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Juking Out

August 24, 2010

When I was in my early teens I lived at the Montreal Home for Boys, otherwise known as Weredale House. It was home to 175 boys aged about 8 to 19. We were closely watched most of the time and the building was surrounded by very high chain link fences.

Getting out illegally was difficult but we were always looking for openings of any kind. We realized that there was a weak spot in the security. We had a fastball league that played on an asphalt 'field' with lines and bases painted on the asphalt. If someone hit a foul ball to the left and very high it would go over the fence onto some high grass and railroad tracks. The ball would often disappear in the grass and someone would be sent over the fence to look for it.

We would arrange for one of our buddies to hit the right kind of foul ball. One of us would volunteer to search for it but be sure not to find it. In that case you could ask for more volunteers to help search. Once you had enough boys out searching the staff members would lose count of how many were outside the fence. A few of us could sneak away to meet friends at Staynor Park a short walk away.

One fall evening my friend John and his brother David wanted to get out and meet their girlfriends. We made the usual arrangements to lose a foul ball and the three of us slipped away just before the ball was suddenly 'found'. We could not get our winter coats before we left so we all wore light jackets. The evening kept getting colder and the girls couldn't keep us warm enough to prevent frostbite. We reluctantly headed back to Weredale House to break back in before we were missed.

Weredale had only two ways for us to get in without being noticed. The only door to the asphalt field was locked at night but could be opened if you knew the trick. We discovered the trick doesn't work if you have frozen fingers. That left a more dangerous way to get back in.

There was a fire escape that led 6 stories up to the top floor from just outside the kitchen. If we could pull down the bottom steps without making any noise we could walk up the fire escape and crawl across the roof to one of the dormitories. The timing was critical. We had to get up the fire escape and across the roof in the short time between the call for the boys to go to bed and the first bed check.

We timed our entrance perfectly. Even with frozen fingers we managed to jump up and pull down the bottom steps of the fire escape. We were up the stairs and across the roof just as the first boys were in their pajamas. We tapped on a window so they would open the fire escape door for us. We couldn't believe how smoothly it all went. Even with frost bitten fingers we were elated to have pulled off the perfect escape and return.

Our high only lasted until the next morning. John and David's mother had come by to deliver a gift for them while we were out. An announcement was sent over the building's public address system. When the brothers didn't come to the office runners were sent out to find them everywhere in the building. It was soon apparent they were not in the building.

I was lucky and no staff member knew I had gone with John and David. They would never tell anyone I was with them and faced their punishment without me. I would have done the same for them.

Peter White

Dr. Michael J. Cripton

July 22, 2010

I got an email from an old boy mentioning that he can remember a certain old boy being the dental assistant for in house appointments. I can relate to this as I was the dental assistant for my last two years in the home. The boy he mentioned in the email was incredibly busy and accomplished so much. I linked his Obituary in the Links section of this site.

The LuLu's

June 17, 2010

The old wooden flagpole at Camp Weredale was rotten to the point that it might fall down. In the summer of 1961 a new aluminum flagpole arrived on a flat bed semi. The semi made it down both Big Lulu and Little Lulu with no trouble. The new flagpole was quickly installed and the semi started back up the road.

A while later all the boys were gathered together and asked to head up to the hills to help the truck get out of the camp. Even carrying no load the hills were too steep for the truck to climb. Someone attached a pulley to a tree and tied a rope to the truck through the pulley. All the boys pulled on the rope to get the truck up the first hill and then we repeated the procedure for the second one. You gotta love those LuLu's

Peter White - 1960-1963

Bench Trucks

May 30, 2010

Two hills comming into camp were lulu and little lulu. I would say it was 1948 before we went to camp by bus .Until then benches in the back of Trucks supplies by Geo.A.Hall. In those years the camp was for the House boys .Juniors and Intermediates numbered around 100 / 98 to be exact.Their was one hut for seniors .The house that is above the wharf was built around 1947 .Before that it was the canoe Wharf and after as well Their were about 8 Canoes 10 maybe rowboats 3 small sail boats and the CUPI. The camp also had a cedar strip motor boat which we called the munro and I am sure that was the Manufacturer and it was equiped with a 25 hp Pull type motor.(Johnson if I remember correctly)Also around 1948 it was equiped with fire fighting thing. Well Bobby unless their are others write me I will close and wish you and your generation a great future

Robert Isaacson - 1946-1951

Andrea (yeah,she's an Old Boy) Kneeland Collection

May 17, 2010

The Link to the Andy Kneeland Collection is now on the site - click the Links button upper right of our home page to get there.

Some Info on the Pin Question

May 6, 2010

Best I remember the four points / facets were part of our motto - be to be good citizens
1) Integrity
2) Honesty
3) Discipline
4) ?

smokes

April 17, 2010

On the senior side, if someone lit up a cigarette, any joe blow could say "I'm on your butt"

dimko

Info Needed

February 24, 2010

In days of old, when a working boy successfully completed a year of work, they were presented with a special pin and they signed a book - a register of all boys who had received the pin. Each pin had a unique number and this number was registered in the log book. On the pin, there were four points and each point represented something significant. Help us find what was on these pins - does anyone out there have one?

Contact the Hutline with your info - Thanks

Poem: A Home for the Homeless

December 9, 2009

The following is a poem submitted to us by an Old Boy.
If you have anything you'd like to share, be it photos, art, or stories, please contact us.

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A Home for the Homeless

When I was a boy, I had no place to go,
My mother was poor, and things were slow,
But in ‘49’ I went to a place,
Where all boys were welcome, no matter what race,
I spent four years there, and at the time was quite sad,
But I look back now at the good life I had,
The things I remember with a smile today,
Will remain with me always, Till I pass away.

There was a nice warm bed, and three meals to eat,
When so many others were without food or heat,
The laundry lines, where they checked the tags,
On the good clothes we wore, instead of just rags,
The evening showers and the swim right after,
The Friday night movie, usually filled with laughter,
There was ping pong, pool, and shuffle board too,
Plenty of things for young boys to do,
The Halloween parties, held in the big hall,
Bobbing for apples and having a ball.

Away to camp for two months every year,
Where there always was fun, and seldom a tear,
The swimming and boating we did every day,
And I slept in a HUT called Ojibway,
There were overnight trips, and an outdoor chapel,
Candies and cookies, and the occasional apple,
There was punishment too, when you went astray,
But also rewards, when you had a good day,
It all seems tough when you’re a very young boy,
With no home of your own, which is filled with joy,
But I look around now at so many others,
Who have nothing at all, not even fathers or mothers.

I’m a grown man now with a boy of my own,
He’s lucky I guess to have a good home,
I also was fortunate, when I lived with you,
Mrs.Craig & Mr.McAdam (CHIEF) we all knew.
There were so many others, who were part of my life,
And on several occasions I have said to my wife,
Most boys in the home feel lonely and sad,
But it’s the greatest experience I’ve ever had.

Sincerest thanks for four good years.

Bill Brazier 1949-1953