SEEN IN THE PRESS

Weird Homes

Woodstock Sentinel newspaper

HEADLINE:	Cliff and Frances Bruce never feel the least bit lonely at Windmill Hill, home for an assortment of signs, railway crossings, gorillas, a Santa Claus and of course the prerequisite windmills.
BYLINE:	Geoff Dale
SOURCE:	Woodstock Sentinel
DATE:	Thursday, December 21, 1999

In the growing world of collectibles some might consider Cliff Bruce just a little on the extreme side.

We're not talking beany babies, Barbie dolls or even Pokemon characters. In fact, any of those characters would be dwarfed by the vintage signs, gas pumps (30 at last count), miniature automobiles, a sensor driven railway crossing and assorted windmills that make up the world known as Clifford Bruce Windmill Hill.

It's a sight just 11 kilometres northwest of the city that's almost impossible to miss -even from the air.

"We had the father of Canadian astronaut Chris Wakefield out here this past summer leading a tour of antique cars," he said. "He and his wife have been out several times and they're fascinated with the place. He's a test pilot and on a few occasions he's even circled over our house.

"He asked us once why he didn't wave back to us as he hovered above."

Two visitors from Vancouver and Toronto were so intrigued by Bruce's creation, they contacted the producers of Life TV's award winning Weird Garden - hosted by Arthur Black - who immediately dispatched a crew and producer Mike Collier for a filming.

"That was really something," said his wife Frances. "There were people all over, camera equipment, wires. They were here for two days. We actually left for some time on the second day to get away from some of the confusion.

"I don't know if we'd do that again real soon."

For the Bruce family, who own virtually every gizmo known to mankind, they didn't get the chance to see the program when it aired last month because they don't have cable or own a satellite dish.

They did catch a glimpse of the episode called Crazy Yards, courtesy of a tape from a neighbour and Vancouver publicist Carole Burgess has promised they'll receive a tape once the current season ends sometime in March. A repeat of that particular show is tentatively set for sometime in May.

So what possessed Cliff Bruce to undertake such a time consuming hobby in the first place?

"I was retired from farming," he said. "It was back in 1991 and our farm was sold and I needed something to do. Besides this idea of collecting is the family, with a couple of uncles doing this kind of thing.

"I just go all around picking up interesting things that I see and like and throughout the year I do some wheeling and dealing with people I know. We hit all the auctions and sales and at least twice a year - in April and October -I hit a really big sale in Pettica, Indiana for three days. A Mennonite friend told me about that one."

After the first few years, the visitors (noted in their guest book) began to pour in by word-of-mouth recommendations. They came from all points of Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and such faraway locales as the Netherlands. And the antique car tour led by Chris Hatfield's parents brought along more than 35 cars, some dating back to 1905.

In 1995 more than 500 visitors had signed in at Windmill Hill.

Cliff doesn't appear to have a favourite article but he and his wife love to talk about the authentic railway crossing hooked to a sensor that sets it off every few minutes.

"Can you imagine being woken up by that at 2:30 every morning," said his wife.

And just what does Frances think about the odd hobby?

"Well I'm just glad he didn't take up bending his elbow (drinking) for a pastime," she said, pointing to his indoor global collection of beer bottles.

Apparently the Bruces also plan to go out in style. Down the road in the Huntingford Cemetery his final resting spot is easily found thanks to a mule and cart up front while her plot features a windmill.

For those looking for a Yuletide connection, there's even a Santa Claus gracing the Bruces' property.