Iconic bell tower slowly disappearing from the downtown landscape. The Toronto Street address wasn't the first location of the former Central United Church building, but it was its last. Just over 2 years ago, the sanctuary which has stood at the corner of Ross and Toronto Streets, virtually unchanged since it was erected in 1957, was deconsecrated as a church on June 25th 2017. That was the final service for a congregation that has been [...]
Canadian Forces base west of Barrie has been a long-standing part of the community. This past weekend there have been numerous local events to commemorate Remembrance Day. We join with others around the world who are paying honor and remembering the sacrifices made on our behalf. Barrie is one of the unique communities that has a military base, practically next door. Most of us are quite used to seeing men and women in uniform around [...]
In the 1800s, getting to the Tollendal Mill could be a precarious journey. The only access, before a bridge was built over Lover's Creek, was by way of water or the Tollendal Mill Road. This road ran west from the Penetanguishene Road (Yonge Street), down a steep downslope, over the Grand Trunk Railway (GTR) tracks and on to the grist mill on the west side of Lover's Creek. At the north side of the junction [...]
It would seem fitting that on Canada's 150th Birthday I finally let out a secret I've been keeping for 150 days: I'm moving to Florida in August! Many of you know my educational background and calling is in music ministry. I am elated to announce that I have accepted a full time position as Associate Pastor of Music and Leadership Development at Harvest Bible Chapel in Naples, Florida to work alongside Senior Pastor, John Secrest. Leaving [...]
A recent site visit provides glimpses into theatre's many glory days. Test, test and test again is how you de-risk an event so everything will run smoothly ... and that's just what we were doing in preparation for our Barrie on the Big Screen night when we were treated to some nostalgic moments at the Uptown Theatre. Since the doors first opened in 1937, this now trendy indie theatre has had a long history and [...]
“Hey Lang, you should go out of business more often!” shouted one jokester, but I doubt that that Lang even heard him over the drone of the kitchen exhaust fan, that was running full tilt, accompanied by the laughter and conversation in the packed small diner. Yes, they were here to patronize Lang’s business, but the real draw was long-time cook/server and familiar face, Anna, who was serving her last customers that Saturday, after an [...]
And then I remembered these very days, only they occurred over a weekend in 1975. Barrie's population was 31,399. Eastview Arena was a new building on Grove St, surrounded by farmland. The south end ended at the top of Essa Rd, near what was CKVR Television. Ponderosa Steakhouse was a mainstay eatery on the growing Bayfield St strip of businesses. The drive in theatre was at the corner of Bayview and Little avenues. Barrie boasted [...]
The ladies of early Barrie, along with all of their Canadian sisters, laboured under the most extreme circumstances each and every day. Corseted and coiffed in the restrictive fashions of the day, their clothing was equally unsuitable for the deep Barrie snow, the winds off the bay and the oppressive heat and humidity of summer. Yet they were expected to scrub clean and iron clothes for perhaps a dozen family members, keep a wood stove [...]
I wrote this review just a few months ago, as a salute to one of the time-tested eateries of Barrie that were still soldiering on. Sadly, for fans of the Crock & Block, this piece now seems like more of eulogy. The Crock closed their doors this week for the last time. ****** "They're lined up out the door. Move faster!" These are words that no line cook wants to hear, not me anyway, on [...]
Steadily, Rayner McCullough walks me along Elizabeth Street. Hines grocery, then next to the that, a meat market. Next, an empty lot next to Central United Church on the east side of Toronto Street, where he played in the mission band. Just seconds later, we make our way to old Allandale, en route to a hardball game at Shear Park on Holgate and William Streets. There, his eyes light up as he sees Webb’s menswear [...]
Prior to his passing in April 2016, Brian Baker was a well-known personality within the historical community of Barrie. With multiple cameras around his neck at any given moment, he was Simcoe County’s unofficial photographer and a regular historical columnist for the Barrie Examiner for decades. Brian’s late wife, Margaret (Goodfellow) was a well-liked school teacher who begun her carrier at 13A Innisfil aka Huronia Public School before moving to Warnica Public School when [...]
When Mother Nature builds you your very own arena, complete with ice, lots of good lighting, enough space for a limitless audience and a surface twenty-six hockey rinks long, you make the best use of it that you can! Every winter, the cold northerly winds blew and the mercury plummeted and soon after, the waters of Kempenfelt Bay turned rock solid and remained that way for several months. The ice fishermen, skaters and those [...]
Happy new year! 2016 was an incredible year for the City of Barrie. Never before has Barrie been able to boast of a state of the art digital, free online museum until now. The Barrie Historical Archive (BHA) launched on September 21st with a one night only spectacular night called Mayors’ Seat. This evening, which united nearly every former City Mayor, was an unprecedented historical event that was used as the catalyst to open the virtual [...]
Every day can be historic with the City of Barrie's 2017 Waste Reduction Calendar, featuring images from the Barrie Historical Archive. The calendar provides important community information AND some incredible vintage photo's from Barrie's new online museum, the Barrie Historical Archive. "We were thrilled to partner with the City of Barrie on the calendar - it was a great opportunity to showcase just a few of our incredible photos of the community." Calendars are not [...]
Archival Investigations features works by third-year students in Georgian College’s School of Design and Visual Arts using images from the Barrie Historical Archive in a fresh, new light. Students reconstructed scenes from the past to create transformative new artworks from a variety of perspectives: memories, nostalgia, civic planning, suburban sprawl, humour and wonder. Whether posing a political critique or portraying a moment in Barrie’s fascinating past, each student interpreted a scene as it appeared to [...]
A small group had gathered at the end of the Waterfront Heritage Trail. It crossed my mind that I might be late. It was early afternoon and the sun was warm. The brightness reflected on the snow to create beautiful light, perfect for the photos I was about to take. Today was the opening of the Waterfront Heritage Trail plaque, and naturally the Barrie Historical Archive was present for the dedication. As I stood in [...]
Looking for the perfect gift for the history buff in your life, but dreading the holiday rush at the shopping malls? Make lineups a thing of the past. Purchase a piece of history from the Barrie Historical Archive Shop. The BHA Shop is the place to go if you are looking for the perfect archival print for the history buff in your life. With a variety of print sizes and images to choose from, the [...]
A little park with a big history Over the course of Barrie's history, what is currently known as Memorial Square appears to have had an identity crisis. Originally Memorial Square was the terminus of the nine-mile portage between Kempenfelt Bay and Willow Creek which flowed into the Nottawasaga River. This ancient trail was first used by the Wendat, whom the French then called Huron. In map from 1688, it was labelled as "Portage de dix [...]
Danny Stephens walked 47 miles of barbed wire. He used a cobra snake for a necktie. And finally, in his rendition of the Bo Diddley/Ronnie Hawkins/George Thorogood classic, he asked the 70 patrons at our Help Pay the Rent Event: Who do you love? At the end of the night, with more than $1,000 donated, the response from the audience became clear. They love the Barrie Historical Archive. At the November 16 event, members of [...]
I parked several blocks away, in the lot beside the Barrie Public Library, where one of the H-Block houses likely stood, and pulled my coat tightly around me as I walked eastward in the direction of Collier Street United Church. Sure, I could have parked closer, but on this blustery November day, I wanted to walk to church as the Barrie residents of yesterday must have done. I could imagine the fine ladies in their [...]
September 21, 2016 will go down in Barrie’s history as an unprecedented evening that will not soon be forgotten. The launch of the Barrie Historical Archive at the “Mayors’ Seat” event during Barrie Historical Week was a watershed moment for the City of Barrie, which up until this point has not had a dedicated, online municipal museum. The uniqueness of the BHA is that it is online, free, accessible to all 24/7 from anywhere in [...]
By Woody Woodland The pilgrimage that brought me to the grave site of my great uncle, Private AJ Blake, began long before I found myself at a Commonwealth Cemetery on the Somme, just outside Courcelette, France this past September with my 16-year-old son, Zachary. It began many years ago when I inherited his medals from my mother’s side of the family, obtaining them in the same broken-down box that my great grandmother would have received them [...]