwarded the information to her department officials. I thought this was “mission accomplished,” but suddenly I received fat envelopes with lots of detailed information from the Region of Peel office—all interesting, informative and useful. The office suggested I send the information to the German university. Oh, these innocent, naive people! We were dealing with a city behind the Iron Curtain with the strictest rules that absolutely forbade any kind of printed matter from entering their country! But I tried anyway. My girlfriend wished desperately that this material would pass by the controls, but to no avail. It never reached her. Since 2003, I have lived in the “H” section of Bramalea. But since the amalgamation with Brampton in 1974, I suppose it’s no longer a satellite city. Even the name “Bramalea” might become obsolete one day. What a shame!
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Calvert-Dale Connections George Stephens
My family moved to Brampton in 1959, when I was a teenager. The year after moving here, my parents purchased a home in Northwood Park on Coniston Avenue, which was the most westerly street in Brampton at that time! How things have changed! After years of commuting to and from Toronto while I became a chartered accountant and then worked as an auditor, I settled into a job back in Brampton as controller at CalvertDale Estates Limited. I worked there from 1967 to 1976. The head office of the combined Calvert-Dale Estates Limited was in the building now occupied by the drug and food store at 12 Vodden Street East. The Calvert family owned several houses between that building and the Etobicoke Creek on the north side of Vodden Street, where the medical building now stands. On the west side of Main Street North, Calvert greenhouses and open air gardens behind Bassano Ristorante went west to Moore Street, from Archibald Street north to almost Peel Manor. Williams Parkway did not exist. On the east side of Main Street, Calvert greenhouses, shipping room and offices covered the whole area now known as Kingspoint Plaza and its parking lots. On the west side of Main Street North (Hurontario Street), Calvert-Dale greenhouses covered the area from Isabella Street west to the CPR tracks, and from just north of Lorne Avenue almost to English Street as well as the whole area 55
occupied now by Sam’s No Frills and Wendy’s Restaurant, and their parking lots. Vodden Street did not go west from Main Street. On the east side of Main Street, the whole area from Main Street to the Etobicoke Creek, and south from Vodden Street to Sproule, was all Dale greenhouses—the oldest range, often referred to as “the flats.” The old shipping room, known as the “horse walk,” was in this area. Harry Dale, the founder of the Dale florist business, built his second home on the southeast corner of Main and Vodden Streets. Later referred to as “the Campbell house,” it had a circular driveway, a large willow tree, and stained glass in the front door and transom. The front door of that home is now the front door of ours, without the transom. The Dale florist shop was in front of the boiler room, which was at the corner of Isabella Street and Lorne Avenue— about where the Portobello Ristorante is now located. The boiler room stood at the base of the famous Dale chimney and the steam whistle that used to be heard three times a day for decades. As oil prices climbed, the management of Calvert-Dale stopped the daily steam whistles to save fuel. In 1976, the former giant Calvert-Dale wholesale florist and greenhouses ceased operations, and the many acres were sold for development. There were many factors contributing to the final shutdown of this once-proud and renowned company: the rising price of oil used to heat 40 acres of greenhouses in this cold climate; the rising cost of labour; the importing of high-quality 56
and less expensive product from southern U.S.A., Europe and Central America; the flower “clock,” which challenged growers to improve their quality or fail; and the long-time lack of reinvestment in maintenance of the growing facilities, particularly in the Dale range, that had by then reached irreparable condition. I was involved in helping the many employees of CalvertDale Estates Limited to find new employment, and then moved on myself. The only part of that Calvert-Dale business still operating in Brampton is Flowerland at the corner of Main Street North and Ellen Street. My wife Jeanne and I now live on Newton Road, along the east bank of the Etobicoke Creek between Vodden Street and Williams Parkway. We were told years ago that the hillside behind us used to be covered with daffodils grown and harvested by Walter E. Calvert Limited.
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Sources/Further Reading Brampton’s 100th Anniversary as an Incorporated Town 1873-1973. Brampton, Ontario: Corporation of the Town of Brampton, 1973. Celebrating 150 Years 1853 – 2003: City of Brampton Sesquicentennial Commemorative Publication. Brampton, Ontario: Brampton Guardian, 2003. “The Corporation of the City of Brampton – A Brief History.” History of Brampton. City of Brampton. http://www.city.brampton.on.ca/mayorcouncil/history.tml McGinniss, Todd. The Heritage Theatre: memory book. Brampton, Ontario: City of Brampton, 2006. “Our History.” McHugh Public School. http://mchugh.peelschools.org/history/history.html
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Through Our Eyes – History, Community, and Diversity is a project designed to document the history of the Brampton community through the eyes of the people who have lived it and are living it still. In these stories, seniors share their memories of growing up in Brampton or moving here from near or far away. They talk about the changes they have witnessed over the years and the people and places that stand out most in their memories.
