History of The Glade aka Forest Glade in Windsor Ontario Canada #windsor #history #driving #explore

Added: 2026-05-07

[00:00:00]What's up? My name is Brent.

[00:00:03]This is Old Cool Windsor and I like making videos about my hometown of Windsor, Ontario, Canada.

[00:00:11]If you want to learn a little bit about this part of the world, give me a like, hit subscribe, and let's get into this.

[00:00:20]Right now, we're headed east on Tecumseh Road and we're going to make a right onto Forest Glade Drive in Forest Glade.

[00:00:29]When I was a kid growing up, we just called this place the Glade.

[00:00:34]The population of Forest Glade is roughly 20,000 people.

[00:00:39]The physical borders of this little community are Tecumseh Road East to EC Row Expressway north to south.

[00:00:50]And then east to west, it runs from Lauzon Road to Banwell.

[00:00:55]You know, Forest Glade is well-known amongst Windsorites for having many winding and confusing roads.

[00:01:04]It's very easy to get lost in Forest Glade.

[00:01:08]Today, we're not going to go into the weeds.

[00:01:11]We're going to stick on Forest Glade Drive, but you're definitely going to see and learn a lot.

[00:01:19]Until the 1960s, this area was mainly farmland with fewer than a dozen houses in this whole area.

[00:01:30]Forest Glade was a part of Sandwich East at the time of its early development.

[00:01:36]Sandwich East amalgamated with the city of Windsor in 1966.

[00:01:42]In the early 1960s, the Saint Louis family owned a large part of Forest Glade.

[00:01:51]This church was built in 1978.

[00:01:55]Our Lady of the Atonement Parish was established in the early 1970s to serve the growing East End community.

[00:02:05]Originally founded as the Church of the Atonement in 1971, it was initially led by the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement.

[00:02:20]In 2003, leadership passed to the Roman Catholic Diocese of London and the church was officially renamed Our Lady of the Atonement in 2008.

[00:02:33]In 1985, the Knights of Columbus Council number 8919, also known as the Father Paul J.F.

[00:02:45]Watson Council, was founded at this parish.

[00:02:51]The Knights of Columbus is a global Catholic fraternal service organization founded in 1882 by the Blessed Michael J. McGivney in New Haven, Connecticut.

[00:03:05]Limited to practicing Catholic men, it focuses on charity, unity, fraternity, and patriotism, serving parishes, communities, and families through volunteer work, and a top-rated insurance program.

[00:03:25]The Knights of Columbus donate millions of dollars and volunteer hours to various causes, including aid for people with disabilities, disaster relief, food banks, and pro-life initiatives.

[00:03:41]As of 2025, the Knights reported having over 2.2 million members around the world. Women may participate in the Knights of Columbus through the Columbiettes and other female auxiliaries.

[00:03:58]And boys may join the Columbian Squires.

[00:04:03]Right now, we're going to talk about 1973 and Sensei Lemond Cursey.

[00:04:10]That's the year that he opened his first martial arts school.

[00:04:15]Beginning with just 10 students, he utilized his passion for martial arts to build a robust community-focused dojo.

[00:04:25]Sensei Cursey's dedication to the sport earned him widespread prestige.

[00:04:32]He was inducted into the International Karate Hall of Fame in 1991, followed by a highly esteemed induction into the Isshin-ryu Karate Hall of Fame in Gatlinburg, Tennessee in 2013.

[00:04:50]The school continues to operate in Forest Glade under the leadership of Lemond and his wife, Anne Marie Cursey.

[00:05:00]Over the last few decades, Mr. Cursey's karate school has successfully graduated hundreds of black belts.

[00:05:07]Many of its former students have gone on to open their own respected studios in the Windsor-Essex region.

[00:05:16]Right now, we're pulling into the Windsor Evangelical Bible Church.

[00:05:20]This church was also constructed in 1978.

[00:05:25]While all evangelicals are Christians, not all Christians are evangelicals.

[00:05:33]Evangelicals emphasize personal conversion, to be born again, high biblical authority, sharing the gospel, and the central role of Jesus's sacrifice.

[00:05:49]We're headed back over here onto Forest Glade Drive.

[00:05:53]We're going to make a right and we're going to continue our journey over to Forest Glade Arena.

[00:05:59]Forest Glade Arena was constructed in 1975 as the cornerstone of the neighborhood's recreational facilities.

[00:06:10]The twin pad arena has served the community for decades by hosting ice sports, lacrosse, roller hockey, and floor hockey. I will tell you this.

[00:06:25]My dad loved me very much.

[00:06:28]He was very proud of many of my achievements in my life, but the greatest day ever, when he looked at me with a whole new look in his eye, was in this arena.

[00:06:39]It was in the mid-1990s.

[00:06:42]I was getting chirped the whole game because of how fat I was.

[00:06:46]It was tough being a fat guy in the '80s and '90s.

[00:06:51]This little weasel was flapping his gate the whole game and I said, "Eff it."

[00:06:57]And I was going after him and this big guy stepped in and I knocked him out cold with one shot.

[00:07:03]And then I rag-dolled that little weasel.

[00:07:06]It was the greatest day.

[00:07:08]My dad was like on cloud nine.

[00:07:12]I will always remember that.

[00:07:16]This library that we just passed was built in 1988.

[00:07:21]May 15th, 1988 was the day it opened.

[00:07:25]That was my dad's birthday.

[00:07:27]Let me think.

[00:07:29]He was born in '51.

[00:07:31]Now, it was '88.

[00:07:33]He would have been 37.

[00:07:35]He definitely had a mullet.

[00:07:38]Forest Glade Library was established to replace the Tecumseh Mall branch, replacing a retail space with a dedicated neighborhood setting. If you're from Windsor, Ontario, do you remember the library that was located in Tecumseh Mall?

[00:07:56]I'm going to tell you I do not remember that. I was only 8 years old when it closed.

[00:08:02]If you remember anything about that place, leave a comment down below.

[00:08:07]If you're holding your cell phone in your hand right now, please go down and hype this video.

[00:08:15]It really does help me a lot.

[00:08:18]Please give me a like.

[00:08:21]And if you have not subscribed and you caught yourself watching more than one of these videos, please subscribe. If you enjoy the work that I do and you're feeling extra generous, think about giving me a super thanks.

[00:08:38]I'm going to throw that right into the gas tank so we can drive around and learn more about this city.

[00:08:46]Right now, we're looking at the Middle Eastern Bible Fellowship Church. This church was established in 1995.

[00:08:55]The Arab community in Windsor is highly diverse and comprises both Christians and Muslims.

[00:09:03]While a significant portion is of the Islamic faith, the city also has a long-standing, vibrant population of Arab Christians, predominantly of Lebanese and Egyptian descent.

[00:09:19]When I was in my mid-20s, I used to hand out flyers that said free junk removal for scrap metal.

[00:09:28]That Christian Bible Fellowship Church, they used to call me all the time to come pick up metal.

[00:09:34]Respect. Right now, we just pulled into Old Eastwood Public School.

[00:09:40]Built in 1976 and it closed in 2022.

[00:09:47]On June 22nd, Eastwood will be having a closing ceremony to say goodbye. Eastwood Elementary closed after nearly half of a century.

[00:09:58]And it was going to be merging with Parkview Elementary.

[00:10:02]So, Eastwood and Parkview became Eastview Horizon Public School.

[00:10:11]And that is located at the old Parkview Elementary site on Stillmeadow Road in Forest Glade. Right now, Eastwood Public School is a temporary home for Forest Glade Public School because Forest Glade Public School is getting a remodeling.

[00:10:32]We're going to be turning into the parking lot of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

[00:10:39]The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was officially organized on April 6th, 1830 by Joseph Smith in Western New York.

[00:10:51]Emerging during the Second Great Awakening, the church was established on the belief of a restoration of the original Christian Church and the publication of the Book of Mormon.

[00:11:07]We're going to make a left here onto Forest Glade Drive and we're going to make a quick right onto Lauzon because I want to show you the Salvation Army Windsor Centre of Hope.

[00:11:22]The Learning Corner was established in 1986.

[00:11:26]Licensed by the Ministry of Education and governed by the Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014.

[00:11:36]Following the official arrival of the Salvation Army in Canada in 1882, fervent early members began establishing congregations and social ministries across Ontario.

[00:11:51]The Windsor branch was officially founded in 1886.

[00:11:56]Like many chapters in its early days, the Windsor branch focused on the holistic approach of its founder, William Booth, providing for the basic physical needs of the impoverished or soup, soap, and salvation alongside spiritual outreach.

[00:12:21]One of the most defining chapters in Windsor's Salvation Army history was the creation of Grace Hospital, which they opened on February 1st, 1920.

[00:12:36]And that hospital was located on the corner of Crawford and University Avenue West.

[00:12:42]Grace Hospital was officially closed on February 1st, 2004, and the building was eventually demolished in 2000 13.

[00:12:56]Let's continue our journey on Forest Glade Drive and we're headed over to Collège Boréal Windsor campus and it's located right here in Forest Glade.

[00:13:10]It provides French language post-secondary education, apprenticeships, and adult upgrading programs.

[00:13:19]The facility serves as a vital community hub offering settlement services, career counseling, employment resources, and modern amenities including a gymnasium and specialized labs.

[00:13:37]When I was a kid, this place was called Place Concord and there was a canoe on this property.

[00:13:44]Do you remember that canoe? That canoe was sitting outside so long, it started to fall apart.

[00:13:52]So, now it's currently in restoration mode.

[00:13:57]And its new home is going to be sitting at 90 Mill Street near the new Gordie Howe International Bridge on the Detroit River.

[00:14:07]I want to tell you a quick story about Place Concord.

[00:14:11]When I was a kid, we had a baseball banquet here and everyone was in line in the big buffet to get food and I remember there was a guy in a wheelchair and he was like, you know, in a wheelchair, he was kind of slow.

[00:14:27]And I remember some lady yelled at him to hurry up and 11-year-old me at the time was thinking, "What a b i t c h?"

[00:14:37]This building was constructed in the year 2000.

[00:14:41]The region's first Children's Safety Village was built and incorporated on the Colonial Centre property through the efforts of the Rotary Club of Windsor.

[00:14:54]The Safety Village is a not-for-profit organization that provides interactive safety and injury prevention education to the local community.

[00:15:05]Since its founding, it has grown from a Children's Traffic Education Park into a comprehensive safety, crime prevention, and community resilience hub for residents of all ages.

[00:15:22]In 2003, the Windsor Police Service partnered with the Village stationing a uniformed officer at the facility to operate a dedicated crime prevention program and teach youth about safety.

[00:15:38]2011, the facility was rebranded from the Rotary Children's Safety Village to simply the Safety Village.

[00:15:48]The organization took over the city's neighborhood watch program and expanded its reach to include adult and senior safety seminars.

[00:15:59]In 2013, the Village added a miniature roundabout to its interactive streets to teach children how to navigate increasingly common road structures.

[00:16:12]In 2024, the Stephanie and Barry Zekelman Foundation announced a $1 million donation to support the Village's extensive educational programming.

[00:16:25]So, you might have noticed that we're headed back on Forest Glade Drive the same way we came because we're going to make a left on Wildwood.

[00:16:35]I know I said we weren't going to get into the weeds and we're not.

[00:16:40]But I want to show you H.J. Lassaline Catholic Elementary School. It's right here, so we might as well see it.

[00:16:49]It was built in 1974 and it's named after Harry Joseph Lassaline.

[00:16:58]He was a prominent educator and a highly respected long-time superintendent of schools for the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board. When he was the superintendent, it was called the Windsor Roman Catholic Separate School Board.

[00:17:16]Right across the street from H.J.

[00:17:19]Lassaline is Forest Glade Optimist Park. It is a 30-acre recreational hub and it was opened in 1974.

[00:17:31]I will tell you the one thing that I absolutely love about Forest Glade Optimist Park is that they still have Little League Baseball.

[00:17:42]The Forest Glade Falcons.

[00:17:45]My son, Colin, played baseball at this park for four or five years and I love that they still have a baseball program. program.

[00:17:55]I don't want to sound like an old fart, but when I was a kid, you had Windsor East, Sandwich East, Windsor Central, Windsor North, Windsor South, Windsor South Canadians, Windsor West, Turtle Club. I know that I'm probably forgetting a couple, but baseball was all over and now crickets.

[00:18:24]Municipalities in Canada face heavy demands for space.

[00:18:31]Between 2016 and 2020, Statistics Canada recorded nearly 500 fewer public baseball diamonds nationwide lost to urban redevelopment or other recreational activities.

[00:18:49]Colonial Park. When I was a kid, we played baseball there all the time.

[00:18:55]Soon, it's going to be houses.

[00:18:58]Norman Park where I hit a grand slam and got the game ball, there's no more diamond there.

[00:19:06]George Park where I seen my dad hit the farthest ball I ever seen in my life, those two diamonds, ancient history.

[00:19:15]McDonald Park right around the corner from my mom's house when I was a kid, there used to be three diamonds there.

[00:19:24]Now there's one and I don't think anybody uses it.

[00:19:27]Ford Test Track. When I was a wee lad, there was like two or three baseball diamonds.

[00:19:35]Now, nada.

[00:19:38]Don't even get me started about my hockey childhood memories.

[00:19:43]Riverside Arena, bulldozed.

[00:19:47]Adstall Arena, sayonara. I am not ending this on a sour note.

[00:19:53]I'm just stating a fact.

[00:19:56]Things are here and then they're gone.

[00:20:00]So, I'm trying to get it on video so we can all enjoy it.

[00:20:04]Humans form strong emotional attachments to places.

[00:20:10]These locations become part of your identity, your history, and your sense of belonging.

[00:20:18]They're called anchor points.

[00:20:20]I started putting myself in videos recently not to become famous or popular or anything, just so people know that I'm an actual person working my butt off.

[00:20:33]I'm not AI.

[00:20:35]And I'm starting to get kind of noticed once in a while around my little town.

[00:20:40]And every single person that I have met so far has been awesome.

[00:20:46]I love all of you.

[00:20:48]I really do.

[00:20:50]So, take care, brush your hair, and I really do hope I see you in the next video.