By Nancy Miller Chenier
Robert Corrigan’s family, like the neighbourhood where he grew up in the late 1940s and into the 1950s, combined English and French speakers, and Catholic and Protestant adherents. Robert’s parents reflected this mix. They met when they were 11to12 years old, while speed skating on a popular rink in Anglesea Square (now Jules Morin Park). His mother, Edith Joan Sharpe, was a student at York Street Public School and his father, Joseph Samuel Arthur Corrigan, went to Brébeuf Separate School. They eventually married in 1944.
When Robert was young, he lived at 541 Rideau Street (now demolished), on the north side near the corner of Rideau and Cobourg. The large, three-storey residence had been converted into five units and was called the Langemarck Apartments. At one point, four of these units were occupied by members of Robert’s family. William Sharpe, Robert’s grandfather, was the long-serving caretaker in the building. One of Robert’s uncles lived in the building, as did his paternal great-grandmother.
Robert spent much of his free time as a child at the park behind his house. Now called Macdonald Gardens, Robert knew it as Borden Park, named after the Prime Minister whose house was located on Wurtemburg Street before the Watergate Apartment was built. At that time, it seemed that Borden Park was largely a hang-out for English kids while French kids seemed to go more often to Anglesea Square, perhaps a reflection of some English/French rivalry.
He remembered particular features of the park that existed in the 1950s. At the corner of Heney and Cobourg there was a shallow wading pool that was filled every day and then emptied at night. Nearby, up on the hill separated from the wading pool by a low stone wall, there was a small wooden shed which had toys and games that children could play with, like checkers and jacks. There was also a small play area, with swings, monkey bars and a sandbox.
Once, while playing in the sand, Robert found bones that looked like they were human. He accepted that this was just a part of the park’s history as an early cemetery, with plots for four different Christian denominations. Although not every day at the park was this eventful, Robert had fond memories of many days playing there. He remembered that he and his brother, Gary, once dressed up in their father’s and uncle’s old army gear to put on a play on the raised grassy “stage” near the wading pool. This was just one of several theatrical dress- up occasions arranged for children in the park. He recalled there was a park council which organized events and activities for children, but who could ban children from playing at the park if they misbehaved.
Life in Lowertown was always eventful and Robert’s recollections of school, church, movies and activities like swimming in summer and skating in winter were plentiful. But the nearby park continues to hold a special place in his thoughts.
This article is based on oral history interview by Francesca Taucer, Canada Summer Jobs 2014.
