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…
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Artist Dorothy Clark McClure Renowned As ‘Keeper of Our Past’
Our region’s history has a golden period that included a bevy of local artists. Among them were the likes of Isabel VanZant, George Luesby, Dorothy Clark McClure and many more. This column will focus on one of these artists from the golden age of local heritage art, the pride of Aurora, Dorothy Clark McClure. I both knew and admired…
Newmarket Historian Dedicated Years To Sharing Town’s Past
This column highlights the life and contributions of an individual who I believe is ‘the mother of Newmarket history,’ Ethel Willson Trewhella. If you have followed my columns, presentations, or videos over the past 40 years, you know her work is the foundation on which I and other local historians have built our narratives. She,…
Prospect Of Bypass Drives Quest To Find Lost Fort
This topic is one that resonates both from our historic past and the events currently before us — the Bradford Bypass extension. I hope to show a knowledge of our past can quite often benefit us when it comes to current issues. One of the first major export industries in our area was the fur…
Some Of Aviation’s Best Minds Designed, Built Arrow
This is the second article in a series on the Avro Arrow story, exploring the design and construction phases of the storied craft. Next, the story continues with Feb. 20, 1959, the day that became known as Black Friday in Canada, the day the Avro Arrow project was cancelled. The infamous Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow was unveiled to…
The Final Days Of The Avro Arrow
In this final instalment of my three-part series on Canada’s Avro Arrow, I will look at the cancellation and fallout from the project’s termination, including its effect locally. In a future column, I will look at some of the many conspiracies that surrounded its demise. After all, no piece of history is immune to a…
The Avro Arrow and The Newmarket Area
This weekend on Newmarket Today we begin our much-awaited series of articles on the ‘Avro Arrow’ and its place in not only Canada’s aeronautical history but that of the world. Rather than jump into the story mid-stream, I have decided to examine the story right from the beginning. Over what I intend to be a…
Legacy Of Newmarket Teacher Lives On In Students, Community
In 1981, when I attended the 110th reunion of Newmarket High School, I was given a gift of a special reunion yearbook written by my uncle, George Luesby, published for the occasion. Everyone who attends a school reunion secretly longs to see their old teachers again and perhaps connect on a more personal level with them….
Painter Made Mark On Canadian Arts Scene
This weekend on NewmarketToday, I will be featuring another prominent local artist who achieved worldwide acclaim within the art world. In past columns, I have featured several local artists including George W. Luesby and Dorothy Clarke McClure as well as the incomparable J.W. Jefferies, father of Canadian heritage art. This weekend, we shall examine the history…
The De Havilland Saga 2
Last weekend we looked at the early years of De Havilland and left off with the design and production of the Twin-Otter in the 1960’s. This weekend on Newmarket Today we shall pick up the story in the 1970’s and the advent of the Dash 7 and 8. In the 1970s, De Havilland Aircraft of…