Anten Mills 150 Years – By Brian Keyes
Alexander & Peacher Street (Streets that connect)
May 16, 2025 – Johnny Peacher was born in England and arrived in Canada in the early 1900s as part of an immigration wave of young people looking for work. He made his way to the small village of Anten Mills where he found a job with Lawrence Scott in 1928. Luella Wilson arrived on the scene as the new Mrs. Scott in 1929. As the newlyweds left on their honeymoon, Johnny was tasked with managing the store. An accepted procedure at that time was accepting fresh eggs from the farmers for payment of their groceries. When the Scott’s got home there were eggs everywhere as Johnny had gone a little overboard with this credit system! Johnny was a fixture in the store when kids were walking home from school and stopped for a treat. Mike Coughlin tells me he spent many days just ‘hanging out’ at the store with his friend Johnny. Mike has a portrait of Johnny Peacher in his coffee room at Double Door Art Studio.
Johnny worked and lived with the Scotts until they sold the store in 1974. Lawrence Scott and Johnny passed away in 1983. Luella passed away in 1991. The Scotts along with Johnny Peacher are properly buried together in the Minesing Cemetery.
When the Scott subdivision took shape in the 1960s/1970s, the 3 main streets were named Lawrence, Luella & John to honour the Scotts and Johnny Peacher. In 1994 John St. had to be renamed during the amalgamation as another street of the same name existed elsewhere in the new municipality of Springwater Township. With credit to an endeavour by Murray van Rassel, the street was renamed Peacher St. It is very symbolic that Peacher St (John St) connects Lawrence Ave/Luella Blvd, much the same as in life!
Samuel Alexander and Elizabeth Carson moved to Anten Mills in 1883. Before moving to the village Samuel had operated a teamster business in Barrie but was interested in the lumber industry so he came to work for the Anderson/Tennant sawmill. Alexander Street was named in honour of these residents and their home located at the SE corner of Alexander/Horseshoe remains one of the oldest homes in the village. When the mill closed the Alexanders moved to Manitoulin Island.
Alexander is the oldest street on the interior of Anten Mills and many names are associated with the street beyond Alexander. In the early years many small houses popped up on Alexander St to house workers at the Anderson/Tennant sawmill. There were also driving sheds to house teams of horses that worked at the mill. ‘Granny & Da’ Muir lived in a small house at 8 Alexander. The house is gone but the maple trees they planted are still there. Tom and Norrine Park built a new home at 7 Alexander. Norrine taught school at SS #11/14 and Tom was a local business man. Tom was better known as a leading tenor at the Stratford festival and a well known Irish Balladeer. Alexander ended just past Pineview intersection and the field beyond was home to the Anten Mills airport where Jim Fare landed and took off with his plane. This is now the extension of Ghibb Ave recently completed. One of the most famous features nearby is ‘The Gully’ which is a ravine west of the street behind the houses and before the railway line. This was the location where the local Methodist church held its annual Garden Party with live music and a buffet of salads, jellos, pies & cakes.
Alexander and Peacher Streets are small but important as they are the links that bind this community together.
ANTEN MILLS – by Dennis Gannon
May 16, 2025 – It happened, for a week at least. What happened? Spring like weather. Last week was a great reprieve from the cool, wet weather we have had this Spring. Lawns greened up, flowers were blooming and plants and seeds got into the ground. Unfortunately we are back to seasonal or below temperatures for a while again but we will soon be basking in sunshine and warm weather.
The Anten Mills 150 Celebration committee met this past week and ironed out some of the details for the event on Saturday, September 13. It will be an exciting day with kids activities, displays, food, entertainment and ending with fireworks. The committee will need assistance that day and a callout will be posted for volunteers. A variety show is being planned featuring our local talent. This is a perfect opportunity for up and coming artists to join us in celebrating our history. Often people are shy and just need a little prodding to get them to show their skills. Perhaps if parents or grandparents give the prod, we will have an outstanding show. Dancers, singers, magicians, musicians are welcomed. Send an email to antenmills150@gmail.com and help celebrate our 150.
When the school closed a reunion was held and many former students attended. According to the news article written about it, over 400 were in attendance. In the community centre there is on display a board which many of those former students signed. The 150 celebration is an opportunity for our community to reconnect with those who have moved away. Take the time to spread the word about this event with those you know who no longer live in the community and invite them to join us. Lots of information will be posted on the Anten Mills Community Bulletin Facebook page.
Congratulations go out to the Knotty Knitters on a new donation. At the library in Midhurst they hold a reading group for young children. The knitters knitted reading blankets and at the last session for this term, they were presented to the children. The knitters have been making significant contributions to a number of different organizations which are all greatly appreciated. They meet at the Anten Mills Community Centre on Tuesdays starting at 1PM and all are welcome.
Karis has confirmed that the annual Anten Mills wide garage sale is going to be held on Saturday, June 14. There is a signup page on the Facebook site so start planning your sale now.
At the end of the school year the Anten Mills Community Recreation Association has sponsored a Year End Ice Cream social for our elementary school students. Plans are underway for this year and details will be posted in the future.
If you want to celebrate this year’s graduates consider posting their success on the CRA signboard located along Wilson Dr. To find out details on how to get your notice on the board send an email to antenmillssign@gmail.com. Along with personal messages, business postings are also welcome.
Check out Brian’s article on some more local history and one of the original homes that still exist.
That’s all for this week. In the event of a postal disruption the paper will be delivered to those with rural mailboxes in the Anten Mills area. THANKS for READING, BE WELL and STAY SAFE.