Shannon Park reunion will gather people from B.C. to Halifax
Mary-Catherine McIntosh | CBC News | Posted: January 11, 2016 10:00 AM | Last Updated: January 11, 2016
'I would love to walk the streets one last time,' says man with fond memories of vanished community
Most people zipping by Shannon Park consider it a sprawling blemish along Halifax Harbour. But for many former military children, Shannon Park was their childhood neighbourhood.
Over nearly 50 years, thousands of children were raised in the community. They played on those rusted-out swings, skipped stones on the water's edge and ran along the overgrown pathways.
Dave Cherrington may have lived on the other side of the country for nearly 30 years, but home to him will always be 14 Cayuga Drive in Shannon Park.
"I would love to walk the streets one last time, but I know it's probably not going to happen," Cherrington says over the telephone from Trail, B.C., where he works as a school janitor.
Outside his B.C. house, Cherrington's made a reproduction of his childhood street sign and screwed it to his clothesline like a flag.
Cherrington, 46, is one of hundreds of former Shannon Park residents who will gather this summer in Nova Scotia for a reunion. People will gather from July 29 to 31.
Patti Christie is helping to organize the reunion for the community. She grew up there in the 1960s and '70s.
"I see the buildings there almost daily and I look at them and I'm reminded of a happy childhood, lots of friends that are still maintained to this day," she says. "I think it's going to be great to see life back in there."
Christie collected over 1,000 photographs from former residents for the reunion, along with some awesomely awkward footage of a dance for young people. She shared them with us — check out the photo gallery below.
We welcome your comments below, on Twitter, or by email at cbcns@cbc.ca.