Kingsholm Farm, Kaitting House on Dundas Street West, Trafalgar Township.

Kingsholm farm was the birthplace of my mother, Mary Elizabeth King. She married Rev. Hugh Grant Cleghorn in 1937 in the Presbyterian Church at the Sixteen Bridge on Highway 5. The other children were Howard, Donald, Jean and Gordon. All are deceased. Howard farmed the farm immediately West of Kingsholm, Donald became a veterinarian and practiced in Indianapolis, Jean married Melvin Price and moved to Lewiston New York and Gordon remained to farm. Gordon eventually sold the farm and moved west on Highway 5 to Waterdown. My mother, Mary, moved to Hanover with her husband (my father) where he preached at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church. They moved to Preston in 1940 and then to Leamington in 1954. My father passed away at age 56 in 1963 and mother died in 1996 at age 85. Both are buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Leamington. I was saddened to hear of fire destroying the house and barns and am glad that my mother didn't live to hear that. I spent many summers on the farm helping my grandfather and Uncle Gordon in the 1940's. I remember driving into Toronto with my grandfather to deliver crates of eggs to the Loblaw warehouse on the lakeshore. We took them to Toronto in a 1936 Ford truck So many memories so long ago. It was a wonderful place to spend summers.

I have been in receipt of my aunt Jean(King)Price's personal recollections of her childhood years at Kingsholm Farm (the Kaitting house). George King, Jean's father, bought the property from Mr. Kaitting, who had received the property from the Indians. The bricks of Kaitting house were all made at the spring in the back woods. The house was five bricks thick to keep in the heat in the winter and keep the heat out in the summer. George King was 21 when he married Jessie Caverhill but he lived in the house at least two years before that in order to have it ready for his bride. Jean said that when they were kids they were told there were lots of graves in the woods and that they were Indian graves. Mr. Kaitting stayed in the house after George bought it and he remained until Grandma Caverhill died and Grandpa Caverhill came to live with the Kings. George King was a councilman for many years. Knox Sixteen Presbyterian Church played an important role in the lives of the Kings and they had electricity installed in the church in memory of Grandma and Grandpa Caverhill. The front lawn of the home was the site of many concerts and the front field played host to bonfires and fireworks on May 24th.

Further to my comments above, my sister reminded me that our mother,Mary (King) Cleghorn, recalled seeing a man in a "skirt" performing on the front lawn of Kaitting House when she was a very young girl.She obviously did not know about Scottish kilts and the performer was Harry Lauder. My aunt Jean (King) Price mentioned the same name in her recollections of the concerts that happened at Kaitting house (Kingsholm Farm). Aunt Jean spelled the name Harry Ludder and I was reluctant initially to say the it was Harry lauder but my own mother's story would confirm it was indeed the famous Harry Lauder. I must say too that on the Kaitting website my name has been misspelled and I am referred to as "Mathew". Please correct that to read "Malcolm". Thank you.