A Childhood Reunion

Holding up a glass, Richard who largely organized our reunion, proposes a toast

Family photo of Merry's 5th birthday (July 1955),
from left to right: myself, Mary, Merry, Gerry, Joey

Mary and Merry, also seen in photo above, appear here with Alice (Mary's mother on left)

Toni was a popular hairdresser with the ladies from Wilmot Place

"Bun" brought his 1950 Mercury pickup to the reunion
while Gerry appears behind the truck

Linda in front of her former home

Myself in front of 1557 Wilmot Place, my childhood home

On the brow of the little hill on Wilmot Place

Some of the group are talking with present inhabitants while Richard takes video
of one of the houses

WILMOT PLACE is a dead end street, on which my family lived, from 1953 to 1960. For a group of us children of that time, our world was this Victoria suburb of Oak Bay, on Vancouver Island. In 2011 Richard Goodall, reached me by Facebook. I recalled him as an older boy from across the street. Some 50 years later we were once again in contact! His now active retirement included, amongst other things, expanding a website, which was for the most part a history of our street (1940s-60s). Through his tireless work, a group of us, some of whom played with each other so very long ago, came together for this special occasion.

On September 24, nine of us met at a pub in Oak Bay Village, to become reacquainted and to reminisce. On this day there were mostly "Wilmot Kids." The reunion commenced with introductions and lunch. On the subsequent walk to our nearby street, eight of us strolled slowly, stopping in front of one business and almost every house on Wilmot Place. Stories were shared, or compared, as we strolled under huge Garry Oak trees. At the risk of sounding completely sentimental, the warm afternoon sunshine, almost made the memories that much more golden.

In the first decade of the 20th Century, the former driveway to the Pemberton Estate became Wilmot Place. A large wooden garage, from that time, blocked off the end of our street. I remember it well as I used to go to school via a gate at the side of the building. While learning to ride my brother's Eaton's bicycle one day, I managed to ride into the heavy wooden double doors, without causing any damage to them or myself.