Hardly a week would pass that a story of Applewood Acres or an advertisement wouldn’t appear in one of the major daily newspapers. G.S. Shipp and Son were the first homebuilders to place full-page ads in the major dailies. They would also enjoy the fruits of advertisements placed by many of their construction suppliers and Harold was always coming up with promotional ideas to keep the name before the public. As an example, the Burroughes Furniture Company ran an advertisement in the Toronto Star announcing the winner of a lucky draw for a bedroom suite shown in the Shipp Shape model home- Mrs. L. Watson, 6, Rutherford Avenue, Mount Dennis, Ontario.
Harold’s promotional events included utilizing airplanes to tow advertisement banners, displaying reindeer in a temporary habitat at the opening of the Applewood Village Shopping Centre, and tying a large bow around a house at Christmas. According to the Toronto Star at the time, the intensity of the publicity and promotion of Applewood Acres is believed to be the biggest ever by a home builder in the Toronto area.
The media treated the development west of Toronto as a major news happening. In fact, it actually was. The Toronto Daily Star, in its March 22, 1952 edition, carried a front page story by Paul L. Fox (reprinted with permission-Torstar Syndication Services) on the ‘new town’ being built 12 miles west of Toronto.
“A multi-million dollar construction boom, which is going to transform the rural area between Toronto and Oakville into a series of industrial and residential areas, started rolling with a $68,500,000 program planned for the next 18 months.
The present program is concentrated in a 20-square mile area from the Dixie Rd. to Oakville and from the Queen Elizabeth Way to Lake Ontario.
“The more than 200 acres to be subdivided on the Dixie Rd., near the Queen Elizabeth Way is expected to create a new town of more than 10,000 people and will include houses, apartments, schools and shopping areas. Its growth reflects the westward expansion of the residential area adjacent to the city.
In this area G.S. Shipp and Son have expanded their present subdivision by some 100 acres on which they plan to build 300 bungalows and storey-and-a-half houses, priced from $14,000 and $15,000 up. Most of the property is on the north side of the Queen Elizabeth Way.”
The story was accompanied by a large drawing covering the entire top portion of the front page showing the location of the various developments along the QEW. It also made reference to the fact that a service road system would be installed, believed to be the first service road on provincial highways in Ontario.
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