Commemorative park naming in honour of John Brummell and John Curry

(John Curry and John Brummell at Ottawa City Hall when John Brummell received the Mayor’s Community Builder Award in 2017. Photo: Deborah Brummell)

John Brummell and John Curry were highly respected community leaders and best friends whose legacy will be honoured with the naming of a park in Stittsville.

On Wednesday, February 25, Councillor Glen Gower introduced a Motion to City Council for a commemorative naming to honor John Curry and John Brummell. “THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council approves the commemorative naming of Cope Park, located at 785 Cope Drive, to “Brummell-Curry Park” in honour of John Brummell and John Curry, in recognition of their outstanding service and enduring impact on the community of Stittsville and the City of Ottawa”. To read the full motion, visit https://glengower.ca/notebook/notebook-motion-to-commemorate-john-curry-and-john-brummell/.

John Brummell and John Curry were long-time best friends for 40 years. Not only did they work side-by-side to bring us the stories in the Stittsville News, the two men shared so much more together in life. When John Curry passed away in February, 2022, John Brummel told us, “There was an immediate connection with our personalities meshing for whatever reason.” The two quickly became known as ‘the two Johns’.

A young newspaperman with six years of experience in journalism, made a life-changing deal in May 1975. John Curry purchased and became the proud owner of the Stittsville News at a price of $6,000. He opened the doors of his new venture in his mother Mary’s antique shop in the Bell’s Service Centre on Stittsville Main. A few years later, he moved to one of the first mini malls in Stittsville – at the corner of Manchester and Main. Barbara Fairbrother was his long-time administrative assistant.

His community-driven career spanned for over 43 years. The hours were long and the pay was low. The newspaper served a small community and barely broke even. But Curry wasn’t in it for the money. He wanted to do good journalism, report for the community and have fun doing it. John was also very actively involved in the community being a member of many organizations, the Goulbourn Museum board and a Catholic School Board trustee. In his spare time, which was a rarity, he enjoyed gardening, golfing, following sports and reading, especially biographies.

It was 1979 when John Brummell dropped into the Stittsville News office of John Curry, where his Mom Mary Curry operated her Antiques Shop. John wanted to see for himself what the newspaper business in a small community was all about. While there, he mentioned in passing that in his former line of work he had built a solid career in photography and had some writing skills. After a conversation with his mother, Mary, a decision was made. John and Mary would hire John. Brummell would begin working part-time for the local paper in June 1980.

The Stittsville News never looked back and the two Johns quickly became best friends. When John retired in 1993 from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) as a Technical Advisor, he then became full-time clicking his camera for those loved photographs and articles to share with the community for over 42 years. Seldom did an event take place in Stittsville or Goulbourn that was not covered and photographed by John Brummell. Brummell was instrumental in bringing our community together through his photographs, writing, involvement, sharing his infectious smile and sense of humour.

The paper eventually changed hands in 2001, but Curry and Brummell stuck around with it was sold to Runge Newspapers. In 2005, it was sold again to Metroland Media. When The Stittsville News was sold to the Metroland Media Group (MMG), the group wanted to ensure that the loyal local coverage was continued by the team of ‘two Johns’ – as many referred to John Curry and John Brummell. So in February 2016, John Brummell continued to share, along with John Curry, his enthusiasm for our local community through his photographs and articles for over seven years under the historical The Stittsville News name. For that, the community was ever grateful.

All seemed well until late 2017, when Postmedia picked up the paper and immediately announced it would close in January 2018. The last edition of the Stittsville News landed on doorsteps on January 11, 2018 having been published for 60 years. For years every Sunday, together the two Johns would prepare the layout for the weekly editions of the Stittsville News in John Curry’s basement. Their last Sunday together was no different when Brummell retired on Friday, January 13, 2017, a year before the last edition.

When the Stittsville News became retired in 2018, Curry in a January 13, 2018 interview on CBC Radio told the audience, “It was sad because you knew that that was the last one and the last time you were able to tell stories about the community,” “But that’s the way it was, you had no control over it.”

John Curry was a quiet gentleman, with a quick wit, who many of us looked up to. He was a fountain of knowledge and always was willing to give his time to his community, organizations and committees. His input was invaluable. He cared for the youth of our community – his coverage of their successes at school, in sports, or community groups, proved it. John didn’t live by the clock – he lived for his next story.

When Brummell retired, his best friend John Curry, wrote the following. “And while Friday, the 13th is considered by some as an unlucky day, nothing could be farther from the truth for John Brummell who is looking forward to retirement years in which he will do some of the things which he has not been able to do in a working career going back over 50 years and particularly in the community journalism part of that career, a part featuring lots of weekend and evening work.

So this will mean more time for gardening, one of the great passions in his life, for doing things around the house that he has not had time to do over the years, perhaps for some travel driving in the United States, for walking the dog and for simply enjoying life.”

It was through the support and dedication of the two Johns and Barb Fairbrother who handled office duties for almost 20 years, along with that of the community, with its many groups and organizations, that The Stittsville News became a household name.

John Curry passed away on February 5, 2022. John Brummell passed away on March 18, 2023. Having a park named in honour of the two Johns will be a lasting tribute transforming this parkland into a living legacy.