VINTAGE VAUGHAN: Hwy. 7 excavation
Yorkregion.com
Dec. 3, 2015
This image is of Hwy. 7 excavation from the corner of Lansdowne Street, 1930.
The Great Depression was one of the most significant events of the 20th century. People lost their savings, their jobs and their property. As an agriculture-based local economy, with many of life's necessities produced on local farms, Vaughan was not quite as hard hit as the nation's urban areas. Nevertheless, its people felt the Depression's impact, with the situation growing so grim by the early 1930s that Township Council was compelled to implement a welfare system for providing money, food and clothes to residents who were unable to support themselves (at this time, there were no social welfare programs in Canada). The emphasis for assistance was families, particularly children. Vaughan Council was very innovative and responsive to the needs of the community, and even managed to secure various large-scale make-work projects from the federal government. Highway #7 was one such project; constructed in 1930-31, it provided much-needed local employment, as well as an excellent transportation route.
