Silver and Gold Magazine Winter 2019/2020 | Page 10

SENIORS MOMENTS SHARE YOUR MEMORIES – By Don Crossley If you have memories, comments, and stories you would like to share, please contact Don at: [email protected] You may also send your photos and letters through Silver & Gold Magazine. See page 5 for mailing address. W hen I first arrived in Burlington in the fall of 1952, as a sixteen-year-old, it was a much smaller community than it is today. To begin with, in those days the population of the Town of Burlington was just over 5,000. The municipal boundaries were Maple Avenue in the east, Guelph Line to the west, and the old “Middle Road”, part of which became the route of the Queen Elizabeth Way, to the north. Lake Ontario was, of course, the southern boundary. photo: Toronto Public Library TS-2-124-GO-299 Traffic travelling between Toronto and the Niagara region had to cross the old lift bridge on the Beach Strip, and follow that route almost to Stoney Creek; there was no Skyway Bridge until 1958. The original lift bridge was damaged beyond repair in 1952 in a collision with the lake freighter W.E. Fitzgerald. A temporary bridge was erected, until the current one was completed in 1962. Of course, on a hot, sunny day, being stranded on the Hamilton side of the bridge while a freighter went though, wasn’t necessarily a bad thing; it was home to the Beach Strip Amusement Park! Whole car-loads of hot, sweaty children, could get their fill of ice cream, hot dogs, bumper cars and Ferris wheels, while they waited for the bridge to come down. Downtown Burlington c.1958 Robinson’s & Renner’s Drugs, 1959 photo: Hamilton Public Library Brant Street was, of course, the “main drag”. The majority of shops and other businesses were located on the stretch from Lakeshore Road up to Caroline Street. Beyond that – starting where the No Frills Plaza is today – a huge apple orchard extended to cover most of the area between Brant and Guelph Line. Thousands of homes stand today in the area which was once the market garden of Ontario. While I do not recall all of the businesses located on Brant, I do remember the Royal Bank at the corner of Brant and Lakeshore. That building, largely unchanged, still stands there today. Just up the street was Waumsley’s Book Store. Mr. Waulmsley was Fire Chief at the time. When the siren sounded to summon the volunteer firefighters, he would quickly close the store and rush to the fire hall on Elizabeth Street, ready for the arrival of his crew. Next to his store was Mel Howden’s Shoe Store. It was very popular with the children of the time. When they were trying on new shoes, he would x-ray their foot inside the shoe to make sure it fit properly. Further up the street on that same east side was Dale’s 10 Lots more online! www.silvergoldmagazine.ca