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Musician Bobby Gimby leads Ottawa public school students in a centennial parade.

In 1967 I was a public school student in Ottawa and participated in the July 1 parade to celebrate Canada’s one hundredth birthday.

We were told to gather at the north end of Princess Street, where it joins the parkway by the river. Students from other public schools in Ottawa were also there, and two Grade 8 teachers from our school, Rockcliffe Park Public, were there to chaperone us.

Next we were told to walk up the hill and line the north side of Sussex Drive. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were driven out from Rideau Hall and passed us in a convertible limousine.

After the royal party passed, we formed up on the road behind the performer Bobby Gimby and walked west. All we knew about Gimby was his “Ca-na-da” song, which had been on the radio for weeks. As we passed city hall, I broke ranks and took a colour photo (top left) with my new Kodak Instamatic camera.

A choir from one of the other public schools had been chosen to lead the parade behind Gimby, but we all knew the words to “Ca-na-da” and sang along.

I still know the words — but then, I was there in 1967 and have every reason to remember.

The entertainer, musician, and singer-songwriter Bobby Gimby, seen on the far right and in the photo above, came to be known as “The Pied Piper of Canada.” His 1967 Canadian centennial song “Ca-na-da” was released as a single, right, and was hugely...