Community honours 12 children who drowned 70 years ago
Saturday marks a tragic anniversary in the Montreal area.
Seventy years ago, on July 13, 1954, 12 children drowned near Ile-Bizard when they were on a day trip with the Little Burgundy Negro Community Centre.
Dozens gathered for a memorial in the same park where the children died on Saturday.
"It was just this heavy, dark secret," said organizer Allison Saunders.
Saunders' mother lost two cousins on that day, and she said that for decades people suffered in silence.
"People were not really allowed to talk about it or our families were kind of, you know, not allowed to go swimming or not allowed to be far from their parents, but never really knowing why that is," she said.
On that July day, more than 60 children from the community centre came to the park on a day trip.
A local businessman offered to take groups of the children for a ride on his boat.
Tragically, the boat capsized, and though some were saved, a dozen of them never returned to shore.
Delia Walton's identical twin sister Doreen was one of those lost. The girls were eight years old at the time.
"I went inside myself for a year," said Delia. "I can't tell you what happened when I was nine, but I know that when I was 10, I told them, 'I need to learn how to swim.'"
None of the children who died knew how to swim.
David Tagrieff was 12 at the time and came on the trip with his mother, who helped organize the excursion.
He jumped into a boat when he saw what was happening.
"I grabbed the oars and was able to row the boat over to where the accident was and jumped in," he said. "One girl was face down in the water, and I grabbed her by her hair.
"I think she was the girl that was visiting from Brazil for the summer, and [I] got her to the boat. Then, I turned around, and there was another boy who had his arms wrapped around a gas tank. I had to break his grip. He went down, but I grabbed him by the wrist, and I was able to bring him back to the boat."
He managed to save both children, and came up from Colorado for the memorial on Saturday.
The tragedy led to changes around boating regulations, but many from the centre are pushing for mandatory swimming lessons in schools.
Organizers unveiled a new memorial plaque, featuring the victims' names in the hopes that more will learn their story.
"I think it's really nice to have it marked so that people, again, can come and remember them, and learn a little bit about this story," said Saunders.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Sport court dismisses Canada's appeal in women's soccer case
The Court of Arbitration for Sport has dismissed Canada's appeal of a six-point penalty against its Olympic women's soccer team.
Man linked to four murders in Kirkland Lake, Ont., is dead, police say
Ontario Provincial Police say Martyn Rosko, the main suspect in four homicides in Kirkland Lake, is dead.
Want to move out of Canada? Experts explain everything you need to know
If you're planning to leave Canada, there's a laundry list of things that need to be checked off. Experts explain all the steps you need to take before making the move.
Colombian President Petro calls on Venezuela's Maduro to release detailed vote counts from election
Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Wednesday called on his close ally, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, to release detailed vote counts of the weekend election in which electoral authorities declared Maduro the winner.
Starbucks sales tumble as customers reject high-priced coffee
Fewer people are going to Starbucks and buying drinks and food, as last quarter was Starbucks' second straight with a sales decline.
Vermont man evacuates neighbours during flooding, weeks after witnessing a driver get swept away
Weeks after Jason Pilbin witnessed a driver get swept away by floodwaters, his northeastern Vermont community was ravaged again by flooding from heavy rains.
Families seek answers after inmates' bodies returned without internal organs
Six families whose loved ones died in Alabama prisons have filed lawsuits against the commissioner of the state's department of corrections, saying their family members' bodies were returned to them missing internal organs after undergoing state-ordered autopsies.
Economy grew 0.2% in May, StatCan estimates 2.2% annualized growth in Q2
The Canadian economy continued to keep its head just above water in May, growing 0.2 per cent, led by expansions in manufacturing and the public sector.
'Severely hypothermic' sailor rescued after spending hours adrift off B.C. coast
A sailboat captain was found alive but suffering from a severe case of hypothermia on Monday after spending up to five hours adrift in the ocean off British Columbia, according to the coast guard.