Today is a special day in Wallace Family History; it is the 30th anniversary of the ” Disaster on Donalda Street “.
On April 29th, 1984, I was in Woodstock covering the Penetanguishene Kings who would defeat the Navy Vets that night to sweep the Schmalz Cup and claim the Ontario Junior C Hockey Championship.
If you’ve ever been on a bus driving from Woodstock to Penetang with Junior C Hockey players celebrating the town’s first ever Ontario title, I don’t have to go into great detail on how the party in the bus was followed by a lengthy shaker at the home of Kings General Manager Peter Dubeau when we got back to Huronia.
Suffice it to say, the sun had been up for several hours by the time I made it back to my parents home on Donalda Street in Midland.
On Monday April 30th, 1984, there were high winds throughout Ontario, and at the corner of Donalda & Johnson Street, the large tree on Gillett’s property came crashing down on the Wallace home.
In some ways, we were fortunate. The tree did not damage our living space, but the attached garage was demolished, I mean destroyed from roof to concrete, a frightening pile of bricks giving testament to the force of the winds and the tree that was toppled.
For weeks, 332 Donalda Street was a local landmark for gawkers at all hours of the day, surveying the damage and reconstruction of the garage.
For the next 30 years, every April 30th, I’ve always been able to visualize the Kings championship, the victory ride home, events at the Dubeau shaker and the rubble from the 1984 ” Disaster on Donalda Street “.
I’m Fred Wallace