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George Edward Rochford (son of George and Lizzie) Anthony Rochford Click here to view a detailed list of George Edward and Frances’es descendants. |
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Reminiscences, 2010 Mark My father George Edward was the second youngest member of his family. Dad was thirty years old when his first son Tony was born then Mark two years later with Paul two years afterwards and Alan ten years after Tony. Consequently we were younger than most of our Rochford and Roberts cousins except for Carole who was a year younger than myself. Dad’s position as production manager at Marconi after the War provided him with many contacts such as arranging an afternoon on the icebreaker N.B. McLean while it worked clearing ice in the Montreal harbor in the 1950’s. We were treated to a tour of the new control tower at Dorval airport as well as the grand opening of the Cote St.Luc roundhouse with Canadian Pacific in 1950. Trains were a popular attraction for us on Sunday afternoons which allowed Dad to take the “Indians” off Mom’s hands to give her a break. A visit to Aunt Margaret’s and Uncle Fred’s in Dorion always included a tour of the commuter train waiting there for Monday’s rush hour. Aunt Margaret, to our amazement, also had a machine that produced home-made ice cream. The activities around the harbor were also very exciting for us in the 50’s. Of course summertime in St.Gabriel at Camp Marian seemed to last forever when we were children unfortunately becoming all too short as we approached our later teens. I vividly remember the train trip before Dad owned a car. Growing up in the Colony with nine other families with young children was non stop activity. Sunday afternoon baseball games at Orelda were not to be missed. When we were old enough we were actually paid five dollars a day to work at the Camp doing all sorts of repairs on the roads and the bushes then supplying ice for each house in the Colony. And of course all the girls; many of us, and our friends, met our future wives at Camp. After 1960 there were many changes at Camp and St.Gabriel experienced a downturn in their tourist trade due mainly to better roads to the St.Agathe area. Many of our favorite hotels that had provided live bands and great dancing mysteriously caught fire, but there was always the old MidWay and the RendezVous with memories of our older cousins teaching us how to dance. After 1960 Mom and Dad rented a large house near Camp, actually the previous residence of the Roberts Family from Camp Marian, where we spent another six years by which time most of us were married. Mom and Dad lived in a nice home in the Town of Mount-Royal and were not really interested in a “country” house. I realize now what a major effort it must have been to drive to the country on those bad roads every weekend. Now the roads are improved with the drive taking about an hour and a half, I still have memories of washboard gravel. In my retirement I’m now a permanent resident of StGabriel and still a very active volunteer at Camp Marian now serving as a retreat center known as “Dominus Vobiscum”. Paul Gave time and effort to the church. One of the chief wardens that created St.Francis of Assisi church in Park Extension. A major organiser and participant in the Corpus Christi parades in Park Ex . In the 1950's, organized several Red Cross fund drives. As a company man, he organized the annual dinner dance for the linemen of Marconi. This was held every Saturday between Christmas and New Years at Schofield Hall in TMR. On some Sunday's, he took us to Bickerdike Basin at the Montreal Harbor to fish. If we caught a good fish, we would take it to Granny Rochford on Bordeaux Street. He taught us all to how to paint when he renovated all the rooms at 7505 Bloomfield in Park Ex.
Tony Warden-St.Roch's.--Corpus Christi at 7505.--St.Francis of Assisi / St.Roch's. Bell Tel. to Marconi. Accepted by the navy for service in WW2 and Marconi had his application turned down. --VP production at Marconi.--School PTA association.-- Harbor trips to visit ships.--Trip to England to visit British Marconi, ship trouble in Gulf of St.Lawrence delayed his trip. Camp Orelda baseball.--Ice cream Grenache in St.Damien.--Several trips to England with Uncle Larry and Aunt Kit. Member of AMA,American Management Association.--Colony with Uncle Mike.--Home repairs after retireing, $3.00 per hour. Marconi hockey at St.Laurent Arena.-- Marconi Model Shop. |