Painting: Pulling Stone for Highway 25
Description
- Creator
- J. Weykamp, Artist
- Media Type
- Image
- Item Type
- Paintings
- Description
- William Henry Devlin pulling aggregate (stone) to build Hwy 25, now Bronte Road. At the time, he had the only matched set (note the full patch on each horse head) team in Halton County.
John Weykamp was a painter, clay sculpter, wood carver and he drew all his life. In Holland, he painted landscapes, fair-ground carousels, theatre scenery, portraits, and he drew. He carved wooden chests. He taught a bit.
Two sons of John and Elizabeth Weykamp emigrated to Canada in about 1951 and bought a farm in Milton around Fifth Line and Highway 25, just up over the hill from the Boston Church. The farm is still owned by family today.
Sons Aloysus (Jack) and George worked hard to set up the farm and when John and Elizabeth and the rest of their family came in 1953, everything was in order even to the cow and calf in the barn, and the 250 chickens. John was 58 or 59 years old and Elizabeth about 49 years old when they emigrated. Daughter Mary was 22 years old.
They left a beautiful house with a big market garden, beehives, orchard and the extended close families of both John and Elizabeth in a rural area of Holland near the German border. Homesickness was part of their new life.
John brought all his artistic work. They arrived in June and he was told he should exhibit at the Milton Fair in the fall. He showed two paintings and won first prize.
Many area people learned of his paintings, carving and sculptures by word of mouth. They would ask him to paint a special picture or come to the farm and buy from his existing work. The only place he ever exhibited was the Milton Fair.
John, and his sons George and Aloysus who were also very artistic, were self-taught.
Thank you to Mary who has permitted us to honour her parents and their wonderful contribution to Halton County, Milton and the old area, Trafalgar Township. - Notes
- We originally thought the men were working on Trafalgar Road so we first gave this record the title of "Pulling Stone for Trafalgar Road". In 2016, we learned the road was actually Highway 25, now Bronte Road, Oakville, so the record title and information has been revised.
Attached is the Fall 2011 Newsletter of the Trafalgar Township Historical Society. Click on "Pages" "Select", open the newsletter .pdf. On page 3 of the newsletter, there is another painting by John Weykamp of an older woman dozing over a book. - Subject(s)
- Personal Name(s)
- John Weykamp, b.1894 d.May 1979, age 85. Buried in Milton Evergreen Cemetery. Elizabeth Weykamp, b.1902 d.December 1977, age 75. Buried in Milton Evergreen Cemetery. William Henry Devlin.
- Local identifier
- TTOIDED0018
- Collection
- Trafalgar Township Historical Society
- Language of Item
- English
- Geographic Coverage
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Ontario, Canada
Latitude: 43.48341 Longitude: -79.71632
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- Copyright Statement
- Copyright status unknown. Responsibility for determining the copyright status and any use rests exclusively with the user.
- Recommended Citation
- Painting: Pulling Stone for Highway 25
- Contact
-
Trafalgar Township Historical Society Sponsor: Jeff Knoll, Local & Regional Councillor for Oakville Ward 5 – Town of Oakville/Regional Municipality of Halton
