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Autos Rang Swan Song For Blacksmith's Anvil The blacksmith shop shown in the accompanying picture has long' since gone the way of the horses and buggies it used to serve. It has been replaced by an open ex panse of concrete and gasoline tanks by William Whitaker and Sons the firm that used to oper ate the shop. Whitaker's has long been one of Oakville's leading ga rages, but up until the early years of the century its main concern was with horses and wagons and tools. Started in Clarkson The late Jack Whitaker, who died in 1925, is seen at the left in the picture. The sturdy young fellow holding the hammer is still very much alive and still working. His name is Albert Hughes and he is employed by Stirling-Dynes Ltd., Oakville automobile agency. " Ab" Hughes, as he is popularly known, got his first experience as a blacksmith in a Clarkson smithy, where he used to shoe horses. His next job was with Whitaker's which at that time, around 1910, used to make market wagons for fruit farmers throughout the Oak ville district. "We would heat the steel tires, put them on the wheels while they were hot, and then plunge the wheels in water," recalls the for mer blacksmith. The purpose of this operation was to make the tires contract so that they fitted the wheels snugly. t Named Town Sts. For Governors Of the hundreds of people who pass along Oakville's busy main street every day, how many know whence it derives its name? Colborne Street, a household word in every family for genera tions, was named in honor of Sir John Colborne, who was appointed lieutenant-governor of Upper Can ada a short time after Oakville was founded. The new lieutenantgovernor took a keen interest in the improvement of the road that ran from York, now Toronto, to the head of the lake, of which the Oakville street formed a part. · Sir John had a distinguished re cord in the Peninsular War early in the century, in which he served as a general. He was credited with being chiefly responsible for the defeat of Napoleon's Old Guard. Colborne's successor in the of fice of lieutenant-governor, Sir Francis Head, had no less than three Oakville streets named in his honor. Bond and Head Streets are located a short distance north of Colborne, east of Kerr Street. All Round Job "We al$o used to build sleighs, repair lawn mowers, and do gen eral repairs," said Mr. Hughes. He remembers setting tires on the wa ter cart that was used to sprinkle the town streets in summer in an effort to keep down the dust. An other of his jobs at Whitaker's was sharpening picks brought in by men who put in Oakville's first sewers. The picks had to be drawn out on an anvil and then temper ed. It was tough work. Employees of Whitaker's used to work from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. six days a week. The shop was a fa vorite stop for youngsters after school, who used to love watching the brawny workers beating out pieces of iron on anvils. There was always plenty of work. Some days a dozen or more wagons would be waiting for repairs. Beaver Lumber salutes the Town Looking back on past achievem ents is alw ays enjoyable. But, more im portant, it can be exceedingly beneficial. For above all else, Bows to Progress But the increasing popularity of the motor car soon changed the picture. About 1914 the Whitaker firm built a big garage beside the blacksmith shop where the wag ons were made, and started sell ing cars, which it has been doing ever since. Albert Hughes took up garage work, and left Whitaker's in 1915. For some years the shop was used in connection with the garage, but eventually made way for its owner's new business re quirements. PARTNERS O A K V I L L E 'S PROGRESS YEARS O n e O f C a n a d a 's L argest Producers experience teaches us to LOOK AHEAD. . . TO MEET NEW CHALLENGES . . : Oakville on its 100th Anniversary to work tow ard im provem ents of w hat w e have. For 57 years Beaver Lumber is the story of progress side by side with* Oakville. Since 1906, Beaver Lumber has established an u n p aralleled record for quality, hav in g spent thousands of dollars for expansion and m odernization until today they em ploy more th an 25 people. W ith m odern facilities, top notch service and A L U M IN U M and staff and sound aggressive m anagem ent, Beaver Lumber is ready for the · · Z I N C D I E C A S T IN G S NOW UNDERWAY A planned expansion program that will increase our production capacity 100% during 1957. future. DIE CASTING LIMITED 482 QUEEN ELIZABETH WAY, OAKVME LAKESHORE CO M PAN Y L IM ITE D 388 DUNDAS ST. N. O A K V I L L E ..serving the Town of Oakville with Quality Building Materials