Name chosen for memorial to drowned local children

Sacred memorial will recognize drownings of three children in a Shannon Road pond that was later filled in and turned into Snowdon Park

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1 / 1 The area shaded orange is the location of the part of Snowdon Park to be named as the “Every Child Matters Sacred Memorial”Supplied image

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An area dedicated to children who drowned in what is now Snowdon Park will be known as the Every Child Matters Sacred Memorial, city council agreed Monday night.

"An area in the northwest corner of the park has three benches and three trees planted which will have commemorative plaques installed on tree guards," says Virginia McLeod, the city's manager of recreation and culture.

"A large rock located in the middle of the benches will share the history of the park," McLeod says in a report prepared for Mayor Matthew Shoemaker and councillors

"A pathway will be developed and an arbour will welcome visitors to the memorial, a sign will be installed which reads 'Every Child Matters Sacred Memorial.'"

Earlier this year, the Children of Shingwauk Alumni Association asked that Snowdon Park be renamed Memorial Park.

But descendants of Ashton Snowdon, for whom the park was named, countered with a request that his name remain on the park.

Ashton Snowdon was very much a mover and shaker in the city prior to his death in the early sixties: a major figure in the establishment of the Plummer Hospital and the Davey Home and a longstanding member of the school board.

A city-convened Snowdon Park Renaming Task Force decided to arrange a meeting between the Snowdon descendants and the Children of Shingwauk Alumni Association (CSSA).

"Both parties came to the same conclusion at the meeting," McLeod says.

"The name Snowdon Park would remain to honour the contributions Ashton Snowdon made to the community. An area of the park will be renamed to remember those who lost their lives in the former pond and the CSAA will finalize a name at their next meeting."

The CSAA's Snowdon Park Memorial Committee met on May 17 and agreed on the new name.

"The meeting provided an opportunity to meet one another and share the history of the park and its meaning to those involved. Both parties came to the meeting with similar conclusions on the course of action for naming of the park," McLeod said.

In June of 2021, the city apologized to Ken Crossman for the 1960 drowning death of his brother Gerald there.

The city agreed at that time to work with the Children of Shingwauk to develop plans for a memorial acknowledging three drowning deaths at the park on Florwin Drive near the former residential school.