HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1985-11-20, Page 17Crossroads—Nov. 20, 1985
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DRAYTON TOWN HALL—Built in 1902, the Drayton Town Hall is being restored by
the people of the community. The hall houses the Villi ge of Drayton Council
Chambers, the clerk -treasurer's office, the Public Library anti a 400 -seat auditorium.
1
By Marion 1. Duke ..
. Down at the end of the main drag in
Drayton, one block south of the inter-
section of Main and Wellington, there
stands an imposing building.
It's a light colored brick structure
with a`square bell tower on the corner
facing the street. Below the bell tow-
er, the building's main entrance
forms an impressive double arch.
It's the kind of vaulted entrance
more likely to be found in European
architecture than in Canadian —
especially early 20th century Cana-
dian.
It's also the kind of entrance to
cause one to pause, eyes invariably
drawn to the view through the facing
arch.
This is the Drayton Town Hall and
the view through the two arches pro-
bably
ro-
bably hasn't .changed all that much in '
the past 50 years..
But back when the hall was built, in
1902, instead of today's large reUiden-
tial homes there would have been mo-
dest frame houses. The tall hardwood
trees would have•been mere saplings.
There would have been no hydro
poles and instead of the paved .road-
way, on a cold, rainy day in late fall
such as this one is, horses and buggies
would have been stewing their way
through mud.
FROM SCOTLAND
. From across the street, looking at
the well preserved structure, one
can't help but marvel at the optimistic
foresight of its builders.
Over 80 years later residents of
Drayton, or Harriston, or for that
matter, the Town of Listowel with a
population mnre than seven times that
of Drayton's, wouldn't think of build- '
ing such a hall.
According to the worn lettering on
the dedication plaque in the entrance
of the Drayton Town Hall, the archi-
tect was George Gray. •
Who was George Gray?
"I believe the gentleman' lived in
Harriston," said Drayton clerk:
treasurer Jean Campbell, ' "and I
wouldn't be. surprised if he also built
Day of Remembrance
Mayo, 1985;
By Sohn !i Martens
On Saturday morning, May 4; at •
9:00 o'clock, the ancient heart of the
city of Sneek is still peaceful and
quiet.: A few early strollers can be
seen enjoying the crisp 'morning air.
The wide square in front of the rail:.
way station is almost deserted and
Hotel Bonnema 'at one side of the
square and the' scene of yesterday's
joyful reception of the visitors from
Canada, lies dreaming in the early
morning sun. The reception commit-
tee and the street organ are gone. In
the old linde trees just bursting into
• leaf along the tation Avenue, the
"lysters", the D 'tch equivalent' of the
North American robin, are singing
their striking songs in praise of the ar-
rival of a new spring. Their amazing
trills and notes are echoing in the cool
morning air,
But what is that? Over yonder, in
the direction of the bus station
catchy4he--ut�rtfiis-ta-kable melody of a 1
single bagpipe, We quicken our pace,
We want to know the source of the
Scottish music, which is' certainly not
heard every day in the station square
of Sneek.
A few early travellers waiting for
their buses curiously converge on the
large, circular glass bus shelter which
can hold alrnost 100 people. The door
is open and inside a musician from the
ceremonial band travelling with the
Per�?h Regiment veterans is playing
the pipes and getting into shape for
the ceremonies of the coming day.
With amazement the bus passengers
watch him pace back -and forth within
the shelter, which must have seemed
to him the bast place to get some prac-
tice. �-
Afterail to pace up and down the
street, past the windows of Bonnema's
would have disturbed the early morn-
ing solitude and slumber of the guests. s
After the last mournful .note we li
exphange_a.few_word&.wa• .with -the
cian and learn that he is billeted at c
Hotel Bonnema. Sleep during. his first f
night in Holland was late in coming. d
At the crack of dawn he was up, but p'
cheerfully expected his biological ,t
time clock to quickly- adjust'
What -better -opportunity to play th
pipes? Somehow the picture of th
early bagpipe player, walking to an
fro, keeps corning back, even 'after s
many following impressions.
OFFICIAL RECEPTION
An official reception at the town hal
was planned, according to the pro-
gram, from 10 to .11 in the morning and
shortly before the appointed time the
veterans and their wives would be
seen heading for the beautiful building
which has served Sneek as a munici-
pal hall for over two centuries. In its
present form it dates from the year
1760•
At the town hall dignitaries from all
segments of the community were pre -
.sent. The Burgemeester (mayor) of
Sneek, Mr. Bernardus Van Haersma
Buma, resplendent in the regalia of
his office, welcomed the Canadians
and expressed his gratitude for their
we contribution to_the liheration_sf_H 1
and in 1945, voicing the hope that they
would find their stay in Sneek an un-
forgettable .experience. The mayor
himself had lost his father in the war.
The Nazis had executed him for un-
derground activities. Thousands of
others shared the fate of Van Haer-
sma Buma Sr.
Lt. -Col. John S. Whyte of the Perth
Regiment expressed, in a short reply,
the sentiments of the veterans who
were thrilled by their reception in the
homes of the citizens of Sneek and by
the overwhelming hospitality shown
to them. He recalled the bonds be -
ween the Perth Regiment and the
city of Sneek, where his men were
again hailed as old friends, yes as
heroes.
• Upon -first entering the town hall Atte
•_._Although Diads taught in school,
e three-quarters of the population of
e 600,000 speak the Frisian language
d' and the number is growing,,Friesland
o also has its own flag and national an-
them.
i? The diversity of languages must
have surprised many veterans even in
1945. On their return this year they '
found the same familiar love of the
Frisians, ( including the people of
Sneek ) for their ancient heritage. In
this love there is nothing of the notion
of a rabid or destructive nationalism,
for the Frisians consider themselves,
firstly, Netherlanders in unbreakable'"
• union' with the rest of the nation.
• Nevertheless it must have puzzled the
veterans to hear, on occasion, three
national anthems, the Canadian, the
Dutch and the Frisian.
With the official part of the recep-
tion behind them, a, few informal
° mrrmerrts-'aliuweti-the ve erans o g • t
their breath and look around, It was
clear that some of them; glass in
hand; not young men any more, found
it almost difficult .to understand that
they were the objedt of so much atten-
tion and friendship. Yet it was for
them that Sneek — yes, the whole
country — had pulled out all the stops.
They were ushered outside, where a
specatacular sight was awaiting
them. In the street a dance group in
national costume was about to per-
form original Frisian dances to enter-
tain the honored guests and the as-
sembled crowd in a section of the
Marktstraat (Market Street) cordon-
ed off for that purpose.
would almost have imagined he was
tepping into a different age. Men and
women in Frisian costume, which is
aid to show Scandinavian influences,
ned the wide stairways and _stood _
lo ng ifie corridors, lending the pro-
eedings - especially for one un-
amiliar with the old Frisian mode of
ress -- an unusual quality. The
risians love their country. They call
".it Heitelan" the Fatherland ),,
r—n-c^e-aeeft . ._..
see the dancers in action while
cameras were clicking on every side.
This living folklore was undoubtedlyr4
one of the many highlights ex-
perienced by the veterans and its his-
looa-1 setting- in front the monu-
mental town hall, one of the most
significant late Renaissance buildings
in the Netherlands, contributed much
to the impression it made on the on-
lookers.
MOODY PAINTING -This large painting by the late W. C. Moody,
dating from the tum of the century, is the first thing seen by visitors as
they enter the Drayton Town Hall auditorium. Another Moody canvass
hangs in the Drayton Council Chambers.
SQUABBLES—Vic Roberts and Paula Klooster re-
hearse a scene from "Squabbles", a domestic comedy
to be presented by the Drayton 'Community Playersin
the Drayton Town Hall on Nov. 21, 22 and 23.
the Harriston Town'Hall."
Mrs. Campbell, whose office; the
,•ay.ton Council Chambers and the
Public Library are housed in the Town
Hall, is correct.
After telling me Harriston's town
hall is'actually its third one (the first
one• built in 1876 burned 12 years later
and was replaced by a brick building.
which burned in 1916 to be replaced by
the present 'building), Harriston's
town clerk, Eleanore Gordon, refers
me to the town's librarian, Dorothy
Pike.
She informs me George Gray was
born in Scotland and studied architec-
ture in Glasgow. He came to Canada
in 1869, living in Guelph for two years
before moving to,Harriston.
In 1876 he established Gray's plan
ing mill and between then and 1889 he
built the Harriston Town Hall which
later burned, the Harriston and Mount
Forest Public Library, the Harriston
High School and a number of railway
stations along the Wellington -Grey -
Bruce line.
I)RAYTON HALL •
Until near the end of the 19th cen-.
tury Drayton Village Council met in
various buildings. It became apparent
permanent accommodation was es-
sential and so the Town Hall was built
in 1902.
Public donations and funds raised
by concerts -and shows provided the
furnishings: Lighting was a new sys-
tem of acetylene gas, but after a few
bad experiences the gas system was
discarded and electric lighting was in-
stalled.
The auditorium with its proscenium
stage seats 400 and even today is
known, for its excellent acoustics. Be-
sides the Council Chambers and the
Public Library, the hall also housed
the fire department and jail cells.
Drayton Town Hall was the ,place
. for entertainment until the 1930s when
a new school was built with an audi-
torium. •
During the war years a regiment of
Indians from Southampton and ap-
proximately 300 girls from Toronto
were brought to the area to assist in
pulling flax for the mill in Drayton.
The girls called themselves "Far-
merettes" and during their stay they
presented two miscellaneous pro-
grams and demonstrated a variety of
talent.
With the opening of the new school
however, the Town Hall was ignored.
It wasn't all due to the attraction of a
new building.
With its high ceiling of embossed tin
and no insulation, the auditorium was
impossible to heat with a coal furnace
in, cold weather. • Even today with a
gas furnace thpe auditorium isn't used
during Winter months.
And so the big building at the end of
Drayton's , business block became -
something of a light brickelephant.
Then a few years ago aroup of citi-
zens stood back and tool? a good look
at the Drayton Town Hall. They decid-
ed this was a building not only worth -
saving, but restoring.
In 1982 Drayton .Village Council
along with a number of citizens form-
ed the Drayton Opera House Commit-
tee to stimulate interest in the facility.
In the past three years repairs•have .
been made to the structure and thein-
terior has been painted. .
Although there's still work to be
done, today the.hall is as least. as im-
pressive on the inside as it is on the
outside. ,
Light polished oak bannisters lead
from the ground floor where the Conn-.
cil Chambers and the Public Library
are located to the auditorium up-
stairs;
continued on page 2
FRISIAN FOLK DANCERS in native costume in front of town hall.
Veterans in the background.
DayofHonors
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