In Allandale, all trains ceased working shortly after torrential rains began, says columnist, however for some native sports activities it was enterprise as ordinary
This ongoing sequence from Barrie Historic Archive curator Deb Exel reveals outdated images from the gathering and one from the current day, in addition to the story behind them.
Hurricane Hazel
The probabilities of a hurricane are low, however by no means zero, at the same time as far inland as Ontario.
Seventy years in the past this week, although, the unthinkable occurred.
Hurricane Hazel, an unpredictable tropical storm, arrived the night of Friday, Oct. 15, 1954.
Nobody was ready for a catastrophic climate occasion, equivalent to a hurricane, and the results had been devastating.
On the finish of the storm, 81 Canadian lives had been misplaced and harm was estimated at $125 million (USD).
The worst harm occurred within the Toronto and Holland Marsh areas, with Freeway 400 probably the most affected highway.
The surge water was nearly 10 toes deep the place the freeway handed by means of the marsh, and on the Cookstown interchange the roads had been washed out in each instructions, reportedly stranding 350 folks at Ontario’s first freeway service centre, which had opened earlier that yr.
Three culverts between Cookstown and Barrie had been additionally destroyed within the storm. Nearer to house, the Willow Creek bridge, a part of the brand new Barrie bypass inbuilt 1950, was demolished.
Washouts and flooding occurred all through the county.
Highway journey wasn’t the one transportation impacted by the raging storm. In Allandale, all trains ceased working shortly after the torrential rains began. The incoming prepare from Toronto was stopped at Aurora – there was no busing to Barrie because the freeway was flooded. Passengers remained on board the prepare because the storm raged.
The Ontario Division of Highways labored tirelessly to revive the Toronto-to-Barrie 400 superhighway. It could be Monday earlier than a portion of Freeway 400 opened so far as Bradford.
It was Monday, as nicely, earlier than the primary northbound prepare left and the primary southbound prepare arrived in Allandale.
The images of the Cumberland Avenue space, simply south of the Allandale rail yards, present vividly the depth and extent of the flooding ensuing from the hurricane’s go to to the city.
Astonishingly, despite the lethal storm, within the sports activities world it was nearly enterprise as ordinary. The hardiest of native followers confirmed up throughout the storm to observe an exciting inter-squad hockey match of gamers who had outlasted the Barrie Flyers coaching camp.
As a result of understandably low spectator turnout that night time, workforce proprietor Hap Emms, organized a second preview sport, in opposition to Owen Sound, scheduled for the next Tuesday.
In golf, the annual fall ‘stag’ on the Barrie Golf Membership proceeded the day after the hurricane. The usually light Kidd’s Creek, engorged by the storm, had ravaged components of the course and brought out bridges. For the membership occasion, golf was restricted to the highest 5 holes, performed twice, for a spherical of 10 holes.
The course supervisor anticipated the repairs to the golf course can be accomplished by the Halloween masquerade dance on Oct 30.
Assist and restoration for Hurricane Hazel victims got here in all styles and sizes. Neighbours helped one another pump out basements and clear particles. Livestock was rounded up and returned to farms. Cash, meals and clothes had been collected and distributed to those that had been in want.
Sunday Oct. 17 was to be the 89th anniversary service of Central United Church, however plans for the celebration seemed bleak. Water had poured of their Toronto Avenue door, nearly submerging the furnaces within the basement.
The day after the storm, devoted volunteers cleaned the mud from the basement ground as soon as the water had receded and fired up the furnaces. All of the inventory from their cancelled rummage sale had been spared. It was packed up and despatched to Bradford to assist the hurricane victims in that space.
The congregation was in a position to proceed with their anniversary service, the place they collected meals donations which had been trucked to Bradford that very Sunday afternoon.
Later that week, within the auditorium of St. Joseph’s highschool, the Moose Flood Bingo would elevate cash for hurricane victims.
One of many largest neighborhood fundraisers was the Flood of {Dollars}, a profit selection live performance sponsored by the Lions Golf equipment, and broadcast dwell on CKBB radio from the Barrie District Collegiate Institute auditorium. Seats had been free to the general public, to assist create a live performance ‘feel’ to the five-hour radio program donated by CKBB.
Listeners to the radio present had been inspired to name of their pledge in help of the flood victims. Lions Membership members with automobiles had been standing by at French Motors, dispatched to gather donations because the calls had been obtained.
The occasion was an incredible success, largely as a result of Barrie Collegiate Band, below the route of W.A. Fisher. Callers made particular requests of the orchestra in change for his or her donation, and, even when the band had by no means performed a specific tune earlier than, they rallied, giving a terrific efficiency and incomes many extra donations for his or her efforts.
The viewers was entertained by various performers together with the C.G.E. (Canadian Common Electrical) Barrie Works Glee Membership, the Lazy Valley Ranch Boys, Rhoda Younger’s monologues, Harold Dempsey and the Orillia Barbershop Refrain, Margaret and Marian Gough, Invoice Bell’s Liberace impersonation, and Toronto artist Artwork Talbot on the piano accompanying well-known Canadian TV and radio star blues singer Phyllis Marshall, granddaughter of Barrie resident Mrs. William Rolling.
Barrie’s personal pianist Lloyd Tufford accompanied singers Mr. and Mrs. John Sturgess. The present raised greater than $5,600 for the flood fund.
As we pause and keep in mind the good storm of 1954, know that the title ‘Hazel’ was retired and can by no means be used once more for an Atlantic tropical storm, as a result of vital lack of life and extreme harm within the Caribbean, Canada and the USA, brought on by Hurricane Hazel.
