Descendants of loved ones in old photographs meet the woman who helped reunite them
Descendants of loved ones in old photographs meet the woman who helped reunite them
A River Canard, Ont. woman has solved part of a mystery she uncovered while decluttering her home last month.
A woman who goes by the name of JoJo reached out to CTV News Windsor last week in an attempt to identify several anonymous war time photographs along with several postcards she found in a box dating back to the 1940s.
“It's a great feeling. It's you know, C’est bon! It's wonderful,” JoJo said. “I was so happy. I was smiling and whoa, this was quick!”
Vince and Jan Sacilotto of Emeryville, Ont. said they recognized the house and smiling faces seen in several of the pictures when JoJo’s story initially aired.
“I said, ‘Oh my God!’” recalled Vince Sacilotto. “I said, ‘Put down whatever you’re doing get over here and take a look.’”
Jan Sacilotto said she immediately recognized her father and uncle Bob in some of the images along with the war photo depicting four naval reservists from HMCS Cornwallis.
A woman named Jojo from River Canard, Ont. is on a mission to identify the men and women in a box of old photographs she discovered in her attic in January 2023. (Chris Campbell/CTV News Windsor)“I remember the one of Uncle Bob,” Sacilotto said. “I remember when we used to go to his house, the navy one and he went and he had it on the wall.”
Sacilotto recalled growing up in the Wellesley Avenue home where JoJo lived and where the pictures unknowingly sat untouched for decades.
“I love it,” Sacilotto said. “Great guy. He died. He was 96 but didn't talk much about the war. Not much just opened up once or twice and that was it.”
She said she didn’t recognize the other three reservists in the picture, but hoped they could soon be identified.
The local commanding officer for HMCS Hunter in Windsor, Ont. said he was excited about JoJo’s discovery, noting it coincides with the Naval Reserve’s centennial celebrations.
“I think it's undiscovered history for each individual there,” said Cdr. Richard Hillier. “There's a story and we don't know what that story is and it'd be fascinating to find out.”
Hillier told CTV News Windsor HMCS Cornwallis was a recruit training base for most people joining the Canadian Armed Forces for many years.
River Canard resident JoJo meets with Vince and Jan Sacilotto of Emeryville, Ont. on Feb. 7, 2023. (Chris Campbell/CTV News Windsor) “Everybody who joined the Canadian military, army, navy, [and] air force for a period of many, many decades went through that returning base Cornwallis in Annapolis, Nova Scotia,” he said.
Hillier said many commemorative events are planned in Windsor throughout the year to recognize the Naval Reserve’s 100 years of service to Canada, hoping others may recognize the faces seen in the picture JoJo uncovered.
“Windsor had an incredible impact on the Navy Reserve, and the impact of World War II, quite frankly,” Hillier said. “We have flown under the radar for too long and I want to change that. I want to remind people that we're there and also to let them know that we are a public institution that belongs to them and I want them to feel that ownership.”
In the meantime, JoJo has relinquished the box of pictures to the Sacilottos who intend to pass the newly discovered family keepsakes onto their children.
“They meant a lot to me for some reason,” JoJo said.
Police in Halifax say three people have been stabbed and a student is in custody following a weapons complaint at a high school in Bedford, N.S. The victims were taken to hospital for treatment, but the extent of their injuries is not yet known.
The parents of young Ontario hockey player Ben Teague have been searching for answers since he died while at a team retreat in 2019. The mystery about what happened and the code of silence in hockey culture is explored in CTV W5's 'What Happened to Ben,' on CTVNews.ca and W5's official YouTube channel.
In an effort to keep the foreign interference story at the forefront, and to do an apparent end run around the Liberal filibuster blocking one study from going ahead, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is forcing MPs to debate and then vote on a motion instructing an opposition-dominated House committee to strike its own review.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's calls for protests ahead of his anticipated indictment in New York have generated mostly muted reactions from supporters, with even some of his most ardent loyalists dismissing the idea as a waste of time or a law enforcement trap.
Officials are still looking for victims after a fire ripped through a building in Old Montreal last week, killing at least one person. At a press conference Monday morning, spokespersons for the Montreal police and Montreal fire department said six people are still missing. They come from various locations in Quebec, Ontario and the U.S.
Bargain hunters are one step closer to seeing sales at Nordstrom's closing Canadian locations. At a hearing at Osgoode Hall in Toronto on Monday, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice gave the U.S. retailer's Canadian branch permission to start liquidating its merchandise.
Some of the world's largest central banks came together on Sunday to stop a banking crisis from spreading as Swiss authorities persuaded UBS Group AG to buy rival Credit Suisse Group AG in a historic deal.
A community is in mourning after a 10-year-old girl was killed earlier this week when flames tore through her family’s camping trailer southeast of Brantford.
Waterloo regional police say they arrested nine people for impaired driving over the course of nine hours between 6:30 p.m. on St. Patrick’s Day and 3:30 a.m. on March 18.
Lane restrictions are now in place on Wellington Street as construction gets underway on Phase 1 of the Wellington Gateway and Municipal Infrastructure Improvements project.
The first day of spring in the London region will be a beautiful one. The daytime high is forecast to be 6 C, slightly warmer than the average high for this time of year.
According to officers with the Huronia West OPP detachment, a search of the vehicle turned up a "substantial amount" of suspected drugs with a street value of roughly $20,000.
Police say they found the accused had been driving while under suspension and had an open liquor container in the vehicle, adding to the number of charges he faces.
A 46-year-old man has been taken to hospital with serious, life-threatening injuries after a single-vehicle crash on MR80 near Donaldson Crescent in Val Caron.
Police in Halifax say three people have been stabbed and a student is in custody following a weapons complaint at a high school in Bedford, N.S. The victims were taken to hospital for treatment, but the extent of their injuries is not yet known.
Bargain hunters are one step closer to seeing sales at Nordstrom's closing Canadian locations. At a hearing at Osgoode Hall in Toronto on Monday, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice gave the U.S. retailer's Canadian branch permission to start liquidating its merchandise.
Police in Halifax say three people have been stabbed and a student is in custody following a weapons complaint at a high school in Bedford, N.S. The victims were taken to hospital for treatment, but the extent of their injuries is not yet known.
Ontario employers who withhold foreign workers’ passports or work permits could face steeper penalties under new labour laws, with maximum fines setting them back up to $200,000.
Ontario employers who withhold foreign workers’ passports or work permits could face steeper penalties under new labour laws, with maximum fines setting them back up to $200,000.
Officials are still looking for victims after a fire ripped through a building in Old Montreal last week, killing at least one person. At a press conference Monday morning, spokespersons for the Montreal police and Montreal fire department said six people are still missing. They come from various locations in Quebec, Ontario and the U.S.
Quebec provincial police (SQ) announced Monday morning that a third person has died in connection with the tragedy in Amqui, in the Lower St. Lawrence region, where a driver drove his pickup truck into pedestrians a week ago.
Police in Halifax say three people have been stabbed and a student is in custody following a weapons complaint at a high school in Bedford, N.S. The victims were taken to hospital for treatment, but the extent of their injuries is not yet known.
The University of Prince Edward Island Faculty Association says its staff has gone on strike after what it says are failed attempts to enter additional negotiations with the university's administration.
The student union president at Cape Breton University said food insecurity has become a concern for many students and the on-campus food bank cannot keep up with demand.
Police in Halifax say three people have been stabbed and a student is in custody following a weapons complaint at a high school in Bedford, N.S. The victims were taken to hospital for treatment, but the extent of their injuries is not yet known.
The Town of Strathmore and Siksika Nation hosted the first Lead By Example Powwow this weekend in honour of a young Indigenous man who was shot to death four years ago.
Autopsies confirmed gunshot wounds as the cause of death for two constables responding to a domestic dispute Thursday, the Edmonton Police Service says.
In a heated race to the playoffs, the Edmonton Oilers will try to bank some points against lesser competition when they host the San Jose Sharks on Monday.
A vehicle burst into flames in South Vancouver after an early morning collision Monday, prompting police to shut down the intersection at Kingsway and Tyne Street amid an investigation.
People who rely on transit to get around parts of the Fraser Valley are scrambling to find alternatives as workers with BC Transit walk the picket line.
Police in Halifax say three people have been stabbed and a student is in custody following a weapons complaint at a high school in Bedford, N.S. The victims were taken to hospital for treatment, but the extent of their injuries is not yet known.
A woman named Jojo from River Canard, Ont. is on a mission to identify the men and women in a box of old photographs she discovered in her attic in January 2023. (Chris Campbell/CTV News Windsor)“I remember the one of Uncle Bob,” Sacilotto said. “I remember when we used to go to his house, the navy one and he went and he had it on the wall.”
River Canard resident JoJo meets with Vince and Jan Sacilotto of Emeryville, Ont. on Feb. 7, 2023. (Chris Campbell/CTV News Windsor) “Everybody who joined the Canadian military, army, navy, [and] air force for a period of many, many decades went through that returning base Cornwallis in Annapolis, Nova Scotia,” he said.
