Kingston, Ontario. man finds partner in mysterious photo – Kingston | The Canadian News

After Garrett Elliot found an old Polaroid photo of a couple from the 70s or 80s under their bathroom vanity while renovating their home in Pimlico Place, he took to social media to identify the couple.

Elliot later connected with a former home neighbor, Ben Rotteveel, who immediately met the couple in the photo when he saw the photo on Facebook.

“When I saw the picture of Bob and Dawna and someone else commented that it was a different person, I thought, ‘No, no, no, no, these people were my neighbors across the street, they had become our friends, no It’s them, it’s Bob and Dawna, ‘”says Rotteveel.

He says his family lived across the street from Elliott’s current home.

“We had a bit of partying in the old days and we have very, very good memories,” says Rotteveel. “And their children grew up with our children and there are some great memories there.”

With that confirmation, Bob and Dawna Fitzsimmons were identified as the couple in the photo.

Rotteveel contacted the couple’s daughter online to let them know what she had encountered and was met with excitement.

“I am very grateful to Garrett for redoing the bathroom and putting in a new counter,” says Dawna Fitzsimmons. “Because it’s given us a trip back in time that we really needed at this time of year, well, this time frame.”

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Now living on the outskirts of Perth, Ontario, Dawna says the couple has no idea how the photo would have gotten there, but it was probably taken around 1978 during a New Years Eve party.

“Pimlico Place was a small community,” says Dawna. “Everyone, we knew almost everyone on the street, our babysitters lived next door. It was a wonderful area; It was a wonderful street of people who really cared about people and great friendships emerged from there. “

“It was clearly an important part of the time in our lives,” says Bob Fitzsimmons. “We moved there and we didn’t know anyone in 1976.”

Since then, the couple have received calls from old friends and former neighbors, reliving past memories.

Dawna says it brought back memories of living in Kingston and becoming part of the community.

“When Bob took me out of Ottawa, he took me kicking and screaming because I didn’t want to go to Kingston,” he says. “And then when it was time to go back to Ottawa, he caught me kicking and screaming again because I didn’t want to leave.”

For current homeowner Elliott, solving the mystery of the hidden photo reveals the living history behind his home.

“Things are always changing and evolving and, you know, there were people here before us, there will be people here after us,” Elliott says. “It’s just that that connection brings us all together, it’s really fascinating.

“And it’s a good reminder that we are not alone. Everyone is out there and everyone is connected. “

Elliott hopes to return the photo to the Fitzsimmons as a reminder of their happy memories.