Three familiar names will be honoured in Bradford West Gwillimbury’s newest parks.
At its Oct. 4 meeting council agreed to name a new park in Bond Head after James Allan Horner and two parks in Bradford after the Lotto family and Antonio Gabriel Pinto, respectively.
Horner Park will be constructed northwest of County Road 88 and County Road 27 on property currently being developed into a subdivision. That property was once owned by Horner and the dedication had been formally requested by his son, Shawn.
The elder Horner was a lifelong resident of the community, growing up on a family farm located at the corner of Line 10 and Sideroad 5. As an adult, he purchased 89 acres in Bond Head that operated as a beef and dairy farm.
He had designs on developing the farm before his death in 1996, wanting to see it evolve into an estate lot subdivision. That vision is only now being realized through the new neighbourhoods being constructed in Bond Head.
“This property was once a part of our father’s legacy,” Shawn Horner wrote in his request to council. “My family has fond memories of working side by side with him during the hay seasons and enjoying picnic meals surveying this beautiful property during those long summer days.”
Horner was also an auctioneer and was well-known throughout central Ontario, with Mayor Rob Keffer recalling how popular the monthly auctions at the Horner barn were in their day.
The Lotto family will be honoured in the new Bradford east subdivision in Green Valley, close to their roots in the Holland Marsh.
The family arrived from Italy in the 1930s, settling in the marsh and establishing C. Lotto and Sons.
As local business owners, the Lottos employed many residents of Bradford West Gwillimbury throughout the years and were regular sponsors of local teams and causes. They also gave their time during numerous volunteer efforts and community events during the past 80-plus years, including relief during the aftermath of Hurricane Hazel.
Lotto Park will be on the east side of Tiberini Way.
Pinto Park is already open but has been nameless since completion earlier in 2022.
The new park at Miller Park Avenue and Angela Street will be named after Pinto, a Portuguese immigrant who first arrived in Canada in the 1960s.
Pinto and his family settled in Bradford, first working at a local farm and packing plant. Their greatest impact on the community would be when Pinto realized his dream and started a successful business in Chico’s Collision Centre, a fixture in Bradford for nearly 40 years.
Pinto was also an active member of the Portuguese Cultural Centre and Holy Martyrs of Japan Church.
“This is a good start, to recognize some of our deeply rooted, highly valued family names,” said Coun. Peter Dykie. “I’m glad to see that we’ll continue this path of recognizing different families.”
What connects all three new parks is that the families were all hard-working members of the community that were essential to its development in the latter half of the 20th century. The honour was fitting, the mayor said.
“It’s a way we can acknowledge the contributions these families made to the Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury,” Keffer said.
