Family Recollections

By jochuk

  • Wilber and Mary lived in Ostrander until 1914

    on a farm, for the first 6 years of their marriage. Dorothy Don and Ila were born there.

  • Wilber & Mary built a house in Dereham Twp

    the old farmhouse on the property was occupied by Fred Pitman's family, Wilber hired Fred to help - the farm produced milk for making cheese.

  • Wilber & Mary moved to the Tillson Farm

    Wilber managed it for 5 years, 482 acres. He established a purebred Holstein herd of 80-100 head. They were sold at auction every 2 yrs. Mary made coffee and hundred's of sandwiches for the auction. Wilber sold the milk by ladling it from the 8 gallon milk jugs into customer's own containers. Wilber's hired man Fred Pitman, bought the farm after he returned from WWI.

  • Wilber sold the farm to Fred Pitman

    after Fred returned from WWI

  • Wilber & Mary move to Bidwell St, Tillsonburg, until 1926

    315 Bidwell. Wilbur established a dairy in the basement there. Horse drawn wagons carried the 80 gallon milk cans. Shortly after, glass bottles were introduced that were machine filled and capped.

  • Wilber and Don moved to Scarborough Junction

    They left Mary and the girls in Tillsonburg for a time. The previous tenants, the Craigs, were still there when Wilber and Don arrived. It was an 84 acre farm at Birchmount Rd and St Clair Ave, owned by Dr. Palmer, who wanted Wilber to buy it. But times were hard and Wilber didn't really want to own land. Wilber sold milk to a Mr Pattison, but he only wanted some of it. Dorothy's comment is that "Times were tough. Dad had to start all over again"

  • Mary and her daughters move to Scarborough Junction

    They traveled by train, Mary had to ask how to find the streetcar to get to the end of Danforth Ave. Don and Wilber drive the truck over rutted muddy roads to pick them up at the end of the line. The farmhouse had no electricity and no running water. Dorothy, Don, Maida and Marion milked the cows. Ila had a job picking strawberries for the school principal. And everyone weeded.

  • The Steven family managed the farm

    while Wilber and Mary were at the Craig farm for a year in the 1930's, John Mowat and Margaret lived at the Birchmount Rd and St Clair Ave farm.

  • Wilber & Mary move to the Craig Farm for a year in the 1930's

    Mr. Paulger of Blantyre dairy was buying all of Wilber's milk and wanted more, so he moved to the Craig Farm. It was at Birchmount Rd and Danforth Ave. When Blantyre Dairy stopped but Wilber's milk, he sold raw milk to his customers.

  • Ila & John lived at 163 Glenmount Ave, Toronto

    it was too expensive

  • Ila & John moved to 1050 Woodbine Ave, Toronto

  • Wilber & Mary lived at 40 Epsom St, Toronto, until 1947

  • Dorothy & Harold lived at 2960 Danforth Rd, Toronto

    in the Apt. above the Dairy, until Nov 1946

  • Wilber starts his own Dairy in Toronto

    When selling directly to his customers became more profitable, Wilber heard of a vacant dairy, Dominion, on Dawes Rd north of Eglinton Ave., that was available for rent. There he bought milk from other farmers, pasteurized it and sold it to their customers, until he had the materials necessary to build the dairy at 2960 Danforth Ave. Don worked with him there. He then bought Boyd's Silvercrest Dairy which was facing bankruptcy and renamed it Prouse's Silvercrest Dairy.

  • Wilber & Mary moved to the apt above the Dairy at 2960 Danforth Rd, Toronto

  • Wilber's retirement

    he sold the dairy to Donald's Dairy. He and Mary continued to live in the apartment above the dairy until 1971