Gow’s bridge is located in Royal City Park, Guelph, and spans the Speed River just downstream of its confluence with the Eramosa River.  The stone bridge was built in 1897 and was named in relation to the adjacent Gow’s Mill.

As a child, I crossed this bridge many times. My siblings and cousins and I walked to the downtown library for story-time on Saturdays. The troupe of us would follow our eldest cousin, Diane, trusting her to know the way.

We referred to this park as “Box Park”. I don’t know if Royal City Park ever previously had that name.

One Saturday, I returned home with a book I was excited to show my Dutch immigrant parents - a picture book about Holland. When I opened the pages, I was confused because the people in the book didn’t dress in the Dutch tradition.

The book was actually a book about the ‘Holy Land’. My six year old reading level wasn’t advanced enough to know the difference.