Several years after Suzanne’s article ran in the Spectator, a woman named Kay submitted a story to the folks at Haunted Hamilton about a time when she was walking her dog in the field across the street from the school. She took a break to sit under her favourite tree when she experienced the strange feeling of being watched. Her dog started barking at the lights of a third-floor window, which were on and off; she had to struggle to pull the dog away as she slowly backed away down the street. She was convinced it was the ghost of Russell calling out to her and her pet.[14]
In 2000 a security guard, who wished to remain anonymous, described an unexplainable event that happened to him while doing a patrol during Christmas Eve.[15] He received notification that motion detectors to the office and one of the hallways were going off in the building. Responding to the call involved doing a perimeter search, then entering at the back of the parking lot and heading past the caretaker’s office to the boiler room area, where the alarm could be reset.
This particular time, the guard felt a little unnerved as he descended the half-flight of stairs into the dark basement. He passed the closed caretaker’s door, turned the alarms off, and then headed back upstairs to investigate the hallway, where the alarm had been activated. Finding nothing there and quickly writing up a report, he headed back downstairs to re-arm the system.
As he passed the caretaker’s office, the door shot open to the sound of a radio blaring inside. He jumped and swung into the room, believing he’d found the trespassers, but nobody was inside. A moment later, as he was heading back to the boiler room, he noticed a fire door hanging open directly across from the alarm room. He shone his flashlight into the room, which was a basement gym, and found an Indian rubber ball bouncing on its own in the corner.
Understandably, he didn’t stick around long. Later that evening, when he bumped into a police officer at a local Tim Hortons, the officer shared similar stories he had heard, including another officer seeing the phantom image of a little girl holding out her hand, as if to plead for help, then disappearing. He also spoke of doors opening on their own, as if some invisible gentleman were being polite to people passing through.
As mentioned earlier, the building’s use as school ended in 2007. Around that time, a group of concerned residents led by Julia Kollek and calling themselves Dundas District Innovation Group put forth business plans to try to keep the school open and operating as a community arts and youth centre. There was also a lot of talk of various institutions and agencies purchasing the building. At that point, Charles Fisher, son of Robert Fisher, began a case regarding a 1989 court ruling that removed the original protective covenant of the use of the grounds for a school or public playground property. Heated debates raged on while Hamilton police continued to report break-ins, vandalism, and mischief at the abandoned building.[16]
In 2009 Mike Valvasori, a developer, and his brother Dave, bought the school for $600,000 and began the process of converting it into condos by gutting the interior and creating lofts.[17]
Strangely enough, in June 2011, a forty-five-year-old photographer who was taking pictures of the development building plunged twenty-five feet from an illegally placed construction lift. He had set up the lift to take pictures of the school from across the street and the stabilizing legs were not properly extended. The lift tipped, dumping the photographer out. He was treated on site for head injuries and rushed to the general hospital in serious but stable condition.[18]
It seems to have been an accident caused, perhaps, by a careless act. But, given the history of the Dundas school and the long history of supernatural pranks, one might have second thoughts or doubts about the cause. Could the restless spirits, perhaps eager to put a stop to the forthcoming construction, be trying to throw a proverbial “monkey wrench” into the plans? You never know.
According to the proposed construction plans, the building, or at least the core structure of it as it was originally designed, will still stand, and if plans go ahead, a new series of tenants will occupy the building.
One wonders, however, how long it might be before the new tenants begin to experience strange bumps in the night, unexplainable occurrences, and more of the otherworldly encounters so often reported on these allegedly haunted grounds.
Chapter Thirteen
The Hamilton Armouries
In 1861 Canada didn’t have any armed forces and relied on Britain to provide military protection. However, militia units have existed for most of our country’s history. These units were formed from able-bodied men who were recruited locally to defend against potential rebellion or invasion. Units were formed across the country and officers were chosen from the local elite. They were called together once per year, so that the military could quickly calculate how many men might be available should a military emergency occur.[1]
The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry descends from the 13th Battalion of Volunteer Militia, which was formed in 1862 on a general order issued by the governor general. In April 1865, Hamilton’s 13th Battalion of Volunteer Militia was sent to Fort Erie to defend against a frontier invasion by the Fenians.[2]
By March of 1866, Hamilton’s militia still didn’t have its own home. Men were stationed in drill and artillery sheds while the officers were guard mounted daily at the Mountain View Hotel.[3] In 1871, British garrisons in Canada were replaced by a newly formed Permanent Active Militia, which was composed of only two batteries of artillery, but later expanded to include cavalry and infantry.[4]
Apparitions of old soldiers and other eerie presences can be seen and felt in the historic Hamilton Armoury.
Courtesy of Stephanie Lechniak.
It wasn’t until 1906 that it was decided Hamilton needed to build a proper facility for the training of its militia units. After much debate and disagreements, the City of Hamilton granted a portion of land located on James Street North at Cannon for this purpose. Joseph Michael Pigott — who was also later known for the design of Hamilton City Hall, the Royal Ontario Museum, Westdale High School, and the original McMaster University buildings — designed the Hamilton Armouries. Building began in 1906 and took a full two years to complete. It was constructed entirely by men from Hamilton, one of the unique elements of its construction.[5]
The James Street Armoury, as it was originally known, was later renamed the John W. Foote VC Armoury in memory of Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel John Weir Foote, VC, CD, who, at Dieppe on August 19, 1942, was regimental chaplain with the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry. He is the only member of the Canadian Chaplain Services ever to be awarded the Victoria Cross.[6]
Foote’s citation, from The London Gazette, February 14, 1946, reads:
Upon landing on the beach under heavy fire he attached himself to the Regimental Aid Post which had been set up in a slight depression on the beach, but which was only sufficient to give