Don and Pat Jackson have a long standing local identification with Burlington, from the time they moved to Bromley Road in 1963, to the time when Pat Jackson passed in 2014. Growing up on a farm and raising eight kids made mom a neighbourhood pioneer in respect for the environment. Countless neighbours called on mom to remove a stubborn stain, invisible mend a favourite article of clothing or to get advice. She was the go-to neighbourhood expert for expectant/new mothers. I recall that when Rob Tremblay, our next door neighbour accidentally slit his wrist washing the dishes late at night, rather than wake his parents, he ran next door to my parents to rush him to the hospital. When a neighbour was ill, mom would send one of us over with a tray full of food. Mom instilled in all of us the importance of serving the community. My brother Don used to perform magic tricks for sick kids at JBH. There is no doubt that it was her popularity and the respect she had within Burlington that enabled Cam Jackson to secure the nomination of the Halton County Progressive Conservative Party when George Kerr retired from provincial politics. Cam went on to serve Burlington for over 40 years and continues to do so today despite health issues. Forever teaching us to respect others, no matter their life situation, she taught us serve coffee to the City sanitation workers when they performed their weekly garbage pickup and she hired young women (and one LGBTQ I recall) who were down on their luck to help out looking after us while she was giving birth and the months following. Mom learned sign language at a very early age so she could talk to her brother who was beaten so badly by their mother he became deaf. This happend when he was little more than an infant and as a result, he never learned to speak. Later in life mom became an advocate for the deaf and was an invited guest to cub scout meetings to teach kids sign language. When our scoutmaster landed a contract with General Mills to put balloons in cellophane packets which would then go into cereal boxes I will never forget mom rounding up the kids in the neighbourhood to man the “factory” she had built in our TV room. One person opened the cellophane pack, another put a balloon in it, another one manned the ironing board and sealed the pack, another one was keeping track of the number per box of 1000. I think she was responsible for at least 90% of the completed product. When Scouter Evans died, it was the 11th Burlington flag sewn by mom that draped his coffin. These are just a few of the many examples of her commitment to community.
When a neighbour needed real estate advice, dad was the man they sought out. He was a visionary when it came to the need for economy and self-reliance in an increasingly overcrowded world. Years before it was fashionable dad converted a large part of the backyard to a garden where he was proud to see us eating organic fruits and vegetables that he raised. And this, despite the fact that he worked most nights and most weekends. In spite of his workload, he was a scout leader of the 11th Burlington, which all six of his sons belonged to and was often referred to as the “Jackson Patrol”.
Bromley Park is where my siblings and I spent most of our play time growing up. When I see the hardships my parents endured when they were very young and the sacrifices they made giving us the life we enjoyed I feel it is nothing short of a miracle to see what they achieved. Although my mom had no time to sit on committees or join community clubs, it was the day-to-day service to her neighbours that makes her exceptional, when you consider what she went through as a child. For this reason I want to honor my parents for what they gave the community by renaming the park in their honor. To support this effort I want to donate the inheritance I received from my mother for upgrades in the park or whatever else the current local resident would like it spent on.
-Kevin Jackson
