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48 the tribunestouffville 18771977 art latcham donations highlight his life art latcham there have been many people who have made great contributions to the growth of stouff ville but only one man stands out for the number of unselfish donations to this and many other towns the man is of course arthur latcham who by donating the numerous buildings and structures that have improved the town immensely has achieved a bit of im mortality the list of donations are impressive he gave 70000 for the towns swimming pool the floodlights the grand stand and public shelter he has given community centres in ballantrae altona a hospital in markham floodlights and hall in goodwood and of course the magnificent latcham hall in town the hall was the culmination of his efforts and they were duly noted at the art latcham day held on the july 1st weekend 1972 but the donations are not the true reflection of the man he has given countless hours of pleasure to innumerable people from his great skill at magic how many people have seen him walk down main st with a coin or cards in his deft hands forever perfecting and showing his magicians skill an indication of how he is appreciated by the town was evident on latcham day he was showered with gifts by the townspeople who came by the thousands possibly the largest crowd ever at a single site in stouffvilles history on that day there were also an impressive number of dignitaries out to honor the man john robarts bill hodgson mayor ken laushway along with the service club representatives even prime minister pierre trdueau was there in spirit at least as mr robarts read a personal letter to mr latcham from the pm giving his congratulations listing mr lat cham s awards and plaques would be near impossible but some of the most meaningful have been the gold key of freedom to the town presented at his day countless scrolls paintings plaques and other mementoes of his achievements cluster his home as a daily reminder of what the man has done mr latchams background tells the story of how his man- made fortune came about his main en deavours have beeii in the golf business buying and selling courses and ranges in toronto and surrounding areas he was born in the town of glasgow ontario but always considered stouffville as his home town as he has lived much of his life here besides his golf courses mr latcham also at one time owned nickel mines- parking lots plazas and apart ments all over ontario he was a selfmade millionaire and had a remarkable ability to bounce back from ad versity even when the depression wiped out all his financial holdings he just turned around and made himself another fortune for all his donations public appearances and exposure mr latcham was basically a man who kept to himself he did not belong to any town organization or club and he liked the privacy his house afforded him conversely however he enjoyed immensely showing off his magic tricks and just talking to anyone passing by his other interests included hunting flying his private plane amateur boxing and of course helping people one of his interests that led to an unusual ending was his love of natural food mr lat cham did not smoke- or drink and was a great exponent of good health through natural foods and his looks be- guiling his years are a testimonial to the fine shape he kept himself in his interest in natural foods led him to convince the towns bakery to prepare a special whole wheat bread for him which they still make and is a big seller in an attempt to make others appreciate the benefits of natural foods mr latcham purchased thousands of books on the subject and then distributed them free throughout the town this might seem a bit eccentric but mr lat cham really isnt many consider him just an ordinary common man who would stop and talk to anyone and who never abused his wealth or power aim to keep town beautiful beauty brings business is a slogan that the members of the stouffville horticultural society keep in mind as they go about planting gardens and enhancing the community the society began in 1924 and the first president was dr fa dales who lived in the house that dr morgan now uses for his dental practice mrs alice vaque is the president this year the mem bership started at l and somehow theyve managed to avoid in flation and have kept the same fee through the years vice president of the society back then was thomas klinck and second vice president was mrs ss ball the society has received many prizes at various exhibits in cluding laurels from the canadian national exhibition parades and flower shows and garden parties around stouff ville the new whitchurch- stouffville library is just one organization that the society has helped as it recently received a 500 donation from them unfortunately the members of the society find they cant get out and plant the beautiful gar dens that they once did because they are growing older and the younger members dont seem as interested the planners of parkview received help from the society for the grounds and gardens the 50th anniversary celebration of the society was held on monday evening april 15 in st james presbyterian church reverend douglas davis in a short speech detailed the contribution to the society of the late margery mertens in her memory a niece mrs mervin bunker presented an engraved silver tray to the society from the gbudie family in memory of the late reverend douglas davis who was an honorary director a silver tray was presented to the society by mr and mrs bruce muir mrs douglas davis also gave an endowment to the society in memory of her late husband town lucky- it has depot waste can be a problem in any town if the facilities are not available to dispose all of the unwanted garbage stouffville however is lucky we have a recycling depot right in the centre of town the depot was organized in december of 1975 by jean bel isle carol mcdermott and john garbutt who felt that it was about time the town did something about the increasing amount of trash that either littered the town or a nearby dump which could easily be recycled and put to good use the town was a little unsure about this operation at first and granted them only a small garage behind the bank of commerce but the staff increased and joyce nailer and bryan nicholas joined the team and 45 volunteers were enlisted in the fight for a clean city and soon the town realized that it was working the people of the town were bringing their garbage to the depot and the town began to look a little cleaner so the town decided to build a new depot the depot is now open on thursday and saturday mornings and the volunteers work two hours every month with the schedule made up four months in advance this makes it easier for the volunteer to make plans around his time slot and jean belisle phones the volunteers two days before they work to remind them spademan waste removal takes the bins downtown when they are full and the money received for the materials for recycling is put towards the small sum that spademan charges for shipping the materials jean says its a lot of work but i think its worth while i t- u v i plowing a field may not seem to be an art form for many people but dont say that to grant wells mr wells in this 1967 photo in rhodesia was declared canadian plowman champion and gave stouffville another local and national personality