Neighbourhood clowns

Founded around 1952, the Brampton Clown Band was a regular at town parades, carnivals, and other events for children. Founded by Andy Cuthbert, and taken over by Vic Carter upon Cuthbert’s death. During its existence, which was at least until Brampton’s Centennial in 1973, the band won awards from the St. Catherine’s Grape Festival Parade, performed at the Minden Winter Carnival for over a decade, at hospitals as far as Orillia and Weston, and toured the senior’s home circuit. Consisting of fifteen members at its peak, by Centennial only the leader, bass, snare drum, bass drum, and banjo players remained.

The Etobicoke River: Contemporary appreciation (part 7)

Three deaths and millions of dollars in damage later, the Etobicoke River was diverted, no longer flowing through Downtown Brampton. Costing $1 million at the time, roughly $7.9 million with inflation, the diversion was paid for in full by 1973, nineteen years after being finished, but a full one hundred years after being approved by the province. While it’s doubtful you could catch a pan fish or trout, the dedicated nature lover can still spot a muskrat. Take a walk from the Brampton Mall, on Nanwood and Main, to Osler’s Peel Memorial Hospital, and appreciate the beauty of Brampton’s waterway.

The Etobicoke River: Finished just in time (part 6)

Almost 79 years after getting Provincial approval for a diversion of the Etobicoke, a concrete bemoth was put into construction, after the 1948 flood. Costing nearly $1 million (adjusted to $7.9 million in 2006), a quarter of the money came from Brampton, the rest from the Province. Notable local firm the Armstrong Brothers completed construction in November 1951. Two ceremonies were held, and a cairn still stands at Scott and Church Streets, to dedicate the diversion. This expense was proved justified the night of October 15, 1954, when Hurricane Hazel decimated areas from Mimico to Woodbridge. The structure held strong.

The Etobicoke River: The last straw (part 5)

Things were as bad as ever in 1946. A flood of the Etobicoke River cause $4.6 million in damages (adjusted to 2006), yet another man dead, and Downtown Brampton under six feet of water. To add a modern perspective to the situation, downtown New Orleans was under eight feet with Hurricane Katrina. It was clear the enclosed tunnel running under the downtown just couldn’t take such brute force. The newly founded Conservation Authority had already drafted a report that was sent into action, under the guidance of Mayor John S. Beck, during his sixth and final year in elected office.

The Etobicoke River: Coordinated action against the Etobicoke (part 4)

The city decided enough was enough, for the Etobicoke River. Too many lives had been lost, too many millions wasted on repairs. But, if anything were to be done with the Etobicoke River, it had to be done in proper co-operation with other municipalities. Otherwise, any actions would simply push the problem downstream. The Province passed an act in 1946, enabling the creation of conservation authorities. Now cities could coordinate and cooperate in their efforts against raging watersheds. A March 1948 flood, which caused $4.8 million damage, with today’s rate of inflation, put the downtown under six feet of water.

Peel's "County Town"

Brampton hosts most of the Region of Peel’s offices, from the police to the health department. This is thanks to an 1865 vote, which established the “County Town”. After splitting from what is York Region, Peel polled for the location of their municipal government, via a write-in ballot. Brampton won with a landslide of 2311 votes, easily beating runner Malton’s 494 votes. Port Credit was the only other village to get more than 100 ballots to its name. Of the thirty “places” suggested, eleven received only a single vote. Two of those were pranks, suggesting “At Home” and “Dilley Tom”.

Peel Memorial Hospital, part three

Despite five expansions to Peel Memorial in a span of 31 years, planners were facing a hard time of keeping up with overwhelming demand. Thankfully the South Peel Hospital (now Trillium Health Centre) opened in 1952, to serve those in the towns that eventually became Mississauga. A two-stage expansion, including a 10-storey wing, added 439 beds at a cost of $10.5 million. Grown from 12 to 700 beds, the hospital hosted 8,755 people annually by 1965, and 16,919 by Brampton’s Centennial in 1973. By that year, plans were underway to build a 200-bed hospital in Bramalea by 1980, by Chinguasousy Township.

Peel Memorial Hospital, part two

Now that Brampton's shoe industry-family, the Hewetsons, had built a residence for twelve nurses, Peel Memorial needed to deal with its overcrowding. In 1932, the hospital was extended, and an elevator and second set of stair installed. The facilities were expanded again in 1938, with a multi-storey addition, doubling the original bed capacity. As the town and surrounding villages continued to grow, another wing was opened in December 1949. The extension, which again doubled the hospital size, cost $310,000 with its “furnishings”. Further extensions added 153 beds in 1960, and 100 more in 1963, for a cost of $3.7 million.

Peel Memorial Hospital, part one

When The Great War (now known as World War One) ended in 1915, the Peel County Women's Institute began fundraising for a hospital in Brampton. By 1921, some 99 years after the first settlers moved to the area, the organization had raised $2600. After the Veterans Association leant its support, the Institute and Red Cross purchased the William Elliott estate. Further grants and donations later, the hospital opened in February 1925 with 12 beds. The hospital served 156 within its first year, and immediately faced overcrowding. Expansion would continue in 1932, two years after a donation funded construction of a nurse’s residence.

Regal Square brought business

While many major companies now operate out of Brampton, the town's first major centre for suits was the Queen's Square Building. 24 Queen Street East was opened in November 1965, in place of the Queen's Hotel. The downtown’s first high-rise commercial building, it was applauded for modernizing the street's appearance, and town's professional development. The Town of Brampton offices and council chambers soon moved in to the second and third floors, before eventually heading to the Bramalea Civic Centre, home to the Chinguacousy Library. Recently, local developer Inzola Construction has made major renovations to the building, helping reinvigorate the area.

Manitoba’s Bramptonian premier

Born in Brampton in 1861, T.C. Norris entered politics in 1896 as the MPP for the Lansdowne riding of Manitoba. When the Liberal party chose him as leader in 1910, the party began a rise to victory in 1915. The Premier was re-elected in 1920, with Liberals taking twenty seats in the legislature, a minority government. He resigned as Premier, but the Lieutenant Governor encouraged him to stay Premier until an election could be held, in 1922. Norris remained an MPP for many years to come, becoming the Railway Commissioner in 1928. Bramptonian William Davis once served as Ontario premier.

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Note that there was another Manitoba premier from Brampton, Howard Pawley. I didn't know about him due to the fact I used really old books for research. I'll be writing about him later.

Second currency

While the Canadian dollar has been the currency of choice since 1867, Brampton had a second currency for two months. Brampton celebrated its Centennial in 1973, with many major events throughout the year. To help celebrate, the Chamber of Commerce created 25000 pure nickel coins, worth $1 each. These special coins were meant to be spent at local businesses from May 1 to June 30, but very few were redeemed. Six sold gold coins were also created, to present to dignitaries. A coin apiece was presented to Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip, when they attended ceremonies in Gage Park.

New name for the village

In 1829, a named William Lawson decided to immigrate to Canada with his wife, from the Cumberland area of northern England. A fervent Primitive Methodist, Lawson continued to preach when he arrived in the Ontario village known to locals and travellers as Buffy’s Corners. One of the first people he met in the village was an old friend from his hometown, John Elliot. The men met so often, they eventually decided to incorporate a village in the area. They decided against using the name Buffy’s Corners, choosing instead Brampton, after their common hometown. Lawson eventual moved away, dying in Hamilton.

Where the girls are

In a couple of months, cable station TalkTV will be transformed into MTV Canada, sending many shows permanently to the archives of CTV. Among them is the recently cancelled self-titled Canadian talk show, hosted by Vicki Gabereau. Gabereau got her start in Brampton, as an announcer on CHIC radio, “Where the girls are”. Canada’s first radio station with only female announcers, before the 1970s it was CFJB, a station set up by Fenn Job in 1953. Two stations—one FM, one AM—catered to a variety of musical tastes. The station also featured Greek, Italian, Croatian, Macedonian, and Finnish-language programming.

(Note that if this ever is published, I'll have to revise it to bring it into the present.)

Triple execution

Three executions took place at the County Jail for Peel, which operated from 1867 to 1977. Stefan Swyryda was the first person executed at the jail in 1909, having murdered a young Polish man the previous year. He was hung on scaffolding in the yard. Two men were hung inside, where there was a trap door arrangement. Gordon Ross Matthew was hanged in 1941 for the murder of his wife, and Walter Zabolotny met the noose in 1946 for the murder of a woman. The spot where the trap door once was can be seen at the Peel Heritage Complex.

Premier Davis GOes to Brampton

While Pickering to Hamilton has been served by GO trains since 1967, Canada’s centennial year, an initial fleet of 40 coaches and nine engine cars soon had to be doubled to keep up with demand. During 1971 Tory election campaigning, Brampton MP and resident Premier Bill Davis promised development of a Georgetown line. Finally, in December 1973, the promise was a reality. Four new engines and 30 “new aluminium cars” were purchased, making six trips to Toronto daily. The service runs on CN rail lines, which were double-tracked in the 1960s, in anticipation of fifty freight trains daily through Brampton.

Beginnings of GO Transit

The year was 1964, and commuting began to take its toll on the townsfolk of Port Credit, Lorne Park, and Clarkson (now all Mississauga). The municipalities asked the provincial government to launch a study, looking at commuter transportation services. The Government of Ontario Transit, dubbed "GO-Transit" for short, was launched in 1967 as a result. The country's first made-to-order commuter service, it initially ran from Hamilton in the west to Pickering in the east, on CN lines initially laid by the Toronto Hamilton Railway in the 1860s. In 1973, the trains would finally arrive in Brampton, as the premier promised.

Failed suburban railway

Sir Adam Beck, the first chairman of Ontario Hydro, had the dream of connecting Toronto to the rest of southern Ontario. The year was 1917, and Beck quickly laid out plans for the Toronto Suburban Railway system. One of the many “radials” in his plan would head out from Toronto, through Churchville, Eldorado Park, and Huttonville. These towns have since annexed by Brampton. But Sir Beck had his dreams cut short, as the plans were soon taken over and sat on by Canadian National Railway. By 1931, the company officially scrapped the concept. Finally, in 1967, GO Transit service began.

Introduction

Hello all. Here I'll be archiving my 100 Words on Brampton column. It appears weekly in the newly relaunced Brampton Bulletin newspaper, which is heading into its second year of publication.

Occasionally I have tidbits that I just couldn't fit in the 100 word limit, they'll be posted here after the columns they just didn't make it into.

If you have any ideas for columns, or corrections if I've lead people astray, please let me know. Either post a comment to the blog, or email me at nicholasmoreau@gmail.com