"Skipper" and Sick Kids Hospital

Joy Cohnstaedt talks about her grandfather William George Rowe, an immigrant from the colony of Newfoundland. Having worked on fishing schooners, he was accustomed to heights and found employment as an ironworker.

For many years, he worked for Disher Steel Construction Co. Ltd., becoming a structural steel erection supervisor on construction sites. He was known as “Skipper” among his fellow Newfoundlanders, who, once in Toronto, would call him looking for jobs.

One of his biggest projects was the $10 million structural steel frame for Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children, which opened in 1951 on University Ave. Joy recounts the family story of why Skipper decided the steel frame should be welded rather than riveted.

Sadly, Joy passed away March 27, 2024. We are grateful she shared this story.