LEFROY/BELLE EWART NEWS
by Cathie Miller

Did you know...Belle Ewart was once the commercial centre of the region? The place took its name from a local landowner James Bell Ewart. In the mid-1800s the town was an important distribution point, having connections with the Northern Railway and with commercial and passenger shipping on Lake Simcoe. A large sawmill was built there in 1852 by Sage and Grant from the USA. This accidentally burnt down a few years later, coincidentally with the impending exhaustion of nearby timber supplies. In the railway steam era, spring-fed Lake Simcoe was reputedly the purest body of fresh water in Canada. In 1876 the former lumbering community was well placed to become important in the ice harvesting business. Just when the large sawmill burned down to signal the end of the lumbering era and impending ghost town status, Bell Ewart came back to life with the massive ice harvesting industry. When the growing city of Toronto became too large for its local ice supply, a businessman named Fairhead established the Springwater Ice Company in 1876 at Lefroy, about a mile away from Bell Ewart, at the closest railway point. Alfred Chapman followed in 1891 with his Belle Ewart Ice Company, adding the "e" to the village name to make it sound more quaint on Toronto delivery wagons. His facility was located on the water's edge beside his competitor, and the two of them generated enough business to justify re-laying the railway spur in 1892. The lake's growing reputation spawned a name change two years later, when the former Springwater Ice Company became the Lake Simcoe Ice & Fuel Company. Twelve years later in 1906, the Knickerbocker Ice Company was set up at Bell Ewart, and the heyday of ice harvesting was underway. By 1953, however, numbers of customers for ice were dropping steadily. By September 1954, local residents were petitioning to have the eyesore ice house removed from the Bell Ewart lakefront, and it soon disappeared. *source: http://www. ewart.org /Geographical/Ontario.htm

Branch 547 Lefroy Belle Ewart Legion News: Hours are Fridays and Saturdays 2-7 p.m and Sundays 1-5 p.m. Work continues on the Cenotaph as we get ready for the asphalt. Monday night darts begin at 7 p.m. and last about 3 hours. You don't have to be a member to join in the fun. Thursday Euchre continues from 1 p.m. There is regular and bid Euchre, followed by delicious snacks. You won't want to miss out on that.

Saturday Meat Draws: Come out Saturday afternoons and get in on the meat draw. Everyone is welcome. There are good cuts of meat! You can't win if you don't enter. This is lots of fun so see you there.

The General Meeting:this meeting will take place on May 15th. All members are encouraged to attend as this is elections night for the next year. Make your voice heard.

Horseshoes : Contact Donny Warmbolt a 456-1176.

Hall Rentals are available with a Smart Serve Bartender as part of the package. A DJ is also available upon request. Phone 431-9231 or 456-2531 for information or leave a message and someone will return your call.

Paint the town yellow...There's a great initiative taking place on Saturday, May 12, 2007 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. headed by the Accessibility Advisory Committee in Lefroy/Belle Ewart. Committee members are painting the curbs, curb cuts and ramps in yellow to highlight them for persons with disabilities, such as visual impairments, persons in wheelchairs, seniors and moms pushing their strollers. Rain date is June 9, 2007. If you need further information, please contact Paul Wylie at 705-456-4711 or go on the web at www.innisfil.ca Way to go guys!!

Lefroy Minor Hockey Association (Home of the Icebreakers) is holding a fund-raiser for the upcoming hockey season on Saturday, June 30th, 2007. Bring your clubs and friends and have a ball! Proceeds are going to help our kids, so make it a worthwhile day at Big Cedar Golf & Country Club with the shotgun start at 8:00 a.m., 18 holes & lunch for only $60. Mini putt, putting green & poker fun, hole in one, longest drive and closest to pin prizes. Prizes, raffle table & 50/50 draw and fun scramble style golf. Confirm a tee time by calling Tina Deroy at 705-456-8034.

Thanks for the great response to last weeks first column. The Lefroy/Belle Ewart column is written to include human interest and community events If you wish to contact me with tidbits of local history or church/community events, please do so. I can be reached at 705-436-9769 or lagerow@rogers.com.

Quote: "Did you ever get the feeling that the world was a tuxedo and you were a pair of brown shoes?"....comedian George Gobel.