Leslie Couldrey "Served with Enthusiasm and Distinction"

by Stan Nowak
This article was first published in the Dundas Star News. Reproduced with permission of the author.

Being relatively new to Dundas, I am finding out much about this lovely community and its rich history. One way I am learning is by studying maps of the town. This was how I discovered Couldrey Park.

The park is on Bridlewood Drive, and consists of 4.75 acres of playground and soccer field. At the dedication almost a quarter-century ago, Mayor Joe Bennett thanked the honoree, for whom this new park was named, for serving the Town of Dundas and Wentworth County "with enthusiasm and distinction". The date was Saturday, July 12, 1980. For L. B. Couldrey, the park dedication was a fitting finale to a distinguished life of public service in Dundas.

Leslie Brown Couldrey was born in England in 1889, and came to Canada after he married the former Rachel May Callaghan in July of 1915. Settling in Dundas (on Hope Street), he worked as a machinist for over forty years at Bertram & Sons. During World War II, he served as a Night Foreman in charge of war work. A son, Gordon, died in action during that global conflict.

Despite numerous unsuccessful attempts at elected public office, it was after he retired from Bertram & Sons that his political career really took flight. In 1956, he was elected Deputy Reeve (later Reeve in 1959) of Wentworth County. In 1958, he became the first Chairman of the Spencer Creek Conservation Authority, a forerunner to the current Hamilton Conservation Authority. During Mr. Couldrey's tenure as Chairman from 1958 to 1964, the Spencer Creek CA oversaw, among many significant projects, the establishment of the Valens and Tew's Falls Conservation Areas, the dam and reservoir at Crook's Hollow, as well as an increased awareness of the general public with regards to conservation issues.

He was also appointed Warden of Wentworth County in 1961, and re-elected as Reeve (by acclamation) in 1963. His political career took an unexpected turn on May 30, 1965, when he was sworn in as Mayor upon the sudden death of Mayor Bert Edwards.

During his tenure in office, Queen Juliana of the Netherlands visited Dundas and, as a Centennial Project, the Desjardins Centennial Park was officially dedicated on July 1, 1967. The Town of Dundas was also culturally twinned with Kaga, Japan during his watch. Mr. Couldrey stepped down voluntarily from the Mayor's Chair after 1967, but later ran, albeit unsuccessfully, for re-election as a councillor. "I'm on holidays now", he said.

In May 1975, just two months before, their sixtieth wedding anniversary, Mrs. Couldrey passed away, at which point Mr. Couldrey moved from the residence on Hope Street into Wentworth Lodge. For the former mayor, the move seemed natural, since the Lodge was conceived and approved during his time in office. "I was on the committee that had the key that opened the door", he said.

It was there that Mr. Couldrey passed away on November 26, 1986 at the age of 97, and was buried in Grove Cemetery beside his wife, Rachel May. His successor as mayor, Hugh Everett, stated, "He certainly was a man who fulfilled his oath of office". Leslie Brown Couldrey always considered himself a labour man, having been affiliated with the labour-oriented CCF (now NDP), and with over forty years of service at Bertram's. "I've always been interested in the working man because I belong to the working class", he said.

There is also that community park on Bridlewood Drive, which bears his name, that reminds us that he served all of Dundas "with enthusiasm and distinction".

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