Special places: 5 Hamiltonians took us to places in the city meaningful to them
Samantha Craggs | CBC News | Posted: September 22, 2017 9:45 AM | Last Updated: September 22, 2017
A Ticat, a musician, a hiker and others show us Hamilton places special to them. Where is yours?
As part of our series exploiring Hamilton's evolving identity, we asked five Hamilton residents to show us places that are meaningful to them in the city.
Read and watch about theirs, and then share with us a photo and short blurb about your meaningful place in Hamilton. Details on how to submit an item are at the end of this story.
Adrian Tracy
Defensive lineman, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Meaningful place: Locke Street.
Why: It's where he first ventured out by himself when he moved to Hamilton. And he loves food. Tracy moved here in 2015 for football. Now his brother C.J. goes to McMaster University, and his parents are pondering a move too. Tracy also does motivational speaking here, and wants to do more of it. "I can't imagine my life without Hamilton now."
Harrison Kennedy
Canadian blues legend
Meaningful place: Birchway Sound.
Why: He sees it as part of the new energy infused into Hamilton's music scene. It's also owned by his long-time friend, Ed Sculthorpe. "Individuals like Birchway Sound, the Cotton Factory, Mills Hardware, they see and feel that vibe. They're contributing to that kind of organic thing that's happening with music."
Abra Bergen
Artists' model
Meaningful place: Bruce Trail.
Why: As a McMaster University student in religious studies, she practiced Sanskrit out loud on the trail. Now it's a type of meditation. Bergen has mixed feelings about the changes in Hamilton. "The city is becoming much less affordable," she says. "There is a small contingent, including relative newcomers to Hamilton, quite vocal about Hamilton pride and active in civic life. But I think too much of that is a whole lot of sound and fury with little true change."
Jaimie Lickers
Lawyer, Gowlings WLG
Meaningful place: Her house on Melbourne Street.
Why: Originally from Six Nations, Lickers moved back to the area three years ago. She wanted an urban neighbourhood close to good food, and lost nine houses in bidding wars. Now she and her six-year-old daughter have a garden and big yard at their three-bedroom, pre-Second World War home. "This is the house for us," she says.
Kambreia Cumberbatch
Co-manager, Hamilton Youth Steel Orchestra
Meaningful place: "The pan yard" rehearsal space, Wentworth St. N.
Why: Cumberbatch joined the orchestra at age eight, when she was too shy to leave the doorway. Now she's a mentor to the younger players. "A lot of people want to join us and jam with us, and it doesn't matter what they play," she says. "We had some refugees come through who didn't speak a word of English. We communicated through music."
What Hamilton place is meaningful to you?
Send us a photo of a place in Hamilton that is meaningful to you along and short blurb explaining why. We'd like to include some of your responses in a future roundup of Hamiltonians in their special places. You can send the item to hamilton@cbc.ca., post it to our facebook page, tag us in a tweet (@cbchamilton), or post to Instagram with the hashtag #hamontidentity.