Looking back 60 years in North Simcoe takes a look at archived photographs and newspapers from the local area to give a glimpse of what life was like 60 years ago.
Please use the drop down menu above, or the links below to get to the year of your choice. Currently we have 1955, 1956, and 1957 these pages are updated as new posted are added. Posts will continue to be added to the main page of our site, but will be copied to this page to keep them all together.
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Huronia Museum
Huronia Museum 
Do you have any photos of the Borden Ave. and Borden Crest. area from the 1970’s? Or even Regent Public School, same era.. I grew up in the town houses during that time, and have no photos from then. If you could forward if any, via. e-mail. It would be greatly appreciated. I just want any for my own personal photos, and they would not be ussed for anything but my viewing only.
Thank You for your time Ron Galivan
excellent and very interesting, mind juggling and much appreciated by my wife and I .
So glad you enjoy it. And happy to see Tom getting so much well deserved kudos.
a great historical record thank you–charlie
Thank you Charlie. We are lucky to have volunteers able to do this.
Wonderful look at the regions past.. pls don’t stop ..looking forward to the sixties..
Great effort ..Thanks D.A. Robitaille
Thank you. I agree Tom does a great job!
I am a Dunn-Lovering individual and I would like to know which Dunn family gave the Dunn Line it’s name, Hl Lovering was my great grandfather. Where was the passenger railroad station in Coldwater TKS
Thank you so much for your comment Margot. Tracking down your family line is a fairly big research project. We do have some marriage and tombstone records here you could look through, either by paying the admission fee or becoming a member. Another option is you can hire our staff to do the research (the fee is $20/hour). The railway question is simpler and I suspect Tom knows the answer. Tom?
Sarah
Hi Margot, I have asked the local historian in Coldwater about Dunn’s Line, she is aware of the local Dunn families but will ask around about the naming of the concession road.Checking Ancestory I was unable to trace the Dunn/Lovering connection. There is a family tree that makes the connection but it is private and cannot be viewed without permission. You might want to follow that lead. I see H. L.’s son William L. had three daughters, two of which are easily traced but Nettie Bury Lovering is the one who married G. L. Dunn and that is all I could find.
Coldwater had four railway stations over the years, only one still exists and is currently up for sale. The last one to function was the CPR “Medonte” station on the Toronto to Sudbury line. It was located just off Anderson Line but is no more. “The Canadian” passenger train used this station until VIA took over and moved the route to the CNR. It also hosted a daily passenger service to Sudbury, other transcontinental trains, the weekly summer boat trains to Port McNicoll and cottage service to Bala in the summer. The CPR also had a station in Coldwater on the line that ran from Lindsay to Port McNicoll and passenger trains ran on this line up until the 30’s. It was where the new fire hall is located. The CNR station on the north end of town, now up for sale, also hosted daily passenger service to Midland and Orillia into the 50’s. It is said that your great grandfather’s business partner William Sheppard used this train to commute from Coldwater to his office in Waubaushene for thirty years. The fourth station was also a CPR station located at the junction of the CNR/GTR Midland line, the CPR Port McNicoll line and the CPR main line to Sudbury. These three lines crossed each other just south of Coldwater and the station was called Coldwater Junction. I believe this station was moved into Coldwater and was the one near the current fire hall. Someone with more knowledge of the subject would have to confirm that.
about the station that was moved down the tracks I have pictures of the move if you are interested please contact me
Hi Margot: My wife and I attended Tugfest in Midland on Saturdat Aug. 26th; it was great.
I was born and raised in Midland for my first 222 tears, my Father was a long time Midland business man, operating Fenton’s Welding Service and a Massey-Ferguson dealership at 231 – 233 Bay Street.
My Fatgher taught many hundreds of me to weld during the Second World war to build warships in bothe Midland and Collinwood
He also built several boats for himself, the first being a steel welding boat that he could tie alongside Great Lake Freighters as they were constantly being shifted back and forth while being unloaded in Midland harbour. The second was an all welded aluminum pleasure boat for himseld that was designed to take the rough waters of Georgian Bay as was the third made of high tensile spring aluminum. He did a great deal of ship repair work and also boiler repair work.in ports from Midland to Goderich and the Muskoka llakes..
He often participated in many parades in Midland. One intersting thing he did was make an acetelyne powered cannon which he would out in the back of a pick up truck and fire ir off with a loud BANG! scaring the onlookers. He also provided many tractors to pull Santa Claus in the parades.
Does the Midland museum have any history or photos concerning my Father, who drowned near Snake Island in 1962.
Thanks, Dave Fenton, Oro-Medonte, Ont.
Thanks, Dave.
Dave, did you get a response to your request? It’s only been five years. We do have several “Fenton” newspaper photos.
Hi Margot: It’s me again. I needed to correct my age to 22 years and in the 3rd paragraph to “Fether”.
Sorry abouth the typo errors. Dave Fenton.
WOW! What a treasure trove of local knowledge. I have found some old pics of my family in here, including my mother (Merkley). Thanks for this collection, it’s amazing 🙂
Just had a small clip of an article sent to my G-mail and wondered how this came to me. I had been receiving posts regularly from the 50’s and 60’s and than it stopped, do not know why!! I’ve tried to get hooked back up to receiving them again, but was unsuccessful. Here’s hoping you can help me, my G-mail is the following earlaweyman@gmail.com In the event I start receiving post’s again, I will thank-you right now, I could not do it on my own earlaweyman@gmail.com
Since I’ve discovered Huronia Museum in the past few months, it’s been a great source of entertainment. You folks are to be commended for your work. The whole program has been amazing. Look forward to the 60’s. Thank you again!
Keith Cowden