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49 | O akville B eaver | T hursday,D ecem ber 6,2018 insidehalton.com DISABILITY BENEFITS DENIED/TERMINATED? WE PROTECT YOUR RIGHT TO RECEIVE DISABILITY BENEFITS CONTACT US FOR A FREE CASE EVALUATION 905.337.9568 4-1464 CORNWALL RD., OAKVILLE Ever thought about owning your own restaurant? We have an exciting new opportunity in Burlington and are seeking a motivated and passionate franchisee to join the State & Main team! Want to learn more about this opportunity or other opportunities with any of our fantastic brands? Jonathan Young, Franchise Manager Call: 416-275-1984 | Email: jyoung@recipeunlimited.com THAN BOXING DAY! LOO0 LOOO LOWER LOO0 LOOO LOWER ON NOW! 50" #116510 - 4K - UHD - SMART THAN BOXING DAY! LOOOOOOLOOO THAN LOWER SAVE $150 $548 Longtime Oakville may- or, Second World War veter- an and heritage conserva- tionist Harry Barrett has died. The 93-year-old reported- ly passed away peacefully at his home the morning of Fri- day, Nov. 30. Barrett is being remem- bered for his extensive pub- lic service, which began when he served on Oakvillewhen he served on Oakvillew town council as a councillor from 1968-70. He would go onfrom 1968-70. He would go onf to serve as deputy reeve from 1971-72 and would holdfrom 1971-72 and would holdf the position of mayor of Oak- ville for six terms, 1973-85. Barrett was greatly dedi- cated to Oakville's water- front. As chair of the Oak-front. As chair of the Oak-f ville Planning Board in the 1960s he is credited with dis- covering a clause in the Planning Act that entitled the municipality to a portion of waterfront land when it was subdivided or intensi- fied through redevelopment.fied through redevelopment.f He convinced the council of the day to act on this clause. This served as the founda- tion of a townwide policy, which con-which con-w tinues to this day. Town of-Town of-T ficials alsoficials alsof said that during his time as mayor, Barrett was instrumental in the purchase and preserva- tion of Oakville's harbour lands, as well as the Erchless Estate. This property is now home to the Oakville Muse- um. In 1981, Barrett also helped establish the Old Oakville Heritage Conserva- tion District. For these achievementsFor these achievementsF he was recognized with the 2016 Lieutenant Governor's Award from the National Trust for Canada. His civic leadership and his role in preserving local shoreline was also recog- nized in 2012 with the cre- ation of the Harry Barrett Waterfront Park System.Waterfront Park System.W "I must share this with all those members of council, staff and the public who sup- ported me on this. It wasn't a popular item at times," said Barrett during the park sys- tem's unveiling ceremony. "We'd been to court, we'd been to the OMB (Ontario Municipal Board), but lucki- ly we always won." Barrett was a proud member of the Oakville His- torical Society and the Oak- ville heritage committee. The former mayor's ex- ploits also include coming up with the phrase "Oak- ville is a city that calls itself a town and acts like a vil- lage." His obituary pointed out that he entered this world at a residence on Trafalgar Road and left it a few kilo-Road and left it a few kilo-R metres away in the house he built with his wife Jackie. Oakville Mayor Rob Burton called Barrett his mentor and a champion of heritage and waterfront protection. "His passion for our com- munity has always inspired me and many others," he said. Barrett also served dur- ing the Second World War, joining up at the age of 18. He was trained as a field gunner with the 4th Field Regiment of the Royal Cana-Regiment of the Royal Cana-R dian Artillery, but said rath- er than fire artillery pieces he was tasked with recogni- zance duties as the Canadi- an army advanced through Belgium, the Netherlands and finally Germany. His duties included spot- ting enemy positions and laying telephone wire so the forward operating basesforward operating basesf could communicate with the rear positions. In an interview with the Oakville Public Library, which can now be seen on-which can now be seen on-w line, Barrett said he had sev- eral close calls. On one night, he and some other soldiers slept in a haystack in a farmer's field. They awoke the following morning and quickly real- ized two German soldiers were asleep on the other side of the haystack. The Germans were taken prisoner without incident. Another incident, which could have potentially taken a fatal turn, occurred near the end of the war when Bar- rett and another soldier ap- proached a small town looking for bedding they could use. Finding nothing they turned around only to see five German soldiers ap- proaching them with their hands up. Barrett and his comrade took the men prisoner and during questioning it was re- vealed the Germans had been manning a machine gun, which they pointed at the two Canadian soldiers as they approached. The group ultimately de- cided not to open fire and surrender, reasoning a larg- er force must be nearby since these two Canadians were strolling about the town in broad daylight. "It was just the thing to do," said Barrett about going to war. "You were expected to join up. It was an adventure. At 18 you think you're im- mortal. That nothing is go- ing to happen to you. Some of the near misses you have ... you shudder in your boots when you think about itwhen you think about itw now, but you didn't think anything of it then." NEWS DAVID LEA dlea@metroland.com THE ISSUE: PUBLIC SERVANTS' WORTH TO COMMUNITY LOCAL IMPACT: ONE PERSON CAN CHANGE A TOWN MAYOR BARRETT STARTED HIS PUBLIC SERVICE IN 1968 IN OAKVILLE STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Mayor Barrett was instrumental in preserving waterfront land for the town.