Portra i t • Prof i le
The Second Street Watchman
Although Albert A. Scott might be up in age, his sense of humour still has a way of making even the younger ones laugh. “I went to domy groceries earlier today,” he explains. “I told the girl at the cash that I couldn’t wait to see what I’d look like once I got old.”
FRANCIS RACINE francis.racine@eap.on.ca
it seems that life had a different plan for the young lad who first set foot in Cornwall at the age of 10. “My father was an engineer. He used to get jobs all over the place and we’d stay in several different cities.” Gesturing with his hands, he recalls when he would come back from trips aboard the train. “I remember coming into the Cornwall train station,” he reminisces. “There were taxis everywhere. But they were Ford Model A’s! I know, because I had to take one home. They all had small curtains on their side, in case it rained.” The 102-year-old finished his primary school at Central Public school, which still stands to this day, albeit a bit different. “Du- ring two grades, my teachers would come to my house and ask why I hadmissed a week of school,” he recalls. “Mymother would tell them that I was upstairs inmy bed, sick. But I was lucky, I managed to finish. I had great teachers.” From there, Mr. Scott considered going to high school. “My big brother had been to high school and he had caused some trouble, so my mom told me that she didn’t want to send me to high school.” He therefore obtained a job at a local bedding company and oversaw two bigma- chines, which created the wiring for beds. “I was making $9 a week,” he proudly evokes, a wide grin on his face. “I was a young man with a lot of money. Why would I ever need to go to high school, I remember tellingmyself.” Meeting the love of his life When asked if he ever was married, Mr.
Scott smiles. “We knew each other as kids, we were friends,” he says, a hint of emotion present in his voice. “She was 10 and I was 14. She told her mother that she wouldmarry me one day. Her mother said that she would meet a lot of other boys. But she choseme!” Mr. Scott marriedMyrna Pyke in 1940. She was 17 and he was 21. “She was amarvellous woman,” he explains. “We weremarried for 63 years.” Together, they raised four daugh- ters and a son. By the time he was married, Mr. Scott was making $16 at the bedding company. “I remember tellingmy boss I wanted $25 a week. He looked very mad and walked into themanager’s office. When he came out, he toldme he could only add a couple of dollars to my pay.” Mr. Scott therefore decided to become employed by Courtaulds, where he worked for 35 years in the spinning room before retiring. “Once we were retired, we really enjoyed ourselves,” he says. “We visited Europe, the United States and parts of Canada. We really had fun.” Although hemight be up in age, his sense of humour still has a way of making even the younger ones laugh. “I went to do my groceries earlier today,” he explains. “I told the girl at the cash that I couldn’t wait to see what I’d look like once I’d get old.” To that, Mr. Scott erupts in his trademark high-pitched laugh, every one of his limbs moving, before quietly sitting back in his chair. His stare wanders back to Second Street, his mind once again at ease.
“When I was younger, my mother used to say that I would never make it to my teen years.’’
You may have seen him sitting comfor- tably in his lawn chair, located on his front porch. He proudly wears an orange hat and a small, light jacket. His wrist is decorated by a watch and his cane is always nearby. From his post, on the corner of Second and Cumberland Streets, Albert A. Scott smiles at passersbys and waves at children. “Oh, what a beauty they are,” he yells to a familymaking their way down the sidewalk, pushing a stroller. The two little girls in it can’t help but stare at the mysterious but charmingman.The two parents simply smile back. “I love kids,” he professes, still staring
at the busy street. Mr. Scott was born in 1913. During the last century, Cornwall has evolved froma small city, housing barns and cow fields, to a busy mill town, a transformation of which Mr. Scott is one of the few remaining witnesses. Nothing in his early years destined Mr. Scott to reach such a respectful age. “When I was younger, my mother used to say that I would never make it to my teen years,” he says proudly. “I was quite a sick child.” Yet,
The 102-year-old finished his primary school at Central Public school.
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