Brian Winter's H istorical Whitby A THRIVING HARBOR Whitby harbor in the 1830s, 40s and 50s was one of the busiest harbors on the north shore of Lake Ontario. The natural shipping outlet for many townships extend- ing about 100 miles north of the lake, it was a major tunnelling point for the export of raw products such as grain, lumber and other farm produce. In contrast, Oshawa was a much smaller harbor which dealt mostly in manu- factured goods. The first records of shipments from Whitby Harbor, then known as Windsor Harbor, were in 1833. In that year John Welsh, a merchant from Brockville, built a warehouse and tramway across the mud flats, for the shipment of grain. He recorded that in 1833 there were 26,000 bushels of wheat shipped from the harbor, 75 barrels of pork, 387 barrels of potash, for making soap, but no flour or barley. By 1835 the harbor was shipping 2,762 barrels of flour and t 5,230 bushels of barley, in addition to 42,830 bushels of pork. -Potash shipments remained the same. By 1844, the amount and variety of goods shipped from Windsor Harbor had increased considerably, with . the construction of wharves, and dredging hy the government being completed that year. Records show that 21,597 barrels of flour were shipped in 1844, 1,435 barrels of pork, 610 barrels of ashes, and 285 barrels of oatmeal. The records also show that 120 barrels of beer were shipped from the harbor. There were two brewêries in Whitby in the 1840s--one at the harbor, operated by Noah Nash, and one uptown, operated by Charles Clark . In grain, the harbor shipped 14,563 bushels of wheat, 1,682 bushels of oats, 290 bushels of peas, 1,175 bushels of grass seed, and 1,240 bushels of potatoes. Thirty-two firkins of butter and 32 kegs of lard were shipped, as well as 14,000 pounds of ham. Luinber, one 6f the chief exports of the harbor, amounted to 646,000 feet in 1844. The. value of exports from the harbor in 1844, recorded in English money of the time, was 59,881 pounds, an increase of 1-5,134 pounds over 1843. William Warren, the collector of customs at the harbor, reported to the government that these figures did not accurately indicate the amount of produce shipped from Whitby that year, because a large amount of produce and lumber was shipped by farmers directly from their lands on the lakeshore without going through the harbor. It can be assumed that this was done to avoid the tolls imposed by the harbor company on ahl produce shipped, BY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY. FEBRUARY 2. 1977, PAGE 7 and the customs duties. It is said also that farmers would bring their produce to'the harbor by rough back roads to avoid paying the tolls for using the main road which was operated by the harbor comipany. Much of the produce shipped from Whitby harbor went across the border to ports such as Rochester and Oswego N.Y., but Kingston was another receiver of Whitby goods. Mr. Welsh, who shipped a lot of grain to Kingston, made a deal to bring back blocks of Kingston limestone as ballast in his boats, and with this stone he built a store at at the harbor. This building was demolished before 1900. Kingston limestone came into Whitby regularly through the 1840s, and was used to build St. John's Anglican Church, a home for a, Scottish settler named John Thomson, and many old houses in Whitby have limestone founclations. By 1850, the value of Whitby's exports had reacnecl 71,021 pounds, double the amount of Port Darlington (Bowmanville) and four times the amount shipped from Oshawa. Among the goods that year were 63 barrels of pork, 35,337 barrels of flour, 549 barrels of ashes, 107,101 bushels of wheat, 5,466 bushels of oats, 83 barrels of oatmeal, 84 bushels of peas, 274 bushels of timothy seed, 52 cases of panel doors, 241,000 shingles, 1,745,000 feet of lumber, 4,500 bushels of bran, 200 firkins of butter, 50 bushels of potatoes, 59 bales of wool, 1,200 cords of stove wood, and 420 packages of sundries. Have you ever watched Leslie Neilson the Hollywood star who is featured in The Bank of Montreal commercials? His approach is something like this, "Have you got a dream-- then let us make it come true". Pretty good approach, I beliéve. After all, most folks have a dream or two, right? I remember interviewing top Canadian wrestler, Whipper Billy Watson, in the 1965 federal election. I asked him if he had a dream, this was the answer. "Yes, I believe every child in Canada up to the age of about 12 years should have the opportunity of going to camp and it's my hope and dream that I can help this come true". These were more or less his words and as it's generally known 'Whipper' has made an enormous contribution in time and funds towards helping crippled children. Well, I thought I'd share a little dream with you. I'd like to help Corridor Capers What a winter! Even the lucky ones who headed for warmer climates are not faring much better. Cheer up, spring is only 7 weeks away. Rumours are'flying around that Dominion and K-Mart are up for saleand that the Co-Op is toying with the idea of purchasing. We will just have to wait and see. Congratulations to Betty and Gerry Emm on the birth of their son on Wednesday January 26th. There has been a call that winter clothes. esvecially WATCH FOR OUR FIRST Pashtons126 Tomorrows Fashiotns Today Sizes 5-15 6-48 126 BROCK S' JVHITB Y Chargex 668-1266 M'terchar Hours: 9-8, Mon.-Sat. Fri.. 9-9 some kids below the age of twelve to get away to summer camp--this summer. I've wanted to do this for many years and I tried hard last year but I was a little too late in my plans. Il only be able to help two or three youngsters. But it's a start. As a schoolboy I was fortunate, I believe, to to get away to school camp once. It was like a dream come true. Times were very hard and money was very scarce. Even in these days of so called affluence there are families (Perhaps hidden from our everyday eyes) who have a child who has a deep desire to get out in the wide open spaces of the Canadian wilderness. It's this type of family enviroment where there is a need and an earnest desire of a child as well as the parents that I'd like to try and do something. Now I'm sincerely opening the door for you to join me: in numbers we can be strong and maybe help get away a half dozen or more children to summer camp. Should you have an interest in discussing and/or participating in this type of worthwhile venture then write me. I can be reached at P.O. Box 1218, Station B, Oshawa. (All the boxes were filled in Whitby, so I had to take one in Oshawa). If you would like to be involved indirectly in this type of venture for this coming summer but are unable to give of yourself, talent, and/or time, perhaps you would like to make a contribution. Your contribution will be acknowledged and a copy of the acknowledgement kept on file. Back in the mid-sixties I was privileged to receive an invitation to a "working weekend" at a Mznnonite Church summer camp in Northern Ontario. It was a moving experience. How those people worked and so happily, children's, are urgently needed. If you have any, please take them to Westminster Church or to Jean Senko's home within the next two weeks. She will see that they are delivered to Simcoe Hall. The 11th Oshawa Cubs are reorganizing. Boys between 8 and 1l are asked to register at Thornton Community Centre on Wednesday February 2nd at 7:00 o'clock. Parents are asked to accompany the boys. Due to hazardous weather conditions, the Whitby P.C. Dance, scheduled for last Friday night, was cancelled. It will no doubt take place at a later date when a hall is available. The next executive meeting of the Ratepayers PASSPORT PICTURES NOW TAKEN AT RUSSELL TRAVEL 116 Brock St. S. WHITBY 668 m 5000 Photos Roquired Will Be Complimentory With Tour Booking Your Travel is our Business" Hours Mon- Set 9-6 willingly--even gratefully. I've never experienced anything quite like it. I was saddened a short time ago to hear the minister, who gave me the original invitation, passed away. The memories of that camp, but particularly of the first summer camp I spent away from home in grade school, remain vivid and delightful memories. Perhaps one day l'Il have the time to become a Big Brother but right now this is the closest I can get to doing something for a child. Won't you join me? Blow torch unfreezes pipes and heats up house in $2,500 fire A West Lynde resident who used a blow torch to thaw out his frozen pipes Sunday afternoon got more than he expected, when his action resulted in a $2,500 fire. Whitby fire fighters were called to the home of Donald Huppe, 7 Kenton Court at 1:36 p.m. when the torch set the insulation on fire, and the bathroom, bedroom and garage ceiling were damaged. Association wiul e on Wednesday February 9th, 7:30 p.m. at the Municipal Building. Ticket money for the dance should be turned in at the meeting. Remember -- Saturday, February 12th is the 4th Corridor Capers dance. If you are still in need of tickets, call Lynn Majoros at 723-1680 or any executive member. Surprises are in store for the evening, so don't delay. Your Wednesday smile.... The Trouble with Political jokes is They sometimes get elected. See you next week - M. McEachern 725-8967 FARM BUILDINGS -EFHORSE BARNS Featuring complete turnkey - - operation - Design - Material - Erection. Standard size designs available at catalogue prices and custom designs to facilitate your individual require- ments, one or two stories. Metal cladding is available in various gauges and profiles, your choice of galvanized or acrylic colour coated netal. POULTRY MITCHELL BROTHERS Building Supplies Ltd. Brooklin, 664991