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Lorraine RobazzaLorraine Robazza was born in 1937 at Kirkland District Hospital on Second Street. She was the eldest of five children of Thomas and Bernadette (Scully) Sullivan. Her siblings include Patricia Ann, Michael, Mark and Philip Sullivan. Her father, Tom, came from the Ottawa valley in the early thirties looking for work in the mines. Her mother followed him soon after. The Sullivan family resided at 4 Baron St. in Kirkland Lake, where Lorraine and her siblings attended the nearby schools of St. Jerome and Kirkland Lake Collegiate and Vocational Institute. She has many fond memories of growing up in Kirkland Lake. She recalls her hard-working parents - her mother's excellent skills at sewing and cooking, piling wood for the winter with her parents, and meeting her Dad for a ride home at the Wright Hargreaves Mine gate with her mother.
"I guess by today's standards we would be considered poor but so was everyone else. We were happy and that was all that mattered," stated Lorraine.
Lorraine loved the outdoors and she reveled in the freedom her environment provided. She recalls playing outdoors without supervision (Hit the Can, Red Rover, hockey, baseball) and skating at outdoor rinks and the old arena. She was popular as a teenager, and recalls frequenting Andy's Restaurant for a 10¢ chip and a 5¢ pop. Many nights were spent dancing at the Sylvanite, Orange and Ukrainian Halls. She loved watching hockey games, especially the night that the Holy Name Irish won the All Ontario Hockey title in the 50's.
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Lorraine RobazzaCirca 2007
Credits:Image loaned from MNH Auxiliary (Women of Kirkland Lake 2012 Exhibit)
Image loaned from Lorraine Robazza
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Following high school, Lorraine studied in North Bay and Toronto for her teaching qualifications. She subsequently taught in Brantford and New Liskeard. She taught for 30 years, 28 of them in Kirkland Lake.In 1960, Lorraine married her favourite hockey player, Rino Robazza. They had three children - Kelly, Casey and daughter Erin. The family spent the winters in Fort Erie, Sault Ste. Marie, Syracuse, St. Louis and Quebec City during Rino's hockey career but they always returned to Kirkland Lake. Sadly, Rino passed away in1990 at age 51.
Lorraine and fellow teacher, Monica Rankin were co-owners of the Bellevue Tavern for 16 years, ten of those while still teaching.
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Lorraine has always been a big booster of Kirkland Lake and that has been reflected in her volunteerism be it civic, political, cultural or sport. It all began when she formed a group called "Save Our Community", which was instrumental in keeping an asphalt plant from opening beside the school that her children attended.She went on to be a member of The Canadian Irish Club, Italo Canadian Club, Catholic Women's League and Ontario English Catholic Teacher's Association.
Her interest in politics led to her becoming President of the Temiskaming Liberal Association for three years and the Campaign Chair for Federal, Provincial and Municipal candidates many times. She was a candidate in the Federal election in 1984. She was also appointed by the Governor General to the Canadian Metric Commission.
Locally, she sat on the Tourism Committee in 1990 to 1995, chaired a group involved in the sponsorship and relocation of a family of nine Vietnamese persons to Kirkland Lake, is a Past Chair of the Kirkland Lake Festival of the Arts, a director/ producer of the Holy Name Roman Catholic Church's 50th Anniversary Variety Show, and co-director of the 1960 production of Gold Daze.
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Lorraine RobazzaCirca 2005
Credits:Image loaned from MNH Auxiliary (Women of Kirkland Lake 2012 Exhibit)
Image loaned from Lorraine Robazza
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Lorraine has been instrumental in building the Kirkland Lake we see today. She was the Project Organizer for the building of the Kirkland Lake Community Complex. She chaired the committee to build Hockey Heritage North (HHN), is chair of the HHN Foundation and chair of the HHN Foundation Committee that built the World's Largest Free-Standing Puck in the World. More recently she was Co-Chair of the 2009 and 2011 Festival of Trees and has sat as a Director of the Kirkland Lake Community Development Board for 4 years.Lorraine demonstrates the determination, enthusiasm, organization, creativity, leadership and people skills necessary to build a strong community.
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Lorraine Robazza - Festival of Trees22 November 2011
Hockey Heritage North
Credits:Image loaned from Hockey Heritage North
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Lorraine Robazza - Festival of Trees22 November 2011
Hockey Heritage North
Credits:Image loaned from Hockey Heritage North
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