Dog training at Cold Creek

Photos by Barry Wallace

Dennis Ritchie and his daughter, Jennifer, spent part of a beautiful, sunny day on Monday, at Cold Creek Conservation Area, on the 11th Concession of King Township, putting their retriever dogs through their paces.

Jennifer's 3-year-old, brown retriever, Oh Henry, is new to the retrieving game but he was trying very hard to please his mistress.   The members of the York Retriever Field Trial Club work their dogs at Cold Creek year around but it's probably fair to say that few of them can remember a February like this for dog training. 

Dennis Ritchie is a long-time member of the York Retriever Field Trial Club and has also been a member of the Cold Creek Stewardship Committee for many years.   He is currently the owner of just one dog: Melissa.   Melissa is only 2 years old but is well on her way to becoming a top-notch competitive retriever.   Visitors to Cold Creek Conservation Area are likely to see retriever training at any time and are encouraged to to stop and observe the activities.  The only prerequisite is to stand back from the area of activity to avoid being a distraction.

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace   

House-tops horizon

Photo by Barry Wallace

I'm sure it was just a year ago that I looked westward across this scene from King's 7th Concession, a half-mile or so north of the King Sideroad, and the horizon presented fields and trees as far as the eye could see.   Suddenly, it seems, the pastoral horizon has been replaced with wall-to-wall housing in Nobleton's north-east sector.   It is not a surprise, really, but it is a jolt, nevertheless.   While these physical changes transpire in the township, one starts to ponder on the changes to how we see ourselves in a new world.   Will King's past matter?   Are we asking our local political masters this question?   Will we demand an answer?

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace 

Changes to the King Sideroad?

Photo by Barry Wallace

The Region of York has recently expressed an interest in studying the feasibility of redesigning and reconstructing parts of the King Sideroad, between the village of Nobleton and Hwy. 400.   The scene above looks west and shows the intersection of the King Sideroad and the 7th Concession.   I have always found this view attractive, either from the east or the west.   I like the hills, the valley, the sweeping curves of the road, and the small Humber River tributary that slips diagonally beneath the intersection.   Sadly, this section of road has been the scene of many tragic accidents over the years and there are those who would say design improvements are long overdue.   Infrastructure costs will probably push this project well into the future, so I shall likely enjoy this scene for quite some time to come.   Now, if we all just drove a tad slower and a wee bit more alertly, we could all enjoy this picturesque stretch of roadway with carefree pleasure.

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

Villa Fiori ~ the first Eaton Hall

Photos by Barry Wallace

Anyone familiar with the King Campus of Seneca College will recognize Eaton Hall pictured above.   But probably many fewer will know that the first Eaton Hall, on Eaton Hall Farm, was the large manor house pictured below which came to be known, many decades ago, as Villa Fiora.         

Villa Fiora, which was the first Eaton Hall, was built around 1920, about 19 years before the 2nd Eaton Hall, the Norman chateau-style mansion pictured at top, which was finished in 1939.   Villa Fiori ('home of Flora') was a wood-frame, pink stucco, 7,000 sq. ft. home, in which Lady Flora Eaton lived for several years before moving into the larger Eaton Hall.

Today, Villa Fiori is 90 years old, and, like the huge aged maples on her front lawn, is near the end of her days.   The villa is patched up, boarded up and off-limits to visitors.

My wife's father, Clyde Cairns, worked as a groundsman and herdsman at Eaton Hall Farm for a period of time during the 'dirty thirties'.   His older brother, Arwood Cairns, was farm foreman for many years at the 700-acre farm that featured a large, prized dairy herd.   Villa Fiora (the first Eaton Hall) was only a fifth of the size of the ultimate Eaton Hall, but still commanded a broad and elevated view across Lake Jonda.   Much more about Eaton Hall's past is  available by searching online for "Seneca's Past according to Newman Wallis 1967-2004". 
Please comment if you wish.
BtheB

Laskay Links?

Photo by Barry Wallace

Is the historic and bucolic King Township hamlet of Laskay about to have a golf links built on its south-western flank (pictured above)?   Yes, if Westlin Farms Inc. is successful with a proposal to amend the York Region Official Plan.   An official notice of Westlin's intent was published in the February 2nd, 2012, edition of the The Aurora Banner.   Interestingly, the notice did not appear in this week's editions of the King Weekly or the King Sentinel, both of which are arguably more local than The Banner.   Westlin Farms Inc. wants to redesignate approximately 128 acres of land from "Agricultural Policy Area" to "Rural Policy Area", which would clear the way for the construction of a private golf course, within a stone's throw of the East Humber River and a small, quiet village with historical significance.   This proposal, if successful, could be a game-changer for one of King Township's oldest historic communities.   This proposal will attract significant attention.   One can only hope it will be given equally significant consideration, not just for the property owners, but for the collective sensibilities of the entire township.

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

Canal relocation almost complete

Photo by Barry Wallace

Pictured above is the re-located north branch of the Holland Marsh irrigation canal, just west of the Springdale community.   The eastern, southern and western portions of the canal have already been relocated as part of a multi-million dollar project.   One of the major aims of the project was to improve safety along the canal.   As can be seen above, the roadway is now a safe distance from the water of the canal.   Much work is still to be done in this multi-year, immense project.
Please comment if you wish.
BtheB 

Where has our winter gone?

Photos by Barry Wallace

This is a photo, taken a year ago, of the Grackle Coffee Company on Main Street, in the village of Schomberg in King Township.  This is what winter should look like during the first week of February, right?   The photo below shows the 'Grackle' during the first week of February, this year.  

It's so mild and there's so little snow in 2012, that the folks at the 'Grackle' have even got their ice cream sign out on the sidewalk!   

I was talking today to Ken McQuarrie, longtime owner and operator of Clearview Motors in King City, about this mild winter.   Ken instantly told me how it was the same in February of 1976 (36 years ago) and that had followed a very snowy 1975.   Ken has the memory of an elephant.   He went on to say that in February of 1976, he remembers a local resident raking and burning leaves in his yard!   I certainly remember the snowy 1975.   My younger daughter, Auralee, was born on April 7th, after a 3 1/2 day storm that had us snowed in on the farm and convinced we would have to get my wife, Linda, out to the road by snowmobile.   Fortunately, it all worked out well.   Below is a photo of our farmhouse immediately after the storm of '75.

Please comment if you wish.
Barry Wallace