A Band of Brothers Seven friends who grew up in the same neighbourhoods and attended the same high school have forged a connection that transcends mere companionship; it is a connection that’s evolved into a brotherhood. Fifty-four years ago, Colin Botten, Chris Brawn, and Brian Prentice, three homegrown Byron boys, met in kindergarten and spent their early years playing sports and running around the neighbourhood together.
Bill Swan Wedding – The Byron Gang – 1992
The boys often arranged to meet in Springbank Park near what became known as the “Meeting Tree” beside the train tracks. “We lived close enough we could hear the train whistle and the peacocks scream,” adds Colin. While the tracks and peacocks are gone, the Meeting Tree still stands, waiting. In Norton Estates, a similar brotherly bond was forming between Dave Thompson (DT) and Bill Swan. They met 53 years ago on the first day of grade 1. Like the Byron boys, DT and Bill hung out together, playing sports and exploring their world first on bikes and then on motorcycles. In Grade 9, the worlds of these boys collided as they all headed to Saunders Secondary to start high school. During the next two years, Colin, Chris, Brian, DT, and Bill, along with Chris’s friend Darcy McNeill, formed a combination of friendships with each other through shared classes, hockey, football, band, orchestra, and student council. Grade 11, however, was the pivotal year that solidified the band of would-be brothers into the cohesive group they are today. “It was a house party that brought us all together in one place at the same time,” recalls Darcy. “That’s when we started hanging around as a bigger group rather than just in smaller packs.” That party also introduced Dave Bridges, a fun-loving “dance to his own beat” enigma, into the brotherhood. Dave had recently moved into Westmount and was new to Saunders. “He just kind of appeared,” laughs DT.
Brian Prentice, Colin Botten, Chris Brawn, Todd Therrien, 1983
“Byron was our playground,” explains Colin. “In those days, you left the house after breakfast and didn’t come back until the streetlights went on. We’d land at one of our houses for lunch or supper then head out again.” Colin, Chris, and Brian roamed freely and with confidence within Byron’s
Bill Swan, Dave Thompson, 1981
boundaries, chasing each other up and down the sand dunes behind Griffith Street, building tree forts near the Byron gravel pits, stopping at Pinto’s on Commissioners Road for a cream soda, or tobogganing down McNiece’s Hill.
Canoe trip, 1989
Boys in Eden Ave basement New Year’s Eve around 1993
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