By Denise Bacon
Peter and Wendy were high-school sweethearts at Mowat C.I. where Peter played on the Mowat hockey team. They both grew up here in the Centennial neighbourhood, enjoying the beach and parks with their friends and families. Tobogganing at Adams Park and riding bikes along the waterfront with friends were happy times and created wonderful memories.
Fast forward many years as Peter and Wendy grew up and moved away for college and university. Like so many young people, they didn’t come back home then.
Their story continues as Peter and Wendy got married and bought their first home in southwest Scarborough. They loved their post-war bungalow with its character and its old charm neighbourhood with narrow streets and no boulevards.
Leah, a clever 6-year-old now, was the first addition to their little family. Three years later, their twin boys, Eric and Christian, started making their cozy home feel quite small. Suddenly, there was very little room for toys and bikes and fast-growing children.
The time came when the family outgrew their bungalow and they wanted more space in a safe and comfortable neighbourhood. Throughout their search for a new home, Wendy always envisioned moving “back home” to Centennial. They hit the jackpot as the right house became available for them at the right time right here in Centennial in the summer of 2016!
Wendy and Peter love being back. They are lucky that both their parents still live in the neighbourhood and the close family ties are not bound just through heart strings but also through living close together.
Friends from high school have also moved back to the neighbourhood and it is heartening to have this next generation with their own children growing up as friends. Peter mentioned that there will be loads of children getting on the school bus to Charlottetown at the corner starting in the fall. This is becoming a children’s neighbourhood once again!
Now, Leah plays hockey for West Hill and rides her bike along the waterfront. She and her brothers love playing at Adams and Wanita Parks and at the beach. The quiet, safe neighbourhood is perfect for the three little ones to have their turn to grow up with their own friends.
Peter and Wendy are loving being back in Centennial where the once-young trees have grown to create a green canopy over the streets.