he last week of September saw busloads of visiting Welsh lawn bowling enthusiasts unload at the west end of Cameron Avenue for lunch and an afternoon of socializing and bowling.
According to Bob Garrod, local lawn bowling club hospitality coordinator, the group from Wales is celebrating their organization's up-coming centennial. They are visiting several Canadian cities, but were only able to arrange matches here in Ottawa and at one other location.
Barrie Bellamy, tour organizer for Llanbradach Bowling Club, explained that their greens are located in South Wales only a short distance, as it turns out, from the hometown of Old Ottawa South's first permanent settlers, the Lewis & Mary Williams family.
They came to Canada in 1817 and soon laid claim to the lot extending from today's Sunnyside north to the Civic Centre, all the way from Main Street west to Bronson. A large part of their lot was acquired by Col. By for the Rideau Canal in 1827. Another part became the original subdivision of Rideauville in 1872, while the rest remained as farmland until the early 1950s when the residential area of Rideau Gardens was developed.
This coincidence is all the more noteworthy when one considers theinteresting history of the Ottawa Tennis & Lawn Bowling Club (OTLBC). Its origins are related to Lord Dufferin and the Marquess of Lorne. The Governor General's estate was one of the places where lawn bowling and outdoor tennis were first played in Canada. Later, in 1881, most of the players left the vice-regal grounds and set up at a more central location, first in Centretown and later in the Glebe. The club acquired the Cameron Avenue site in 1922 and has since been an important part of our community.
Former club president, and unofficial lawn bowling historian, Gord Fish explained that our local club could be the oldest in Canada, for either lawn bowling or tennis. He, Edith Nielsen and several local residents put together a small package of historical material for Mr. Bellamy and the visiting club with information about Old Ottawa South (especially the Lewis Williams connection) and the Ottawa Tennis & Lawn Bowling Club. Several articles from back issues of OSCAR were included.
Printing expenses were provided by the Carleton & Ottawa South Booster Alliance, with help from the Canadian Tourism Commission, Friends of Ottawa South Heritage and Gino Milito (dedicated caterer to the OTLBC).