Montrealers will recognize the distinctive vintage, rounded glass-brick corner that adorns the sturdy structure at the northeast corner of Jarry and St. Denis and from now on you shall think of the following incident every time you see it.William Mulcahy made newspapers across Canada and the United States for what he did on the roof of that building on 13 June 1955.
Mulcahy, 38, worked as an inspector for the SPCA and received word that a raccoon had found itself caught at the top of an old-fashioned wooden electrical pole.
Mulcahy walked up the stairs to the roof to undertake an initiate to save the raccoon from its perilous perch.
He hauled his trusty 14-foot pole to complete the mission.
Mulcahy likely calculated that the raccoon might shuttle down the pole towards him and to safety, resulting in high-fives and early beers at the tavern.
Alas, in extending the pole, Mulcahy made contact with an electrical wire. Electricity sometimes tends to travel rapidly through metal and poor William was electrocuted and died instantly.
The raccoon escaped.
Electrical wires on that and most major streets in Montreal, have since been buried underground and animals have a hard time climbing the metal light structures that stand in their place.
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| Scenes from the tragedy that saw William Mulcahy die trying to save this raccoon |
