{"id":12890,"date":"2016-03-31T11:21:08","date_gmt":"2016-03-31T15:21:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/huntsville.dopperonline.ca\/?p=12890"},"modified":"2018-10-01T13:20:09","modified_gmt":"2018-10-01T17:20:09","slug":"tales-of-a-time-gone-by-david-johns-brings-old-huntsville-back-to-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/tales-of-a-time-gone-by-david-johns-brings-old-huntsville-back-to-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Tales of a time gone by: David Johns brings old Huntsville back to life"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every week, I will be profiling an extraordinary human being who lives in our community. If you know someone who is doing something interesting with their life, I want to hear about it. Send me an email at <\/strong><\/em>laura.maclean@doppleronline.ca<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

It might have something to do with being born in 1945.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was born at the right time,\u201d says 70-year-old local history buff David Johns, who is also the author behind Pathways to Highways <\/em>and Pathways to Highways Volume 2. <\/em><\/p>\n

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The books, which feature some great history and stories, not to mention photographs, bring a time gone by back into focus when it comes to Huntsville\u2019s first roads as well as the booming automotive industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cI loved Huntsville in the 50s and 60s. I was a youngster back then. I remember walking to Huntsville Public School and the blacksmiths would be shoeing horses and the roads were still being plowed by horses and buggies. Everybody walked. No one drove because they couldn\u2019t afford to. You knew the store owners, so you couldn\u2019t get away with anything. It was a great Huntsville. It was such a different time.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was the beginning of an era that introduced a lot of change to our town. The war was over. Pathways were becoming paved roadways and technology was enhancing the automotive industry. There were more radios in households than televisions. If you had to get somewhere, chances were you walked. Back then, says David, there was a whole different vibe going on in town. People were a lot friendlier. Store owners went out of their way to say hello to passersby. Kids walked to school by themselves. Everybody knew one another on a first-name basis.<\/p>\n

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In Volume 2 of Pathways to Highways, there are some photos of David as a young boy. Huntsville was an amazing town to grow up in, David will tell you.<\/p><\/div>\n

David was born and raised in Huntsville and had a unique upbringing in the sense that much of his childhood was spent around cars. His father worked at a local garage and from a young age he was surrounded by mechanics. Back then, dashboards were a real work of art. There was a lot to look at and a lot of play with. Old cars broke down all over the place, says David, and the wrecker boys had to know where to go. David would jump at the opportunity to go with them.<\/p>\n

Every Sunday, if the weather was fair, David and his two older brothers and their dad went for a drive.<\/p>\n

\u201cI loved it in the backseat,\u201d he recalls. I can tell he truly enjoyed his childhood by the excitement in his voice when he tells me his stories. \u201cAnd that\u2019s how I got to know Muskoka and Lake of Bays. The roads were terrible. Cars took a beating. I\u2019d say we\u2019re pretty lucky today.\u201d<\/p>\n

He can tell you all about Huntsville\u2019s first car dealerships and how many garages were operating and who owned them. He knows about the area\u2019s first roads and watched the ongoing process of expansions and improvements. In his first book, he pays tribute to local automotive pioneers like Seth Grimes and Percy Mulveney.<\/p>\n

David even got to witness the last steam train departing from the train station.<\/p>\n

\u201cA huge change was in 1959, when the bypass opened. You didn\u2019t have everyone coming through town anymore. As soon as it started, garages and gas stations were gone\u2026 I\u2019m talking 15 or 16 gas stations gone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t\t