CENTENARIAN SALUTE
Ovil Lesperance, 102, looks over his 1930 high school year book from Assumption with Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens on Tuesday at Lesperance’s South Windsor home. Dilkens is making an effort to visit as many local centenarians as possible.
At 102, Ovil Lesperance has no shortage of stories to tell and he’ll tell them to anyone who’ll listen.
On Tuesday, that anyone was Mayor Drew Dilkens. Dilkens dropped in on Lesperance at his Roseland Drive home as part of the mayor’s plan to meet with as many city centenarians as he can. On Tuesday, as part of the Windsor’s 125th birthday celebrations and seniors month, city hall released the names of 34 centenarians like Lesperance.
“As part of our city’s birthday, I wanted to go out and meet all those folks,” Dilkens said. “For me, this is exciting and fascinating to hear about the history of the city and what things were like here when they were young.”
The list includes 24 women and 10 men. Olinda Mascarin, who now lives in LaSalle, is the oldest at 107. The list includes former Miss Windsor Elmira Frenette, 101, who still has photos and news clippings from her victory in 1935. When the Detroit-Windsor tunnel was officially opened in 1930, Robert Johnson, now 100, participated in the ceremony as a boy scout. Jack Ingram, 104, delivered meat when he was 13 and went on to open his own meat store. Later, he opened JH Ingram Furniture.
These residents are living links to our rich and varied history,” Dilkens said. “They are important contributors to what Windsor is today. Recognizing their milestone birthdays during the city’s 125th anniversary is a privilege.”
Lesperance still lives in the home backing on to the Roseland Golf Course he built in 1948.
“I remember seeing Sammy Davis Jr. golfing on the 15th hole one day when I was in my backyard years ago,” he said.
Up until last year, Lesperance regularly played golf. Lesperance still drives and has just renewed his licence. He stays social playing cards and still has breakfast with his buddies every Thursday morning.
“There’s only five of us that go for breakfast now,” he said. “It used to be 12 of us.”
He’s seen both the Ambassador Bridge and the Windsor Tunnel being built and was quick to ask Dilkens about the new bridge, pointing out it was “taking a long time.”
Dilkens presented the longtime Spitfires fan with a ball cap along with a letter from the city recognizing his milestone.
Lesperance was born in Hotel Dieu-Grace Hospital on Jan. 25, 1915, and has lived in Windsor his entire life.
“I hold the record for my birth,” he said, with a laugh. “I weighed 14 pounds.”
In 1946, Lesperance married Marie, who died in 2005. He worked as a bus driver until retiring at age 65. He has four children, 13 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.
He loved to visit the dance halls downtown with his wife, Marie, and in particular enjoyed a place called the Bucket of Blood.
“It was a regular dance hall,” he said. “We used to go and dance. I don’t know how it got that name, maybe they had something rough going on there, I don’t know.”
Sitting in his living room, he shared some of his memories of diving into the Detroit River with friends during Prohibition to retrieve whiskey bottles tossed overboard by rum runners.
Lesperance’s son, Jerome, said some of his dad’s favourite stories surround the days of Prohibition.
“He loves to talk about going to the blind pigs, which are the illegal drinking halls,” Jerome said. “And he talks about the old Rendezvous which used to have a secret room in the middle during Prohibition. If you knew the people you could go inside that room and drink and gamble.”
The stories are endless and the memories priceless.
Jerome believes his dad has stayed healthy by keeping active. But Lesperance said the secret to his longevity is really quite simple.
“I drink red wine every day,” he said. “I guess I just took really good care of myself.”