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Dally Journal - Record Centennial LUUlou, Frida;, Sept 1, 1987 REVIEWING OUR PAST The Names And The Politicians Who Gained Public Recognition Prominent among Oakville's citizens who have served their community in the municipal field since the beginning of the pre sent century is Thomas A. Blakelock. This veteran of municipal and provincial politics, now well into his eighties, cam e to this dis trict from his native Yorkshire as a young man in 1906, and af ter working for a few years as a farmhand and carpenter, start ed his own contracting business in Oakville. About the year 1915 Mr. Blakelock entered the civic arena, and W is elected to the town council. F or several years he served as councillor and reeve, including a y e a r as warden of Halton coun ty. In 1929 he was elected m ay or. In October of that year he contested the provincial election as Liberal candidate, and was elected mem ber o f Halton. He was successively elected until 1943. SCHOOL BOARD Some years later he "'a s ap pointed to the form er OakvilleTrafalgar District High School Board, serving as chairman in 1952 and 1953. Later, as chairman of the board' s building com m it tee, he rendered valuable assis tance In the building of the school which now bears his name. Another man who served both in the municipal and provincial areas of politics was the late George Hillmer, m em ber of a fam ily closely associated with Oakville for m ore than a cen tury. vis, who founded the real sstate and insurance business that bears his name. Mr. Davis was largely instrumental in the de velopment of Oakville as a res idential community for people MORE HILLMERS from the city. His son, the late Charles Hill The late Arthur Forster, pub mer, who died in -964, served as lisher of the weekly newspaper, a m em ber of the parks board, the Star, was active in municipal council, and public school board. affairs for a number of years, He was m ayor in 1947 and a part and served as m ayor about the of 1948, and while on the school year 1924. He was also a m em board several years later, served ber o f the county council. a term as chairman. LIVED TO 101 Another m em ber of the family, Many o f the town's older resi the late Alfred Hillmer, brother dents will rem em ber the late of George, w'as the town's fire John Moat, who died several chief from 1910 to 1944, and years ago at the age o f 101. Mr. served for som e time on the Moat, who had worked in Oak board of education. ville as a harness-maker in the Another m ayor of the past half eighteen - eighties, moved here century was the late W. S. Da- from Toronto about 1921. He was Mr. Hillmer was · m em ber of the town council for several years, serving as m ayor in the early 1920s. In 1923 he was el ected to the legislature, and held office until 1929. elected to council and served for several years, including at least one term as reeve. A fam ily active in town affairs was the Whitaker family. The late Jack Whitaker was elected to council as a very young man 1934, and rendered outstanding service. Alfred, his brother, also served on council with distinction and was m ayor in 1948, the year of his death. Another brother, the late William Whitaker, was a m e m ber o f the town fire department for many years, and held the position o f deputy chief. LEADING GROCER Other prominent citizens who served on council up until recent times include James L. Hewson, owner of what was once the town' s leading grocery store, John R. Byers, druggist, George B. Jacobs and Philip W. Chambres, all now deceased. The town clerk for many years was the late Clarence H. Byers, w'ho also served as secretary to the board of education. For some years he had only one assistant. In the early years of the cen tury the town's police depart ment consisted of one man, the chief. Many residents will re mem ber the late David Kerr, a man of unusually tall stature, who was appointed in 1918 and held the position for about 25 years. The act to incorporate the town of Oakville was passed in May 1857, and becam e effective the following July. The first mayor was George K. Chisholm. For many years the council met in the market building on Navy Street south of William. This building, which was later known as the town hall, was des troyed by fire in 1913, and for the following 40 years or m ore meetings were held in the sec ond floor of a building on Lake shore Roard (form erly Colbom e Street), east of Navy, above the town clerk's office. Two o f the most prominent of the town's elder statesmen to serve in recent years were the late William Anderson and the late Stanley Hall. Stanley Hall was a prominent Halton County farm er who en tered provincial politics. Upon his retirement, after lengthy ser vice as a Conservative M PP he received high praise from Leslie Frost, then provincial premier, for his service to the party and the province. The election of 1959 was the last he contested. The election of 1963, following Hall' s retire ment, was won by George Kerr, also a Progressive Conservative. William Anderson, a veteran politician both of the county and the municipal level, served as the last m ayor of the old town o f Oakville and the first mayor of the new amalgamated com m u nity combining Oakville and Tra falgar Township. A native of Scotland, Ander son at one time served as Hal ton County sheriff, and was an active supporter of the Liberal Party in Halton. Prior to his election as m ayor of Oakville he served in many town offices. He becam e known as the Father of Amalgamation for his efforts in bringing the two communities together. He was succeeded by Allan W. Mas son, who was later defeated by the town's present m ayor F. Mc Lean Anderson (no relation to thej^te William Anderson). Upon Anderson's retirement, seven candidates entered the race to succeed him. This "'a s recognized as a record in Can adian municipal politics. A former town m ayor who is still in public service is James R Black, form er chairman of the Oakville Parks Board and now a Halton County Magistrate. Magistrate Black was m ayor pri or to William Anderson. D OWNE Y CUSTOW CANVAS & CUSHION LTD. Serving Oakville and District for 28 years W e a t D o w n s / A w n in g s w o u ld lik e to ta k e a m o m e n t to th a n k o u r h u n d re d s o f c u s to m e r* f o r t h e ir p a tro n a g e o v e r th e past 2 8 y e a rs in a w n in g a n d canvas w o rk . It has been a p le a s u re to d o business w ith so m a n y fin e pe o p le a n d lo o k fo r w a r d to g iv in g o u r past c u s to m e rs and f u t u r e cu s to m e rs th e q u a lity p ro d u c ts an d o u t s ta n d in g s e rv ic e th e y e x p e c t. W IL L IA M ANDERSON AND W IF E AT R E T IR E M E N T F orm er m ayor called Father of Amalgamation W e h a v e a c o m p le te lin e o f canvas o r a lu m in u m a w n in g s a v a ila b le in a f u ll ra n g e o f colors w h ic h w e w ill show In y o u r h o m e w ith o u t o b lig a tio n . W e also h a v e a re c o v e rin g an d s to ra g e s s rv ic s . E sta b lis h e d in 1939. D 301 OWNE CUSTOM CANVAS & CUSHION LTD. Y THOM AS A. BLAKELO CK Active in Education F O R M E R M U N IC IP A L O F F IC IA L CHARLES H IL L M E R Named citizen o f the year for long service 844-3572 PINE ST. OAKVILLE N O BU LL! A Small Part of OAKVILLE'S Past . . . A Big Part of OAKVILLE'S Future I867UI 967 We can't claim to be a formidable part of Canada's first one hundred years as a nation. You see, we're only one year old. During that time, however, the warm reception we've received from people throughout Oakville and Halton County leaves us looking for 1867U1967 ward to the future. As the years pass and Canada be comes even greater during its second century of growth, we hope to be come a bigger part of Oakville, pro viding a service that will meet with customers' needs satisfactorily. For Service you can Depend on it s . . . * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *^ * * * * T0LLEFS0N LITHOGRAPHING CO. 170 A R G U S RD. O A K V IL L E 845-7865 * M * * * ELECTRICAL SERVICE LICENSED M E C H A N I C T O W I N G SERVICE F R O N T END S E R V I C E T U N E UPS LUBRICATIONS M I N O R REPAIRS * * * * * * * * * * * * * *1 * * * * * 3rd Line and Speers Rd. 827-1701 I Oakville