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BURFORD - THE HOME
FRONT
Bean pickers c1914, at what was later Jack
Lawrence’s’ barn, which stood in the middle of a field all by itself, on the
east side of Maple Avenue North, Burford, Ontario. (Photo from Clayton Barker’s personal
collection.) ...They were summoned from the hillside They were called in from the glen, And the country found them ready At the stirring call for men. Let no tears add to their hardships As the soldiers pass along, And although your heart is breaking Make it sing this cheery song: Keep the Home Fires Burning... From the song "Keep the Home-Fires Burning
('Till the Boys Come Home)" is a British patriotic First world war song
composed by Ivor Novello in 1915 with words by Lena
Guilbert Ford. BURFORD - THE HOME FRONT (Part 1) Copyright © 2014-2020 by Clayton Barker Just prior to war being declared, things were
looking up for Burford; finally, some building lots were made available along
Dufferin and William Street, by Stuart Jarvis, and fourteen lots were
auctioned off; Three homes were being built elsewhere in the village,
including one on the newly opened Alexander Street (Alexander Street only
went as far as the present intersection of Andrew Street). The Village
populous was spread a mile along basically King Street, east and west and
Maple Ave., north and south, with only two side-streets yet under
construction: Alexander Street (a
narrow track) commencing at the United Church and running south for
only a few hundred feet, and another narrow track offset a block north of King
and running west, now called Dufferin Street, which went parallel to King
Street to another incomplete future road allowance, now called Saint William
Street. Park Street, Andrew Street and Rutherford Street were not put through
until the end of the war. The plan was to complete all incomplete streets
and provide new housing, however many of the buildings along both Alexander
Street and Dufferin Street were constructed after 1918 and some homes, of
course, were just moved in from other places and set on new foundations,
which was common prior to WW1. Besides a want for new homes and rental
accommodation in the village, there had been an aging want for good roads,
which was not only a concern for Burford people, but it echoed all across the
nation, as automobiles were coming on the scene rapidly and the roads were
not fit for motorists, most of the year, then in the summer automobiles would
kick up clouds of dust through the streets. It was a Provincial election, earlier that summer
of 1914 (the province stayed Conservative for another round) and the election
pitch for most was to have new concrete highways put through, here in
Ontario. Road officials, both Provincial and municipal, went on a field trip
to Detroit Michigan to see the magnificent concrete roads there, and they
came back with great plans to commence the movement for concrete roads here,
and ear-marked over $30,000,000 for road upgrades. Roads around here would
not see concrete until the 1930's and 40's. In the meantime, Burford officials ventured into
Brantford to see the newly oiled roads there, and agreed that it was the most
effective way to keep the dust down, so Burford purchased an "oil
wagon." [ Note: this oil wagon would end up being parked in the South
Brant Agricultural show grounds, near the exhibition buildings and in 1917
was the cause of the fire which completely destroyed the old exhibition
complex, which consisted of the former Burford Militia Drill Hall, moved
there from the Yeigh property in 1893.] Along with the problem of roads was the problem
of sidewalks, but there were local concrete companies around and sidewalks
and some patches of large areas of concrete were installed on King Street
during the 1914-18 war era. Bridges were also a nuisance to the local road
officials because some creeks wound back-and-forth across the same road
several times, in some cases, and in 1914 they finally removed at least one
of the three bridges a mile north of Burford at Whiteman's Creek, and
constructed the 6th concession to go around, instead of straight across the
creek basin. One of the greatest bits of news to hit the
community for a long time, in the summer of 1914, was the fact that Burford
was going to get a new Federal Building (Post Office). Several properties
were looked at as potential locations, then it was settled that the new
building would be built on the old former cooper shop property (the present
P.O. site) however there was a line of huge trees in front of it there and
some had thought the trees to be such an obstruction to the project. Until
one morning, according to the late Mel Robertson, when someone cut the trees
down apparently in the night and all was a go again. The tender went out in June and by July the
project was awarded to Secord Brothers and Company, Brantford. It was
estimated that the building would cost between $18,000 and $20,000 to
complete and everyone thought that construction would commence immediately.
Not so. Though the date stone for the building was made and pressed with the
date "1914," sod would not be turned until the spring of 1915, and
the building not completed until December 1916....not sure if the War had
something to do with that... Burford Armoury was home to 'C' Squadron, 25th
Brant Dragoons, who knew they were gearing up for something, but had no idea
that it would be a war that would last five years... The other major event in 1914 was that a vote was
finally given in favour of the village being hooked into the Ontario Hydro
Commission grid. It was said that it would be cheaper (about $5,000) to have
it done at the same time Waterford and Simcoe connected and both Waterford
and Simcoe gave the green "light" to be connected with hydro. It
was now or never for Burford. Prior to this, hydro was provided sporadically
by a dam across the creek at the mill, on the 6th Concession, with the
biggest customer being the Canning Factory. But this service was basically
only available during the day, until about 11pm, unless you made previous
arrangements with the miller, otherwise hydro prior to 1914 was undependable.
Sometimes the community would be "thrown into darkness" without
notice, and many evening church services and house
parties were interrupted, while those attending scrambled around to light
lanterns and lamps.
Typical scene, c1914, to illustrate what the
roads out in the Township looked like in 1914. "Radford's Hill,"
Harley. (Photo from Clayton Barker’s personal collection.) BURFORD - THE HOME FRONT (Part 2) Copyright © 2014-2020 by Clayton Barker War was only beginning to be talked about in
Burford, and the "Toronto Daily" was being advertised alongside The
Advance, so folks could keep abreast of the news on the War. Generally, it
was thought that the war would not affect us much, and that it would be over
in a short time. Here on the home front, the lazy hazy days of summer were
winding down and the harvest was in full swing. Ice-cream Socials, garden Parties and pic-nics were the typical summertime events in the days
before radio and TV. Picnics and socials and many church-group outings, were
usually held in the flats along Whiteman's Creek, or in pleasant groves or on
the lawns of prominent homes in the area. Lilico's
Grove (east side of the Village near the present County office and Fair
Ground), Baker's Flats (previously known as Stuart's Flats, north of the
Village), and Jull's grove, were popular places in 1914. There were not many automobiles in the area, but
those who had one, like Stuart Jarvis and C.F. Saunders, were able to take on
many passenger (no seatbelts needed or supplied back then) and drive them,
some standing on the running boards, etc., out of the village to enjoy
picnics several miles outside of Burford, such as Mohawk Park, in Brantford,
and "Radford's Grove" Harley. In the grove, "a happy party of young and
old assembled...College songs were sung and tales of Auld Lang Syne were
related, and those in the prime of life became for the time being boys
again..."Later in the evening refreshments were handed out by the
ladies...and the camp was a scene to be remembered - the campfire burning
brightly in the grove, around which sat many happy faces, the fire-light
showing clearly the expression of each face; the merry voices in song, and the
brilliant moonlight glinting through the tall pines in the grove, made a
picture worthy of the artist's brush..." For many occasions, the groups going off to
picnics and camping excursions were able to borrow tents from the local
Armoury, but after war was declared, military related equipment was being
inventoried and closely watched and kept in readiness for that call to
action. At a Burford Methodist Sunday School picnic, on
the lawn of Wm H. Jull, "Chinese Lanterns" decorated the trees and
provided light "which made a unique appearance" Old fashioned games
were played, there were speeches and readings and vocal selections sung. Brantford was gearing up for their "Old Home
Week" August 9th to 14th, and Burford getting ready for the annual
Burford Fair, October 6th and 7th, as the Army worm continued to muster its
troops here, in the fields, the armies, both here and abroad were put on full
alert.
1914 horse-drawn corn binder. (photo from Clayton Barker’s personal
collection) "...Keep the Home Fires Burning, While your hearts are yearning, Though your lads are far away They dream of home. There's a silver lining Through the dark clouds shining, Turn the dark cloud inside out 'Til the boys
come home." From the
song "Keep the Home-Fires Burning ('Till the Boys Come Home)" is a
British patriotic First world war song composed by Ivor Novello
in 1915 with words by Lena Guilbert Ford. BURFORD - THE HOME FRONT (Part 3) Copyright © 2014-2020 by Clayton Barker The war had just been announced for the first
time in The Advance, and already volunteers were answering the notice asking
for recruitments for the front, posted on the Armoury door: Leslie
Shellington, James Muir, John Davis and G. Tapley. Note: George Tapley is listed as being wounded during the war. [Reville, Vol.2, pg. 576] Also posted on the Armoury doors were orders from
Divisional Office, Toronto, to say that a guard has been posted at the
Armoury and that the public are warned not to enter the building on any
pretext whatever... (signed W. K. Muir, major. Officer in Charge of the
Armouries). On Thursday August 6th a very successful military
Tattoo was held on the grounds of Capt. A.D. Muir, with entertainment
provided by the 25th Brant Dragoons 40-piece band, conducted by Lieut.
Pearce. Other entertainment came in the form of comedy routines by the
renowned J.H. Cameron and his piano accompanist, Dr. Robb, both of Toronto.
Refreshments and ice-cream were served in a tent put on by the Girl's Guild
of Holy Trinity. In Paris a meeting was held by "The
Daughters of The Empire" to see if the Paris people would contribute
towards the "Hospital Ship" which the women of Canada are offering
to the Mother Country. Labour Day was celebrated Monday September 7th,
in 1914. No matter what you did, it somehow ended up in
the newspaper the following week; you could never sneak out of town on a
secret getaway! From the time of the first local newspaper in the 1840's and
50's, up until the 1960's the papers had always published the local gossip
columns, compiled and written by columnists from each locality, except by
1914 every time someone bought or sold an automobile, it was even announced
in the paper! -------------------------------------------------------- DISCLAIMER The information contained on this page represents
the research findings and opinions of the author. The material on this page
reflects the author’s best judgement in light of the information available at
the time of compilation. Any use of this material made by a third party, or
reliance on, or decisions made based on it are the responsibility of such
third parties. The author accepts no responsibility for damages, if any,
suffered by any third party as a result of decisions made or actions based on
this work. |
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