Have you ever passed by 1070 Queen St. E., and wondered what kind of residence the building is? Ernie Kulnies provides the inside story.
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George Macey's grandmother Emily had little in terms of material goods.
Anna Marie Kacelvich's paternal grandfather, Rocco Madotta, and his family moved into a narrow , two-storey, three-bedroom semi-detached house at 95 Ryerson Ave. early in the last century.
Books have been part of Maureen Donnelly's life from the very beginning.
Judith Scolnik tells the remarkable story of her grandfather Harry Goldman, who in the 1920s was hired by Laura Secord, the popular chocolate maker.
Mary Louise Ashbourne, a life-long resident of Weston, married a Newfoundlander who came from Twillingate.
When Peter Jones was growing up, he got to see a lot of the waterfront and what went into making it what it is today. Why? His dad, Jack Jones, was chief engineer for the Toronto Harbour Commission. His team designed and built the Ontario Place breakwater and the Tommy Thompson Park.
When Peter Jones was around 8 years old, his parents took him to the McLaughlin Planetarium, which opened beside the Royal Ontario Museum in 1968.
Peter Jones started work as a teenager at the McLaughlin Planetarium, operating the complex systems that could project the stars and galaxies on to the dome of the Star Theatre.
When Doris Dunne was a little girl, she and her family used to visit James Gardens in Etobicoke on the edge of the Humber River.
Judith Scolnik's father and uncle ran the Gold Star Dairy at 794 Dundas St. W., just around the corner from where the family lived at 104 1/2 Palmerston Ave. in Toronto.
When Judith Scolnik was a little girl, she decided she wanted to learn Yiddish, the language her grandparents spoke.
When Johnming Mark came to Canada in the 1960s, his first teacher was Bruce Cook at Parkdale Public School.
Back in the 1940s, Don Bunn's aunt used to take him and his brother Syl from their home on Harding Ave. downtown to the Santa Claus parade.
In the 1970s, Ian Skelton got a job at 347 Sorauren Ave. with French Jewellery, a company that made high-end bracelets, chains and earrings.
Mary Louise Ashbourne was so interested in history and politics that she suggested attending a Liberal Party rally at Maple Leaf Gardens on her first date with her future husband, Howard Ashbourne. She had no idea at the time how deeply involved his family was in Canadian politics or that Howard's father was running as a Liberal candidate.
In the early 1950s, Verna Van Sickle tried to support herself by modelling for life drawing classes at the Ontario College of Art, but the job paid starvation wages.
In 1947, Virginia Fraser joined an army of young women who took to the fields and orchards of Ontario farms to do their part during the war and post-war period. She left with a friend for Vineland from Union Station in Toronto.
Hidden and inaccessible in the depths of Yorkdale are the original cinemas that welcomed moviegoers when the mall opened in 1964.
Weston resident Mary Louise Ashbourne was young, there was a very important room in her grandparents' house – the basement storage cupboard under the stairs.
Jane Mowat Martin grew up on Chicora Ave. in Toronto. She remembers the air-raid drills that happened regularly, the loud sirens and the searchlights scanning the skies.
In 1950s Toronto, Lydia Kawun envied the latchkey kids who roamed free after school at McCormick Park. Then one night, she got a taste of that freedom — and a police escort home.
When former street kid Cheri DiNovo became minister at a church on Roncesvalles Avenue, she found that launching a meal program for the needy also nourished the church.
After her family moved from Cape Breton to Toronto, Donna Jean MacKinnon found her world centred on Dufferin Street Presbyterian Church.
Paul Lima was 17 when he and his friends slipped into the Men Only section of a notorious Roncesvalles tavern.
Around 1956, Verna Van Sickle opened a record store, Towne Records, on the corner of Yonge St. and Cumberland Ave. She was in her mid-20s.
Michael Gillies and John Snyder were the first employees at the new Book City store, which opened at 501 Bloor St. W. in the Annex in 1976.
Roncesvalles United Church used to have a house in the neighbourhood. Like an English cottage, it offered quite a contrast for Reverend Cheri DiNovo after her former digs on Triller Ave.
Verna Van Sickle used to run projectors and create soundtracks for silent movies for film societies in Toronto, which her father helped start.
Biruté Galdikas, the renowned primatologist and orangutan conservationist, spent part of her childhood just two blocks from High Park. Her friend Mare Britton Tiido tells the story.
In 1962, Lydia Kawun and two friends built a treehouse in front of their beloved school building. Their goal was to stop the wrecking crew that was coming to demolish it. But things didn't go exactly as planned.
Bob McTavish joined the Freemasons in 1952. He shared an insider's view of the organization's historic temple in in Toronto with Becky Hogg.
Doreen Louie Armstrong grew up working in her family's diner on Queen St. West. She recounted the story to her childhood friend, Donna Jean MacKinnon.
Arlene Chan and her five siblings, who lived above the family’s fruit market, Eng’s Produce, in the Junction, were frequent performers!
Catherine Oravec is one of four siblings who now own the Bloor Meat Market, started by their father Rudy in the 1940s.
Nestor Repetski recalls the East European intelligentsia who gathered at his parents' house to remember the past and debate the present.
Jim Bunting faced some challenging moments as an ambulance worker based near High Park. He told his story to Vida Juozaitis.
Judy Shiels remembers swimming in the private pool of Eddie De Palma, a notorious con man who lived in a palatial Etobicoke estate in the late 1940s. As told to Ellen Moorhouse.
Judy Shiels remembers swimming at the High Park Mineral Baths, where one of the teachers told the kids she couldn't swim. As told to Ellen Moorhouse.
Jerome McNicholl grew up admiring his three unmarried aunts — Kathleen, Regina and Lillian — who took him in for months at a time when his mother wasn't well. As told to Anna Tierney.
Jim Bunting recalls one particularly memorable call during his years as a Parkdale ambulance driver. As told to Vida Juozaitis.
Bill Armstrong reminisces with Lynne Latulippe about the watering hole near Dundas St. and Roncesvalles Ave. where his dad took him to watch baseball on a colour TV.
When Bill Armstrong turned in some cash he found behind the Grandstand at the CNE, he received some unexpected rewards. He told Lynne Latulippe his story.
Nestor Repetski remembers starting school as a refugee's son in 1950s Toronto.
After immigrating to Toronto, Charles and Elizabeth Hasted found a tiny house they could afford near Jane St. and St. Clair Ave. Their granddaughter Joan Belford tells the story.
When she was 4 years old, Ruth Groome was fascinated by the portrait of a man wearing a cap with goggles raised onto his forehead.
Every year, Mary Cupples' family took a bus trip from their farm near Mount Albert, Ontario, to the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto. It was the highlight of her summer.
In the 1980s, Lisa Merchant became a fishmonger at the Eaton's fish market "one-below" at the Eaton Centre.
Don Bunn grew up in Weston, Ont., during the 1930s and 1940s. He witnessed the town’s amalgamation by an ever-growing city of Toronto. His niece Kirsten Gunter interviewed him
Nancy Jacobi discovered an ancient Japanese papercraft — and built a global business from a Queen West storefront. As told to Donna Jean MacKinnon.
Nancy Jacobi recalls the central role St. Olave's Anglican Church played in her Swansea childhood. As told to Donna Jean MacKinnon.
A ski lodge built by the High Park Ski Club became home to the Jacobi family. As told to Donna Jean MacKinnon.
Donna Jean MacKinnon recalls the rituals of Children's Day at the CNE in the 1950s — the free samples, the five-cent treats, and the pure joy of a dozen Tiny Tom Donuts.
Donna Jean MacKinnon remembers the Kitten sweater sets that girls coveted in the '50s and '60s.
After the Shell Tower opened 1955, Donna Jean MacKinnon and her brother loved to climb to the top so they could to look down over the CNE at night.
In 2023, Nora Pope discovered a remarkable ancestor she'd never heard of — George Uglow Pope (1820-1908), who was born on Prince Edward Island and went on to become a missionary who founded schools in India.
The Royal Conservatory of Music played a huge role in the life of Ruth Groome and her family.
When Arnold Black came to Toronto from Timmins in 1942 to train as a navigator for the airforce, he was billeted with thousands of other RCAF recruits at the Coliseum at the Canadian National Exhibition grounds. Karen Black tells the story.
Don Cullen, writer, actor and founder of the Bohemian Embassy in 1960, discovered his gift for mimickry during his high-school years at Humberside Collegiate in Toronto's High Park neighbourhood.
Growing up in Toronto's Junction in the 1930s, Lois Broad recalls a childhood centred on church — and the vibrant community that came with it.
Freda Johnston Dreany raised her family on Glenlake Avenue. Lois Broad remembers how her sister managed on her own in the mid-1940s, while working full-time as chief fashion artist for Eaton's.
Born in 1927 and raised in Toronto's Junction neighbourhood, Lois Broad recalls the joy of spending her teenage years dancing at the Ramona — a dance hall above a store on Bloor Street West.
Sheila McIlraith recalls weekly childhood visits to the Yorkville Library Branch, where the downstairs children's section was run by Lillian H. Smith — the first children's librarian in the British Empire.
Saturday matinees were raucous, but Lois Broad enjoyed going to the Runnymede Theatre during the 1930s and 1940s.
Lois Broad tells the story of her sister Freda, who became a lifelong vegetarian on the day her brother Douglas pointed out that all the meat on the table had once been alive.
Bill Armstrong remembers growing up above the shops on Roncesvalles Avenue in the 1950s, where alleyways became playgrounds, fish and chips were a Friday ritual, and the neighbourhood functioned like a small village.
Ruth Chantler remembers how volunteers, young families and an ambitious sports program helped build community spirit in Warren Park.
A family remembers life above Josef Aigner’s Dundas West stained-glass studio. Annette Aigner and Cloe Joël Aigner shared memories of their very unique home with Catherine Dunphy.
Vesuvio's was a legendary spot to eat in the Junction neighbourhood. Through the memories of Paul Ronan and Rebecca Holtzman, Sandra Burk traces the life of a beloved community institution.
Josef and Annette Aigner built one of Toronto’s best-known stained-glass workshops. Annette and her daughter Cloe Joël Aigner told the story to Catherine Dunphy.
Bruce McDougall’s mom used to take him to the High Park Library for special Saturday afternoon readings.
Bruce McDougall and his friends got a kick out of tormenting a neighbour by hurling dirt balls – until the police came calling!
Bruce McDougall remembers watching hockey with his dad in the long gone arena behind Humberside Collegiate Institute. As told to Catherine Dunphy.
Bruce McDougall remembers Bloor West adventures from his childhood in the 1950s. He recalls movies, fries, bikes, cars and a real estate agent who helped his mother.
Bruce McDougall remembers living above a storefront, watching Toronto Star deliveries roll in on a truck, and having ice cream with his father when his family was living at 482 Roncesvalles Ave. in the early 1950s.
Joy Cohnstaedt remembers her grandfather “Skipper,” a Newfoundland-born ironworker who helped shape the construction of Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children on University Avenue.
Who would expect one's grandmother to be mugged in High Park in broad daylight? It happened to Ingrid Shouldice in 1958, but the unfortunate incident had a silver lining for Ingrid and her little brother!
The Eton House, which closed down in 2023, saw many musicians perform over the years, including singer Alminta Dawson. That was the one place where her granddaughter Adrienne got to see Alminta sing in public – and she was impressed!
Lois Broad remembers the High Park Mineral Baths—known as the Minnies—where kids flocked to the pools at Quebec and Bloor St. W. each summer until they were closed in 1962 to make way for the subway.
On Sundays, Doris Dunne used to take a roast beef dinner to her dad at work. Her little spaniel Spanky always went with her.
Don Cullen remembers working with a young Lorne Lipowitz — later known as Lorne Michaels — on a 1960s revue at Toronto’s Bohemian Embassy, an experience that opened new creative doors for both men.
Lois Broad had fond memories of Sunnyside Amusement Park and going there with Charlie, her boyfriend and husband to be
Bill Armstrong still shudders at the memory of tagging along to his father’s Texaco station, where cops spent their Sunday afternoons drinking and firing pistols in the 1950s.
Lorne Clayton remembers how Doug Breakwell’s grocery store at 48 Annette St. kept his family fed when money ran out. He was proud to repay the kindness in the mid-1950s.
Ingrid Shouldice, who immigrated with her family from Austria in the early 1950s, remembers her days at Dennis Avenue School.
When Ingrid Shouldice's family came to Toronto in 1953, they moved into a subsidized townhouse at 19 Langden Ave. Her father, however, vowed that they wouldn't be there for long!
In 1968, Ingrid Shouldice landed her first post-university position in Simpson’s flagship store at Yonge and Queen.
Johnming Mark remembers his grandmother with admiration. Following her husband's death in 1962, she operated a profitable Parkdale laundry despite not knowing English.
Ingrid Shouldice laughs now at her first home purchase at 24 Minnacote Ave., recalling how the playhouse kitchen, tire swing and mile-long clothesline made her feel she’d bought a cottage rather than a house.
Maureen Chicorli describes her first embarrassing try at operating a popcorn machine at the Royal Winter Fair.
Kirsten Gunter loved her first Toronto apartment, situated above a bakery, right across Bloor St. from the store with the flashiest lights in town.
Lois Broad's wedding photographer had been a neighbour at 194 High Park Ave. He later became famous for the Canadian art gallery he built in Kleinburg.
Lois Broad remembers watching high-school football at the stadium where Dufferin Mall now stands — and one unforgettable game in 1941.
There's nothing like a vacant lot for kids to play in. Lois Broad remembers the fun her sons and all the neighbourhood kids used to have.
Finding a place to live in Toronto after the Second World War was a lot harder than finding a job. Betty Ferrie found that out!
The Melville family moved to Warren Park on the shore of the Humber River in the early '50s. Three years later, they were in the eye of the storm. As told by Garry Melville to Margo Duncan.
Chris Higgins recalls growing up at Swansea Public School during the 1960s, where memorable teachers, lifelong friendships and a rapidly changing world shaped a generation.
Marcia Drummond remembers growing up in Swansea near High Park in the 1970s, where life in Metro Housing brought both difficult moments and formative experiences.
As the owners of the Roncesvalles landmark Ruth Frocks clothing store, Phyllis and Adam Eckhardt dressed everyone from society queens to drag queens. As told to Vida Juozaitis.
Helga Schuliakewich describes how the famous retailer Sam Sniderman helped her, a young German immigrant, in the 1950s.
Students working with Back Lane Studios explore the history of German immigration around Roncesvalles Avenue through the story of The Old Country Shop, a legendary destination on the Roncesvalles retail strip.
George Sromek remembers a historic night in 1965 when the power went out throughout the city. Neighbours gathered to eat and drink in the dark at his parents' restaurant. As told to Heike Mertins.
Toronto writer James FitzGerald explains why a laneway got named after a horse.
Shirley Eglite, born in 1927, remembers her entrepreneurial grandfather, an Irish immigrant who helped build Toronto’s Old City Hall. As told to Sarah Kidd.
Sheila McIlraith remembers working as a “Farmerette” during the Second World War, helping harvest crops on Ontario farms. She signed up at age 13 while still in Grade 9.
Gil Carty remembers his great aunt Jean McKenzie, who immigrated from Jamaica in the 1920s, saved her money and bought a house downtown.
