The Community News, Friday, April 5, 2013 PAGE FIVE
Mapleton Musings Column courtesy of Mapleton Historical Society Clues to the history of an older house Some years ago an old house on a quiet street came up for sale. The lot was large and boasted mature trees, both maple and evergreens. Overgrown lilacs and other shrubbery added to the greenery. In fact it was so well treed that one had to look closely to see the house. I was intrigued. The owner, a 96-year-old lady, was ready to move into a smaller home. After several weeks of negotiations I was the owner of this little gem. A title search showed that
I was the ninth owner of this property. Edward Dales, who was my paternal grandmother’s great uncle, obtained the crown deed for 50 acres, part of Lot 1, Concession 10, Peel Township. When Drayton was incorporated in 1875 he had done a survey setting out lots one chain (66 feet) wide, and named the streets, Union, Edward, Spring, High and Queen on his plan. Family history tells of his grand home, built in the 1800s, on High Street. Perhaps this modest little house was his first home. The house, in the Old
Ontario farm house style, had six rooms. There was one small closet upstairs and one of the bedrooms had been had become the bathroom, with dated fixtures. Inside, the walls were covered in that fake wood paneling that was so popular in the 1950s. A small enclosed porch covered the front door and a leaning sunroom was a place to take off your rubber boots at the back entrance. There was no garage or shed on the property. A builder confirmed the house solidly built. It had been built in two phases. The front four rooms, two up, two down,
were originally clad in wooden board and batten. There are round tree trunks adzed flat on one side for level flooring instead of floor joists in this part. The second phase, housing the kitchen and a third bedroom, which dates to about the 1880s, has regular sawn floor joists. At that time, the whole house was clad with the yellow brick made in Drayton at Clark’s brick works. Square cut nails and spool and bobbin electrical wiring helped date the addition and the installation of electrical power.
Some major renovations and an addition were in order. First that paneling covering all the walls and the outdated plumbing had to be removed. What a revelation! There were holes where stove pipes had been put through both walls and floors. Plaster and laths were cracked and loose. Once that was removed we found wide rough-sawn boards on both sides of the wall studs, with the cavity filled with river gravel for insulation. In fact, when removed, it filled a dump truck. When landscaping the lot we found the foundation of a
small barn. There was also evidence of a small chicken coop. William J. Lowry owned the property from 1916 to 1932. A picture, circa 1920, of Lowry’s garden, shows the barn and smaller building, with the bell tower of the United Church in the background. Another interesting find was an old china cup sitting under the old bathtub enclosure. One wonder if the plumber or carpenter had enjoyed a cup of tea then forgot about the cup until the enclosure was finished. submitted by Jean Campbell
Community Christian School planning spring carnival on April 20 at arena DRAYTON - It’s carnival time as Community Christian School will host its 2013 Spring Carnival Bazaar and Auction on April 20 at the PMD Arena. Community Christian School has been holding this event every 18 months for the last 32 years. This year, doors will open at 9:30am and the event will feature many different events throughout the day
and evening. Admission is $2 for adults, which includes one free door prize ticket. To entertain children while shopping, participants can choose from a variety of carnival-style games, including a bounce castle, cotton candy, peddle cart races, bean bag toss and more. Also, a Magic Show with a real clown will be offered at 11am followed by the making of balloon animals
until 1pm. All Lego builders are invited to enter the Lego Car Race for only $2. Cars should be in place by 12pm so the judging can start at 12:30pm and the race at 1pm. The baking table will feature a variety of items, including apple pie, banana bread, Dutch-style raisin bread, cookies, squares, cupcakes, butter tarts and more, which are all
nut-free. To help get ready for spring, carnival-goers can order hanging baskets for garden or patio use. Other items available include children’s pajamas, little quilts and Jenny Roubos’ pottery. The kitchen will be serving muffins and coffee in the morning and a chicken parmesan dinner in the evening. Eat-in or pre-ordered take out options
are available by contacting the school at 519-638-2935. Laurie Frey from Living Books will be selling a variety of children and adult Christian Books, and greeting cards. Tryphena DeBoer, with Pampered Chef, will also be available.
Running though out the day will be a variety of silent auctions and then in the evening the live auction starts at 7pm with auctioneers Doug Gilmore and Jason Heimpel. The option of bidder’s numbers can be Continued on page 6
MPP Pettapiece renews call for turbine moratorium PERTH-WELLINGTON MPP Randy Pettapiece continues to press the government on wind farm development. In a question to energy minister Bob Chiarelli in the Legislature on March 27, Pettapiece asked the government to make good on promises in the throne speech by issuing a moratorium on wind farm development.
“The Liberals’ throne speech talks about suddenly wanting to work with municipalities,” Pettapiece said. “It talks about respecting local decision-making when it comes to energy infrastructure development like wind turbines. It stresses the need to have willing host communities.” Chiarelli promised the government is “working on some
changes” to give municipalities more control over the location of energy projects. Pettapiece remains concerned the government has yet to take any action. “Minister, across Ontario, including Perth–Wellington, there are proposals for industrial wind turbine projects that are strongly opposed by the host local community,” he said.
At a minimum, Pettapiece is asking the government to provide another 90-day review period after Invenergy, the company proposing a wind farm in North Perth, tries to fill in the information gaps identified by the municipality.
who cannot afford dental care and have no dental insurance
WANTED
7 HOMES THAT NEED ROOFING 7 homes in your area will be given the opportunity of having an INTERLOCK metal roofing system installed on their home at a reasonable cost. This lifetime product is capturing the interest of homeowners across the country who want to know this will be the last time they will have to re-roof their home. Our product is environmentally friendly and comes with a transferable Lifetime Limited Warranty with an excellent choice of colours to complement your home and is going to be introduced to your local market. Your home can be a show place in your neighbourhood and we will make it worth your while if we can use your home.
1-866-601-7366
Toll-Free 24 Hours 7 Days a week www.ontarioroof.com
Adam Cosens
R.R. 2, Moorefield, ON N0G 2K0
Free Teeth Cleaning For children and youth up to 17
WOAA CHAMPS - The Drayton Defenders Peewee Rep team finished the season last week in fine fashion winning the WOAA Lockbridge Championship with a two-game sweep of their best of three series with the TCDMHA (Chatsworth) Rebels. From left: front, William Kuper, Tyson McClain, Zack Gonzalez, Collin Roubos, Brent Mulder, Rylan Kuper; back, Becca Martin, Daniel Keunen, Isaiah Thornback, Curt Pedersen, Anthony Martin, Zach Cribbin. submitted photo
519-638-3418
Help prevent cavities and keep teeth and gums healthy. Our services include cleaning, fluoride, sealants, and brushing/ flossing instruction Moorefield
Apr. 22-25, 2013
Drayton
June 13-28, 2013
To book an appointment call the Dental Intake Line: 1-800-265-7293 ext. 2661 Thank you to the Community Mennonite Fellowship Church and the Moorefield Optimist Club for donating space.
Public Health
Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health