Newmarket resident Fiona Fraser knew years ago that her family’s home would not be able to stay where it was with the arrival of condominium towers next door.
Their home at 27 Parkside Dr. would have to be removed, one way or another. But as the Rose Corporation prepared to redevelop the area, Fraser said she fought to see her family’s longtime home become greenspace for the neighbouring community.
Working with the municipality and developer, Fraser helped make that happen. The municipality confirmed in February 2019 that the area would become a park dedicated to her mother. After years waiting, Fraser stepped into the park her home had become for the first time Oct. 3. The park, featuring a playground and benches, is named after longtime volunteer Dorothy Fraser, now passed.
“She’d be overwhelmed,” Fraser said of how her mother would respond to the park. “It was very overwhelming for all of us, but she did do a lot in the community. People are constantly doing betterment to the community and not looking for anything at all, and long short of it, 50 years later, it came back and said ‘thank you.’”
Dorothy Fraser Park informally opened to the public this week. The playground-centred park is situated right next to the Davis Residences condos, at the corner of Parkside Drive and Deerfield Road. The town park is open to all and constructed by the Rose Corporation as part of the development agreement with the town.
Dorothy Fraser passed in 2020 at 90 years old. After growing up in Scotland during the Second World War, she came to Canada in the early 1950s, becoming a marketing analyst and model in Toronto. She moved to Newmarket in 1969 and became involved in the community, helping form the Newmarket Lioness Club, along with being part of the local Toastmasters and Horticultural Society. She also helped organize the annual Lions Music Festival.
Her daughter said she was a survivor, living with multiple sclerosis.
“She would always help everybody and anybody and she’s the one with the challenges, but if somebody needed something, she always provided,” Fiona Fraser said. “She would always be the one helping others, lifting other people up.”
The town recognized her and made sure that Dorothy Fraser knew she would get a park dedication in her twilight years.
“You have been a visible and well-regarded member of the community,” Newmarket Mayor John Taylor wrote to Fraser in 2019. “Your efforts building up Newmarket through community service and volunteerism is an example to us all …. Many children will enjoy the vibrant new green space bearing the name ‘Dorothy Fraser Park’ for many years to come.”
The motto on the park sign is also a tribute to her — "Bon Accord," meaning good agreement, the motto of Aberdeen, Scotland where Dorothy Fraser comes from.
The younger Fraser also complimented the accessibility features of the park, with a ramp entrance available and sensory activities, which she said were so important to her mother.
Located right by the condo building, a daycare and J.L.R. Bell Public School, Fraser said it will be a good gathering place.
“It's somewhere where all generations can mix and co-habitate,” Fraser said. “It’s just nice to see people, within their community, that have helped the betterment of our community, being appreciated.”
