Canadian Northern Railway in Brooklin | Brooklin Heritage Society

The Canadian Northern Railway once brought rail traffic just north of Whitby, south of Brooklin. That all came to an end in the 1930’s, but numerous bits and pieces remain.

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At a recent coffee get-together, a few senior Brooklinites reminisced about Roy Ormiston, renowned Holstein breeder, and his farm that once stood on the east side of Baldwin Street where Tel-star Way and Chelmsford Drive are now located. The discussion ended with a question: “Whatever happened to Roy’s two giant cow paintings”?Harry Lade, a local artist who once owned Brooklin’s only sign gallery, painted the 10’ x 7’ cow portraits in 1953 on sheets of tin purchased from tinsmith Roy Delong who had a shop at 150 Baldwin Street, N.. Harry worked out of his converted barn studio on his Simcoe Street property. These iconic paintings hung on the exterior of Roybrook Farms’ barn year after year, greeting out of town travellers, and welcoming home residents. When Roy passed away in 2015, the paintings were sold to an unknown buyer at the Ormiston disbursement sale, never to be seen by Brooklinites again. Or so it was thought. Until the day in 2019 some locals excitedly discovered their whereabouts through a blog written by one of the owners of Our Lucky Stars Cafe in Warkworth, Ontario.Blog searchIn September 2013, Elizabeth Aikenhead, owner of Our Lucky Stars Cafe and Coffee Roaster at 16 Main Street in Warkworth, posted the blog looking for information on the cows and the name of the artist. Last year, the Brooklin Heritage Society was happy to provide them with the name. Trevor Spot, co-owner, had discovered the paintings outside Pot of Gold Antiques on Old Wooler Road. The antique shop’s proprietor, Mary Postar, didn’t know much about the paintings except that they had come from a barn somewhere around Oshawa. The original intent for Lucky Stars was to have a rotating art exhibition on its walls. But when they saw the wonderful cow paintings, they knew this is what they wanted. The cafe has never regretted the decision to buy them as they’ve become a huge part of the Cafe’s culture and are very popular with customers.Return to Brooklin?Since this came to light, several Brooklinites who recognized the paintings have driven to Warkworth just to look at them. The owners would like to have brass plaques mounted on the frames and welcome any information about the subjects. The cafe is currently for sale and the Brooklin Heritage Society has asked that if the new owners are willing to part with them, the Society would like to bring them home to Brooklin. Add your voice to the BHS request by contacting the cafe.A lingering question about one painting remains: In it, a bull on the right has horns, but so does the cow on the left. Cafe customers are asking if this is correct.You can let them know: info@ourluckystars.caThank you to Marilyn Hill for bringing this fabulous find to our attention! ☺️ ... See MoreSee Less

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