Community
Studies: Publications
False Alarm
By Nancy Weir McCowan
In the fall of 1952, Bill and I decided that it would be fun to have a corn roast. We invited a few people from the Church. The young Minister of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church and his wife had been married on the same day as we had, July 19 1952. We were lucky that the weather that autumn evening was perfect -- quite mild with no wind at all. Some extra people came along, including some of my relatives. It turned out that our corn roast had been combined with a "surprise" party in our honour. At the end of the party, both couples were presented with a gift, ours being a floor lamp (which we still have!)
The corn roast itself took place in the orchard west of our house (3100 Kingston Road). To prepare the fire, Bill had gathered small dead branches from the apple trees into a good-sized pile. We were quite enjoying the wonderful blaze. But shortly, we heard fire sirens. We were visited by a fire engine and even the Fire Chief himself. The person reporting the fire had thought that the brand new Halbert School was ablaze. In reality, the fire was quite a distance from any building and certainly no hazard at all.
The Scarboro Heights Record V10 #8
More on Scarborough's firehalls in Neigh the Front -- Exploring Scarboro Heights.
Robert McCowan, Reeve of Scarborough
Laying the Corner Stone for Scarborough's
First Firehall, 1925
Scarborough's first firehall, 352 Birchmount near Danforth, was also, for a time, the Police Station and jail. Stand by for notice that Scarborough will soon have a museum of fire fighting and fire safety! More later! Perhaps, Robert McCowan's descendants might donate the fancy ceremonial trowel and its custom-made box to the museum.
The Scarboro Heights Record V10 #5