Eric Wright

Peacefully passed away at Southlake Regional Health Centre, Newmarket on Saturday, September 20, 2008 at 87 years of age.  Beloved husband of Corrie.  Dear dad of Vivienne (Jim) Davidson and Brian (Roslyn) Wright.  Dear granddad of Lara (Lynn), Carolyn (Simon) and Laura. Survived by his brothers Arthur, Peter and sister Mary. Eric will be fondly remembered by Corrie’s family in Holland.  Friends called at SKWARCHUK FUNERAL HOME, Bradford for visitation on Wednesday, September 24, 2008 from 12 noon until the time of a memorial service at 1 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Cardiac Unit at Southlake Regional Health Centre or Salvation Army would be appreciated.

Eric Wright – Benefactor to Scouting in Bradford

In the late 70’s, Eric Wright who was a retired Police Officer and Former Scouter invited the 1^st Bradford Scouting Group to use a portion of his land for camping activities. He graciously allowed us to develop this parcel of land for our use.

Over the winter of 1978, our group was able to acquire a school portable which was surplus with the Toronto School Board. We arranged to have this building moved from it’s location in Scarborough to Eric’s property on the 13^th concession. The actual move took place in the spring of 1979. Before the building was moved, Eric cleared a section of the bush and leveled off the site in preparation of the building being placed. He also arranged permission with the gentleman who owned the adjacent land so that we could transport the building across his field.

Initially there was no road into the site and for the 1^st couple of years; Eric was on hand with his tractor to transport the boys and their gear into the site whenever we had a camp. He would make 2 or 3 trips on Friday night when we arrived and another 2 or 3 trips on Sunday when we were leaving.

There is an open field to the north of where the building was placed and Eric would use his tractor to cut the grass a few times each year so that we could have a place for activities.

A couple of years after we had the building put in, Eric used his tractor with a blade behind to grade a road into the camp. At his own expense and effort, Eric finished off this road, installing a culvert and bringing in fill for a low spot in the road. He also supplied at his own expense a couple of loads of gravel to level off this section of the road. Over the next several years, Eric was out there every spring grading this road and keeping it maintained.

Our group continued to use Eric’s land for camping in all seasons for the next 15 years or more at which time; Eric approached the group and announced that he would like to sever this section from the farm and to donate it to the 1^st Bradford Scouting Group. We continue to use this land for Scouting Activities and the site has officially been registered as “Eric’s Wright World”.