‘It’s a small town at heart’

BY MARC LALONDE

marc.lalonde@transcontinental.ca

Sean Campbell isn’t sure why three generations of his family have elected to call the West Island home, but they have.

Both sets of Campbell’s grandparents called the West Island home; his dad’s parents lived on Parkdale Avenue in Pointe Claire while his maternal grandmother Muriel Davies lived in Beaconsfield before her death in 2001. His mother, Wendy Davies, currently resides in Pointe Claire and Campbell also calls the city home.

“It’s a place that, once upon a time, working- and middle-class anglophones came to the West Island because it was a place other anglophones called home, and even though that’s changed to a certain extent, families who grew up here grew to love the place,” he said.

Campbell, who works as an on-air talent for the Team 990 radio station, is a West Island fixture. As a longtime volunteer soccer and hockey coach and tournament organizer, a park leader in Pointe Claire’s parks program and all-around bon vivant, Campbell has an idea what he’s talking about.

“Families are drawn here, and I think that’s because the West Island is very family-friendly. There are a lot of services for kids, and that’s the big reason I would like to buy a home here as well and settle down, but the fact is it’s almost perfect for kids. You’re close enough to the city that you feel in the loop but not strangled by the density of the population. You can have the lawn, the picket fence and the country feel and be ten minutes from downtown,” he said.

According to the 28-year-old, the family concept and that feeling of relative safety is what gives the West Island its appeal — but after that, it’s hard to figure out what exactly makes this place so special.

“The family concept is huge. People feel safe. People feel secure and they’re not as condensed as in the city. You have the country-ish areas, like Terra Cotta (wooded area), Cap St. Jacques, and there’s always a place for kids to play safely,” Campbell said, adding that although the West Island does subscribe to a large degree to some of the suburban stereotypes propagated by the media, there’s something larger at work.

“You can’t really put your finger on it, but there’s a real feeling of community that you have out here, even if is a typical suburbia. People care about each other, and even though it’s a huge area with a lot of people, the West Island is a small town at heart,” he said.

Campbell hosts the Double-Nine-O Trivia Show every Sunday morning at 9 a.m. with co-host Nick Russo on the TEAM 990 AM and provides sports updates Monday to Friday on the Montreal Forum with Tony Marinaro from noon to 1 p.m.