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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday July 18, 2007 - 15 Times change, but home is not forgotten Continued from page 14 Pollock refers to Ontario Street by the name Old Lake Road, and recalls that a bridge crossed the harbour before it, too, was lost to the lake and later replaced by the Lakeshore Road bridge. He also said Lakeshore Road, that was called Colborne Street to the east, was called Triller Street through Bronte. According to Pollock, by 1910, the bridge was gone and his family's farm was gone, though it wasn't until the 1950s that the last of the fishing boats still working in the lake called it a day. Today, there's not much left of the Bronte of old. "There's nothing left of the fishing village I knew and worked in, just nothing left," said Pollock who said he wished a few of the shanties had been saved, restored to their authentic exterior and operated as boutiques as has been done in places like Newfoundland and Halifax. Gazing north from the pier on Bronte Road, Pollock speaks of nearby Glendella as the most important piece of history in the area. It was the Ned Thompson Hotel and later the home of the late Bill Hill who operated Lakeside Marketeria. Both now stand derelict waiting for a development of condos and shops to take place. Glendella, after a hard fight by the community and Ralph Robinson Town council, is to be saved and restored where it sits though it came very close to being moved north on Jones Street. Just north of the marketeria site, Pollock looks to the former site of the Triller Hotel. Bill Sargent operated the fishing shanty closest to the lake dubbed Ice House, said Pollock. By the 1950s development was creeping into Bronte and small gas stations, car washes and restaurants began appearing. In later years, such development was described as making Lakeshore Road through Bronte Gasoline Alley and there was a concerted move to bring housing and storefront shops to the village. As Bronte increasingly becomes home to expensive townhomes, live/work units and storefront shops In memory of the Bronte commercial fishermen, who ventured onto the lake in good weather and bad, to set and lift their nets to earn a living catching fish -- ciscoes, herring, whitefish and lake trout. The fish caught were cleaned at the dockside shanties, packed in ice and shipped to markets in Toronto, Hamilton and New York City. Twenty-two boats operated from the harbour at the peak fishing season. As the fish dwindled, so did boats fishing from Bronte. The last boat left the lake circa early 1950s. Bronte Commercial Fishermen's Memorial Ken Pollock pleted 22 years after the village was founded. Bronte was a commercial shipping centre for grain and timber. Then it was home to a large fleet of stonehookers, boats that scoured the lake for the Dundas shale that was then used to make foundations in the early homes. Stoneboats Restaurant on Bronte Road is actually constructed of the shale. When the stonehooking trade waned and the railway arrived, villagers turned to commercial fishing and, in the late 18th century, Bronte became a fishing port. Dalt MacDonald who was born in Bronte in 1878 was a boat builder who built approximately 30 fishing boats, both sailing and gasoline, at his boatyard at the Bronte Gore, near where the cenotaph stands today. By the turn of the century, Lake and popular restaurants, it's far from the fishing village it used to be. Officially founded in 1834, the Village of Bronte was named as a tribute to British naval hero Admiral Nelson, who was granted the Duchy of Bronte in Sicily for his naval victories. Some of Bronte's original settlers were United Empire Loyalists and many streets were named after them including Sovereign, Hixon, Nelson and Belyea. Bronte's first harbour was com- Ontario had been divided into sections by the United States and Canadian governments. Each Ontario county was given a section to fish and an overseer to enforce regulations. The overseer for Lake Ontario off Halton County was, for many years, Bronte's William Sargent. Sailing was a way of life for Bronte's fishermen. They held an annual regatta on Christmas or New Year's Day, and often served as sailing masters on racing yachts. The winner of numerous awards of the Royal Canadian Yacht Club was the yacht, Aggie, and her sailing master was Bronte fisherman Sam Joyce. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, fishing was one of the sole ways for Bronte men to make a living, but, as World War II began, only four Bronte fish boats remained on Lake Ontario. Following the Second World War, it's said the Lake Ontario fishery neared exhaustion and finally confronted with an invasion of sea lamprey, Bronte fishermen left the lakes after nearly 100 years. In 1954 Bronte Village, the oldest settled area of Oakville, officially became part of the Town of Oakville. Both Dobson and Pollock will be at Saturday's ceremony. Both remember the old fishing village -- and hope that through their efforts, others will know of it, too. w h at P ho n e b o ok c a n s av e yo u m o n e y e v e ry t i m e yo u p ic k i t u p ? Links to Local Sales & Specials Local Video Guide Complete Local Business Directory Shopping Mall Guide Local Web Guide brought to you by: For more information on Gold Book call 310-GOLD or email info@goldbook.ca