382 Douglas Avenue - The Ronald Reid Hart & Edna Juanita Cromarty Hart House

Ronald Hart met his end in a most unfortunate accident

In 1913 The Cumberland Land Co. sold several lots to Blanche P. Hurst, wife of Langford S. Hurst. In 1915, she sold part of that to Ronald R. Hart for $750, with building restrictions. In 1924 he "sold" "sells" the property to his wife Edna for $1. In1930 she sold them to John Edward Wainwright for $3000. The building of the house commenced sometime in 1916, however, given that the country was involved in WW1, both materials and manpower were scarce. As a result, it was not completed until 1918. This is known to be a factor in several homes built in the area.

Ronald Reid Hart was born on September 8, 1888 in Toronto to parents Samuel Richmond Hart & Janet Hay Wyllie. He was married in Toronto on 17 August 1915 to Edna Juanita Cromarty. While their house was being built in Oakville, Ronald & Edna two children were born: Janet was born in 1917 and Kathleen in 1918. A son, Ronald Jr, followed. Ronald Hart travelled into Toronto each day to work in the family business. In 1873, Ronald's father Samuel purchased the retail department of Copp, Clark & Co. with his partner Thomas Rawlinson. Over the years, through different business partners, it eventually became known as Hart & Co. Ronald held the position of Vice President, working with his father and brother Melville. The family resided in Oakville for 12 years until they sold their house in 1930 and moved back to Toronto to live at 5 Cluny Ave. in Rosedale. Ronald Hart was an avid angler and sportsman and was Vice-President of the Toronto Anglers Association. He belonged to the Glen Major Fishing Club north of Pickering, as well as other clubs in Ontario and Quebec and fished extensively throughout western Canada. It was during his enjoyment of the outdoors that Ronald met his untimely death on September 18, 1933. He was out on the property of the Glen Major Fishing Club training his new springer spaniel pup and was putting him through a wire fence when his gun accidentally discharged, causing a large wound in his right shoulder. He was found hours later by his concerned friends and transferred to Toronto General Hospital where he died the following morning. His loss was felt far and wide among the fishing and angling communities. He is buried at St. James Cemetery in Toronto.