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Wednesday, July 28, 1999 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER B1 Your Ultimate Oakville Website UvinglnQakvitom Focus OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR OF THE OAKVILLE WATERFRONT FESTIVAL FOURTH LINE AUTO For All Your Car's Needs Drive Clean Emission Testing Government Safety Inspection Tune-Ups • Brakes • Exhaust • Cooling Systems CAA Approved Shop 559 Speers Road 842-3001 In Business in Oakville Since 1979 O a k v il le B e a v e r F o c u s Editor: WILMA BLOKHUIS 845-3824 (Extension 250) Fax: 337-5567 Spruce Lane marks a centuiy Breckon family reunion celebrates milestone 'S Stories by W ilma Blokhuis BEAVER FOCUS EDITOR It can be said Spruce Lane Farm had a life before it became Bronte Creek Provincial Park's 'living museum.' The elegant Victorian brick house was the home of the Breckon family, who called it Spruce Lawn. The double brick house was built in 1899. It replaced a wooden frame house built in about 1858, which was moved to make way for the present-day Victorian style house built on that same foundation. The old house was used to accommodate the hired help, and was later used to store apples, before it was eventually tom down. The house "was built for entertaining," according to the Bronte Creek Provincial Park Historical Report; written by historian Ellen Langlands, and published by the Ministry of Natural Resources in December 1972. "In the early 1900s, the family had parties and dances with orchestras. The main dance floor was the larger room on the west side of the main stairway. In the basement, there is a post under the centre of this room to reinforce the floor as square dancing put a strain on the floor." Other features included a fireplace, dumbwaiter used to bring (Henry Breckon devel­ oped his 100 acres into a prosperous general mixed farm ' -Ellen Langlands butter and vegetables up from the basement to the pantry, gables and decorative brickwork reminiscent of the High Victorian Era in archi­ tecture, and ornamental work on the front verandah. Henry and Margaret Breckon, and their three children - Christina, Alice and Gordon, moved into the farmhouse on Jan 1, 1900, before it was completely finished. Gordon, the youngest, was nine years old at the time. Gordon's son, George, and his wife Frances were the last Breckons to live there. On Monday, Aug. 2nd, the descendants of Henry and Margaret Breckon will return to Spruce Lane Farm to celebrate their family reunion and the 100th anniversary of Spruce Lane Farm. The Breckons operated a prosperous straw­ berry and apple farm. "Henry Breckon developed his 100 acres into a prosperous general mixed farm," wrote Langlands, who was hired to research the history of the farms that were purchased by the min­ istry to create the park. He also had a few sheep, 10 dairy cattle "comprised primarily of grade cattle with the occasional purebred cow," a few pigs, and five horses, wrote Langlands. In addition to the new brick house and old frame house, there was the main bam built before 1895, a pig bam, and a driving shed to house the horses and buggies. (See 'Breckon . . . ' page 2) Photo courtesy of Spruce Lane Farm Henry and Margaret Breckon Sisters two oldest surviving m em bers of Breckon clan Photo by Peter J. Thompson Jean Gilbert (left) and Grace Heslop look over some of their mementos of their ancestors who lived at Spruce Lane Farm before the farm became part of Bronte Creek Provincial Park. "I wanted to help bridge the gap between people and technology. My business degree wasn't enough to get me there." Grace Heslop, 90, has vivid memories of her grandparents' home before it became Spruce Lane Farm. She remembers visiting Henry and Margaret Breckon at the farm. And, so does her younger sister Jean Gilbert, 82. They are the only survivors of four children bom to the Breckons' oldest daughter, Christina. "We are the oldest and youngest of her children," explain the sisters who share a condominium apartment in north Oakville. "Our two brothers, William and Harry, have both died." Christina married Norman Gilbert, on the front lawn of Spruce Lane Farm, then known as Spruce Lawn, on June 10, 1908. He was reeve of the for­ mer Trafalgar Township about 50 years ago. Years later, the wedding reception for Brenda Breckon, one of Henry's great granddaughters, was the last large family function held at the farm before it was sold during the 1950s. "I'm the oldest grandchild, and you know what the oldest grandchild gets," says Heslop, remem­ bering the attention she got when visiting her grandparents. "We spent a lot of time there during holidays . . . Easter . . . Christmas. I remember going there when mother had another baby." She remembers her grandfather growing apples, peaches, cherries, and strawberries. "The strawberry pickers would stay overnight." Heslop remembers the medals the family won in English shows, and at the Canadian National Exhibition and Royal Winter Fair for their apples. "He used to win a lot of medals, gold, silver and bronze. Some of them were about 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Granny used to pick out the apples for the shows. "I also remember going with my grandmother in about 1920 to take eggs and butter to market in Hamilton by horse and buggy," continues Heslop. "And, she would come back with the groceries, about 100 pounds of sugar and 100 pounds of flour. They grew their own vegetables, had their own cattle for milk - they made their own cream, killed their own pigs, made their own sausages and rendered lard. They even made their own soap. "The washing was done by hand, they made their own butter, baked their own bread. Can you imagine it? They got up at 5 o'clock each morning for more than one reason. We don't know what it's like to work." They had no electricity, just a wood stove and coal oil lamps. (See 'Sisters . .. ' page 2) John Murray, analyst/programmer m YOU WANT TO BE a i*>tr _ | R A Y B A N J o h n M u rra y 's a p e o p le p e rs o n . B u t to h e lp p e o p le in bus iness , he k n e w he n e e d e d m o re te c h n ic a l s k ills th a n h is u n iv e rs ity d e g re e p ro v id e d . J o h n c o m m e n ts , ' I 'm n o t o n e to s it in f ro n t o f a c o m p u te r f o r h o u rs o n e n d . It's a to o l to b e u tilize d . 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