Alan Edward Lawrence Maughan 1896 - 1986
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Alan Edward Lawrence Maughan was born 10-Aug-1896 in Toronto, Ontario. He died in October 1986 in Oakville, Ontario and is buried at the Maple Leaf Cemetery in Chatham, Ontario. At the date of his mother Eleanor's death in 1926 he was living at 31 Manor Road East, Toronto (the original house no longer exists). Married Greta Fay McDougall on 21-Oct-1922. Al attended school until Grade 8. He started his working life right after as a 'gopher' for the Office Specialty Manufacturing Company Ltd. at 97-103 Wellington St. W. in Toronto. This job included a one-day trip every week to their factory in Newmarket, Ontario to deliver orders and collect the Toronto employees' pay for the week. He would take the Yonge streetcar to its northern terminus above Davenport, transfer to the York Radial Railway to continue up Yonge St. past Aurora east to Newmarket. However while he was working he did attend night school and he received his high school matriculation. Al then took a job in the accounts department at the Canada Life Assurance Company circa 1915. He also joined the Governor General's Horse Guard that were stationed at the Coluseum on the Exhibition Gorunds in 1917. He told a story that if he was going to 'pile it here and pile it there' he would rather be a pilot, and so he applied. He had difficulty passing the eye test, but after memorizing the colour chart and passing on his third attempt he was accepted into the Royal FLying Corps. Once he completed his training, he was promoted to Captain and became the pilot instructor at Camp Borden. He crashed three times; apparently with little damage on the first two. The third carsh was when flying from Camp Borden to Toronto when mechanical trouble forced a landing. During the landing he hit a stump fence and wrecked the plane and his back. This incident happened in plane 1313 on 13-August-1918, and since he survived he decided 13 had to be his lucky number. After recovering at Sunnybrook Hospital (which was downtown back then) and being discharged, he returned to working at Canada Life. By the time their offices had moved to the new building on University Avenue, he was the Chief Accountant. In October 1943, the family moved to Aurora, Ontario and he continued to commute to Toronto on the Grey Coach Line bus, but found it to be too time-consuming so he resigned in 1944 after 29 years. He took that summer off to build a barn on the farm in Aurora so his son Larry could have a horse and son Mike could raise chickens. In the fall of 1944 he bought the insurance business of Mr. Walton located on Yonge St. in Aurora and moved it to the front of the main floor with Lorne Lee's law office in the rear. Mr. Lee may have owned the building. He added a real estate office and in 1946 also became a ticket agent for the Canadian National Railway and Air Canada. In 1953 the business was not thriving, so he sold the insurance clients to an agent in Toronto. During his time in Aurora, he acted as the Secretary/Treasuer of the Aurora Horse Show and the Ontario Aberdeen Angus Breeders Association.
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Listings in the Toronto DirectoriesBased on a review of the available City of Toronto Directories from 1913 to 1969 (the years Alan would have been 16+) we find following addresses and occupational information:
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Office Specialty Manufacturing Company Ltd.Office Specialty Manufacturing Company was a major industry in Newmarket for 75 years, employing more than 400 employees. The company made a full range of office equipment and, at its height, was the largest manufacturer of office equipment in the British Empire. The Specialty got its start in Rochester, New York in 1880, making specialty items for such established companies as Eastman Kodak. Initially named Yawman and Erbe, after the original partners, due to rapid expansion the name was changed in 1895 to the Office Specialty Manufacturing Company. A Canadian branch of the Specialty opened in Toronto in 1895 with a small showroom and warehouse. In 1887, they opened another branch in Montreal. These two locations were primarily sales and distribution centres with products still being produced in the US. In 1891 the decision was made to find a place to manufacture the product line for Canadian distribution - in Newmarket stood a three-storey brick building flanking the east side of the railway track that was operated by The Novelty Company that manufactured bicycles and baby carriages primarily. The location proved to be ideal with easy access to rail transport for receiving and shipping goods. The factory was operated by waterpower with a flume and head race from Fairy Lake and the tail race into the lowlands north of Timothy St., but was eventually replaced by steam generation. The Specialty had a number of different locations in Toronto over the years, on Adelaide St. E. and Wellington St. W., and the Wellington address is likely the one Al worked at. In 1920, a decision was made to relocate the head office from Toronto to Newmarket. However the Newmarket plant and offices were all closed by August 1971. |
Alan Edward Lawrence (Larry) MaughanAlan Edward Lawrence (Larry) Maughan born 25-Nov-1925, died 29-Nov-2018, married Isobelle (Belle) Ruth Jaeger on 14-May-1954. Based on a review of the available City of Toronto Directories from 1942 to 1969 (the years Larry would have been 18+) we find following addresses and occupational information:
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Michael James MacDougall MaughanMichael James MacDougall Maughan born 1933, died 04-Oct-2023, married Judith Ann Tomsett on 23-Nov-1963.
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