As a lot of you know when I moved to Bradford proper, I was 15 years old and right off the farm.
That year, I started a five-year career of cutting lawns in summers and shovelling snow in winter.
I was asked to go to 197 Barrie St. to see about a new client who wanted their lawn cut. Not familiar with a lot of places I headed up Barrie Street looking for the house.
I found it on the east side of the road: a beautiful, large, salmon brick home with a wrap-around veranda.
Going up to the door I knocked and waited for a reply from within. The door opened and there was a very handsome man who had the look of someone who could have been in the services for his country. He asked if I was available to do the job of keeping the grounds looking good over the summer. I gladly took on the job. That man was Murray Stroud.
At the end of the first month, I again knocked at the front door. This time it was opened by a very classy looking lady; well made up with nice attire. She introduced herself to me as Mrs. Stroud. Through the time working for The Strouds I learned a bit about the family.
At this time in my story, I digress to the 1800s when Mark Scanlon Jr., barrister and solicitor, built and lived in the finest home in Bradford.
He and his wife Amelia had four children. One daughter, Olive, was born in 1878. She married William Henry Lee in 1898. In the Toronto Sunday World Paper of Oct. 9, 1898, there was a extensive account of the wedding of Olive in the society column. It even made note of the gift given by Col. Richard Trywitt, whom I spoke of in a previous story. It also mentioned that Mark and his wife gave the happy couple the entire furnishings to use in the Bijou mansion on Church Street Toronto where they spent time between Bradford and Toronto.
Now back to the Strouds.
James Murray Stroud was born Aug. 30, 1916 in Hamilton, Ontario and married (Friday July 25, 1947) a local Bradford girl, Miss Elizabeth Lee, born April 19, 1906. “Betty” was the grand-daughter of Mark and Amelia Scanlon.
Wing Commander J.M. Stroud was an RCAF pilot who joined in the early '40's to fight in the Second World War. He flew Lancaster bombers. His training was done at Camp Borden.
Betty met Murray in England during the war when she was with the Canadian Red Cross where she drove truck!
When the war was over and Betty returned to Bradford the Union Jack was flying over the wrap-around veranda at 197 Barrie St.
Betty's mother purchased Britannia Farms in Bradford in 1930. It consisted of the farmhouse and barns and 197 Barrie St. where the Lees lived, renting out the farmhouse. It was where the Lions Park is and encompassed the land from 197 Barrie to the 8th Concession to the north and east to the train tracks. It was passed to Betty Stroud and she sold it in the 1980s to a developer. It is now known as the Britannia Avenue subdivision.
Britannia Farm was always the Stroud's “home base,” no matter where they were, they always came back there.
Unbeknownst to Murray for over 30 years was the fact that Betsy was 10 years older than he! Women sure can keep secrets.
They had a daughter, Linda-Lee (Sept. 14, 1950).
After retiring from the services in 1965, Murray joined CARA (airline food suppliers) and Emergency Measures Organization.
The Strouds welcomed a first grandchild into the family on Jan. 24 1982, when Lindy and her husband presented Sarah Elizabeth, a delight to the entire family.
Sadly, Murray suffered a heart attack and passed away at 67 years old (1983). It was a real shock to the family.
Murray joked that he wanted to be cremated and his ashes sprinkled over Camp Borden.
When he died, Betty and Lindy thought maybe he wasn't joking so they got permission from the General and he got his final wish.
Shortly after Murray's death, Betty felt she needed to move on so she sold her holdings in Bradford in 1985 and moved to Toronto.
Lindy and her husband gave Betty another granddaughter, Shannon Lee, on Feb. 14, 1986.
On Dec. 18, 1989 Betty Lee Stroud passed away of a heart attack, leaving a story for the historians of today. She is interred with her family, the Lees, at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Toronto.
Lindy and family now live in London, Ontario.
