L a w na n dG a rd e nE q u ip m e n t Repairs and Paits far Most Wahes <ffTMV79 parts CURRENT POWER MACHINERY INC. ( 2 WockeastofSouthdown Road in Ctaricson) 1661 Lakeshore Rd. W. Mississauga QOO AOii Editor: Wilma Blokhuis Phone: 905-845-3824 (ext. 250) Fax: 905-337-5567 e-mail: blokhuis@haltonsearch.com Chantal Ayotte · Special to the Beaver T h e h isto ric a l G h o st W alk held la st F rid a y a n d S a tu r d a y n ig h ts in d o w n to w n O ak v ille allo w ed fo r so m e e e rie effects, in c lu d in g s tra n g e lig h t s tre a k s , sh a d o w s, n oises, bells a n d a "g h o st c a t.' A ghostly walk through history By Wilma Blokhuis B EA V E R F O C U S E D ITO R / t was a dark and spooky night. The ghost cam e in from the fog hanging over Lake Ontario, carrying a basket and lantern, to tell her story. "Hi. I'm M ary Jane M acD ougald," she said in a soft haunting voice. "I was bom the year before my father, Col. W illiam Chisholm , bought 950 acres at the mouth o f Sixteen Mile Creek and called it Oakville. He paid about £1,100 for it, about $4,100 in today's money. In 1827 my father had a big vision." He sold building lots to the merchants and ship builders who cam e to w ork for him during the 1830s. "M y father stipulated that people who purchased lots had to built their houses within 18 months, and the houses had to be built using clapboard, stone or brick, and w ere to be no sm aller than 20-by-18 feet. He envisioned O akville to be a fine com munity." M acD ougald, the second eldest daughter o f Col. W illiam Chisholm and his wife Rebecca Silverthom e Chisholm , had returned to tell her story. It seems her great niece Hazel Chisholm M athews gave her only one mention in her m em oir, Oakville and the Sixteen, noting that she m arried local businessman Peter M acD ougald w ho later becam e mayor o f Oakville, and his business partner W illiam Romain, with w hom he ow ned five granaries and other enterprises. There were strange noises everywhere, and eerie m ove m ents. as the shadowy figure in dark clothing and a white bonnet told her story. Shadow s were seen in the gardens in front o f Erchless. "W e're standing at the most haunted place in all o f Oakville," she told a group gathered at the front door o f the Custom House. "I heard that somebody who worked there heard a child laughing and saying `T hey're here' and than ran off. That person heard it a num ber o f times, and it was probably Hazel, who grew up at Erchless with her sister Juliet. They moved here as children with their m other Em elda (Beeler Chisholm). "People w orking inside the Custom House often heard whispering, a lot o f whispering, and have felt som eone's breath on the back o f their neck and that really gave them the shivers. "I believe our fam ily's house is now used as a m useum," she continued. M acDougald, perhaps a clairvoyant, told her Chantal Ayotte · Special to the Beaver T h e g h o st o f M a ry J a n e M acD o u g ald , p la y ed by F ra n c in e L a n d ry , a p p e a re d F rid a y a n d S a tu r d a y n ig h ts in O ld O ak v ille to le ad a h isto ric G h o st W alk. tales o f the past, present and future. "O ne tim e the museum staff were having a meeting on a M onday m orning when it was not open so no other people were around, and a dark figure w alked down the hall and through the wall. "T here's been a lot o f sightings and feelings here. One morning, despite the m useum 's very sensitive alarm system, a long-tim e em ployee found all o f the office equipm ent run ning, the typewriter was typing by itself, and the photocopier was on." She ran dow nstairs and the noise stopped, and then she went back upstairs to call the alarm com pany and nothing was reported. "W hen she cam e back downstairs, one o f the light fixtures fell one-inch from her head." O ne o f the ghosts has been identified as Rebecca, who lived alone at Erchless for alm ost 2 5 years after the death o f her husband at age 54 in 1842. She was often `seen' w ander ing about the gardens and in the stairwells. M acD ougald found things unusually quiet in front o f the M urray House Hotel, then known as the Canadian Hotel. "It's rather quiet here tonight. I can tell you in my day I certainly would not be passing by here as a w oman in the night, as it would have been very loud with the shipbuilders, lumberman and the others spending their wages here on the w eekend." M acDougald then told the haunting story o f a young bar maid who saw a strange man at the bar. "She was cleaning up, getting ready for the day, when she saw a man sitting at the bar. He w ore a big hat with three points, a big buccaneer no less. She looked at him and said `How did you get in here?' and he disappeared before her eyes. She never did return, not even to collect her wages." O ver at the M arket Square, she pointed out the location o f the meeting house built by Chisholm and the one beside it, and burial ground, for the natives. "I understand there's a the atre there now, built on the native burial ground. "At the theatre (Oakville Centre for the Perform ing Arts), the w orkers hear all sorts o f strange noises ... banging ... knocking and footsteps. O ne w orker on the catw alk was grabbed from behind and when he looked around, saw there w as no one there ... there are som e very strange goings on there. O ne time during a children's perform ance, a young girl went to the bathroom and saw a w om an looking back at her in the mirror. We think that's a ghost nam ed Alice." (See 'Book' page B2) Y o u 'r e a T aste in v it e d t o of Su n r is e A t e v e ry S u n ris e S e n io r L iv in g C o m m u n ity , n o u ris h in g th e so u l is t h e e s s e n c e o f w h a t w e d o . O u r D i n i n g S e r v i c e is a k e y i n g r e d i e n t in th e c o n tin u e d s a tis fa c tio n o f o u r r e s id e n ts a n d th e i r fa m ilie s . C o m e v is it to s a m p le s o m e o f o u r ABOUT THE EVENTS F o r S e n io r s A n d T h e ir F a m ilie s snecirrm gs, ^fathers, vlccessories c h e f 's s p e c i a l t i e s , e n j o y e n t e r ta in m e n t, a n d e v e n le a rn to c o o k ta s ty m e a ls ! R S V P to d a y . E vent D ate Tim e Place Event Date Tim e Place A p p le F e st Brunch Sunday, October 26 10:00 am to 1:00 pm Sunrise o f O akville D ining th e Sunrise Way Tuesday, November 4 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm Sunrise o f B urlington S unrise . S e n io r l iv in g Sunrise of Oakville Sunrise o f Burlington 905-337-1145 905-333-9969 Join us for A Taste of Sunrise at the community nearest you! R SV P tudav! 456 Trafalgar Road 5401' Lakeshore Road AL, ALZ AL, ALZ k ~ 2 i} i) 'L . n l ^ s l / Ai.-Asssl«) Urioq A lZ -A im e a re C are ( 9 0 S ) S jH - 2 Q ,J | u * « u s u » ir o e s < > m o rlH 'in & co m