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In Focus, April, 2012 4 MUNITY...YOU'RE INFOCUS M O C R E P U A R O . . . Y P YOUR Letter from In Focus When it comes to living in a small town like Halton Hills, I've noticed that there are two types of people: those whose families have lived here for generations and the "newcomers." Even though I was born here, raised here, went to school here, work here, play sports here and volunteer here, I'm still pegged as a newcomer. Why? Because of the way I say Ballinafad. My parents moved here 30 years ago. Since they weren't from `round these here parts, they assumed it was pronounced "ba-LIN-afad," so that's how we said it. Because that's how it looks, right? Wrong. Some local pronunciation quirk ­ known only to the town's longtime residents ­ means that Ballinafad is actually said "BAL-n-fad." But I just can't make my mouth say that, so I guess I'll always be a newcomer. That's not the only local pronunciation that separates the oldies from the newbies. I've been told that Maria Street in Acton is actually pronounced "Mariah" because it was named after the daughter of one of the town's settlers and that's the way she said her name. Then there's the village of Erin, which I've heard some old-timers pronounce "Eerin." And, of course, there's Norval. You know you're dealing with an out-of-towner if they say "nor-VAL," like my friend from PEI once did. So if you ever want to know how long someone has lived in Halton Hills, just listen to how they pronounce the names of certain local geographical landmarks. Or you could just ask how long they've lived here. That would probably work too. But before you do that, I want you to sit back, put your feet up and enjoy this edition of In Focus. In these pages, you will find photos from local fundraisers, celebrations and a whole bunch of March Break activities. And remember: this is YOUR In Focus. Send me your photos and events and you could see yourself in our next issue! Happy April! Historic Halton Hills Quirky facts from Halton Hills' past The original Georgetown High School, which opened in 1887, was designed by Edward J. Lennox, who also designed Massey Hall and Old City Hall in Toronto. The building was torn down in 1959 and replaced with the current structure. Norval was known as McNabsville, McNab's Mill and Esquesing Mills until the post office opened in the mid-1830s. Sunderland Villa was a private house, a home for World War I veterans and a hotel before becoming a funeral home in 1937. Today it is the home of the MacKinnon Family Funeral Home. Dominion Seed House, which was founded by William Bradley in 1928 on a corner of his family's farm, was the largest and most successful catalogue seed distributor in Canada. It remained in the Bradley family until 1993. Before officially being named Acton in 1844, the town was known as Danville and Adamsville. Georgetown's "873" phone number was added in 1986. The growth of Georgetown South caused "702" to be introduced in 1993. Actonite or Actonian? How do YOU refer to the people of Acton? April 2012 VOLUME 6 ISSUE 4 IN FOCUS is published 12 times per year by the The Independent & Free Press, a division of Metroland Media Group Ltd. The Independent & Free Press 280 Guelph Street, Unit 29 Georgetown, Ontario, L7G 4B1 Telephone: 905-873-0301 Fax: 905-873-0398 www.theifp.ca Publisher Ken Nugent Special Features Co-ordinator Andrea Lefebvre 905-873-0301, ext. 236 ALefebvre@theifp.ca Advertising Sales Representatives Cindi Campbell Felicia Fasulo Jennifer Spencer Amy Sykes Natasha Vuksic Design/Production Dolores Black, Mary Lou Foreman, Shelli Harrison, Kevin Powell Andrea Lefebvre alefebvre@theifp.ca The contents are protected by copyright and may be used only for personal non-commercial purposes. All other rights are reserved and commercial use is prohibited. To make any use of this material you must first obtain the permission of the owner of the copyright. For further information contact the Independent & Free Press at 905-873-0301. The advertiser agrees that the publisher shall not be liable for damages arising out of errors in advertising beyond the amount paid for the space actually occupied by that portion of the advertisement in which the error oc c urred , whether such error is due to the negligence of its servants or otherwise, and beyond the amount paid for such advertisement. GENERAL NOTICE: Copyright in letters and other material submitted to the Publisher and accepted for publication remains with the author, but the Publisher and its licenses may freely reproduce them in print, electronic or other for ms of publications. Lagoon Kidney Oval · Stairs · Jets · Digital Gas Heater · Liner · Salt Sanitizer · Energy Efficient Pump · Cartridge Filter · LED Lighting · Concrete Deck · Robotic Pool Cleaner · Excellent Warranty · and more Licensed by Town of Halton Hills Full Landscaping, Waterfalls & Interlock www.poolguys.ca 905.873.9444 Georgetown,ON Do you know any fun facts about Halton Hills? Send your information to Andrea at ALefebvre@the ifp.ca. IN FOCUS IS A PRODUCT OF