By Nancy Miller Chenier
Margaret Gleeson Swift has a long and strong connection to Lowertown and especially to Clarence Street. Her great grandfather, Edward Gleeson, set up his shoe and boot shop on Dalhousie Street near the corner of Clarence. He was followed by successive generations that made their home on the street, moving gradually eastward almost to the Rideau River. The physical connection ended in the early 1970s, when Margaret’s mother sold the last Gleeson home.
Margaret remembers the large family home at 339 Clarence Street, built by her grandfather, John Gleeson, around 1890. John Gleeson established a highly successful butcher business, starting with a stall at the By Ward Market. Over the years, he had several other shop locations, including one at the Cathcart Square market and another on Rideau Street. In 1929, this house was selected as the recipient of the first Corpus Christi repository from St. Bridget’s church. Although the house disappeared during urban renewal, the memory of the gigantic cottonwood tree that stood out front still lingers.
It was in this multi-generational household with a live-in housekeeper where her father Joseph L. Gleeson and mother Gertrude Flynn started their family of five girls. Her father, Joseph, was educated at St. Bridget School on Murray Street and at Ottawa College, where he excelled at intercollegiate football. Margaret’s Uncle Edward, an Osgoode Hall trained lawyer with an active Ottawa practice, was an important part of the family group. He is celebrated in the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame for his championship play with Ottawa College football teams, as well as his time with the Toronto Argonauts. In the mid-1940s, Joseph and Gertrude moved their family to 497 Clarence Street, still an easy distance from the Government Printing Bureau at St. Patrick and Sussex where Joseph worked for over forty years.
Margaret’s memories of growing up in Lowertown include attending school at Our Lady’s and attending church at St. Brigid’s. The students would collect at the school every Sunday and parade to church for the morning mass. Outside of school, there was sledding at Macdonald Gardens, swimming at Champagne Bath and skating at Anglesea Square. In the summer, Anglesea Square sometimes had visiting carnivals with rides for the local children. At home on Clarence Street, one of Margaret’s regular tasks included checking and putting away the daily grocery order that was delivered from Peter Devine’s store in the market.
Her stories are filled with images of the diverse neighbours that lived along the nearby streets. As a young child living at 339 Clarence Street, she recalled the Renaud family bakery and the still vivid image of the bakery wagon that tipped its contents on her front lawn when the horses spooked during a delivery.
Memories of neighbours are flowing. Margaret remembers the Paul Barber family, often seen riding as a group in the sidecar of their father’s motorcycle. After the Gleeson family moved further along the street to 497 Clarence, the Groulx family lived next door in the house formerly occupied by the Clancy family – their son, King Clancy was a legendary hockey player. Other neighbours were doctor St. Pierre’s family, and the St. Jacques family – the father was a lawyer to the father of the Dionne quintuplets. A great friend of Margaret’s father, Joe Duffy had a large yard used to stable horses owned by vendors who sold their products from horse drawn wagons – an early overnight parking lot. Margaret’s close friend, Marie O’Keefe and the warm and friendly household of the O’Keefe family will always hold a special place in her thoughts.
Margaret Gleeson Swift has an abundance of memories that reveal the richness of her youthful experiences in the neighbourhood. Her years of growing up in Lowertown forged an enduring emotional connection to this area. Although no longer a Clarence Street resident, she continues to follow stories of Lowertown places and people with great interest.