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Certificate of appreciation given to Father Harold Leahy from St. Pius Elementary School.
1977
Peterborough, Ontario, Canada

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Clara remembers riding the street cars with her aunt to go to St. Peter's Cemetery. The fare was 3 cents. The boundaries of the street car lines were Langton Street and the corner of Monaghan Road and Lansdowne Street. The street cars in Peterborough ran from the 1890s until 1927.

Parades down George Street, running between McDonnal Street and Lansdowne, were a memorable source of entertainment. Clara recalls circus parades with girls on horses, a lion, a tiger, a leopard, and elephants. An organ grinder was always at the back end of the parade.

Clara has memories of the Peterborough Exhibition parades when farmers would herd their cows down George Street instead of using cattle cars. The bull would follow roped to a horse and buggy.

During WWII (1939-45) soldiers were housed at Morrow Park, the location of the exhibition grounds, and no exhibitions were held over the war years. Soldiers would march from Morrow Park to Lakefield (approx. 15 miles north of the city) and back. Their parade route went right past the O'Toole home at 826 Water Street.

For more of the Leahy story see the chapter for Clair Leahy. He is Clara's son.