14
John Corkery III with his younger brother Richard.1930
Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
15
John was 9 during the Depression. He remembers his father being paid by the barter system. He also remembers Mr. Frank Quinn delivering ice for the icebox in the 1930s. John doesn't remember too much about the Depression, he doesn't remember suffering that much, he thinks that he kind of accepted it as part of society, something that was happening to everyone. He estimates that there were about 20 lawyers in Peterborough in the 1920s and 1930s. He doesn't think that there was a provincial court here in those days.16
John Corkery III as an Altar Boy.1928
Peterborough or Mount Saint Louis, Ontario, Canada
17
John went to St. Peter's Separate School for all grades; from baby class through high school. At school the girls were separated from boys in baby class. Classes were taught by nuns all through school. In baby class students worked through a series of books. When you finished the fifth book you had graduated into high school.John enjoyed school. He enjoyed playing baseball and running in the school yard. He remembers Bishop Morroco who used to play baseball with them. John also played on a softball team at St. Peter's.
18
John Corkery III at the beach.1933
Ontario, Canada
19
John's favourite place to spend time growing up was the school yard at St. Peter's School (this is now a seniors' home). He would spend hours playing with his friends, softball and some baseball, and football. Sometimes John and his friends used to hike up to Jackson's Park or up to the hill at the end of Sherbrooke Street. See Stuart Laing (Greenhill)He liked hardball and used to go to Riverside Park (East City Bowl) to watch hardball games. It cost ten cents to get in, but they would climb the fence to sneak in with help from the policeman that was supposed to be stopping them from sneaking in. See Clair Leahy
20
John Corkery III with a family member's dog at his aunt's house.1931
Mount Saint Louis, Ontario, Canada
21
John took piano lessons from the nuns as a kid (at the convent where the Knights of Columbus Hall is now). He walked the long route to avoid the bullies that teased him about taking piano lessons. The bullies, who shall remain nameless, were three brothers who later became war heroes!He usually spent summers with an aunt in Mount Saint Louis, near Wasaga Beach. He loved to run races there and was an alter boy at his aunt's brother's church.
22
John also liked to skate and recalls the free outdoor rink at Monaghan and Charlotte. They had a wood stove to keep warm. The All Saints' Church rink cost 10 cents to skate. He enjoyed playing hockey as a kid. John believes that he got into sports because his father was into sports. John played hockey in university.23
The only movie theatre growing up was the Capital. The first movie he saw was All's Quiet on the Western Front. John also enjoyed listening to the radio. Shows like Amos and Andy were favourites.John occasionally danced at the Brock Street Dance Hall or Rye's Pavilion in the south end. He didn't go to dances very much but he does remember going to Rye's Pavilion once with an older friend to a dance, he didn't do much dancing when he was married either.
24
Corkery family photo1936
Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
25
John remembers 8 family members packed into his father's Essex going to Boston in the 1930s. His ancestor Jeremiah Corkery married a woman who was from the United States and they would visit with relatives from that branch of the family who lived in the Boston area.John thinks the family's first car might have been an Essex. The family had a garage behind the house and he used to play in the laneway that ran behind Gilmour Street. He remembers that they kept a license plate from every year in the garage. Even though his father had a car, if John and his siblings wanted to get anywhere they usually had to walk, his father would have his time at the office and he would take the car with him.
John also remembers that the streetcar went down Park Street to Charlotte Street and then from Charlotte to George Street, the streetcar track on George Street went all the way down to the Little Lake area but John didn't go down there very often.
26
While John was in school he had a summer job at Coca Cola. He started out as a helper and then the driver he made deliveries with retired and he took over the job of driving. One summer he worked in Hamilton for the Hamilton Bridge Company. A friend of his was working for Hamilton Bridge. He suggested that John come to Hamilton and get a job there. John got a job there but didn't find the work to be too interesting.27
John Corkery III's graduation photograph from St. Michael's College at the University of Toronto.1943
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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