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Wednesday, April 28, 1999 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER B1 iA R T IN G A T David Jefferies D avid Jefferies can recite the history of his East Oakville neighbourhood from memory. He can tell you the dates the first settlers arrived, their names, their contribution to society, where they lived, and describe their homes. In many instances, he has photographs. The self-styled amateur history sleuth has enough infor­ mation to write a book, which is exactly what he's done. Jefferies has written Tales From The Maple Grove, a chil­ dren's book briefly describing 200 years of history. He's working on getting it published. For Jefferies, an architect work­ ing in Toronto, researching the his­ tory of the area of East Oakville bordered by Chartwell Road (Eighth Line) and Maple Grove Drive (Ninth Line), and south of the Queen Elizabeth Way (Lower Middle Road), is a labour of love. It all began with looking into the history of Maple Grove School, the oldest school in Oakville, in opera­ tion at its present location on Maple Grove Drive since 1872. The origi­ nal clapboard one-room school- house, still in use today, was moved uphill from Lakeshore Road on logs pulled by horses. It was built in 1842. Since then, four additions have been built, in 1932, 1952, 1957, and 1995. According to Tales From The Maple Grove, the area around the school had been settled for 60 years. Grades 1 to 8 were taught by one teacher. On opening day, Barney Moore, grandson of the area's first white settler Barnet Griggs, and James Wesley Hill, the area's first black settler, carried the school bell up Ninth Line in a parade held to open the school. Neighbouring farmers had each given $100 to buy the acre of land to relocate the school to its present site. It was called the Ninth Line School at Maple Grove. What started as a hobby became Jefferies' passion. After researching the the history of Maple Grove School for its 120th and 125th anniversaries, Jefferies was hooked. The community's history continues to intrigue Jefferies, the son of a history teacher at Oakville Trafalgar High School. "I got my interest in history from him," says Jefferies. "My dad could walk through Toronto and recount verbal­ ly 100 years of history at any particular site." Jefferies admits to being the same way when presenting slide shows, the most recent being to the Canadian Federation of University Women -- CFUW Oakville - earlier this year. (See 'Estate builders . . .' page B3) 5 5 CLUB A Monthly Discount Day for Shoppers aged Sv Travel Fair Thursday, April 29th Travel"Sponsored by: CarlsonW agonlit A world of adventure is waiting to be explored. Find out more about exciting travel destinations. Vaccinations & Travel What you need to know Courtesy of Shoppers Drug Mart Passport Photo Discounts Visit Black's Camera INSIGHT Ijfonsafg J to n io r v Good Neighbour* to Kno"> H o p e d a le M a l l 3rd Line &. Rebecca 827-0229 www.hopedalemall.on.ca . v'» Shop: Mon. - Fri. ~ 9:30 am to 9:00 pm • Sat. - 9:30 am to 6:00 pm • Sun. - Noon to 5:00 pm NATIONAL CELLULAR! Personal Communications Centres Erin Mills Town Centre, Mississauga (905) 820-9200 422 Speers Rd. Oakville, (905) 338-9200 Oakville Place, Oakville (905) 815-9200 Square One, Mississauga (905) 276-9200 Woodbine Centre, Etobicoke, (416) 679-9200 3105 Unity Dr, Unit #29 Mississauga (905)828-9200 1490 Dundas S t E Mississauga (905) 848-2555 * A passion for history Architect's research began with Maple Grove School Sunday's annual Great Ride & Stride to Beat Cancer had big bang for the buck. The 30 participants enjoyed a pleas­ ant 10-kilometre ride through Glen Abbey, and raised $3,500 for the Canadian Cancer Society. ABOVE: Ellyn Cook waits for ride to begin; RIGHT: Father and son Warren Bell and Alex Desforges-Bell, 4, ride tandem; BELOW, from left, Andrew Lee, Jason McGahey, and Renzo Rinaldi, of the Oakville Firefighters Association donated the grand prize, a bicycle, won by Tanya Butler; and TOP RIGHT, two unidentified cyclists. By Wilma Blokhuis BEAVER FOCUS EDITOR Great Ride & Stride Photos by Riziero Vertolli la - 4 *^P e r -S e c o n d B i l l in g $35/350 • $.55 >50,'min. (TOO anytim e anti 250 weekend weeknights) • No Contract ; 4Per-secoml b illin g , < & € D O CJjjj <2$ 'S our Trills* au.l ( «»ti< lili.*n-,W I\. Ulul< v<im>li<^ L .H . Lim ited 1 in * U t ln . V « m i |w ul k i i tR c l l t .u i. iJ . i l s«il i »ult*i lice m e M lO lh ti Ti life . o r l t M - o l TLcii K c s ii. iIn c IL-Mct y V jw s .-r 8 u w EL4 Focus OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR OF THE OAKVILLE WATERFRONT FESTIVAL BARGAIN-RATE CAR INSURANCE WITH BARGAIN- John Bauman RATE SERVICE IS NO BARGAIN. D on't tru s t just anyone to insure your car, see me: ** O akville B eaver Focus Editor: WILMA BLOKHUIS 8 4 5 - 3 8 2 4 (Extension 250) Fax: 3 3 7 - 5 5 6 7 http://www.hopedalemall.on.ca