Bill Warnica Collection



A collection of images donated by Bill Warnica


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Westman Home in Tollendal
Photo of the Westman family summer home in Tollendal, lot 13 concession 14, which was rebuilt after the original log home was destroyed by fire on 1 November 1928. This photo dates to either the 1930s or 1940s and shows a number of evergreen trees, a rounded driveway, three stone chimneys and wood siding. The home belonged Ethel "May" Westman (née Pugsley) and her husband Albert Cohoe, and then to Jack Westman and his wife Frances "Fran" Crooks and their daughters Beverly, Janet, and Valerie.
Westman Home in Winter
Photo of the octagonal house located at the mouth of Lover's Creek on the east side. This was the first permanent home of the Westman family in Innisfil. Originally built by Alexander Sibbald, and later sold to William Mitchell of Mitchell Boat Works. William's widow Mary and son Clarence sold to John "Jack" Westman, who purchased the house in 1946 through Veteran's Affairs after leaving the Air Force at the end of WWII. Jack and his wife Frances "Fran" and their three daughters Beverly, Janet, and Valerie had formerly lived in Ottawa for Jack's administrative job in the Air Force. The photo was taken during winter and shows a number of large icicles hanging from the roof of the house. This photo was given to Bill Warnica by Jack Westman's daughters Beverly, Janet, and Valerie.
Westman Mink Farm
Photo of the three mink pens on the Westman property in Tollendal in the winter of 1949-50. The unique octagonal house is visible in the background. Owner Jack Westman originally started a small mink operation with one shed before expanding to three sheds in 1949. Jack and his wife Fran worked this labour-intensive job for many years feeding, breeding, harvesting, and selling minks. They were able to pelt approximately one thousand mink per year, with larges ranches being able to reach around 2,800 per year. A bout of distemper among the mink hit the Westman farm particularly hard, but even after a vaccine had been developed it was costly and difficult to inoculate each mink. The property pictured is located on what is now known as Cox Mill Road. This photo was given to Bill Warnica by Jack Westman's daughters Beverly, Janet, and Valerie.
Westman's Marina
Photo of the Westman Marina, which Jack Westman created in 1960 after selling his mink farm in 1959. As a response to the increase of pleasure boats in Kempenfelt Bay, Jack decided to build a marina. He dredged the silt out of the creek next to his mink farm, and used the remains of the mink houses to build 50 boat slips. The land formerly occupied by the mink buildings became a parking lot for boat owners, and the fill dredged from the creek was left to dry and later used to create a new road into Westman's Marina from Tollendal Road. This photo was given to Bill Warnica by Jack Westman's daughters Beverly, Janet, and Valerie.
William Robert Warnica
Photo of William Robert "Bob" Warnica (22 December 1865 - 22 September 1939) reclining in a folding chair. Bob was the son of George Frederic Hanning Warnica (1837-1915). Bob was married to Jean (née Loudon, 28 August 1884 - 13 May 1964).
William Robert Warnica and Gertrude Quantz
Photo of William Robert "Bob" Warnica ( and his sister Gertrude Quantz (née Warnica) sitting on the steps of the home built by their father, George Frederic Hanning Warnica (known as Hanning, 1837-1915). The house was located on the south half of lot 13, concession 13 of Innisfil, or what is today 504 Big Bay Point Road. The house was later home to Bert and Barb McCracken.
William Robert Warnica and Jean Loudon Warnica
Photo of Jean Warnica (née Loudon, 28 August 1884 - 13 May 1964) and her husband William Robert "Bob" Warnica (22 December 1865 - 22 September 1939) standing side by side for a photo taken outdoors. Jean is wearing a floral printed dress and hat and Bob is wearing a wool coat and suit.
Yellow Roof Cabins
Postcard of Yellow Roof Cabins, a cabin rental business that had been located at what is today 188 Burton Avenue in Barrie, formerly in Innisfil. The photo shows a larger house on the left with a series of small cabins in the centre and background, and a gasoline pump on the right. A sign on the far left reads "Yellow Roof Cabins" followed by "running water" and "showers". The business started sometime in the late 1930s or early 1940s by Herman Osborn, a Barrie alderman who sold eventually sold to his brother-in-law Vic Church (through marriage to his wife Edna Church) in 1947. They had a gas station, which sold White Rose gas, a service station and rented cabins in the back. Vic also implemented the sale of farm implements from the site. The business eventually turned over to Vic's son Russell, who ran it for many years. Following Herman's divorce from Edna, he bought the partially finished Clansman Lodge in Big Bay Point from Allan Warnica, on the southeast corner of the 14th line and 30th sideroad. He ran that with his girlfriend and later wife, Lenore Waghorn (née Whitney) until it burned down in December 1955. Yellow Roof Cabins was sold for development and Russ Church moved the farming implement business to the 7th line, where it is still in operation as of 2019.
Yonge Street in 1966
View of Highway 11/Yonge Street in 1966, directly in front of Kingsmount/Kenney's Service Station. The photo shows the service station level with the highway, which was later graded down almost twenty feet in the 1970s, which left the station high above the main road. The photo also shows a small boat on the grass between the road and station lot, an older style pickup truck, and a Supertest gasoline sign, as well as trees and a field across the street. Photo credit to Wendy (Corner) Gould.

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