In many ways, 1964 was a big year. It was the year of the Civil Rights Act in the United States, the Beatles topped the music charts, and the first Ford Mustang rolled off the production line. In Canada, Queen Elizabeth II visited during a tour of the Commonwealth, hosted by Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson, and Canadians were issued Social Insurance cards for the first time.
Closer to home, there was a municipal election underway in Ottawa, with Don Reid elected as mayor. Uplands Airport was officially upgraded and renamed. Local “all-ages” dance halls and clubs, like the Oak Door on Bank Street, were all the rage. The local music scene embraced the Beatles fever, with Ottawa bands like The Staccatos and The Esquires taking note.
And on November 26, 1964, ground was broken on a revolutionary planned community in March Township, then a close neighbour to the growing City of Ottawa, in what would soon become the suburb of Kanata.
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