![]() Over the years Allen became very close with Margarets six siblings, Lois, David, Kathy, John, Christine, and Fred. Friends, neighbours and family enjoyed gathering there for 30 years until 2004. Allen and his buddies would board the Ski Train from the young age of 11 and from Toronto to the Craigleith Depot and head up to Blue Mountain back in 1943 and years to follow.Īllen and Margaret settled and raised their family in Oshawa and would spend weekends and summers in Craigleith at the ski chalet Allen designed and built on Sleepy Hollow Road in 1974. Allen was arguably one of the Toronto Maple Leafs biggest fans. Allen was an incredible athlete in all sports, on teams from basketball, rowing, skiing and hockey.Īllen was married to Margaret Rose (nee Armstrong) in 1963 who he met at Dunn’s Pavilion in Bala, Ontario and later had three children, Michael Porter, Lorraine (Robert) Crossan, David (Alison) Porter, and seven grandchildren, Angus, Liam, Hillary, Arden, Rowan, Hanah and Janelle.Īllen had a passion for downhill skiing and hockey. Allen went on to work for Avro Canada in the CF-105 Arrow Design Office, later moved to Detroit General Motors Design Office, following this attended Teachers College to become a Highschool teacher in Oshawa and Whitby Ontario. We all agreed that the much longer saltwater crocodiles, which grow to 25 feet, looked scarier.Allen Edward Porter Aug– October 7, 2022.Īllen Edward Porter, 90 years of age, from Collingwood, died peacefully at Campbell House Hospice on October 7, 2022, surrounded by family.Īllen grew up in Toronto, Ontario, predeceased by younger brother, Bruce Porter and son of late Gladys and George Porter. The zoo also boasts one of only three breeding groups of West African harnessed (or bushbuck) antelopes in the U.S., as well as the only breeding pair of Philippine freshwater crocodiles, the world’s most endangered reptile, in captivity. We also saw the rare (and way-cool) bongo antelope, with spiraling horns and vertical white stripes on a reddish body (“Man, they have some weird animals here,” marveled Luis) the equally rare bontebok, with a mahogany coat and white rump and the gazellelike Arabian oryx, with its long, straight horns. A skittish animal from the evergreen forests of Sierra Leone, Ghana, and Liberia, it is gray, with a black head and shoulders and short horns. The three of us shared a healthy respect for the tricolored cape hunting dogs of South Africa, which travel in packs at sixty miles per hour and dine on my friends the antelopes.Speaking of which, Brownsville has the only Jentink’s duiker in captivity. I quickly took a liking to the various African antelopes that roam freely in their fenced and moated enclosures. The boys loved the colorful birds in the Tropical America free-flight aviary and the kangaroos in the Indo-Australia area, as well as big guys like the elephants, rhinos, hippos, and East Indian gaur (the world’s largest ox) in the Asia and Africa sections. It’s the perfect size for antsy children: Map in hand, Luis led us through its four main sections in two hours flat, with a snack break (the concession stands offer Tex-Mex in addition to the usual burgers and popcorn). (“There they are! Oo, oh, oh, woo,” said Sebastian, mocking the cry of one that yawned and then hung by his feet from the ropes.) With 31 acres and some 1,500 creatures representing 400 species (50 of them endangered), the Gladys Porter Zoo is regarded as one of the finest small-town zoos in the nation. Veteran zoo-goers, the boys barely glanced at the flamingos, paused briefly for the jaguars, and then settled in to observe the spider monkeys. Luis Foncerrada, age ten, burst through the gates first, grabbing a zoo map on the way his brother Sebastian, five, was a half step behind, followed by me. ![]()
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