As a child, my parents would often take me to Haskett Park for skating on the outdoor rink located on 24 acres of land, stretching along Millard Avenue west to Queen Street, with ball diamonds, soccer fields, tennis courts, a clubhouse, washrooms and playgrounds. In 1951, the area west of the original town limits had been annexed to the town, including…
Author: HistoryHound
Local Family Cemeteries Continued
This weekend on Newmarket Today I have again chosen to continue my examination of the importance of ‘family cemeteries’ in the Newmarket area. This weekend the featured cemeteries may be a bit smaller and perhaps less well known but they are indeed excellent examples of the historical family cemeteries that I have been trying to…
Family Cemeteries Rich With Local History
This is the second in a three-part series on family cemeteries in the Newmarket area, in which we’ll investigate some of our local family cemeteries with an eye to their location, uniqueness, and history. Here is a list of the family cemeteries in York Region I shall examine in this column. You can get a full listing…
The Historical Significance Of The Family Cemetery
My topic for this weekend’s article on Newmarket Today will focus on one of my favorite topics, our local cemeteries. I have written a few articles in the past on the subject, focusing primarily on the history of the various public cemeteries in our area but I thought that this weekend we would have a…
The History Of The Newmarket Horticultural Society
This weekend on Newmarket Today we will examine an organization which has been focused on contributing to natural beauty and its communal beauty for over 146 years in Newmarket. The Newmarket Horticultural Society has been dedicated to making Newmarket a more pleasant place to live for all of us. Perhaps before we look at the…
The Newmarket Legion Soap Box Derby
For this weekend’ article on Newmarket Today I turn my attention to an annual event which captured the heart of the whole community for generations and in which many of us participated in our youth. That event is the Newmarket Legion’s annual ‘Soap Box Derby.’ The Newmarket Legion ‘Soapbox Derby’ was a beloved annual event…
An Examination of Newmarket’s Historic Water Table
This weekend my article for Newmarket Today will examine the ‘water works’ in the Newmarket area, a topic that I have touched upon in previous articles but have never examined in any detail. Over the years, many people have commented on the existence of small streams or creeks scattered around town and have asked me…
Looking Back At The Origins of NHS Student Council and Yearbooks
I have written a series of columns on the history of Newmarket High School, from its humble beginning as a grammar school to a series of buildings of higher learning that were prone to fire. The moniker ‘the Phoenix’ is well placed regarding this educational institution given its ability to rise from its ashes time and time again….
Some Winter Storms Go Down In History
In this week’s column, History Hound Richard MacLeod recalls when winter was really winter, and some of ‘storms of the century’ As winters go in southern Ontario, this year’s has been a breeze so far, but it hasn’t always been so. Let’s look back at some of those winters where we experienced some of our…
Longtime Newmarket High Teacher Shaped Many Students
One of the longest-serving teachers at Newmarket High School was William Stoddart Elliott. Elliott was born in Copper Cliff, raised in Parry Sound and eventually made his home on Elmer Avenue in the Beaches area of Toronto. One would generally call him “sir” when speaking to him but “Wild Bill” when speaking among one’s classmates. Elliott…