Firestone Cotton Mills of Canada began operations in 1936 in a building purchased from the Oxford Knitting Mills in Woodstock, Ontario. The building was known as Plant Number 1, located at the corner of Oxford and Ingersoll Streets. Plant #1 manufactured cotton for tire cord cotton reinforced tires. The cotton was used until the 1940’s when rayon was introduced. Today tires are reinforced using a mixture of nylon and polyester. During the Second World War, many of the positions at Firestone were held by women. Firestone was also the first job for many immigrants arriving to Canada during the 1950’s….

In the early 1900s, the McCormick family had controlling interest of the (Chicago) Tribune Company which produced newspapers. In 1910, Robert McCormick started working in the family’s business and the following year was elected president of the Tribune Company. The Tribune’s main competition was a newspaper out of Hearst which was able to obtain newsprint at lower cost. McCormick developed a plan to build his own newsprint mill in order to have better control over the price of his most important raw material. In winter of 1911, he chose a location in Thorold, Ontario which was at the time a…

Caddy’s Strip Club was located in Scarborough, Ontario. Part of the adult entertainment experience of course was the availability of lap dances. This was a private area where dancers would provide dances for men often with unwanted physical contact taking place.Caddy’s Strib Club joins many others that have closed across Canada as fewer people utilize them. With the availability of adult material, who’d want to pay $8 a beer to see what you could see naked women at home? If the walls could talk, they’d probably moan.Above the steps to the building was a Cadillac car. There is no electricity so…

The Tivoli Theatre in Hamilton dates back to 1875 when it began as a carriage factory. The carriage factory closed six years later and the building remained vacant for the next 26 years. In 1908 the factory was converted to a theatre with 200 seats and named the Wonderland, followed by the Colonial (1910 to 1912) and the Princess (1913-1923). The theatre showed live vaudeville acts and movies. It was the first cinema in Hamilton to feature soundtracks.In 1924 a man named Andrew Ross took over and converted the store theatre into an auditorium which was named The Tivoli. It…

The Bowmanville Zoo opened in 1919 on the grounds of the Cream of Barley Mill (also on my website as location 5947). The attraction was known as “The Cream of Barley Campground”. The owner of the mill created a campground and park attraction for tourists. A petting zoo was added later.  By 1946 there were tennis courts where the pear orchards once stood. As time progressed the campground area and cabins were turned into animal shelters. Some of the animals on site included a jaguar, camels, African lion and Bengal tigers.  Many of the animals were used in American made…

Martin’s Bowling Alley is located in the city of Hamilton. This style of bowling alley has been obsolete for many years. The location was in operation for over fifty years. It consisted of 12 lanes with manual scoring (pencil and paper). There were six lanes on two different levels of the building.  The benches were hand carved. Some of the signage dates back to the 1950’s.  The business was popular for weekend birthday parties, bachelor parties and bridal showers. It served as a social hub for seniors, many of whom had been in the same bowling league for years.   …

I was provided information on a supposed former bed and breakfast in Southern Ontario. I parked down the road at a recreational business and walked in the driveway to the property. A large tree has been placed across the entrance to keep vehicles out. The land adjacent to the house is used for farming.         A somewhat inexplicable view. A toilet and wash basin set in a large room with at least two entrances. There is plenty of peeling paint.     This would have been the main kitchen area for the guests – if this was a…

The history of Hotel Europa dates back several decades to a time when it was named the “Columbia Hotel”. The Columbia was later town down and the Trennick was built on the grounds. It opened on June 13, 1910 with Mr. Charles R. Newman as the proprietor. Rates for one of the 40 rooms ranged from $2.50 to $3.00 and an American meal plan was 50 cents.Mr. Newman lived in the hotel until 1916 when he moved into his own home. In 1920, Newman purchased the hotel. He became mayor of Niagara Falls in 1922, a position which he held until…

The history of McCormicks begins in 1849. In 1849 Thomas McCormick emigrated to Canada from Ireland. In 1858 McCormick begun the manufacturing of candy in a factory located on Clarence Street in London, Ontario. The company was incorporated under the name of McCormick Manufacturing Company in July of 1879. When McCormick passed away in 1906 his sons took over the business. By 1912 a larger and more efficient plant was needed. Thomas McCormick Jr. visited over one hundred biscuit and candy factories to observe their architecture. With the assistance of the London architectural firm Watt & Blackwell, they created what…