William David Winter was eleven years old when he began an apprenticeship of constructing dry stone walls in England. As a young man he taught himself to read and write and in the mid 1800’s arrived in Canada and began constructing stone foundations for bridges, barns and homes as well as complete masonry projects for private and public clients.
Following in his footsteps Gard Winter who lived in Pickering Ontario and his brother Richard formed a masonry company and completed a wide range of projects in the area. The stone work at Red Wing Orchards, Windfield Farms, the Robert McLaughlin Library, Northminster United Church in Oshawa, Orono United Church, Whitby Legion and many other residential, commercial and institutional projects are still evident in the Durham Region today. Of special interest is a letter in the family archives written by the King thanking Gard and Dick for the completion of a custom fireplace built in France during the war for a special Royal family visit.
William D. Winter carried on the family tradition of stone work in 1945 eventually taking ownership of the company in 1948 with his wife Helen. The focus of their company became general construction. Projects included construction of Drew Chemical plant in Ajax, numerous projects at DuPont Whitby and Ajax and additions to Federal Packaging also in Ajax. As well there were numerous original buildings for Gus Brown Motors, Owasco, Nurse Chevrolet, Stokley Van Camp (Cobi Foods), Lofthouse Brass, roads garages for Towns of Whitby & Orono, Whitby PUC on Taunton Road, Totten Sims Hubicki Associates on Hopkins Street, building of Brougham, Cloverlane and Hilltop Public Schools, additions to St. John the Evangelist Catholic School in Whitby and Firehalls in Brooklin and Pickering. Before retirement in 1987 Brown Brothers Funeral Home in Cooksville was completed along with a science wing addition, many specialty projects and refurbishments at what was the Ontario Ladies College, now Trafalgar Castle School.
In 1978 son-in-law Neil Smith joined Winvalley Construction and took over the helm in 1987 with his wife Catherine. Neil (President) is a graduate of Waterloo University and Catherine (Secretary/Treasurer) a graduate of University of Western Ontario and Toronto Teacher’s College. |
1938 - Gard and Dick Winter - Building of the Whitby Legion
|
