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PAGE 8, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25,1979, WHITBY FREE PRESS Brian Winter's Historie ai uJ. Whitby GEORGE CORMACK Last week this column told the story of the Whitby Planing Mill. This week we look at the second lumber and planing mill in Whitby, operated by George Cormack. Mr. Cormack was born in Aberdeen, Scotland in 1830, and abandoned school at an early age to take an apprenticeship of five years in the carpenter's trade. He showed a real affinity for the work and was considered a very artistic and thoroughly equipped craftsman. Mr. Cormack made a model of Balmoral Castle, one of Queen Victoria's residences, and subsequently worked nearly four years on the construction of that building. In 1857 he came to Canada and started a successful wholesale lumber business, having connections with nearly all parts of the North American continent. In 1861, Mr. Cormack buildt a large brick house on the east side of Green Street, behind King Brothers' Tannery. Beside his home, on the southeast corner of Green and Dunlop Streets, he erected a planing mill, and later had a lumber yard where the Beaver Lumber building is on Dundas Street East. His house was demolished in 1964. In 1869Mr. Cormack built a new workshop, 70 by 24 feet, two storeys high as an addition to his original planing mill which was 35 by 60 feet. By 1871 the Cormack planing mill was three storeys high and producing door frames, window sashes, cornices, mouldings, flooring, and portions of gates and fences. Mr. Cormack added a 15 horsepower engine manufactured by the Joseph Hall Works in Oshawa and the belting was supplied by King Brothers' Tannery. The furnace under the boiler used shavings and wood chips as fuel, so Mr. Cormack did not need to purchase extra wood to keep his machinery working. The planing machirie at Mr, Cormack's establishment was capable of turning out from four to five thousand feet of lumber a day, and the same amount was produced by a matching machine for matching flooring. There were three circular saws, one crosscut and one jig saw, two morticing machines and one moulding machine, all worked by steam. Major Harper, who was mentioned in last week's column, made all the machines used in George Cormack's planing mill. Some of Mr. Cormack's contracts included the wood for the St. Francis De Sales Catholic Church at Pickering Village: built in 1871; the Whitby and Port Perry Railway station at Whitby, built in 1870; and the Canada Presbyterian Church at Whitby, built in 1869. He also got the contract to build the freight and engine houses for the Whitby and Port Perry Railway, which were located beside the uptown station. At this time, in 1871, Mr. Cormack employed 15 men in his planing mill and had $5,000 invested in machinery. He also had a large stock of lumber on hand. Mr. Cormack died in the 1890s and the business was taken over by his son, also named George Cormack, who operated the lumber yard until it was destroyed by fire. The second George Cormack was a member of the Whitby Board of Trade which was founded in 1898, and an enterprising merchant in the town. He died at the relatively early age of 52, of appendicitis, in 1913. His son, also named George Cormack, joined the Laidlaw Lumber Company in Toronto in 1915, which later became the Oliver Lumber Company and worked there through the 1930s. And so, three generations of the same family, all of the same name, were in the lumber business for over 80 years. It is said that the first George Cormack obtained his land as a government grant on the condition that he established a sawmill at Whitby. From this grew a prosperous family business. Mayor cautions council about a fitness centre During the discussion on the Fitness Centre report presented by the Recreation Director Wayne Deveau at the Operations Committée meeting last week, Mayor Jim Gartshore remarked, "It is obviously not required by the report." Councillor Joe Drumm said he thought "it is im- portant to have a Fitness Centre. We should know where we are going." Just because we have budgetted the monies doesn't mean they are to be spent," said Mayor Gartshore, "We are reasonably well off with facilities in our town com- pared to other municipalities Hose nozzles donated The Operations Committee of Council recommended last. week that the Town Council accept the offer made to them by a local manufact- uring firm. In a letter to the Town Council, George Lofthouse head of the Lofthouse Brass Manufacturing Limited, Hopkins Street, Whitby, and former Whitby Township Roy MacCauley New Owner .Of 19vate,ûe<t S a se"wee Invites vou to come and see his new selections BUFFET, HUTCH, OVAL TABLE, 3 SIDE CHAIRS, 1 ARM CHAIR, SOLID OAK & OAK VENEER! SPECIAL PRICES on LIvIng Room Tables, Bookcases,1 and Box SprIngs, Televisions, Etc. 9eedejteédu Sate $99800 Kitchen Suites, Chesterfields, Mattresses SeVI4ce 309 Brock St. S. Whitby Shopping Plaza Established 1952 WHITBY 668-2081 "OUR AIM ISTO SATISFY" Councillor, said he would like to give to the Town of Whitby's Fire Department three fire hose nozzles. The nozzles are from the firm's first production run of these parts. These nozzles were designed tooled up and manufactured, by the Loft- house Brass Manufacturing firm. The letter concluded by stating that, the first sample (fire house nozzles) were also tested by the Whitby Fire Department. Mr. .Lofthouse expressed the hope the town could put them to good use. "They certainly can be put to good use by the Fire Department," said council- lor Joe Bugelli as the Com- mittee accepted Mr. Loft- house's offer, on behalf of the Town. of our size." He asked the Recreation Director Mr. Deveau how much time the school gym- nasiums are in use by the schools. The reply was 20 percent of the time that the gyms in the schools are open. We could hire custodial help to have the school gyms open longer. The report from the Recreation Department pointed out that the approval of the second stage dealing with the Fitness Centre does not conclude that the project be included in the five year capital expenditures. It simply allows more inform- ation to be brought forward to assist Council in determin- ing a position. It went on to point out that Cont'd on P. 9 Bloick Parents Cont'd from P. 6 whith the heip of children from Whitby Senior Public School. An audience question and answer period will follow the panel discussion. The King Street area com- mittee has eight members, and is looking for more support. The W.C. Town Ambu- lance staff held a dance recently and donated $50 towards the operating costs of Block Parents. Work is proceeding well on incorporation of the Whitby Block Parents, which should occur soon. The organization is pre- sently 1,132 families strong, and applications are now being processed for more than 13 new signs. New officers of Whitby Block Parents are Chair- person, Gill Walsh; Secre- tary, Joan Carr; Treasurer, Terri DiFiore; Educational Aids Officer, Barbara Cameron; and Public Rela- tions Officer, Sharon Bradi- more. Area Chairpersons are: Palmerston, Marilyn Hajdu; Florence M. Heard, Connie Roy; Dr. Robert Thornton, June Sobanski; West Lynde, Yvonne Donnelly; King and Henry Street, Hannah Cuffley; Kathleen Rowe, Shirley Leswick; R.A. Hutchison, Elaine Tully; Brooklin, Bev Stanley; and Otter Creek-Fairman, Judy Smith. z Dunde% Co Colborne Dunlop 0 .X GIMWI (Wda4) oduo