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Dally Journal · Record Centennial Edition, Friday, Sept. 1, 1987 Hard Work Debt And Desolation Too Much For Many Area Settlers , Life W as Tougli In Old Trafalgar Many of the first settlers who tried to establish themselves in old Trafalgar Township left the land broken in both body and spirit. It was difficult enough trying to scratch a living from t h e forest, but the pioneer farm er w as also plagued by financial troubles that proved the undoing o f m any just as they began to win out over the wilderness. Sixteen o f the township' s lead ing citizens, replying in 1817 to a request from im migration pro m oter R obert Gourlay for inform ation about the area, outlined som e of the hardships a newcom er would encounter. The follow ing is their appraisal of frontier life: NO CAPITAL ` `The causes which retard the Improvem ent of our township an the province at large are var the province at large are var ious. The first and principal cause you have already v ery just ly observed, that is the want of capital. ` ` This m ay perhaps be best il lustrated by the facts. K n o w then that the greater num ber of our farm ers, when they first settle in the wild woods, have little m ore property than a cow , a yoke of oxen, a log cabin and an axe, and som e have little or no property at all but their axe alone. ` `The fam ily generally consists of a m an and his wife and a number o f young children. Un able to hire hands, the whole of the labor naturally devolves on the man; and hence it is that for six or seven years, till such time as the roots o f the tim ber begin to rot in the ground so that he can use a plow, and until theoldest o f his children grow up to help him, the toil is incessant. NOT ENOUGH " Four or five a cres is all that he is able to clear and sow in a season, and that is generally put in so late that It produces but little, so that the whole of his crop will scarcely support him through the year and m any times he has to work out for a part of his bread. " Clothes he must have for him self and fam ily, and these must be got out of the store, and merchant goods are v e ry dear in this province, and as he hath nothing to pa y with, he is oblig ed to go on credit. " These in a few years soon run up high, so that by the time he gets his farm in such a state of im provem ent as might enable him to live com fortable, he is frequently obliged to sell it in order to pay o ff his debts. Such is the consequence o f beginning poor. BRIGHT SIDE "B u t this you will observe is only the gloom y side o f things; for those who are so fortunate as to weather out the storm of the first 10 years without sinking their plantations, are generally enabled to spend the rem ainder o f their days in com fort. " The scarcity o f laborers and the very high price o f labor, so that the produce will scarcely pay the hands, form s another hin drance to the im provem ent of our township and province at large. " Another hindrance is that in m any places of this province large tracts of land have been granted to certain individuals, and these being; generally men of fortune, are under no necess ity o f selling their lands, but hold them at so high a price that poor people are not able to buy them. BUILD ROADS " Again, there are m any of these gentlem en gone out o f the province, so that there is no op portunity to purchase from them, so it still rem ains a wilderness; and the poor people who are settled around such tracts have roads to make, and every other public duty to perform at their own expense, which generally enhances the value of such land, to the great injury of the inhabit ants. " Another hindrance respecting our township is that a great number o f lots are reserved for the Crown and the Clergy, and notwithstanding that these lots m ay be rented fo r 21 years fo r a very small sum o f money, yet the land in this province has hitherto been so plentiful and cheap that no one cares fo r renting land when he can have it fo r fee im ple; but when settlers becom numerous, this evil will soon be simple; but when settlers becom e numerous, this evil will soon be done away. " What in our opinion would m ost contribute to the im prove ment o f our township and the province at large would be to encourage men of property into the country to purchase the wast lands o f our province. " These lands, if sold even at a m oderate price, would introd uce such a flow o f capital into our province as would not only encourage a respectable ra ce of settlers of every dscription to com e in and cultivate the fa ce of the country, and turn the wilder ness into fruitful fields, but it would also m ake trade and man ufactory o f all kinds flourish. " Then would our province no longer remain poor, neglected and unknown to the rest of the world, but would becom e a re spectable colony, not only able to support herself, but she would add a large revenue to the Brit ish crown, and her redundances would contribute to feed the hun gry and clothe the poor." Let Canada's Future Shine Brighter Each Year HALTON PEEL (Continued from P age 3b) administrative d e p a r tments would be enough to handle the municipal responsiblities which would include planning roads, welfare, parks, assessment, gar bage disposal and debt manage ment. He proposed that Milton, Geor getown, Acton and Bolton be de signated " urban service areas" , each with an elected public ser vice com m ission to deal with water, sewage, garbage collect ion, zoning, fire, police and rec reation -- services the rest of the county could do without. (Police service for the rest of the county would probably be by contractual arrangement with the Ontario Provincial Police.) The county's 14 - m em ber coun cil would consist of a m ayor elected at large and councillors numbering one each from Aoton, Bolton, Albion and Caledon, two from Milton, Toronto Gore and Esquesing - Nassagaweya, and three from Georgetown. SAME POW ER The m ayor would have the sam e veto pow er as the southern m ayor, and would serve on a similar executive com mittee. Term s of office o f m ayor and councillors in both counties would be three years. Plunkett also outlined a new educational set - up for each county. The northern county would be administered by board elected, like the council lors, to ensure equal representat ion o r urban and rural interests. The board in the southern coun ty would also be elected on th<j sam e basis as council, but would have four associate directors of education, for Oakville, Burling ton, Toronto Township and Cent ra l Peel, who would be respond ible to an overall director. HALTON COUNTY 1854 (3. Ghent 1855 R obert Miller 1856 Jam es Young 1857 1862 1864 1867 1869 1871 1873 1875 1877 1879 1883 1881 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 Robert Miller William Clay R obert Miller Archibald Campbell John McNaughton P . A. McDougald W. D. Lyon John Waldie Matthew Clements John R am sey Henry Robinson William Clay William M cLeod Jam es Menzies R . G. Baxter Ninian Lindsay W. H. Storey Maurice Felan P . D. Scott Anson Buck, MD D. Robertson, MD John Husband 1894 John Warren 1895 S. Webster, MD 1896 W. G. Pettit 1897 D avid Hutcheon 1898 George Andrew 1899 George Havell 1900 J. Wrigglesworh 1901 John C. Smith 1902 H. W. Cook 1903 Jam es Wilson 1904 J. H. P ea cock 1905 Archie McGibbon 1906 R. D. Warren 1907 J. C. Ford 1908 John McGibbon 1909 H. Swackhammei1910 M. C. Smith 1911 John F . Ford 1912 John Griffen 1913 E . F . E arl 1914 George Hynds 1915 Duncan Campbell 1916 L. E. Fleck 1917 Charles Readhead 1918 A. S. Forster 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 W ARDENS 1945 Dr. C. H. Heslop 1946 Charles Hillmer 1947 Norm an Craig 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 G eorge Cleave M ary Pettit W. M. Vansickle Kenneth Dick J. M. Wickson G eorge Leslie J. J. Stewart R obert Shannon S. A. Alen Thom as Millward William Card John Milne W. D . Sargent F . A. Phillips, B.S.A. (Jan. - Sept.) W. Bird (Sept. to D ec.) C. A Martin, MD C. A. Martin, MD G. Gallagher H. C. M erry H. H. Hinon William Coulter J. F . Little W. H. Morden ·r ti T i l l : ii J . R . Elliott E . A. Harris W. A. Irving G eorge Barber Donald M cIntyre Jam es Blain Edward Agnew Thomas A. Blakelock T. L. Leslie W. H. Morden Am os Mason E. M. Redhead W. N. Robinson George Harris Harold Cleave George Currie John Irving Jam es Hewsoi Victor Hall George Finney Leslie Kerns John Blair J. M. McDonald C. Howard M ay 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 F IL M F E S T IV A L '* 4* When you're Canadas First Bank , you feel just a little prouder Canadian m 186711967 1967 1966 1965 1964 1963 1962 1961 1960 1959 1958 195 7 19 5 6 19 55 1954 19 5 3 195 2 1941 195 0 1949 !<M8 194 7 1946 194 5 194 4 194 3 1942 1941 1940 1939 193 8 1937 1936 1935 193 4 19 3 3 1932 1931 1930 1929 1928 1927 1926 19 2 5 1924 19 23 1922 1921 1920 1919 19 18 1917 1916 1915 1914 19 13 19 12 1911 1910 1909 19 08 1907 1906 190 5 1904 1903 19 02 1901 190 0 189 9 1898 18 9 7 1896 1895 189 4 18 9 3 1892 1891 189 0 1889 1888 1887 1886 1885 18 8 4 1883 1882 1881 1880 18 7 9 1878 1877 18 7 6 187 5 187 4 18 7 3 1872 1871 1870 1869 1868 1867 A W Bankof Montreal Let's have a wonderful year! F U E L S 5 9 5 S p e e ra R oad O a k v ille , O n ta r io