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"Already some of our more reactionary citi. amstirertturttblingabout big industrymining the outmnunity for residential purposes. Nonsense! Time's no reason why our residential districts should be harmed in the slightest, or why new and vety attractive ones shouldn't be developed to take care of the influx of new population which will come with industrial expansion. All 1hgtismzdedisalittiegoodjudgmentandfore- sight right now." On Friday, July 27th. Ford picked up its oriortsonatractuotalling427 acms,butstill kept quiet about its plans for the lard, It wasn't until late October that Ford announced its intentions to build the largest Mistrial building in Canada on the property, and assembly plant operations to house the company. When completed, the assembly plant would coeeranareaof32actes-allunderonemof. An early supporter of Ford was Wilder Breckenridge, the publisher of the Oakville Record-Star. In an editorial entitled 'Your New Neighbor' coinciding with Ford's securing of 1antitopims,thepapercommendedForti for its reputation " a good corporate neighbor and 'ttrsttpedtoalhtythefearsoftheday. Oakville, which had no major industry prior to Fad‘s arrival. prided itself in being a separate community hom Toronto. Thestereoforganizedlaboranditsimpact otithetowna1socausedcomxrttforexisting mi- daIswbowue largely removed from unions. At the time of the announcement, Oakville was a small community bordering between Maiden Road to the west and Gloucester Avenue in the east, the Queen Elizabeth Way to the north and Lake Ontario to the south. It had yet to amal- gamate with the surrounding Township of War and the Village of Bronte in the west. Its population was 6,878. But the possibility of a major Ford facility locating in Oakville sparked fears within the community that major industry would ruin their lifestyle. Many feared a large Fond plant would spark a large population boom of laborers that would strain the town's existing services and lead to highertaxes. Rhys M. Sale, president of Ford Motor Company of Canada Ltd., told the newspaper, "We are considering purchase of the land because it my fit into our long range plans rather than for an immediate specific use." According to The Oakville Record-Star, of Thursday. July 5th, 1951, Ford had no immediate plans for the property. (Continued from page 1) company, a large textile firm, a government munitions plant, an oil company, and a machine and tool maker. But none of the rumors included Rad. Although it had secured the options, Ford rammed quiet about its future intentions. Oakville has grown with Ford assembly plant F6 - Olkvlllo Beaver - Wednesday, June 9, 1993 fa (GARY CARR, M.P.P. Oakville South SCHLEGEL CANADA INC. On Your 40th Anniversary In Oakville A LOOK BACK ON FOUR DECADES OF AUTOMOTIVE PRODUCTION IN OAKVILLE, ONTARIO Constituency Qfice: 22 Lakeshore Rd. W. Oakville, L6K f C5 842-5592 Congratualtions to Ford and their employees on this special occasion for 40 years of quality and commitment to Oakville Congratulations FORD OAKVILLE "The World's Finest Weatherstripping " From Your Neighbours @Ogtflfialyflla‘tjflgg _t fiii't,tri'tilii (ith-A gm” 4;“;h1AmmMergaw Ford of Canada officials on hand as the fire Ford rolled off the Oakville Assembly line on May ll, 1953, included (hom left to right) J.M. Cochrane, K.O. Grant, KW. Atkinson, W.D. Maxwell and W.D. Walker. Cochrane, a company vice-president, had overall responsibility for the plant's construction and Walker served as its first manager. Andheassuraitheauii-titatnotalHUd employees would settle in Oakville to create I pqtulatinnboan. Atthedinner,Salotentptaugaintocmmter thetesidentswmstfears.AstmxmiaiintheDet 6th,1951,issueoftheRexmiGar,Sakstokithe audience,"MayIassureyouutdiesandgetttle- men,thatrnushroom growth resultinghtamour devekpmenthereismost unlikely.Gtowth will cromeitiutistxtuin.Butitwillbeslowgrowth, sprettdoveraperiodoftmrs,naaquithtmts- fomutionfhomtowtttocity,fhommsidmtialarea toindustrialame." ButFtxdstillknewirhadtowinoverrtuny ofthe0uvilkresidatts.Tothisatd.itti- Good Neighbor Dinneron Nov. 29th, I951, in thePine Room attheCommunity Centre and invitaulltheleatiingcitizensor0akvilk. Residentsweterelievedtoheardutthefacii ty would only house assembly plant operations andtiuollheavyttunufacturingwoukiremainat theexisting1hrmdsorplant. Sale said the plant would eventually employ 4.000-5,000wtxursandhaveacapacitytoptw duty 125.000 cars annually. Modantntrtsptxtaimfitcilitiesmakeithess OAKVILLE . 1953~ 1993 HAPPY BIRTHDAY FORD OF CANADA 710 DORVAL DRIVE, SUITE 105 842-4400 Local 707 CA W. which represents the 4000 hourly workers as well as 2300 retirees of Ford Oakville are proud to observe the 4thh Anniversary of Ford in Oakville. Along with Ford we have been ‘nvolved in many community activities such as United Way, Oakville Food Bank, minor sports, high school scholarships and other ventures, making Oakville a better place for all. Over these 40 years we have been through bad times and good times but never lost sight of the Community Spirit and look forward to the future. T CAW ' TCA LOCAL 707 WORKING FOR A BETTER FUTURE Another national company that knows the importance of local service. KEur, mmasand Meanwhile. local municipal ofrscials were struggling with laying the town's blueprint to cope with the ncw gm spanned by the Ford plant. thtMarrhhit. 1952.1Tamuoplamingcm- suuatdxEti.Fittidiwamedajointrneetingof membersofTrafalprCbuncilAhkvilleCancil, thkville-TmtilgarP1anningBoard,Miluxt-Noeth Trafalgar Planning Board. and Bram: Council ttutgoodplanningwottld-tthkviUtrmtt bexxominganaiter1Mnt" A '2 439‘ "Youareinabattie,andyournust absorb the invaders. Yon can It Wm. if you plan too late," he said As construction began on the "Youcanbuilddtebatorhewmstcityinthe midfFauldisa'xlmdhgloarepmindn Manhl3th.i952,Ra:oed-Star. myth-ahlhepmfuwukmtomidc withinthedtadttwottheirpuceofemployment. sotospeak.Manywilldrivetoandhrxnwoek eachay.andnauntildteyhavesetrkdintotheir jo%anddevelopedasertseotpentunency.will dteybegintohinkoouytirbuildingahome intheimmeduevicinityofdtepunt." "earsstillpetsistai.h FROM SE RVICES ANADA) LTD weyer, mm me. as has rd site Hesaiditwasthecompany'spoticytohire menoott_ofttttilityantiwitatiiryV jobwitttotat-dtomt-d,orurior,a" wenottoteportthattxttyasmallrtumberofkey persormelw0uldbetransfetmihmnWin_to 1he0akvtlleplantwhenitwent'mtoproduction. The Record-Star reported. “Reference was made to criticism of contractors for having employed a number of New Canadians. and Gartouttpointaioutthatsome48rerxtttarrivals inCanadahadbeenhimi,butsaidhebelieved Atthepublicrneeting-GadtmCAhrbutt- director of Public Relations for Ford, tried to calm the tears of a capacity indium. Many ofthose were sparked by contractors hiring workers from outside Oakville. Some criti- cized the hiring of "New Canadian“. The concerns prompted Ford to hold a public meeting, May 20th. I952. at the Trafalgar Towmhip Hall. Cuban denied stories printed in the May 22nd. 1952ediimoftheRaxmMtarindicating FtmiofCtnadaplannedtoimptort2,000Negmes tostatrtheplantandthattherewouldbeawhole- saletransferoflatmrhomWindsorto0hille wetecategoricallydeniedbyGartutt. Versa Services Ltd. Your Food Service Farmers 40 ,1iiiiiiiiiiitiif gym d 332-5500 COD UtADTV VITA 'u,:e,ie,,9,e,t,ic, l/l FOR f ORTY YEARS OF COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT Barbara Sullivan, M.P.P. ()AKVILLE - TRAFALGAR MEMORIAL HOSPITAL 3345 North Service Road Burlington, Ontario L7N 3G2 From Halton Centre Constituerky Office (,ii--ccicysa, [riiiiijli, "theatinthtsttiesdonotusuallywanttobe welcomed iitamirtiYeisay than by lack of inter. fi-ttsed-ditto felt differently. As a result, the reaction has been different. It's been more friendly. more tolerant and more homey. Andasiheyearshavegonety,itisnow very difficult to imagine Oakville without the pres- ence of the Ford plant. On May 11th. when the first Oakville-built car rolled off the assembly line, many of the company 's earlier predictions bore out. In the May llth edition ofThe Daily Journal- Record, William Cotton, who later became the mwspaper's publisher, wrote."lt is not every day that a New Neighbor of the immensity of Ford- Oakville arrives in a community. But it can be saidtruthfullythatthiscompanyhascomewith the least possible fuss and muy, and with the hand of friendship extended. "While even now, there are many who may notgraspthishandwithgreatenthusiasm,there areveryfewwhohaverefusedtoshakehandsat all. his audience shared with him the conviction that these new citizens were entitled to opportunities to work just as much as were long-time resi- dents." On the public relations field, Ford was doing as much as it could to become part of the com- munity. In a special edition of the Oakville-Record Star, marking the official opening of the Oakville Ford Plant on May 11th, 1953, the editor reflect- ed on the changes to the town which coincided with the arrival of the Ford plant. "The first modern office building opened with the first elevator. A hotel was planned, and motels were started on the Queen Elizabeth Way. There was a rash of apartment houses in town, and they were filled with tenants as soon as they opened. Sub-divisions approved before the arrival of Ford were developed and homes went up " quickly as possible. For the most part, these were sold. However, there was a buyer resistance to the resale prices some people put upon their homes." In February, 1952, while Oakville was in the midst of a $60,000 fundraising campaign for a new arena, Ford kicked in $10,000 to boost the total to $29,000. "Chief immediate change came to Oakville. Her main street was modernized as properties changed hands and the new owners put in attrac- tive store-fronts. Running to get on the scene of business, all of the chartered English-speaking banks, which had not been located, arrived on the scene. Woolworth's and the T.E. Eaton Company moved in - the latter only purchasing land in the township, but Woolworth’s opened a fine store immediately across from this newspa- per's office. And as the construction of the Ford plant pro- gressed. Oakville underwent a series of changes. OTAM H Hours: "xxiay-Fiiay 9 ant-5 pan. [TABLE '