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- This
column by John Cosway is a mix of 50 years of media memories
and 15 years of buying and selling experiences via live and online
auctions, flea markets, antique stores and markets etc.
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- Cosway's Corner -
Unique Ontario destinations
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- Three Ontario destinations with a twist
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- By John Cosway
- Summer drives on secondary roads
in Ontario can be leisurely, scenic and full of surprises for
adventurous motorists.
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- Three of our favourite discoveries
during summer treks along central and eastern Ontario roads are:
A preserved, British-American service station/auction house,
a haunting former air force training camp and a movie theatre/museum.
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- Yes, the high cost of gasoline
is lessening the appeal of leisurely drives, what with gas rumoured
to be heading for $1.50 a litre this summer - that's $6.82 a
gallon for die hard imperialists who refuse to adapt to the metric
system.
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- But these three experiences
are sure to add to your Ontario adventures story telling.
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- Stapleton's Auction Centre
- Hwy. 2, Newtonville
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 Most motorists driving by Frank and
Betty Stapleton's auction centre for the first time do a
double take. It's not every day you see a well-preserved British
American service station, towering signpost and all.
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- Believed to be the only restored
B/A station still standing in Canada, tourists from near and
far arrive in the quiet community, on Hwy. 2 between Port Hope
and Bowmanville, to view it, quiz Betty and Frank and snap photos.
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- The garage has occupied that
northeast corner (Hwy. 2 and Newtonville Mill Street) since Cecil
Burley opened Burley's Newtonville Garage in the 1920s. He
later handed the B/A over to his son, Harold, who stayed on into
the early 1960s.
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- Frank and Betty Stapleton grew
up in Newtonville, so the garage has been a part of their lives
since childhood.
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- "The B/A garage was quite
a site in those days," says Betty. "When Harold was
there, he sold Dodges and it was just beautiful to see them lined
up in front of the building, with the fins all lined up neatly.
It would have been '57 or '58. I was seven or eight, but that
stands out in my mind."
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- Betty says after Harold and
B/A pulled out in 1961 or 1962, the garage was rented over the
years and it was desperately in need of some TLC when they bought
it in 1980.
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- "The renters sure were
destroying it," says Betty. "When we bought the station,
its condition was deplorable. With a lot of elbow grease and
money, we got it back to a usable state and in the 1990s, we
returned it to its B/A glory."
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- The hoists were removed and
the pits, used to work under vehicles, were filled with sand
and covered with cement in time for the first Stapleton auction
in the garage on Dec. 6, 1980. The gathering of vintage B/A memorabilia
is ongoing.
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- Frank, an auctioneer since June
of 1971, used the nearby grist mill for sales until they bought
the garage. He and his family have devoted a lot of time and
energy in restoring the garage and their biggest reward is the
continuing interest of people from near and far.
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- "Almost every day, someone
stops to take pictures of the station," says Betty. "Yesterday,
someone from Saskatchewan was outside. We've been told this is
the only restored original B/A station in Canada. That we are
pretty positive about."
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- The former British American
service station has regained the admiration of locals and tourists
alike, thanks to their restoration efforts.
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- Getting there: 4532 Hwy.
2. If using Hwy. 401, exit at Newtonville Road, north to Hwy.
2, turn right and go east one block to Newtonville Mill Street.
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- Loch-Sloy Industrial Park
(Camp Picton) - Off Hwy. 33
 Few
properties in Ontario give passersby more of a Twilight Zone
feeling than the abandoned Camp Picton on a Picton hilltop, appropriately
tagged a ghost town.
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- Drive into the former Camp Picton
and, with a little imagination and some 1940s mood music, you
can transport yourself back in time to a hectic wartime pilot
training camp.
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- This is where a Royal Air Force
bombing and gunnery school opened in 1941 to prepare hundreds
of British pilots for unrelenting WW2 bombing raids in Europe.
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- While the locals in sleepy Picton
were often tiffed about the invasion of soldiers and the drinking
that went on in town, they knew the sacrifices these men would
endure.
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- Almost 70 years later, the numerous
structures on the sprawling site, now known as the Loch-Sloy
Industrial Park, eerily look much like they did when first built.
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- The realistic, wartime atmosphere
among the former hangars, mess halls and other green wood shake
siding buildings has attracted several movie and documentary
productions.
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- The unique Canadian landmark
suited the 1993 CBC Dieppe mini-series to perfection. It was
also used for Haven, a 2001 TV movie, starring Natasha Richardson,
Martin Landau and Colm Feore.
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- And it was the perfect setting
for Bomber Boys: The Fighting Lancaster, an acclaimed 2005 documentary
series that includes pilot training footage of grandsons of British
pilots trained there during WW2.
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- While the on-site post office
has long been closed, uses for the former RCAF/RAF buildings
are diverse: A gliding school for cadets, industrial businesses,
even the occasional auctions of Wayne Myatt in a former
mess hall.
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- It is a unique, visual road
trip experience.
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- Getting there: From Hwy.
33 in Picton, turn east onto Lake Street, proceed east to County
Road 22, turn left and you are on your way.
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- The Highlands Cinemas - Hwy.
121, Kinmount
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 There
are only a few hundred people living in Kinmount, a village noted
for Keith Stata's unique movie theatre and museum just
off Hwy. 121.
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- Talk about home theatre. That
is exactly what Keith decided on in 1979 - a 58-seat theatre,
built inside his new house where the family room should have
been.
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- The 300 or so locals were slow
to catch on to Keith's unique concept, but once they did, and
thousands of summertime cottagers did, the Highlands became a
must-do event.
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- Keith now has five theatres
at his home, screening first-run 16mm films. A varied collection
of century-old projectors and movie memorabilia occupy the museum.
- When the Highlands turns 30
next year, count on additional treats.
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- First time visitors to this
unique theatre can be forgiven for not finding it with ease.
It is tucked away in secluded bush. But the find is worth the
hunt.
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- Older moviegoers who remember
the grand old movie theatres, with their wide and deep- cushioned
seats, often comment on the comfy seats at the Highlands.
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- Keith was six when he set up
his first movie screenings in a woodshed, charging two cents
admission. Today, he's out of the woodshed and charging $5 and
up.
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- The lifelong movie addict and
construction business owner is a tireless collector of anything
to do with movies and theatres, with a keen interest in theatre
closures.
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- Keith says moviegoers in other
North American cities once occupied many of the 550 seats now
in his five theatres.
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- The Highlands is open from May
1 through Thanksgiving. Your theatre ticket also gets you into
the museum, or you can pay just to see the museum.
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- Getting there: 4131 Hwy.
121, driving north, it is on the left side of the highway just
past Rokeby Lumber.
Other articles by John Cosway
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