Seemed like a good idea at the time - Glimpses of the Past with Karen Webster
It was one of those “kill two birds with one stone” ideas: take each elementary-aged school student in Huron County, have each one contribute a brick, and the rest would be easy. The year was 1932 and a Colborne Township Councillor by the name of Harry McCreath was enthusiastic about bringing attention to the gravesite of the area’s founder, Dr. William “Tiger” Dunlop. Dunlop’s tomb, as well as that of several other early pioneers, was sited on a knoll on the land known as Gairbraid, Dunlop’s estate. At that time, the tomb was not very accessible, with a steep hill to the south and, from 1907 on, a rail line to the north.
In February of 1932, the newly-elected councillor from Colborne Township approached Huron County Council with the idea of erecting a hillside sign. He requested the co-operation of the county’s reeves to promote this venture. It was Harry’s idea to erect a hillside sign, made of whitewashed bricks, that could be seen from Goderich. The letters were to be 12 feet high (though some accounts say eight or 10 feet) and would spell out “DUNLOP’S TOMB”. Perhaps the idea of this edifice came from the famed Hollywood sign, with 50-foot-high letters, that had been erected in California in 1923.
Just who was Harry McCreath? His resume included time as a member of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. As a married man with two children who was employed as a grocery clerk, he enlisted in March of 1916 and saw action in France, spent many months in hospital and was invalided home in March of 1917. Post-wartime, Harry became a farmer, living in Colborne Township. He entered politics and for many years was a township councillor there. In addition, he was superintendent of the Colborne Cemetery and an elder at Knox Presbyterian Church, Goderich.
He had a fascination with historical items and this sparked an affinity with Herbert Neill, the first curator of the Huron County Museum. In fact, much of the county’s original historical collection was donated by Herb Neill. Harry’s grandson, Bruce, recalls that Harry would often take his car and trailer and be off on a trip with Herbie (Neill) to pick up yet another treasure for the museum’s collection. In 1960, Huron County Council appointed Harry McCreath as Assistant Curator of the Huron County Museum with a salary of $100 per annum.
In the 1930s, Harry had dismantled a log house in Hullett Township that his wife, May, had taken a fancy to, and drew it to Saltford, piece by piece, reassembling it on the bank of the Maitland River. At one time, the entry to an iron bridge that crossed the Maitland River was entered from downtown Saltford. If one were to look southward at the east end of that bridge, one would see, on lovingly maintained grounds, an overshot waterwheel with the word “TIME” beside it. This was one of Harry’s many creations. It is significant that Harry erected his log house near the site of the first salt well in Huron County.
In June of 1932, Harry’s dream of creating a Dunlop sign started to take shape. Harry himself had estimated that it would require 2,800 bricks to complete the project and he posited that each elementary school student could bring one brick for the sign. When school children arrived at the tomb’s site, they were greeted by Councillor McCreath who told the story of Tiger Dunlop and the founding of Goderich. Saltford School, the closest one to the tomb, had the honour of using their bricks to spell out the letter “D”. Only 20 East Wawanosh students, mainly from SS#13 (Scott’s) school, attended the site and placed their bricks on the letter “U”. Stone School in Morris Township also took part in laying bricks with their teacher, Viola McLeod, as did SS#1 Port Albert school, arriving in their teacher, Eunice Long’s car.
Several other schools also heeded the call, such as those from SS#1 and SS#6 in Goderich Township. After each child laid their brick to help form letters, they enjoyed a picnic, those of SS#1 at Menesetung Park and the ones of SS#6 at Harbour Park. The afternoon was spent in games, races, time on the swings and scrambles for peanuts and candy. Supper was served in the pavilion with some parents assisting and everyone was treated to an ice cream cone to finish off the day.
Even though much publicity took place announcing this project, and indeed several schools did take part, no evidence could be found in a recent search of publications to indicate that this project was ever completed. There are no photos, no postcards, nor any write-ups to chronicle the existence of such a sign. Several local historians have been queried about the “Dunlop’s Tomb” sign and each reported that they are unaware of such a landmark. So, the question is, was this brick sign ever completed? Are there still bricks hidden under the vegetation on the south slope below the tomb of Tiger Dunlop? Hopefully, this mystery will be solved in the future.
When you think of it, a giant sign proclaiming the site of William Dunlop’s tomb really was a clever idea, one that people would have expected of a man like Harry McCreath.
This column is the result of a story told to me by my late father, Rod McKenzie, who had said that as an eight-year-old, he placed one of the bricks.