In the spring of 1953, Chris moved to Cobourg, Ontario, about 30 kilometres southwest of Colborne. He was determined to find some other kind of work and soon found a job as a truck driver with Jenkins Cartage Co., picking up garbage from city streets in the pre-dawn hours, and hauling gravel in the afternoons. The days were long, but Chris loved the work. It was the first non-agricultural job he had ever held.

In the 1950s, Cobourg was a town of about 18,000 residents on the shores of Lake Ontario, about 120 kilometres east of Toronto. Chris was already familiar with the town by the time he moved there: While he lived with the Rutherfords, he often went to Cobourg on Sundays to see movies, attend dances, and spend long afternoons on the beach.