Buildings & Structures Archives | Page 2 of 6 | Sweat Equity – The Grimsby Homebuilding Co-operative 1953

Co-op sons collaborated as their fathers had done six decades earlier

The exhibit was designed to create the sense of being on a worksite in an unfinished house. Some of the wood was donated, and the framework sections were […]

Ingenuity and co-operation applied

With volunteer design and construction skills completed, others added their labour to build the exhibit. This echoed the tasks undertaken by their parents 60 years earlier. The magnitude […]

Working together to piece it together

With volunteer design and construction completed, others added their labour to build the exhibit. The tasks echoed those undertaken by their parents 60 years earlier. The magnitude of […]

The completed subdivision in Grimsby, 1956

An aerial view of the co-operatively built neighbourhood in Grimsby, 1956. Situated between Lake Ontario with the Niagara Escarpment to the south, it was appropriately named the Lakemount […]

City of Hamilton Ontario, 1950’s

This aerial view of Hamilton Ontario in the early 1950’s shows an industrial city that was booming. With the influx of workers, the city was also sprawling yet […]

Sweat equity at work

By 1954, after a year of study and preparation, the co-op homebuilders were well into the sweat equity part of the build. They worked in teams, in the […]

The original co-op families, 1989

While many of the original builders still lived in the neighbourhood, others travelled from around the province to participate. This effort was a testament to the esteem in […]

Dominic and Rita Marrocco

Dominic was the brother of Francis Marrocco. Rita had worked with the Father Marrocco (later Bishop) in Ottawa at St. Patrick’s College, and there she met her husband, […]

Wilf Worley speaks during the dedication.

Bob Walsh, known as “Mr. Co-op” (left), studies his notes as Wilf Worley speaks. During the build Wilf wrote the “King of the Shingleers” song and the “Co-op […]

Co-op women take a moment together

Many families remained in their co-op-built homes, so a leisurely walk to the park was an opportunity to catch up with other co-operators and to introduce children and […]

Father Marrocco and fellow priests blessed each of the 14 homes.

Father Marrocco had inspired the co-op movement in Ontario in 1952, through the work of his students at the Institute of Social Action. By 1955 he was visiting […]

The whole gang on the steps

There were different age cohorts within the kid community. The older kids had moved in at age 9 or 10, though most were only 2 or 3. A […]