August 16, 2026

Bob & Cathie

Celebrating 57 years together

A life of love, lake days, family, and fifty-seven years of stories

Their Story

Drawn from A Collection of Life Stories — Bob and Cathie Corrigan

Catherine Ann Vernon and Robert Christopher Corrigan have spent fifty-seven years building a life together — from a chance meeting at an Ottawa University dance to a wedding in Old Chelsea, a cottage on Lake Kamaniskeg, four children, countless camping trips, and summers that always led back to the lake.

January 14, 1967

How they met

They met at a Saturday night dance in Tabaret Hall at Ottawa University. Cathie, a student nurse at the Ottawa General Hospital, was walking up from Bruyère Street with her classmates when a blond guy asked her to dance. When she asked where he was from, he said, “You’ve probably never heard of it — Barry’s Bay.”

“Barry’s Bay?” she exclaimed — she had spent four summers at Camp Tekakwitha there. They danced the rest of the evening. At midnight, Bob walked her all the way home to Eastview in the cold. Cathie told her roommate Denise, “I’m going to marry that guy!” Bob, for his part, remembers it as love at first sight.

I just had a good feeling about him right from the very start. — Cathie

Bob and Cathie, 1967 — 39 Mark Avenue — 1967 — 39 Mark Avenue

Courtship

Dances, sleigh rides & pumpkin costumes

Their early dates were on a student budget — walks, libraries, museums, Saturday dances, and meals at the Del Rio on Rideau Street. One memorable night, Cathie invited Bob on a nursing-class sleigh ride to Gavin’s Hotel in Quyon. The snow piled up on the ride home, the bus stuck in a snowbank, and they spent the entire night on the bus before the plows came.

Another favourite memory: a Hallowe’en dance where Cathie made giant pumpkin costumes from dyed sheets stuffed with newspapers. Bob and Cathie won first prize — dinner at a fancy hotel — though dancing was difficult when each of them was about four feet wide.

Bob and Cathie in pumpkin costumes, Hallowe'en 1967 — Hallowe’en 1967 — prize-winning pumpkins

May 3, 1968

The engagement

After a picnic at Rockcliffe Park, Bob and Cathie came home for supper. Cathie’s mother was out for the evening. They were sitting watching the hockey game when Bob asked her to marry him. Cathie wrote in her diary that night: “I’m so very happy. I can’t believe it’s true. I can’t wait for August 1969.”

Bob admits everyone teases him for not choosing a more romantic moment — but the answer was yes, and that was what mattered.

Kingsmere, Quebec, 1969 — Kingsmere, Quebec — 1969

August 16, 1969

The wedding

They were married on a perfect sunny morning at St. Stephen’s Church in Old Chelsea, Quebec — a historic parish where two of Cathie’s great-grandfather’s sisters had been baptized over a century before. Frances was maid of honour; Jimmy was best man. About sixty family and friends gathered.

The reception was held at a large yellow-and-green cottage at Kingsmere, rented for the summer by Cathie’s aunt Jeany and the Stock family — lawns, shade trees, and a wrap-around porch. Morrison-Lamothe Bakery catered the feast. Grandma Corrigan gave a lovely speech. In the afternoon, Bob and Cathie slipped away to Killarney Lodge in Algonquin Park for their honeymoon — though Cathie had to hurry back to study for her R.N. exams.

Wedding party, August 16, 1969 — Wedding day — August 16, 1969

June 13, 1970

The cottage on Lake Kamaniskeg

Shortly after marrying, they began looking for a cottage lot. Cathie’s mother’s boss, Dick McGregor, tipped them off about an auction of lakefront lots near Barry’s Bay. They spent a day exploring the shoreline, then drove to Bancroft for the sale.

Lot #59 went for $4,000 — too high. Then lot #60 came up: a beautiful sandy beach. Two young couples bid against them until the price reached $4,000. Cathie whispered to Bob to try once more. He bid $4,050. The room fell silent — then everyone applauded. It was, they say, one of the best purchases they ever made.

They built the cottage, raised four children, and have spent every summer there since 1972 — swimming, campfires on the point, canoe trips to Picnic Island, and the August long-weekend reunions with old friends.

The cottage beach on Lake Kamaniskeg, 1970 — Our cottage beach — 1970

Life at the lake

Summers, traditions & simple pleasures

When asked her favourite place to spend the summer, Cathie never hesitates: the cottage. Sandy beach, a raft, campfires under the stars, canoe trips to nearby islands, and the Jump Rock where generations of kids have leapt into the water. Great neighbours on both sides — the Domenchinis since the beginning, and the Roks, friends since Cathie met Shirley at the Ottawa General in 1969.

Family traditions filled the years: packing up for the whole summer with cats and dogs, Easter egg hunts in the yard, Hallowe’en haunted houses, March Break ski trips to Vermont, garage sales every May, and ham at Easter, turkey at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Bob traced family histories back centuries; Cathie gardened, hooked rugs, and painted folk art on wooden treasures. Bob built bookcases, a canoe rack, the garden shed, and much of the cottage itself.

Morning fog on Lake Kamaniskeg — Morning fog on Kamaniskeg Lake

Through the years

Camping trips, genealogy & adventure

Even with the cottage as home base, they travelled widely — the Maritimes, Disney World, Oklahoma to visit cousins, a month-long drive across Canada to British Columbia and back through Minnesota. In 2003, they fulfilled a long-held dream with a trip to Ireland, the homeland of many ancestors on both sides.

From a Saturday dance in Canada’s centennial year to fifty-seven anniversaries later, Bob and Cathie’s story is one of ordinary days made extraordinary by attention, humour, and devotion — to each other, to family, and to the lake they still call home.

At the cottage with the Domenchinis — At the Cottage with the Domenchinis

Trips

Summer road trips and March Break days on the slopes

Summer

Ski

Photos

Shared memories from family and friends, plus snapshots through the years

Home Movies

Family moments captured on film — birthdays, grandchildren, and ski days

Highlights

Birthday — Bob, 2006

A birthday celebration on film

Anniversary Greetings

Share a message for Bob & Cathie on their 57th anniversary