Stranger surprises family with plaque honouring their brother at site where he drowned 50 years ago [Video]

Like many children growing up in the West Island, the Terra-Cotta Park in Pointe-Claire was a big piece of Guylaine Nadeau’s childhood.

“This was our playground. There were trails, there was the creek, you know, there was the old rope, as we called it, which was an old fire hose tied to a tree that we used to swing on,” Nadeau said in an interview.

It was also the site of one of the worst tragedies her family has had to face.

On March 6, 1974, her six-year-old brother Alain Nadeau was playing with some friends in the forested area when he slid down an embankment and into the creek, which was overflowing due to the spring thaw.

“He fell and was washed away by the current. They estimated that the strength of the water was 40 km/h. So, a six year old boy, no chance,” she said.

Alain Nadeau, …