I wondered about some of the names of the streets in our town. Some were obvious with only a passing knowledge of our Town's history: MAGANI Avenue for a former Mayor.
I've been of the misconception for some time that one does't have to be dead to be worthy of such an honour (Hudson, Roughley are the ones which immediately come to mind- which upon review I was proven wrong). I decided to embark on a personaly history lesson vis a vis the two volume offering of the BWG Historcal Society entitled Governor Simcoe Slept Here. I've yet to read it cover to cover, but browsing through its pages I've discovered some interesting history:
Thomas Alexander NELSON (1861-1898), proprietor of the Nelson Foundry in Bond Head.
Soldiers who bravely gave their lives in WW1 and WW2:
Henry AISHFORD; Matthew ARCHER; Charles TURNER; Bert and William WOOD; W.L. MELBOURNE
Frank KILKENNY, member of the School board in 1923.
The AVERILL family (Adam born 1858); Benjamin 1860-1920)
The BANNERMAN family, dating back to the late 1700's, early 1800's.
The CHURCH family, dating back to 1875
William Henry DAY (1871-1938), Teacher/Professor.
The DISETTE family one of the first settlers in the Village of Bradford.
The EVANS family, dating back to the 1700's
Eli and Elizabeth GARDNER settled in West Gwillimbury in the early 1900's.
The HUDSON family: George (1870-1928) had a farm on the 13th Line of West Gwillimbury)
There are many more.
All of this gets me thinking about my previous post about being an 'outsider'. Funny enough, the person who made that comment doesn't appear anywhere in the history books of BWG, which to me is infinitely amusing. More importantly, the town is moving forward and growing. People are moving here from Toronto. People are coming here from other countries. I think it is important to embrace change while at the same time respecting our rich history.
History is not stagnant. It continues with the passage of time. I hope I will make a meaningful contribution to the History of BWG.
