Not just GO Trains on the rails...

Photo by Barry Wallace

Freight trains still roll through town

One can be forgiven for thinking that it's just GO Trains that rumble through King City, but freight trains still make the occasional trip through the village, like the one pictured above and below last Thursday.   There were freight cars with graffiti (see above) and oil tankers and other containers cars (see below) slowly passing by the GO station at the south end of town.   Do drifters still ride the rails somewhere in this country, I wonder?

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

Comments on a previous post

 Photos by Barry Wallace

In a blog entry from a week or so ago, I wrote of a walk on the trail around Bond Lake in Oak Ridges, and included some photos of derelict buildings from another time.   Four readers made comments on that blog, one of whom was Robert Campbell.   Robert's comments included the following: "Looking at the photos of the cabin, you really get an appreciation for the skill required to square and dovetail logs.   The walls look to be in good shape - this would make a nice restoration project."   The  photo at left shows just how perfect the unknown cabin builder's work was.   The logs look like they could last another hundred years.   I think I will start with the Town of Richmond Hill's Parks and Recreation Department and make an inquiry about the future of this historical dwelling.   I've often wondered what the future holds for the lake itself and the surrounding lands, including the walking trail.   The area is well used by the people of Richmond Hill and I know of several people from King that frequent it also.

Please comment if you wish.
Barry Wallace

More models by Bert Ezard at museum

 Photos by Barry Wallace

When I showed some of Bert Ezard's King carvings at the museum this past Wednesday, the display was still being set up and I didn't get all the shots I wanted.   But I did get some more shots and here are some of those additional pictures of local historic buildings.   The display is on view until March 30th. 

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

King City LCBO store opens in 3 weeks

Photo by Barry Wallace

The new liquor store in King City will open on Friday, March 31, in the King's Ridge Marketplace, at the intersection of King Road and Dufferin Street.   There's not much left to do but make sure the paint is dry and the shelves are stocked (particularly with Baron Philippe De Rothschild Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon).

Please comment if you wish.
Barry Wallace
  

Weston Rd. & 16th Srd. ~ northeast corner

 Photos by Barry Wallace

What do these signs say?

The three signs/plaques pictured above are known to some people but how many others know nothing about them.   Herewith is a brief explanation of them.

1. The first sign, immediately above, recognizes a nearby tree planting, in 1999, by the Oak Ridges Trail Association, with assistance from The Region of York, King Township and the Schomberg Chamber of Commerce.

2. The 2nd sign, immediately above, recognizes the river passages, portages and trail journeys from Lake Ontario, north to the Holland River, between 1615 and 1800 by the likes of scout Etienne Brule, Father Jean du Brebeuf, explorer Rene-Robert Cavelier and Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe and countless Algonquin and Iroquois natives and fur traders.   This sign was erected by the King Township Historical Society.

3. The third plaque has an engraved map of the Toronto Carrying Place Trail based on artwork by well-known artist C. W. Jefferys.   A number of these large plaques are to be found in locations along the Carrying Place Trail route, including a second one in King Township in the Holland Marsh.

This big boulder also sits at the site of the sign and plaques.   It has nothing on it or engraved into it, but it looks like it is waiting to play host to another historical plaque of some kind.

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

Early March in the snowless Holland Marsh

 Photos by Barry Wallace

Simple pictures of simple scenes

8 decades of marsh vegetables

Sign from another time

Free-range chickens (above) ~ turkeys (below)

Countless culverts and ditches

Graham Sideroad bridge over canal at Pumphouse Road

Hooded Mergansers on open water of Holland River

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

Bert Ezard's modelling and carving at museum

Photos by Barry Wallace

Dozens of the works by longtime Laskay resident Bert Ezard make up the latest display presentation at the King Heritage & Cultural Centre in Kinghorn.   The works represent not just local King history but also the effort and achievement of a lifelong woodworking hobby.   The display at the heritage and cultural centre can be seen from 10 am. to 4 pm., Tuesdays to Saturdays, and runs until March 30th. 

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace