PAGE 8, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 1979, WHITBY FREE PRESS Brian Winter's Historical Whitby PLANING MILL Since most of the building in Ontario towns in the century was of wood, there were many lumber and pla 19th mis in small communities like Whitby. For many years there was a planing mil on the south east corner of Brock and Mary Streets, where the new Brock Mary building is located. The Whitby Planing Mill was built on this site in 1853 by Stephen Gross, who was joined in partnership in the 1860's by Major Harper. The Whitby Planing Mill and sash factory was a two-storey frame building 100 by 44 feet. There were two planing machines and a 20 horse power engine to run the works. By 1869 the average yearly business of the mill exceeded $15,000 and the proprietors were able to turn out as much as 12,000 feet of finished lumber a day. Attached to the planing mill was a machine shop, designed to turn out all sorts of machinery suitable for a carpenter's work. Major Harper, who lived at the north east corner of Mary and Perry Streets,, was an expert machinist and was responsible for all the designs of the machinery used in this shop. Mr. Harper was manufacturing his own planing machines for sale to other mills and produced three planing machines in the first four months of 1869. The machine shop and planing mill had 10 employees in 1869, but it was expected with the increasing number of orders that 20 men could be employed. Patterns, window blinds and rollers and all kinds of carpentry work were turned out in immense quantities. Between 30,000 and 40,000 curtain rollers were produced in 1868. Another speciality was the ornamental bargeboard, (or "gingerbread" as it is commonly called)'which was installed as decoration under the eves and along the verandahs of 19th century houses. Window sashes, door frames and all kinds of ornamental wood work for balconies, staircases, etc. were produced at the Whitby Planing Mill. The wood work in the Whitby Centennial Building, formerly the Ontario County Court House, was the work of Major., Harper and his father, Walter Harper. Major Harper was only 18 years old when h'e assisted his father in producing this fine woodwork. In 1875 the planing mill was moved to Mary Street adjacent to the Whitby and Port Perry Railway tracks. The track ran right up to the door and the planing mill had a considerable opportunity to make use of the railway for shipping its products. Raw lumber coming down from Victoria County after the railway wa-s extended to Lindsay in 1877, was shipped to the door of the Whitby Planing Mill to be turned into finished wood Personal car, passenger car, wagon: The new Fiat Strada w wthat offers both: Price Includes: front.wheel drive afive-speed transmission• a 2 year/40,O0 km power.train electronic ignition a rear window washer-wiper e tinted glass ail around warranty e extractable AM/FM radio. ea3year/120,0 km corrosion Test drive one now and see for yourself why people have rated Strada perforation warranty so high in legroom, headroom, ease of entry and overall quietness. Strada carnes five uncramped people, plus 10.5 cu, ft. of luggage. FlalstheonlMARIANymport 25 Grfef St. Oshawa 728-51 7 Fiat nd Strada' are trademarksofFiat o Sfpfs b Fiath: pA Population increased 12 per cent Whitby's population in- creased by 12 per cent be- tween 1971 and 1976, says Statistics Canada. The population rose from 25,324 in 1971 to 28,173 in 1976, and is presently slightly over 3ô,000. The report states that in 1976' there were 14,135 women and 14,040 men in Whitby. Whitby's 7,080 families had an average of 3.5 people each and 1.6 children each. Of the 8,015 men on Whitby's labor force 4.4 per cent were unemployed. The female labor force of -4,825 had an unemployment rate of 11.1 per cent. SA products. The railway bringing in the raw lumber and shipping out the finished products was cheaper for the proprietors than cartage by wagons pulled by teams of horses. The planing mill contiued until the 1880's, but by that time the lumber trade of the northern townships had dried up and Mr. Harper turned his hand to machinery-making which was his specialty. He built the frame building on Mary Street which is now Rousseau Heritage House, as a machine shop and continued the business until the FirstWorld War, when he was making shell casings. Major Harper died in 1917 after nearly 65 years in the woodworking and machinery making business. We do not know what Mr. Gross did after 1875, but Mr. Hà rper took over his planing mill some time after that date. (Next week we look at another planing mill and lumber yard, operated by George Cormack). Garden Street man is charged with assault A Garden Street man was charged with posession of a dangerous weapon, assault and breach of probation, following a hostage-taking incident last Wednesday. Durham Regional Police said they were called to an apartment building at 200 Garden St. about 7 p.m. where they found a man holding his common-law wife captive and threatening her with a brick. Another resident of the building threw police a key, and after gaining entry to the apartment, police were able to get the man to give up without a struggle. Police report four children were found unharmed in the apartment. Charged is Paul Henry, 28, of Apt. 214, 200 Garden St. New GO fees April 29 The Toronto Area Transit Operating Authority has issued a new schedule of fees for the travellers using the Go Transit Services. It will cost commuters going to work in Toronto 20 cents more each way, an increase of 40 cents a day extra to commute to and from Toronto beginning April 29 by Go Transit. The Toronto Area Transit Operating Authority officials state that the approximately half-acent-a-mile fare increase is needed to bring the Go Transit revenues "closer to 65 percent of the operating cost of the system, the target set by the Province." The new fare schedule shows that the rate from Whitby on the Government of Ontario Transit systen to Toronto will be increased from $2 to $2.20 a trip while the Oshawa residents' fare will be increased to $2.35 instead of the present $2.15 fare. The new fare schedule includes a 35 cent surcharge for the people who ride the Gn Tranit huses from Oshawa, Whitby and Ajax directly into downtown Toronto. The increase in the direct bus fare to Toronto is designed to discourage the use of the direct bus fare and to "underwrite the abnor- mally high cost of operating buses in the congested Toronto core," officials of the Toronto Area Transit Operating Authority stated. Whitby insulation revoked The Canadian Home Insu- lation Program has been informed by Central Mort- gage and Housing Corpora- tion that a number of mater- ials no longer meet with CMHC. acceptance. Among those that have failed to meet the standards and have had their CMHC acceptance numbers revoked as of March 27, are 8777 Canadian Heat Reduc- tion Insulation, of Whitby. - . Il ý (