Wayback Wednesday, sponsored by Jamie Lockwood, broker/owner of Sutton Group Muskoka Realty!
House at 4 Fairy Avenue, Huntsville, Ontario. Walter Johns stands in front of the doorway. The year is 1975.
This photo was donated by David Johns to the Huntsville Public Library. The house, built in 1901, is said to have been wood framed, 900 square feet, with a poured cement foundation. It was built in a very wet and swampy area, and the basement would sometimes flood even with a sump pump running. It was poorly insulated, so the snow on the roof never had to be shovelled; it melted quickly, and giant icicles would form.
Owned by Ran Jupp in 1939, the house was heated mainly by wood and had a massive cast iron furnace taking up all of the basement. It also had a cook stove in the rear kitchen. Walter and Edna Johns rented the house from 1944 to the late 1980s. That’s when the house and the garage beside it were demolished to make way for a mini-mall. M&M Meats was the first store to open on May 11th, 1990.
Do you have interesting photos to share of days gone by? We’d love to see them! Email: [email protected]
See more Wayback Wednesday photos HERE.
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How many of us grew up in houses that looked pretty much like that? The home my parents built was 20×30 and what was called a storey and a half. In the late 40’s after my uncle returned from overseas, he and my aunt lived in the front half of the house while my parents and I lived in the back.
When they left, my cousin, his wife and two kids lived in the upstairs apartment my Dad built for them. At one point there the 5 of my family plus the 5 of Russel’s family all living in that house.
Ten people in less than 1,000 sq ft of space and yet we all seemed to have room to learn and grow. Lots of modern homes have that square footage of living/dining area. More than is needed as a lot of us can attest to.
Had many good years growing up in this house. Besides my two loving parents, I miss Jim Millest the Milkman delivering with his horse and wagon. Doug Scott snow plowing the sidewalks with his horse until 1959. Funny putting this photo in this time, January 27, 2025, the Town Council is once again, thrashing over Pitman’s Bay Camp. Walter devoted a huge amount of his life to the Camp starting in 1951 as he was a Scoutmaster for many years. I was lucky to tag along with him down on Mary Lake, one of the most beautiful places on Earth.