This woman inspired a landmark Hamilton park nearly 60 years ago. Her husband's name was credited, until now

John Parker remembers his mother, Jennie Florence Parker, drawing up the plans for what is now Hamilton's Confederation Park on a piece of bristol board around 1960.

The idea for the park was sparked by summers spentwith John and his 10 siblings, who at one point lived by the lakein atwo-storey housewith no indoor plumbing,"three to four" to a bed.

"When we would graduate from our school end-of-year, we wentswimming in Lake Ontario... so she thought it was a great place for a park," said John, now 78.

One of Jennie's sons took herbristol boardplans to then-mayor Lloyd Jackson's house. "[Council] liked the idea and it came to fruition," John said.The parkopened a few years later.

Jennie died in 1965,two years before the city unveiled aplaque to honour the park's originsat Wild Waterworks, outside the wave pool on a muggy summer day.

But it was a different time, John said. His mother was credited as Mrs. Stanley Parker, her husband's name.

"I think it was the temperature of the time," he said. "Womenwere not recognized for their contributions the way are today."

The city is "righting a wrong" now with the opening ofthe new Jennie Florence Parker Sports Complex in Confederation Park, Mayor Andrea Horwath told CBC Hamilton.

Thecity held a ribbon cutting ceremony for thecomplex on Thursday.

"We'rein a different time now, and we can take the time and space necessary to celebrate women who have contributed in in big ways to our city," she said.

'She would be so proud': son

After the ribbon cutting, elected officials, Jennie's extended family and a Hamilton cricket team all gathered to celebrate her and thecomplex.

"She would be so proud," John said."I'm sure she would breakdown and cry when she saw this and the recognition ofher contribution."

John and his 89-year-old brother Allan are Jennie's only remaining children. John described his mother as someone who "never complained, not once" and the kind of person who,"if she had something she wanted to move forward, she would do it." She was also avolunteer with the Red Crossand president of the HamiltonWomen's Civic Club, he said.

"I never expected something of this magnitude for my mother," Allan said.

The new sports complexhas a cricket pitch, an accessible playground, decked out with a zip line, pickleball courts and a field house for events.

It was an initiative pushed forward byformer Ward 5 Coun. Chad Collins,now the Hamilton EastStoney Creek Member of Parliament.

It sits on land thatwas originally an irregularly usedcampground that Collins began turning into a park during his time as councillor.

"Jennie Parker is someone who had the idea decades ago to create a waterfront park for all Hamiltonians. She took that idea to elected representatives of the day and they ran with that idea," he said onThursday.

High hopes for new cricket pitch

One of the most celebrated parts of the new park is the cricket pitch.

Naseer Malik, with the Hamilton and District Cricket League, said he suggested adding a cricket field to Confederation Park in 2008.

Now he believes the new field will bring in international leagues to play the growing sport here in Hamilton.

"[The field] is close to the U.S. border, is on the QEW...and this facility is [at an]international level," he said.

Malik said he believes the field will bring in teams from the states and from other countries, like England, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Australia.