Sex Archives | Page 5 of 7 | Sweat Equity – The Grimsby Homebuilding Co-operative 1953

Auxiliary Fundraising

A keen interest in their church and school communities meant lots of volunteer work for co-op Moms and Dads of all faiths. Volunteering became part of their lives, […]

Awarded for leadership

Many in the co-op neighbourhood took the courses, which included instruction on public speaking. This education only deepened people’s commitment to each other and to the community. Being […]

John and Margaret Dalgleish with two of their three children, 1956.

John recalled that he and Margaret would host prayer meetings in their home, inviting anyone interested in starting a church in Grimsby. They held the first church services […]

The Hill family

Derwyn joined the co-op while working as a plasterer in the family business (The Hill Brothers). In 1963 he was ordained after completing courses at Knox College, so […]

A visit to the neighbours

Albertine would battle the red clay all the years of tending her magnificent vegetable garden.

Expert shingler John Colleary

Although John was a plasterer by trade, he was very good at shingling during the build. And so he was honoured as the King of the Shingleers.

Wilf Worley wrote a song for John Colleary

Sixty years later, John Blake would sing the song at a “Co-op at 60” information event hosted by the Grimsby Archives. It speaks to the fun-loving guy that […]

John Blake sings at the Grimsby Archives in 2016 in honour of his co-op friends.

The Grimsby Archives hosted an evening in which their members could hear about the “sweat equity” co-op story and meet some of the original builders. John Blake, who […]

Shingling in the Lakedale Co-op

Some jobs were simply backbreaking and others required skill. Sometimes work could be dangerous. Supervisors and inspectors were on hand, but men who had never done construction found […]

Shingling alone or together

Harold works on the roof of a 2-story building illustrating the challenges and dangers facing the builders. Fortunately there were contractors who over saw the day-to-day workings of […]

Teamwork was key

Working 30 hours on the co-op site per week, over and above their regular jobs, the builders focused first on grunt work. Eventually, they took on some of […]

Sweat equity begins with land clearing

The men were so anxious to begin the building phase, they cleared the land themselves. Later, they would mix their own concrete, haul and lay bricks for basements […]