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HomeMy WebLinkAbout773"Article copied from the New Advertiser,Wednesday, August 21, 1985. Life in Claremont means involvement Northern neighbors This is the last of a four-part series on the hamlets of north Pickering. Writer Richard Beales discovers Claremont this week, in the company of 23- year resident Rosemary Timms. Claremont is similar in many ways to other rural communities in Ontario; perhaps it is safe to say that it is typical of rural Ontario communities. What makes Claremont different in my eye is its spirit. Bricks and mortar give the community its physical appearance, but to me the spirit of the community gives it its personality, much like a person. - The Honorable William G. Newman, in his foreword to Lillian M. Gauslin's 1974 book Paths to Planes: A Story of the Claremont Area. By RICHARD BEALES CLAREMONT - I came to appreciate Bill Newman's words on meeting Rosemary Timms at her home on Old Brock Road, just north Concession Road 9. Rosemary's lived in Claremont for 23 years. To her, that's not to long, to a casual observer like me, it seems a lifetime. Rosemary hasn't just lived inside the walls of her own house; like so many in Claremont, she's become a part of the community through participation. When she moved here, Rosemary says, her husband advised her to get involved in the community. She did. Now, that advice is part of her own philosophy. ""It's the same everywhere,"" she says. ""If you don't make yourself known to people in the village, get into the groups and activities, they don't know who you are."" Rosemary's time in Claremont has been split in half. Her first years were spent getting involved with the older, established community; the last 13, spearheading a new community. Like its neighbor to the south -- the village of Brougham -- Claremont's community spirit was dealt a major blow by the 1972 announcement that an international airport was to be built in north Pickering. Even though Claremont was exempt from the land expropriation, several people moved out of the village. Nearby farmers were bought up by the government. ""We were affected,"" Rosemary recalls, ""but not as much is they were in Brougham. The long-time residents, the farmers, moved away and other ones came in who were renting."" It's taken a while for the newer residents to feel comfortable, ""but I think people are getting involved now more than they used to,"" she says. The Claremont Winter Carnival is a case in point. The annual February extravaganza has only been running two years now, but the community loves it because everybody gets involved. ""It's getting better all the time, each year,"" Rosemary says, ""Of course, it takes a lot to get it off the ground."" It's raining outside as we sit in her kitchen, sipping homemade lemonade. Nevertheless, Rosemary says she's game to show me the village she knows, from the comfort of her car. We hop in and head south, past the four corners. Rosemary points out the Claremont Corner Store (or Claremont General Store, according to which sign you read), a red-brick building on the southeast comer of Brock and the Ninth. It looks much as it did in 1851, when it was built by early Claremont settler John Michell. Across Brock, on the west side, is the community centre and the lawn bowling pitch. Rosemary's fondness for community activities shows as we take our tour; each stop involves a few details about how the site is being used now. The lawn bowling club, for instance, has been operating successfully for many years, she says. On the east side, farther south, the Claremont Neighborhood Centre and the Masonic Hall come in quick succession. Both restored 19th Century buildings see plenty of use in 1985 Claremont. The Lions and Lionesses run their meetings in the community hall, while a nursery school runs by day in the same building. South of the Masonic Mall is the sports park. Two well-kept ball diamonds, the pride of the community, are used by the four women's teams and two men's squads. Not bad for a village or about 600 people. We travel eastward along Concession 9, past the Claremont bypass. The Brock Road extension was built in the mid-'70s to spare Claremont residents from the seemingly endless string of gravel trucks running through the village. About half a mile east, on the south side, leads a laneway to the Hamann house, whose famous Canadian artist Tom Thomson -- the inspiration for the Group of Seven -- lived as a baby. I can see it vaguely through the rain; later, I return to see it up close with our photographer, Lois Aube. It is a fabulous place. On the north side of the 150-acre lot, sits the original cottage of Thomson's day. Added on -- their fieldstone exteriors a painstakingly accurate extension of the original -- are two new wings. Nearby, two matching barns and a guesthouse have been renovated in the same fashion. Under the direction of current owners George and Isabel Hamann, construction chief John Szilagyi has created a mansion where a simple cottage once stood. The love of older architectural styles is apparent even in the village itself. Rosemary drives me through two subdivisions, both of which feature homes custom-built from Victorian and Edwardian designs. They look authentic, giving me the feeling that Claremont's new community is determined to be just as rooted as the old. Nevertheless, this is still a community of SEE CLAREMONT…PAGE C3 Famous Canadian painter Tom Thomson lived his first two months in the fieldstone cottage that now forms the north wing of the Hamann estate, just east of Claremont village. Recent additions, partially visible in rear, have been constructed to match the original. Rosemary Timms The home of prominent Claremont residents Al and Andrea Graham serves as an example of the villagers' love for painstaking home renovations and restorations. photos by Lois Aube" "Claremont tour highlights village FROM PAGE C1 people first, buildings second. New subdivision plans in the works should bring the population up to about 800, Rosemary says. She's excited by the prospect because, at the moment, Claremont it too small to support us own dentist, doctor or downtown business area. That could change with more people, she says. Unlike a lot of residents of other villages, Rosemary isn't afraid of change because she knows it can bring good, if the new people are community-minded. ""Claremont village is a close-knit village,"" she says. ""If something happens, an accident or something, they're right there to help. I think it's getting stronger, now that a lot of the newer people want to be involved."" Involvement. It's the Claremont way. Train travel in Claremont: Chapter Two, After years without passenger train service, VIA Rail has reopened this modest outpost on its Toronto-to-Havelock line. A much grander station ones stood here, when Canadian Pacific Rail served Claremont. This magnificent house on Wixson Street belongs to Mrs. Harry (Annie) Porter, widow of Claremont's most prominent butcher. The Claremont Corner Store, a.k.a. Claremont General Store, has been standing at the corner of old Brook Road and Concession Road 9 since 1851."