People Archives | Page 3 of 7 | 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 Co-op at 60 Working Group, 2016

The group’s mission was to honour their parent builders on the 60th anniversary of the co-op. Initially, they planned just a one-day event. As they gathered details of […]

The Fireside Chat in November, 2014

Within months of reconnecting, the Co-op at 60 Working Group had, by word of mouth and family connections, gathered over 100 people for their first event, A Fireside […]

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 […]

Co-op families arrive at dedication ceremony

This place by the water had been a park since the start of the co-op and included a playground. When the co-operators built their homes, a certain amount […]

They danced in celebration.

Once the speeches were given, Rev. Derwyn Hill, an original builder who was later ordained, led the ”Benediction and Burning” of the mortgages. Could the co-operators have imagined […]