14

Marlow Banks talks about his first car.
15 February 2006
Peterborough, Ontario, Canada

15

Marlow learned to drive at age 14. His driver's test took only 15 minutes.
[Historic note: J. J. Duffus was the first Ford dealer in town. He opened his business in 1911 and by 1920 business was booming.]

16

Marlow Banks, his father Charles, and siblings Carl and Helen in their Overland.
July, 1919
Empire Theatre, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada

17

The corner of George and Charlotte Streets in the summer of 1938.
14 July 1938
George and Charlotte Streets, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada

18

When asked how he got around Marlow answered that he mostly walked. For any great distance his dad had the bike business and he could borrow a bike from the store. The streetcar was a popular and reasonably priced means of getting around, but they only went where there were tracks. The streetcar route went down George to Lansdowne, east along Lansdowne to Lock, down Lock to the river. There was a turn around where Newhall Park is, the tracks would circle back and go up George, west on Charlotte to Park, north on Park to McDonnel, west on McDonnel to Monaghan, up Monaghan to Jackson Park, and there was another turn around there. The city used to flood the middle of the turn around in the winter and have a public skating rink. [Historic note: the streetcars ran from the 1890s until 1927.]

19

Marlow Banks riding on his fancy chair during the Fair Parade.
1919
Peterborough, Ontario, Canada

20

Marlow started school at the age of 6 in 1922. He remembers his mother walking him up Monaghan Road to Queen Mary Public School. He skipped two grades in elementary school. At that time west of Monaghan Road was all farm land.

He started high school at PCI (Peterborough Collegiate Institute) in 1932 or 1933. PCI changed to PCVS (Peterborough Collegiate & Vocational Institute) when they put the first addition on. He thinks that was built while he was there. He loved math and physics. Marlow did well in high school until he hit Ancient History and Latin. He would not study for Latin because he could see no reason for it. He wanted to be an architect but there was no hope of him going on to college as it was the Depression and he knew his family couldn't afford it.

It took Marlow 3 years to pass Latin. Margaret MacIntosh was the teacher and when he finally passed the exam he went and knocked on her classroom door and asked her if he had passed. She replied, "I hope so." It got to the point that when another student would ask a question she would have him answer it "Banks you tell them."

Marlow claims he didn't pass Ancient History because they hired Dorothy Brisbane, a Lindsay girl, to teach and she was so attractive and so personable that he didn't want to pass! Marlow says, "She was a lovely girl and up until that point all of my female teachers had been old maids – elderly, plain and prim, in comes this young woman who dressed well and was a hit."

21

A young Marlow Banks holds up his catch. He is standing beside Bill Mellis' cruiser 'Venie'.
1925
Idlewyld, Rice Lake, Ontario, Canada

22

As a young boy, Marlow and his friends played "chase" on their bikes. Their boundaries for the game were east to west Park Street to Monaghan Road, and north to south Gilmour to King Streets. They rode their bikes around the city all the time and into the country as well. In those days there was less danger due to fewer cars.

Another game the boys played on their bikes was the "slow race". For this activity the boundary ran from Charlotte to King Streets. The object of the game was that the last person to get to their destination won. One of the rules was that you couldn't touch your feet to the ground.

Marlow recalls there was a house nearby the neighbourhood that had been abandoned during construction where kids played cowboys and Indians, or skied down the hills of dirt.

On Saturday morning farmers came in to town to the market and the kids would jump on the rear runners to get a ride down to Park Street.

Marlow's parents didn't set many rules. Kids came to each other's doors, there were no fences, and they even walked through each other's houses.

23

A group of people take a cruise in Bill Mellis' cruiser 'Venie'.
1925
Wallace's Point, Rice Lake, Ontario, Canada

24

Marlow Banks at the Peterborough Lift Lock.
April, 1933
Peterborough Lift Lock National Historic Site, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada

25

When he was a youngster, Marlow earned his own spending money delivering the Peterborough Examiner. At age 13 he had 30 customers that he had to collect from every week. He made about a dollar to $1.50 a week.

He started going to dances at around age 16. (A benefit of making his own money was the ability to afford to take girls out!) That was about the age when people started going to the dances. In those days there was no minimum age for admittance but it was ‘understood' that younger kids shouldn't go to the dances. Mostly teens and people in their early 20s attended the dances; he doesn't recall seeing any married couples there. Married couples would go to the Friday night club at the YMCA. He was much involved with this. They would hold weekend dances with a live orchestra in the gymnasium.

Public dances were extremely popular, as was the PCI ‘At Home' at Christmas time. It was a formal dance at the high school and students who had graduated and moved away would come home to their parents' for Christmas and they would get together for this. The girls wore long dresses and the boys bought them corsages.

26

Marlow Banks talks about his lost right hand glove and the trouble it caused.
15 February 2006
Peterborough, Ontario, Canada

27

Marlow Banks talks about his first full time job.
25 February 2006
Peterborough, Ontario, Canada