Charles PB Taylor Parkette in north Oshawa pays tribute to city’s thoroughbred history
Published November 5, 2021 at 4:23 pm
Oshawa contributed another chapter to its rich horse racing history this week with the opening of the Charles P.B. Taylor Parkette on Windfields Farm Drive West.
The parkette, located in the Tribute Communities Dantonbury subdivision, is west of the E.P. Taylor Woodlot and Sandy Hawley Park, all of which pay tribute to the neighbourhood’s rich racing history.
The parkette offers both active and passive recreational opportunities where kids can enjoy climbing, swinging and balancing on an interactive log and beam play structure that includes an accessible swing. It also features accessible picnic tables and seating as well as paved walkways.
Charles P.B. Taylor Parkette is named in honour of Mr. Charles Plunket Bourchier Taylor, in recognition of his commitment to thoroughbred racing, to Windfields Farm and to Oshawa. Taylor was a celebrated Canadian journalist, author, essayist and thoroughbred racehorse owner/breeder.
Noreen Taylor, the wife of the late Charles Taylor, a celebrated writer as well and the Chancellor of Ontario Tech University, was on hand for the official unveiling, along with several Oshawa councillors and Mayor Dan Carter, who called the parkette, the EP Taylor Woodlot and the nearby Sandy Hawley Park the “perfect trifecta” of local greenspace for residents to enjoy.
“The City of Oshawa, its citizens, and the land upon which the farm stood were held in high esteem by Charles during his lifetime,” Noreen Taylor said. “He loved this farm and the families of people and horses that lived on its acreage. Yet he also looked to the future and was keen about the community that would take shape after its days as a breeding farm had passed. And, looking around, here it is: a vibrant new community that will build on the achievements of the past.”
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“While I wish that he was here to see his vision come to fruition, I know that he would be pleased to experience this transformation and most proud to be recognized in this manner.”
Charles Taylor’s lifetime contributions, vast knowledge and extensive involvement in the thoroughbred horse racing and breeding industry in Canada and North America earned his unanimous election into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 1996. Taylor succeeded his father E.P. Taylor as president of Windfields Farm in 1983 until his death in 1997.
“Named for someone who gave so much to Canada’s horse racing and literary scene, the Charles P.B. Taylor Parkette has become a special place for families who live in this growing neighbourhood, both as a scenic gateway and a recreational space that everyone can enjoy,” said Ward 2 Regional and City Councillor Tito-Dante Marimpietri.
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