Gordon Crapper, Former Mayor of the Town of Meaford
Note – Gord Crapper had a long relationship with the Town of Meaford, and was interested in preserving the stories from behind the scenes. He often wrote articles for the local papers, and the following story, written by Gord, was found in his files by his children after his death. In typical Gord-like fashion, there were instructions on the back of this story that it was to be submitted to the local paper posthumously. Gord passed away on Saturday August 20, 2016.
Gord was born in Toronto on July 29, 1926. He was the son of Florence and Chris Crapper and had one sister, Barbara who lives in Meaford. Gord attended Forest Hill Village High School in Toronto and after a short stint in the army, he enrolled in the University of Toronto where he graduated in 1948. Following graduation he worked for the Toronto Board of Trade for five years.
Meaford became a focal point of Gord’s life. His first trip to Georgian Bay was in a basket in the back of his parents’ car. They stayed at the Doran farm on the 7th line in Meaford and later built one of the first cottages at Sunnyside Beach. Gord’s father Chris loved fishing (although not Gord!) and the two spent many hours in the boat trolling for lake trout.
Gord met his wife, Roberta Dick at Sunnyside Beach in Meaford on August 5, 1944, and they married on June 28, 1950 in Welland, Roberta’s hometown. They were to be married a week earlier, but Roberta’s father succumbed to a heart attack a week before the big day, and plans had to be changed.
In 1955 Gord and Roberta moved to Meaford permanently so Gord could manage Paul’s Hotel, which was purchased by his father after the war. The recreational fishing business in the town was quite vibrant in those days and that brought guests to the hotel. But the winter months were slow so Gord reached out to ski clubs interested in weekend trips and filled the hotel with skiiers.
Sadly, on a cold Saturday night in the winter of 1960, the hotel was destroyed by fire, with the kids being rescued from a second floor balcony by our volunteer fire fighters. They might have arrived sooner, but when Gord picked up the phone to call them, Betty Dunkleman, the operator, thought he was pulling her leg. She giggled, told him to go back to the Saturday night party he was well-known for hosting, and hung up on him!
The hotel business fostered Gord’s interest in the Chamber of Commerce and in 1973 he was elected president. That was the same year Meaford was getting ready for its Centennial Year and he managed to get a Centennial Grant from the Federal Government for some repairs to the Opera House in the Town Hall, including painting the ceiling, walls and back stage area and installing a new heating system.
The Opera House earned a reputation as a venue for high school plays. The actors would often sign their names on the walls along with the names of the plays they were in, and the dates of the performances. It was realized that painting the back stage would erase a significant part of the Opera House’s history, so Gord and his good pal Fred Doran, copied all the names for preservation. Later that same year Gord ran the plebiscite that permitted beer and wine to be served with meals in restaurants during Centennial Year.
Gord became interested in politics and was elected Deputy Reeve in 1975. Four years later, he was elected Mayor, serving in that capacity for a total of 13 years. He was the longest serving mayor in Meaford’s history. He felt that every community had a star attraction, and that Meaford’s star was its harbour. He first talked Council into purchasing a large apple storage building about where the Rotary Pavilion now is. (It was later destroyed by fire.) Next he went after the federal government for a new harbour, not an easy task. But after a couple of years and a trip to Ottawa with Iris Shakell, Al Richardson and Graham Shaw, Meaford got its new harbour at a cost of $2.2 million. Meaford’s cost – zilch.
Gord had an almost two year battle with the owners of the former Globe Mills building next to the Bighead River. It was pretty well destroyed by fire and the owner refused to clean it up. After a court case, the town won. The owner was ordered to clear the site and the town was awarded costs.
In the eighties, Amerock, the town’s largest employer at that time, needed more room for expansion. Gord was able to annex 30 acres of land from the township and the friendly annexation was done without the usual fighting.
Like most new members of Council, Gord was first made Chairman of the Fire Committee and continued with this interest throughout his years on Council. The old firehall was – and still is- a beautiful building. It was built in 1887 at a cost of $2,500. It housed two trucks including the Old Maple Leaf (now used for parades) plus a new machine that cost $4,000. The Old Maple Leaf was heavy in the rear end, and had trouble making turns on the way to a fire. In fact, if the volunteer firemen didn’t weigh the front end down by cramming into the cab, it wouldn’t turn on command, which made getting to a fire as nerve-wracking as fighting it once they arrived!
A new hall was built in 1985 but not without trouble. It was to be a four vehicle, two bay building that attached to the rear of the old hall, and therein was the trouble. At one council meeting, the better part of an hour was spent over the “addition” to the old hall. The people weren’t against a new fire hall. It was messing around with the old hall that concerned them.
Today, with the entrance to the Meaford Hall to the east of the building, it’s hard to say who was right. Incidentally, the new hall was built at a cost of $119,175.
Gord helped organize the first Business Improvement Area in the town and was responsible for planting the original trees along the main street. Gord served on the Meaford Police Commission and was President of the Meaford Housing Committee (Godfrey Apartments). He was a long time member of the Parks Board. While a member of Grey County Council, he was elected Chairman of the Social and Family Services Committee and was a Director of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario.
Gord was the father of four children: Christopher, David (Elizabeth Roscoe), Michael (Janice Snowie) and Mary Margaret (Tony Currie), and grandfather to five Crappers – Jacqueline, Mark, Claire, Michael, and Ally; and Tyler and Kyle Currie.
