Issuu

D E C E M B E R 2023

Leaside Life H H

SHOP LOCAL

No. 139

appy olidays

leasidelife.com

“AMONG ESKIMO NOSE-RUBBING IS LIKE KISSING BUT ONLY AMONG OLD AND YOUNG” PADLEI, NWT, CANADA, 1950.

Legendary Canadian photographer and Leasider celebrated in new book PAGE 4

LOCAL B US TING IN OR E PP

WE ARE PROUDLY DISTRIBUTED BY LEASIDE’S OWN ACCURATE DISTRIBUTING 416-429-9102

Editor’s Welcome 2

Leaside Life • December 2023

Remembering Ken Mallett

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416-646-2439 www.UrbanNatureStore.ca

Last month we lost one of our Leaside Life family, writer Ken Mallett. Calling Ken Mallett a “writer,” though, is like saying Taylor Swift is a country singer. Ken was a wordsmith in the purest sense of that word – someone who could craft language to tell stories that lifted off the page. Like this, from Ken’s feature on Kreitmaker, a brick, block, stone and concrete supplier on Industrial St.: “Consider the humble brick. You can make a fair case that the history of human civilization, from the Pharaohs to the present, has been built with bricks.” Ken then transformed his profile of Kreitmaker into a celebration of bricks and the restoration of Massey Hall, using the company’s product. Or consider this intro to a story on the relocation of Remenyi to Leaside: “A family musical tradition that traces its history to a

Jane Auster Editor Leaside Life

teenaged Johannes Brahms playing the piano in a raucous dockside saloon during the 1850s is coming to Leaside. In fact, it’s here now.” Ken’s often wry take on newsworthy Leaside stories came from years of world-beating experience. He spent his entire working career of 30+ years as a newspaper reporter and television news writer/ producer. His last column for us appears in this issue: a profile of the Canadian Contemporary School of Art. As ever, his opening is a real catcher: “For many of us, awareness of contemporary Canadian art starts and ends with the Group of Seven – and even then, our knowledge is shaky.” Even as his health was failing, Ken was working on a new story for Leaside Life. A newsman to the end. n

Happy Holidays! This season is a time of joy, reflection, and gratitude, and we are grateful to be part of such a kind-hearted community. May your homes be filled with laughter, peace, and the magic of the holidays. From our family to yours, we wish you a joyous holiday season and a prosperous New Year! *

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The Italians who built Leaside 3

by MITCH BUBULJ

Badali’s still offers fresh fruit and veg Providing fresh fruit and vegetables, Badali’s market has been operating on Bayview for over 80 years. Customers rely on their attention to detail, knowledgeable customer service and quality produce. Once through the door at 1587 Bayview – a building whose façade retains its

LAYERS OF LEASIDE

Leaside Life • December 2023

The burgeoning town of Leaside was governed and inhabited by folks called McRae, Horsfall, Talbot, Manes and Nealson – scions of Waspy Toronto with deep local roots – but men and women with names like Badali, Bellomo and deMarco, more recent arrivals from the Old World, built it. Italians were largely responsible for contributing to the residential architectural aesthetic and providing daily services which we still enjoy today. Their stories are testaments of perseverance – even in the face of adversity – culminating in enduring local legacies.

The Badalis in the 1980s.

streamlined Art Deco chrome flourishes – you sense continuity and permanence. It feels that not much has changed, in a good way. Brothers Sal and Dom run the shop today, but it was their dad Leo,

uncle Sam and grandmother Rose who decided to locate in Leaside back in 1938. They branched out from where the family ran fruit and

ITALIANS Page 32

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Leasider Richard Harrington captured the north with his “box” Richard Harrington had been living in North Leaside for more than 50 years when he died 18 years ago. But it’s entirely possible that none but his closest neighbours realized the remarkable talent of their neighbour. Richard Harrington was born in 1911 in Hamburg, Germany, and came to Canada as a teenager. He worked a variety of jobs before landing steady work as an X-ray technician in Toronto. At the same time, he was taking photos as an amateur. Turns out this amateur possessed the talent of a professional. A New York agent saw a photo he had taken of a tiger in a zoo, and phoned him up to ask if he had any more shots like it. Well, yes, he did. Soon, he was able to make more money as a photographer than as an X-ray technician, and developed a rare talent for capturing Inuit life. He self-financed five separate dog-

Leaside Life • December 2023

by LORNA KRAWCHUK

FROM THE COVER

“Asleep Under Furs in Igloo” Padlei, N.W.T. [now Nunavut], 1950

sled journeys to the Canadian Arctic between 1948 and 1953, covering more than 5,600 kilometres to photograph the Inuit way of life. He was known as “Adderiorli,” or “the man with a box,” because he always carried his camera close to his body to keep it as warm as possible. His most noteworthy journey during this time was in 1950, when he journeyed to Padlei, Nunavut, Northwest Territories, where people were starving because the caribou didn’t follow their usual migration path. When he returned to the south, he tried to make others aware of the dire situation in the north by speaking out, and by showing the dramatic photos he had taken. Richard’s widow, Margaret Harrington, says her favourite photograph was from this period. The note accompanying it says: “A young Padleimuit Eskimo girl and her sister asleep under the caribou furs inside their igloo.” In recent years, Library and Archives Canada has worked on Project Naming, working with Indigenous people to put actual names to the more than 500 photographs taken on those earlier journeys in the north. Richard took photographs around the world in more than 120 countries over the years, published in

prestigious magazines like Life, Look, The National Geographic, Paris Match, Stern, and Parade magazine. In his last few years, you could still find him out with his camera and his walker, taking photos of his street. In 2001, he was invested as an Officer of the Order of Canada. Good friend Av Isaacs, who often exhibited Richard’s photographs in his gallery, was a Member of the Order of Canada. Richard was quite chuffed about his higher ranking, and often teased Av about it. And yet, as Margaret recalls, when a North Leaside neighbour, who knew about the award, asked Richard if he could see it, Richard had to go looking “upstairs in a drawer.” During his lifetime, he had many books of his photographs published. The latest, from Firefly Books, published in 2023, is “Richard Harrington Arctic Photography 1948-53 with photographs from the Stephen Bulger Gallery and a Forward by Gerald McMaster.” In the dedication, his widow, Margaret Harrington, who still lives in Leaside, says: “This book is dedicated to the Inuit, whose skills, courage and endurance enabled them to survive in the North Richard loved.” n

Leaside Life • December 2023

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Book handyman Miroslav Ninkovic before his dance-card is full by SUZANNE PARK In the early 1990s, as a young mechanical engineering student during the time of the breakup of Yugoslavia, Miroslav Ninkovic was forced to give up his studies and career dream and take on construction work to keep bread on the table. After almost a decade of enduring war, in 2000 he and his young bride Danijela made the difficult decision to immigrate. Lucky for Canada they chose Toronto. As a newcomer, while studying English, Miroslav stuck with construction work until he bravely applied for a superintendent position at a midtown tower. “This is where Danijela and I happily resided surrounded by my tenant ‘customers’ and near great shops and schools. As our family grew, we welcomed Marianna, now at university, and Stephan in high school.”

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Leaside Life • December 2023

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But Miroslav’s life took another turn last fall that would see his family uprooted from their midtown home. “New owners took over the building where we resided and I worked as the superintendent. They shrunk the staff and budget. After 20 years of service and being offered a dismal new contract, my family made the second very difficult decision of our lives. It was time to move on.” St. Clair and Yonge area’s loss has been Leaside’s gain. “In November 2022, we moved to Leaside where we have friends and love the neighbourhood’s central location, variety of shops, and lots of places to walk our energetic dog, Hugo.” When asked if there is anything he’d change about Leaside Miroslav quipped, “I do wish the tennis club’s waitlist was shorter.” In the less than a year Miroslav has lived in Leaside he is already making his mark as a handyperson, working on a wide variety of jobs, from fixing leaky taps and painting rooms to building and installing shelves, cupboards and counters for kitchens and laundry rooms. Miroslav’s clients (inside and outside Leaside over the past decade) really appreciate his services. Sophia Vayda told me, “He consistently builds, fixes, and finds solutions to a multitude of projects for me. He’s skilled, reliable, and trustworthy.” Paul Pei added, “Over the past 10 years, he’s provided first-class results with care and precision. We have the greatest respect for him and recommend him unreservedly.” Appreciating these comments, Miroslav said, humbly: “I really enjoy helping my customers make their residence a home.” Danijela joined in the chorus singing Miroslav’s praises. “He’s quiet, thoughtful, and very talented. His engineering background has him creating innovative solutions to challenging problems. He delivers what he promises on time and works in a safe and tidy way, even at home. When we can book him!” Like me, you might want to contact Miroslav before his dancecard is full. 4beksi@gmail.com. n

Leaside Life • December 2023

by GREIG HENDERSON Margaret Atwood is the most famous writer to come from Leaside. Everyone knows that. But not everyone knows that Michael Redhill lives here with his wife and two stepsons. Poet, playwright, and novelist, Redhill is the author of Consolation, long-listed for the 2007 Man Booker Prize; Martin Sloane, a finalist for the 2001 Giller Prize; and Bellevue Square, the winner of the 2017 Giller Prize. His poetry and plays have also won numerous awards. Garnering prizes and awards, however, does not necessarily make a writer wealthy. Redhill told me that he was down to his last $411.64 before cashing the $100,000 cheque that comes with winning the Giller. Redhill spent his formative years in North York and attended York Mills Collegiate. He finished his formal education at York University and the University of Toronto, studying film and literature. He made Leaside his home because his family has dwelled in Toronto and its environs for two and a half generations. His mother and brother live 500 metres away from his house in the ’hood. He has written an as yet unpublished poem about Leaside, “Our Midden,” which speculates about the history buried in the backyards of our town. From the time he was a young adolescent armed with his instamatic camera, he saw Toronto as unexplored territory and was struck by how little people knew about its topography and history.

AMANDA WITHERS

Leaside Life • December 2023

Giller prize winner Michael Redhill calls Leaside home

LITERARY LEASIDE

Cameras and pictures figure in his fiction, especially in Consolation, whose present-day narrative set in 1990s Toronto is juxtaposed with a historical narrative set in 1850s Toronto. Redhill says that all of his writing is motivated by an unrelenting curiosity about the particularity of lived experience and by an ardent belief, not in the oneness of life, but in its infinite variety. Like Kafka, Redhill knows how to compel the attention of a reader from the very first sentence. One of the most memorable openings in modern fiction comes from Kafka’s Metamorphosis: “One morning Gregor Samsa awoke after a night of unquiet dreams to find he had been transformed into

a monstrous insect.” The opening of Bellevue Square can compete: “My Doppelganger problems began one afternoon in early April.” Thus begins Jean Mason’s obsessive search for her elusive double, a quest that takes her to occupy Bellevue Square, a park in the Kensington Market area where her double had been recently sighted, a double named Ingrid Fox, a double who turns out to be a writer of detective fiction. All of Redhill’s novels are in some sense detective novels with strange, convoluted twists and turns. However, unlike in the traditional mystery story, there is no tidy resolution of loose ends. The novels refuse reassuring closure. In art, Redhill says, there are few happy endings that have an air of reality. To respect the intelligence of the reader, he maintains, it is necessary to avoid the solace of illusory coherence, “the artificially imposed catharsis of completed events.” Redhill believes that nothing in life is ever completely finished. This open-endedness is a recurrent feature of the literary fiction he writes under his own name. The genre fiction he writes under the name of Inger Ash Wolfe more or less conforms to the conventions of the detective novel. He revealed himself to be the real author of those novels in 2012. Although he planned to write several more novels in the series featuring the no-nonsense middle-aged detective Hazel Micallef, the publisher pulled

REDHILL Page 36

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Leaside Life • December 2023

Flying was on my Christmas list in 1972 Dedicated, long-time readers may recall columns I wrote back in 2017 and 2018 about my aviation bug. I’m sure you remember the story about the hovercraft a classmate and I built when we were 15, or the piece I penned about the Falcon series of hang gliders we built when we were 12. But our efforts to fly all started one December day in 1972. In fact, every December I relive in my mind that fateful Saturday afternoon and evening when Falcon 1 was conceived, designed, built, tested, and broken. Let’s just say it was a busy day. No pipers piping, no Lords a-leaping, no golden rings, but there may have been a few calling birds beckoning my classmate and me to take to the air. Well, at least to make an attempt. It was a very, very cold day as we pilfered wood from the scrap pile in our furnace room and laid it out on our snowy back deck. Our inventory included several broken hockey sticks and some leftover 1X2s from an earlier project. To say we designed our flying machine on a cocktail napkin, or the back of

Terry Fallis Columnist

an envelope, gives us far too much credit. In short, the lengths of the various pieces of wood we’d gathered dictated the design. In the end, we cobbled together a hang glider with a 12-foot wingspan along with a nose section and quite a large triangular tail that was 10 feet from stem to stern. Even though it’s a nautical term, I use “stern” intentionally, because aeronautical parlance just seems out of place, knowing how this story ends. By the time we’d screwed, nailed, and glued the frame together – which was a struggle with our nearly-frostbitten fingers – it was already dark. That suited us fine, for the next step involved theft, always better under cover of darkness. You see, we needed something

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to cover our wings, and bedsheets seemed the perfect solution. Well, it wasn’t perfect in my mother’s eyes, but that’s a story for another day. I snuck into our house, slipped up to our linen closet, and “liberated” two bedsheets. I snagged a pair of scissors before heading back out into the night. We cut up the bedsheets to the appropriate dimensions and then used a staple gun to secure them to the frame. In short order, we had covered wings. Then a black plastic tarp was sacrificed to provide enough material to cover the nose and tail sections. Our flying machine was finished. No computer modelling. No wind tunnel testing. No weight-to-wing area calculations. Nothing. Just a reminder, we were 12 years old. So, we dragged our creation down to Talbot Park at the end of our street on a toboggan (it was too heavy to carry) and set ourselves up at the top of the snow-covered hill. We were proud of Falcon 1. It was about as heavy as an anvil, but lacked the anvil’s aerodynamics. I must have lost the coin toss and was first up to attempt a test flight. It was so cold that I’d bundled up in a big way. I’d donned so many layers that I looked like the Michelin man. I was probably twice my summer weight. That certainly didn’t help my dream of “slipping the surly bonds of earth.” So, I sat on the toboggan, nearly crushed under the weight of our creation, as my co-conspirator pushed me down the hill. Falcon 1 did in fact take flight… briefly. But regrettably, I was no longer attached to it. As I picked up speed, the wind caught the glider and wrenched it from my grip, nearly dislocating both shoulders. Falcon 1 took to the air momentarily before crashing and breaking apart halfway down the hill. I ended up in a heap at the bottom, happy that my arms were still attached. By Christmas morning, my shoulders still hurt with each present I opened. Well, nobody said flying was easy. Just ask the Wright brothers. A two-time winner of the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour, Terry Fallis grew up in Leaside and is the award-winning writer of nine national bestsellers, all published by McClelland & Stewart. His most recent, A New Season, is now in bookstores. n

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Liam Jackson makes dreams come true by SUSAN SCANDIFFIO The youth of Leaside have a long history of charitable work, kindness and generosity. Kids have held lemonade sales to raise money for cancer, diabetes and ALS research. They’ve raised funds for Sunnybrook, Sick Kids and Holland Bloorview hospitals. They’ve organized and run food drives, participated in walks and runs to raise money for a wide variety of causes. And they’ve gathered and distributed running shoes for kids in underserved communities in order to ensure all children have the chance to participate in athletic activities. It was this last activity that had 6-year-old Liam Jackson asking questions. After seeing the shoe collection box on a neighbour’s porch, Liam had a discussion with his parents Zhenni and Shaun about kids who don’t have the necessary equipment to participate in sports.

ZHENNI JACKSON

Leaside Life • December 2023

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Then Liam asked if he could collect sports equipment so that all kids could play. And thus began Liam’s Sports Equipment Bank. As a kid who plays hockey, baseball, tennis, and golf and practises jiu-jitsu (his favourite activity), Liam was saddened “because there are kids that want to play sports like me and can’t.” At the end of August of this year, the Grade 2 student set up bins at East York Baseball Camp and within days had collected baseball bats, baseball gloves and baseball bases. The equipment was dropped at Eagle Beaver Sports, which helps local charities and shelters in Toronto, Cuba and Africa. Bins were next set up at the Moore Park Tennis Club, and tennis, soccer and basketballs, baseball gloves, racquets and skates were collected. With even more donations in hand, Liam and his mom brought equipment to the Christie Refugee Welcome Centre for their afterschool sports programming. On October 15th, Liam held a “Sports Equipment Drive & Raffle Extravaganza” at Birchmount Stadium. His own school collected multiple bins of equipment, and plans are afoot for more collection bins to be set up at other schools and community facilities. Liam would like to provide sports equipment to schools in underserved neighbourhoods, community centres and other not-for-profit organizations working with newcomers and refugees. Featured on Global News’ “Making a Difference” segment, Liam’s Sports Equipment Bank is quickly garnering a lot of support. According to mom Zhenni, Liam “has a heart as big as his dreams.” And his dreams are certainly making a difference in the lives of kids who might not otherwise have a chance to play. If you would like to have a collection bin set up in your school, place of work, etc., or would like to donate equipment or volunteer with Liam’s Sports Equipment Bank, visit www.liamssportsequipmentbank.org. n

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Meet this year’s Leaside Sports Hall of Fame inductees

Leaside Life • December 2023

by SUSAN SCANDIFFIO One athlete and one athlete/builder were inducted into the Leaside Sports Hall of Fame on Nov. 17th. A Lifetime Contribution and Athlete of the Year Award were also handed out on an evening to honour and celebrate sporting excellence in the community.

selected as MVP in his age group four times, the best pitcher four times and the leading hitter four times. In 1971 he led the league in home runs. He was a member of the Leaside team that won the

David Chambers (Athlete/Builder - Hockey)

HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES Tim Ampleford (Baseball and Hockey Athlete)

Tim Ampleford was born and raised in Leaside and excelled in both baseball and hockey. As both a pitcher and fielder, Ampleford played with the Leaside Baseball Association (LBA) from the ages of 11 to 19. In 1972 he was chosen to pitch for the Pittsburgh Pirates farm team, the Bradenton Pirates in the Florida Gulf Coast League, and in his two years with the team, put up an impressive ERA of 2.05. Ampleford was an outstanding player with the LBA and was

Championship. As a hockey player, Ampleford was a prolific scorer in the Metro Junior B Hockey League, the Ontario Junior Hockey League, York University, the International Hockey League, the Continental Senior A Hockey League and the Ontario Hockey Association at both the Intermediate and Senior levels.

Tim Ampleford

CNE Peewee tournament in1965, a tournament which Leaside did not win again until 2022. In 1971 his team won the Ontario Junior AAA

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While a student at Northlea and Leaside High, Dave Chambers excelled in multiple sports including football, baseball, track and hockey. His success on the ice translated into a successful career as both a player and a coach. Chambers played in the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) for the Guelph Biltmores and the St. Michael’s Majors. He went on to play hockey at the University of Toronto (where he also played varsity football) and the University of British Columbia (UBC). As a coach, Chambers spent 14 years behind the bench at the university level. In his eight years at York University, he coached the team to three OUAA titles and the team’s first CIAU championship and was named the OUAA coach of the year in the 1976-77 season. At the NCAA level, Chambers still holds the title of the winningest coach by percentage at Ohio State University and led his team to the CCHA Championship David Chambers

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in 1972. Internationally, Chambers coached the Canada National Junior Team to gold at the World Juniors in 1988, Team Canada to gold in the Spengler Cup in 1987, and the Canadian Student National Team to silver at the World Student Games in 1985.

HALL OF FAME Page 28

Leaside Life • December 2023

Road safety in Leaside – Phase One of the NTP is approved Last term, I initiated a Neighbourhood Transportation Plan (NTP) for Leaside to address long-standing road safety issues on our local streets. While there have been street-specific studies completed in the past, the Leaside NTP – which is being undertaken by the new Area Transportation Planning Unit – is one of the first network-wide, local road safety initiatives in Toronto. While there will be similar initiatives in other areas of the city, I asked staff to prioritize this one because I know traffic safety is top-of-mind for the community. After initial data collection and analysis, Area Transportation Planning staff began public consultation in early 2022 with a virtual information session. That summer, residents had the opportunity to provide feedback on local areas of concern through a digital mapping tool. Using the data collected and guided by public input, City staff developed Phase One of the Leaside

Jaye Robinson

Councillor, Ward 15, Don Valley West

NTP, which was presented to the community at a public meeting in June 2023. In parallel, staff collected community feedback through an online survey that received over 500 responses. In November, North York Community Council approved Phase One of the Leaside NTP. With a focus on addressing speeding, Phase One includes measures such as traffic calming, sightline improvements, in-road flexible speed signs, and Vision Zero Intersection Realignments – several of which are already under construction. In addition, City staff are reviewing measures to improve pedestrian crossing

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safety at the intersection of Bayview Avenue and Sutherland Drive. As a next step, the City will be mailing out polls on streets where traffic calming measures are recommended. Transportation Services requires each poll to meet a response and support threshold in order to proceed with traffic calming measures in the respective locations. I would encourage all Leaside residents on the impacted streets to monitor your mailboxes in the coming months and respond to the polls with your feedback. While I am pleased Transportation Services staff are moving forward with the first phase of road safety improvements in Leaside, I echo the concerns raised by many neighbours – including the Leaside Residents Association – that Phase Two must get underway as soon as possible. That’s why I moved a motion at North York Community Council directing staff to explore all opportunities to accelerate Phase Two of the Leaside NTP, as well as refining several aspects of Phase One using feedback from the community. For more information about the Leaside NTP, please visit the City of Toronto’s project web page at www. toronto.ca/LeasideNTP. To get in touch with the project team directly, you can email LeasideNTP@ toronto.ca or call 416-338-3033. Finally, I am sending Season’s Greetings and my best wishes for a Happy New Year to all Leaside families as we round out the year! n

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by HOLLY REID You could say the stars were aligning when Lianne Black heard about the opportunity to join the board at Cycle Toronto. Lianne has long been passionate about social justice, climate action and environmental conservation, and she just happens to be a life-long, four-season, cyclist. What’s more, she has built her career as a professional fundraiser for organizations like World Animal Protection, and is currently director of development with the Canadian chapter of the Jane Goodall Institute. Cycle Toronto, which advocates for a healthy, safe and vibrant cycling city for all, became a registered charity in 2021 and needed fundraising expertise on its board.

CYCLING IN LEASIDE

A native East Yorker “Cycle Toronto is all about safe and accessible streets for everyone and I think they do such a great job presenting the issues positively in what can be a very polarizing world,” says Lianne. She grew up

BARRY SAMUEL

Leaside Life • December 2023

Putting passion into action – meet Lianne Black

in East York and has always biked around the city, not getting a driver’s licence until her late 40s. Her career took her to Australia for several years, but when she moved back to downtown Toronto in 2018, she was impressed by how far the city had come in terms of cycling infrastructure. Even so, relocating to Leaside also showed her that more needs to be done to make it safe for people to bike outside the downtown core. Looking for somewhere to hang your hat?

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Broadening the conservation community/encouraging a cycling community Lianne’s work with the Jane Goodall Institute parallels her involvement with Cycle Toronto – both involve building communities. Jane is world-renowned for her work with chimpanzees and travels the world giving lectures to support her institute. The Canadian chapter is second only to the United States, and conservation programs include Roots & Shoots, which provides micro-grants to young people in schools across Canada to take on environmental projects in their communities. At Cycle Toronto, the aim is to build cycling communities across

the broader city and bring the advantages of safe, efficient and climate-friendly travel to neighbourhoods outside the core through education, advocacy and encouragement. Lianne hopes her fundraising expertise can help Cycle Toronto make this happen. #My5km – where can you go? Living in Leaside, Lianne needs only 35 minutes to get to her office at College and University by bike. “As soon as I get on my bike, I always feel better. It’s great exercise and I’m not tied to transit schedules.” She would love to see more people in Leaside getting around by bike and notes that Cycle Toronto is launching #My5km this month – a social media campaign that encourages people to share their rides of 5 km or less. As Lianne explains, “Toronto’s climate action goals include having 75% of all trips of 5 km or less be done by bike, on foot or using transit. This is a great way for people to share their stories and inspire others.” The campaign also aims to raise $25,000 to support Cycle Toronto’s good works. You can learn more and make a donation at cycleto.ca. n

LEASIDE UNITED CHURCH 822 Millwood Rd. (416) 425-1253 www.leasideuc.com Fri., Dec. 8 (12:30-4:00 p.m.) Advent Event – All Ages Drop-In Sun., Dec. 10 (7:30 p.m.) Carols by Candlelight Service at Leaside United Church –– A joint musical celebration with Northlea United Church Thurs., Dec 21 (7:30 p.m.) Quiet Christmas Service Sun., Dec. 24 Services – Advent IV (10:30 a.m.); All Ages Family Christmas Eve Service with Junior Choir (4:30 p.m.); Christmas Eve Communion Service with Chancel Choir (8:00 p.m.)

TODMORDEN MILLS HERITAGE SITE 67 Pottery Rd. (416) 396-2819 Lots of Light: Family Drop-in Dedicated to bringing warmth, light, and joy to you this winter season. Enjoy crafts, games, historic house tours, and treats from diverse festive traditions. Weekends to Dec. 24 and daily from Dec. 27-31 and Jan. 2-7, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with free guided tours available at 11:30 a.m., 1:00 p.m., and 2:45 p.m.

ST. AUGUSTINE’S ANGLICAN CHURCH 1847 Bayview Ave. info@saintaugustine.ca Fri., Dec 8 (7:00-8:30 p.m.) Groove Room Coffee House Listen to great live music by local artists and have a coffee and dessert with friends. Cost is $5 with all proceeds going to the Flemingdon Food Bank. We are looking for performers. Contact: info@saintaugustine.ca

ST. CUTHBERT’S 1399 Bayview Ave. (416) 485-0329 stcuthbertleaside@toronto.anglican.ca www.stcuthbertsleaside.com Tai Chi – Tuesdays 1:30-2:30 p.m. in Lamb Hall. Suggested donation $4 Sun., Dec. 17, 4 p.m. – Quiet (Blue) Christmas service Mon., Dec. 18, 7 p.m. – Carols with Friends – carol-singalong and storytelling followed by refreshments – non-perishable food donation to the Flemingdon Food Bank Sun., Dec. 24, 4 p.m. – Christmas Eve Family Service – interactive service with Instant Pageant Sun., Dec. 24, 8 p.m. – Christmas Eve Choral Eucharist with candlelight Mon., Dec. 25 at 9 a.m. – Christmas Day service n

Leaside Life • December 2023

Events

Leaside Life • December 2023

Leaside’s coat of arms stays out of trouble The headline in the November 8 Toronto Star caught my attention: “Etobicoke’s coat of arms is set to be removed after being criticized as offensive” and I thought, hmm – I wonder if there’s anything problematic about Leaside’s coat of arms? So, I decided to look into it. (Actually, I beavered away, pun intended!) Checking out coats of arms What was the problem with Etobicoke’s coat of arms, you might ask? It depicts an Indigenous man, and explorer Étienne Brûlé, and underneath the Indigenous man is the word “Tradition,” and under the explorer is “Progress.” The Star quotes Chief R. Stacey Laforme of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation: “It’s that same old stereotypical thinking: ‘The First Nations had their traditions … they were backward, and we’re the ones that showed them progress.’ And we know that’s not true.” So, what about Leaside’s coat of arms; does it also allude to

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Canada’s colonialist history? I decided to explore further. The Leaside coat of arms (displayed here) has no Indigenous figure, or settler for that matter, and no allusion to colonialist history or thinking. That’s a relief! Instead, it features a beaver – a symbol of diligence – sitting above a shield composed of a (rather suburban-looking) house, along with a rising sun, and maple leaves below, together with a three-part motto – “Itineris Stabilitas Sanitas,” which translates from the Latin to “journey, stability, health.” And set in a pleasant colour scheme of green and yellow. Seems to me that the coat of arms, its motto and colour scheme are uncontroversial. Fittingly like Leaside? The Town’s coat of arms, along with the motto, is embossed on a stone feature attached to the walls on both sides of the entrance to the former Town’s municipal building on McRae Drive, west of Randolph. The only public place, but surely a fitting place! n

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An “art-felt” commitment to learning in Leaside’s Business Park

Leaside Life • December 2023

by KEN MALLETT For many of us, awareness of contemporary Canadian art starts and ends with the Group of Seven – and even then, our knowledge is shaky. A Leaside company hopes to change our appreciation of Canada’s rich art world by using a tried-andtrue educational principle: get ’em young and teach them right, not just the classic disciplines of art, but related applications like movie-making and photography. Leaside has long been known as a diverse neighbourhood in business, culture and community, among other things. So, it should not be surprising that there is a centre of arts and education on Vanderhoof Ave. in the heart of the Leaside Business Park. The Canadian Contemporary School of Art is not a conventional facility where a teacher simply instructs and expects everyone to follow the same path. It offers a remarkable array of

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Left: Students at work and play at CCSA, and above: the school’s founder, Nahal Bahrman.

programs. A smattering: students can learn to paint, write, act, make movies, and create fashion. “We conduct classes even with just one student because we prioritize the individual needs of each student,” said Executive Manager Asad Sharifi. “We believe that everyone possesses a unique seed of creativity that should be valued and nurtured.” Classes are designed for all age groups, ranging from toddlers to adults. While the school offers primarily group painting and drawing classes for adults, courses such as animation and fashion are predominantly taught in a one-on-one format with adult students. “On the first day of our children’s painting class, we give them a blank piece of paper and ask them to draw or paint whatever they like. This helps us see how creative they are,” said Sharifi. “After that, we start our first project. We begin with something easy, like drawing a forest with different kinds of trees. We talk about the shapes, sizes, and colours of the trees. “We also encourage the kids to think of a story happening in the forest, which makes them more creative. Right from the first day, we start teaching them how to use watercolors, paint, chalk, and other art techniques.” The school’s approach emphasizes

that though all students may be drawing the same subject with the same materials, everyone’s painting will be different. The school organizes various national events for children including competitions in painting, shoe design, and photography. CCAS also provides art-themed birthday parties for children beginning in September. “Our instructors pay special attention to the age and interests of the birthday child,” said Asad. The parties run for two hours on weekends only. “We consider every day a day of achievement at CCSA because we witness countless creative moments and growth here. We also organize two exhibitions each year for our students, where they can invite their families and friends to admire their artwork.” Some of the students have been with the school since its inception, and it’s heart-warming to see graduates pursue a career in art. “We chose Leaside because it is culturally diverse and rich,” said Sharifi. Our goal was to establish an art school that would be easily accessible to people from other parts of the city, with the added convenience of free parking. We wanted them to have the opportunity to drop off their children while they attend to other tasks, knowing their kids are in a secure environment.” For more information on tuition, schedules and children’s birthday party costs, visit: https://www.ccsa.art. n

The Leasider behind Elmer the Safety Elephant Leaside Heritage Preservation Society

Elmer celebrates his 40th birthday with Ontario school children.

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Page’s focus throughout most of his police career was on traffic safety – especially child safety. He considered the automobile “an atom bomb with wheels,” and did everything in his power – giving speeches, interviews, radio broadcasts, etc. – to educate the public on its safe operation. His most significant achievement in this area was partnering in 1947 with Toronto Mayor Robert Saunders to launch the “Elmer the Safety Elephant” project across Toronto schools. Within the first year of its operation, traffic accidents involving children fell by 44 per cent – even as car registrations rose. He was also instrumental in introducing an early version of the breathalyzer (termed a “drunkometer” by the Toronto Star) to control drunk driving, and ordered all the cars in Toronto’s traffic squad painted bright yellow to make them more visible to motorists. Page’s association with Leaside began around 1952, when he left the police force after 17 years of service and bought a home at 52 Rykert

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Leaside Life • December 2023

Ted DeWelles

TORONTO STAR, OCT. 27, 1987.

The Leaside Heritage Preservation Society (LHPS) recently received an interesting item from a generous donor: a certificate of recognition from the Town of Leaside, dated October 1966. This was just before Leaside was to merge with East York, and many of Leaside’s key community leaders received these certificates as a parting “thank you” for their service. The document acquired by the LHPS was awarded to one Vernon Page. His name may be unfamiliar to people today, but 60 to 70 years ago, virtually everyone in Leaside knew who Vernon Page was. As a young man, Vernon Page (or “Vern,” as he was often called) was one of the best-known officers on the Toronto police force. Joining in 1935, he steadily climbed the ranks to become the youngest inspector in the department’s history in 1948. He was a big man with a muscular physique acquired in his youth as a champion swimmer. When he was still a fresh recruit, the Toronto Star ran an article spotlighting Page’s height (6ft. 2in.) and his shoe size (12) – the largest on the force.

MEET A LEASIDER

Carolyn Hayes trains for life – and health by SUSAN SCANDIFFIO Renowned American doctor Dr. Kenneth Cooper once commented that “we do not stop exercising because we grow old, we grow old because we stop exercising.” At 92 years young, Cooper is a shining and fit example of the benefits of movement. It’s this lesson of exercising in one’s later years to be healthy that personal trainer Carolyn Hayes brings to her clients. With her current clientele ranging in age from 82 to 95, Hayes emphasizes that no matter what the age, people can always continue or begin to exercise. Hayes was a kindergarten teacher for 12 years and tutored for several more before gaining her accreditation as a personal trainer 10 years ago. The most important message she imparts to her clients is that with balance and strength, falls and injuries are less likely. It’s vital, she notes, not just to age, but, as she notes, “…

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Leaside Life • December 2023

to be functional.” The bulk of Hayes’ clients live in their own homes but she does have some clients living in retirement homes. She’s worked with seniors

with Parkinson’s, those recovering from strokes, falls, and surgeries. And she’s worked with seniors who have not had any accidents at all. Tricia Barry, the daughter of one of Hayes’ clients, notes that she had “noticed deterioration in (her mother’s) balance, flexibility, coordination, and strength. We appreciate that Mom really enjoys Carolyn, looks forward to her twice-weekly sessions and that there is dedicated, regular attention to maintaining Mom’s mobility, dexterity, strength and balance.” Hayes loves her job and truly enjoys the fact that while she has imparted important lessons and training, her clients have also taught her so much. Their life lessons as models of determination, resilience and communication have been impactful. With her positive and caring attitude and her cheerful disposition, Hayes is an exceptionally talented trainer who brings strength as well as motivation and friendship to her clients. n

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LEASIDE SPORTS

by SUSAN SCANDIFFIO For the third year in a row, Leaside High School’s Senior Girls Rugby Sevens team has won the TDSSAA city championships. On October 25th, the team played at Georges Vanier and swept all their games before taking the final in a nailbiter against Malvern Collegiate. While the Leaside Lancers were down two tries to the Black Knights, they staged a momentous comeback to win the city title. The girls, coach Al Scharlach notes, “persisted and played well as a team.” Described by Scharlach as a “dedicated, spirited group,” the team comprised new and returning players, including captain Claire Bryan. Bryan has been playing rugby since she was six, and with 10 years of play under her belt “still love(s) every practice and game.” She notes that there was a lot of hard work and much improvement as the season progressed, which led to the ultimate success.

Bryan points out, “if it wasn’t for our coaches and our supporters, including the boys team, I don’t think we would have won our final game.” Congratulations to the team on yet another championship season! n

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Leaside Life • December 2023

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Leaside Life • December 2023

Lynda Gorges Broker

Warmest Holiday Wishes 416-486-5588 Lynda.Gorges@gmail.com www.lyndagorges.com

Leaside Life

Barry Samuel

He coached in the NHL with the Minnesota North Stars and the Quebec Nordiques and then in Switzerland for an additional 15 years. Chambers has been inducted into the Hall of Fame at York University and UBC, and has authored six hockey books, two of which have been translated and published by the Russian Sport Federation. Lifetime Contribution Award Barry Samuel

leasidelifepublishing@gmail.com leasidelife@gmail.com

As a youth, Barry Samuel played baseball for both Leaside and North York and as an adult, medaled while representing Canada at the Maccabi games in Mexico in 2019 and in Israel in 2022. For many years, Samuel has been an active supporter of the Leaside community and a strong advocate for youth mental and physical health awareness. He volunteers with both Leaside Baseball and Hockey and served for many years on the Leaside Gardens Arena board of management. As a champion for youth wellness, Samuel initiated the annual Spring Into Action Walk/Run in 2006 and to date, the extremely popular event has raised tens of thousands of dollars for charities supporting youth mental and physical health.

Published monthly in Leaside, Toronto, ON.

Lifetime Contribution Award Eleanor Voykin

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A graduate of Northlea Public and a current student at Birchmount Park, Leasider Eleanor Voykin has been a hugely successful athlete in the sports of track and cross country running as well as soccer. On the pitch, Voykin is a rep level soccer player with the North Toronto Nitros and in 2022 qualified to

play with the Ontario team. In the 2022-2023 school year, she placed first in the Ontario cross country finals more than a minute faster than the second-place runner. In the National finals, Voykin placed third among all females in the U18 category and first in her age category. At the 2023 Ontario Indoor U16 & U20 Athletics Championships, she smashed the Ontario track records in her age group in both the 1,200and 2,000-metre distances. This school year, Voykin placed first in the TDSB and first in the Ontario cross country finals. n

Eleanor Voykin

Janis Fertuck Columnist

On Jan. 10, 2024, a local grief support group will launch its third session in the Hearth Room at Leaside United Church. This group began to address a need growing from the Covid pandemic, a particularly difficult time for those experiencing a loss. Jean Marie Suchora, the Minister of Pastoral Care at LUC, explains that the normal process of grieving had been disrupted when supportive gatherings and rituals were postponed and modified. The Pastoral Care Team decided to offer a grief support group to provide guidance and comfort for church members in mourning. To that end, Jean Marie offered to design and facilitate a program

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Leaside Life • December 2023

Grievers find support in caring Leaside group

Grief support group facilitators from left to right: Barbara Kinnear, Graham Lute and Jean Marie Suchora.

that would educate participants and provide time to share and learn from each other’s experiences. Two other members of the Pastoral Care Team, Barbara Kinnear and Lynda Miller, volunteered to help facilitate the group, offered at no cost with a maximum of 10 participants from the church. The first session took place in January 2022. The book Understanding Your Grief, by Alan Wolfelt, Ph.D., was chosen as the springboard for discussion. Each participant received a copy of the book along with a journal for personal reflection. As Jean Marie says, “Grief often feels like a roller-coaster of emotions ranging from sadness, anger, regret, fear and loneliness that are often unpredictable and chaotic.” The group, she adds, explores “the work of mourning” as they journey from an “old normal” to a “new normal that is satisfying in a new way.” Part of the journey of healing is “the building of community support and resilience, while developing self-care and self-compassion.” With the book’s guiding principle that it is vital to mourn in order to heal, some of the topics chosen for discussion include “Exploring your feelings of loss,” “Understanding the six needs of mourning,” “Reaching out for help,” and “Nurturing yourself.” Sessions are held bi-weekly for

a total of nine meetings from January to May to allow time to process these experiences. After the first year, the group members suggested that since the program was so helpful, it should be open to the greater community. After flyers were sent out to other local churches and funeral homes and an ad was placed in this publication, the 2023 participants came from various central and north Toronto communities. As well, this year, former participant Graham Lute joined Jean Marie and Barbara as a co-facilitator. Lynda Miller acts as hostess and, according to Jean Marie, “soothes our bodies and souls” with her welcoming nature and homemade treats. The group has clearly had a dramatic impact on the participants, with comments such as these: “I realized how long grief can take and that it is unique to every person”; “By understanding the process of grief, I better understood and accepted my feelings”; and “It was very important for me to be in a group who listened and did not judge.” And while the group members are quiet and reserved at first, they gradually relax as they share their stories with the empathetic guidance of the leaders, and by the end are chatting and laughing with their new friends. n

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Leaside Life • December 2023

Leaside Children’s House

ITALIANS From Page 3

Leaside Life • December 2023

vegetable stores on Gerrard and also on the Danforth. Living quarters were above number 1587 and also above a butcher shop just down the road. Once Leo married, he had his eye on a home on Macnaughton, just opposite St. Anselm’s Church. Only problem was the owner refused to sell to an Italian – which speaks to the prejudice at the time, exacerbated by the war. To get around this impasse Dom explains that his dad had a good friend, the owner of Marwood Motors (where the Leaside Station-Eglinton Crosstown line is now located), who bought the house and then turned around and sold it to Leo – that was in 1948 when the house cost $5,000. There were no hateful incidents leveled at the shop during the war but family on the Danforth endured racial slurs and even eggings of their front windows. The deMarcos built Leaside Italians also built bricks and mortar infrastructure. Sam deMarco lived on Sutherland Drive and was busy in the late 1930s building apartment houses and shops along Millwood Road. He

John Bellomo

constructed the two-storey walkups solid brick buildings with simple yet symmetrical features – on both sides of Millwood between Sutherland and Airdrie. In 1938 he built a row of

shops on Millwood between Rumsey and Airdrie. Number 854 was first home to the Dominion grocery market and in 1957 was sold to Sing Chu, who opened China Food, still in business today. At the entranceway the pigmented structural glass tile wall, one of deMarco’s signature flourishes, is beautifully intact. His son Nicholas, at the age of 18, signed up with the RCAF, flew 39 missions as a bombardier, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for bravery. A prolific builder By far the most prolific builder in Leaside was John Bellomo. He immigrated to Toronto in 1930 and died in 1954 at the age of 42. During this time, he built hundreds of homes, scores of shops, and had a family. His eldest son Bob explains that John, fair-haired and blue eyed, came from the Friuli region of northern Italy. A carpenter by trade, he teamed up with friends Tersigni and Gri, forming a partnership in 1937, building houses in South Leaside east of Bessborough on Airdrie, Sutherland and Astor. In 1940 he married and decided to go it alone business-wise. Throughout the ’40s and into the early ’50s he built between 12 and 15 houses a year – in total more than 150 Leaside homes, most of which stand today. In 1952 he built and donated a house on Richlea Circle off Rykert to the Lion’s Club so it could be raffled off to raise money for Leaside Memorial Gardens. He also built 332 Bessborough, once owned by the Harper family…yes that Harper family! In 1943 he branched out into building shops, constructing 1699 to 1739 Bayview Ave. Son Jerry remembers that Bellomo owned the corner property (where Remax is located today) and that the apartment attached at the back, 1A Parkhurst Blvd., rented for $80 a month. He was a heavy smoker of Sweet Caporals, a strong cigarette, which son Bob reckons caused the lung cancer that brought an untimely end to a life of hard work, service, success and philanthropy. Leaside was known as the small town that, while not fashionable, worked efficiently, reflecting AngloSaxon values and ethics. The story not told is that of the entrepreneurial Italians who built the houses, apartments, shops and businesses that define the look and feel of our community. n

822 Millwood Road Toronto, ON M4G 1W4 Tel: 416-425-1253 www.leasideunited.com

This Grief Support Group will be held bi-weekly for a total of 9 sessions. It is open to adults 19 and over who have experienced the loss of a family member or friend and it provides an opportunity to talk about your own grief and learn from the experiences of others.

LOCATION Leaside United Church (Hearth Room) COST There is no cost to participate FACILITATORS Jean Marie Suchora (MA, Minister of Pastoral Care)

Barbara Kinnear and Graham Lute (Members of Leaside United Church)

GRIEF SUPPORT GROUP Jan 10 – May 01, 2024 2:00 – 3:30 pm

Join us

Please call or email Alison Jane, Office Administrator (alison@leasideuc.com) by January 3, 2024.

Leaside Life • December 2023

LEASIDE UNITED CHURCH

Ouch marks the spot at new Leaside sports clinic

Leaside Life • December 2023

MEET A LEASIDE BUSINESS

by SUZANNE PARK

Left: Dr. Julia Hamilton Right: Physiotherapist Shannon Andersen

DAVID AMOILS PHOTOGRAPHY

Leasiders love their sports. At the corner of Millwood and McRae, weather permitting, you’re likely to see tennis on the courts, baseball at Trace Manes Park diamond, pickleball in the church basement, and just a few short blocks east, at the arena, year-round hockey. It seems that sports, athletes and wannabe athletes, and fans are everywhere in Leaside. With sports come friendship and fun but also occasionally injuries whether the player is a tiny tot novice, professional athlete or senior looking to stay healthy and fit. Luckily for Leasiders, your sports injury has a new medical team in town, who opened their clinic at 45 Wicksteed Ave. #240, on September 5th. Dr. Julia Hamilton, introducing herself and her friend and professional colleague, physiotherapist Shannon Andersen, remi-

nisced, “We met when working at the same medical clinic in 2010 and just clicked – both being high energy dedicated professionals. We appreciated each others’ credentials, experience, client results and worked great together.” Shannon added, “We both go the extra mile to find the root cause of

a client’s injury, so they get better faster and avoid re-injury.” Just a year ago the partners decided to bring their practices together, assemble a team of professionals and launch The Sports Health Experts clinic in Leaside. “We’re a new clinic but not new to sport medicine. The minimum experience on our team is 15 years,” said Julia. Shannon added, “Our decision to work together was confirmed as we encountered and addressed a multitude of challenges every week from space requirements, architectural drawings, lawyers, insurance, financing, staffing, equipment and supplies, plus social and web design. We now have a healthy respect for how detailed opening a business can be. Amazingly, we easily divided up tasks, trusted each other to deliver and when asked, often came up with the same solution to a pressing issue.” Both Julia and Shannon are accomplished medical professionals dedicated to athletics. Dr. Julia Hamilton is in the University of Toronto’s Sports Hall of Fame for varsity squash. She is an MD, CCFP (SEM), a sports med lecturer in the University of Toronto’s Department of Family and Community Medicine, the National Ballet of Canada’s company physician, and team physician with Canadian Beach Volleyball. Shannon is a graduate of McMaster Physiotherapy with her Master of Science from Lakehead University. In the past, she’s traveled with Stars on Ice in Canada and the States, been assistant physiotherapist for

the Canadian Men’s Davis Cup Tennis Team and currently works as a consultant to Tennis Canada. Why Leaside, you might wonder? Simple, said Shannon. “We’ve both worked and have clients in the community. I grew up in Leaside and played Wildcat hockey and we’re both moms with kids currently in Leaside athletics.” Keep an eye on their website (https://sportshealthexperts.com). When time permits, the pair are planning to host an open house to acquaint Leasiders with their team, office space, and well-equipped physical therapy area. n

DIS

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VER SHA

ishing you the blessings of Hope, Peace, Joy and Love this Christmas and always

December 17th 4pm Quiet (Blue) Christmas Service A special service for those who find Christmas a difficult time

December 18th 7pm Carols with Friends

A holiday tradition with a carol sing-along and storytelling (Please bring a non-perishable food donation for the Flemingdon Food Bank)

December 24th 4pm Christmas Eve Family Service

A lively, interactive service with an Instant Pageant (no experience required)

December 24th 8pm Christmas Eve Choral Eucharist with Candlelight December 25th 9am Christmas Day Service 1399 Bayview Avenue 416-485-0329 • stcuthbertsleaside.com • stcuthbertleaside@toronto.anglican.ca

Celebrate Christmas

with LEASIDE UNITED CHURCH In Person and on YouTube

Advent Services

Dec 3, Dec 10, Dec 17, Dec 24 at 10:30 am

Carols by Candlelight

A joint musical celebration with Northlea United Church & Leaside United Church.

Dec 10 at 7:30 pm

Quiet Christmas

This reflective service with instrumental music offers space for all of the emotions we carry at the end of a challenging year

Dec 21 at 7:30 pm

Christmas Eve Services

Opportunities for all ages to celebrate Christmas!

Dec 24 at 4:30 pm Family Service with Jr Choir Dec 24 at 8:00 pm Communion Service with Chancel Choir www.leasideunited.org

822 Millwood Road (at the corner of Millwood & McRae)

Leaside Life • December 2023

Christmas WELC O

CLINIC continued

REDHILL From Page 8

Leaside Life • December 2023

the plug after the fourth installment, The Night Bell (2015). He told me that for him Bellevue Square was an attempt to cope with the death of Inger Ash Wolfe, who takes the guise of Ingrid Fox in the novel, a novel that “encodes the relationship between author and pseudonym” and interrogates “the sovereignty of our selfhood,” that “crazy quilt of chemicals” that makes us who we uniquely are. He saw the book as “a note to [himself]” and was stunned that it was a nominee for the Giller Prize let alone the winner of it. Redhill’s prose is worth savouring if only for its style and wit. Leasiders can certainly identify with his thoughts about the vagaries of winter. “May was on its way, thank God. We were

getting inoculations of sun. Winter here arrives, stays, persists, goes away a little, then comes back and people start leaping off the bridges. That’s approximately March, when jumping is at its apogee, but even then, winter isn’t over. What it likes to do is go away for a week in April and then return for three days and finish Grandpa off.” In a simile worthy of Raymond Chandler, he puts before us a woman wearing “a layer of lipstick red as a car crash.” Jean calls her bookstore bookshop. “I do subtlety in other areas of my life,” she says. Ta l k i n g about critics who reviewed Ulysses when it first came out, James Joyce noted plaintively that they could have at least said it was funny. Michael Redhill is funny, in person and on paper. In one of my favourite pas-

sages from his Inger Ash Wolfe novel The Taken, the mother of Detective Inspector Hazel Micallef comments on a 20-year-old pop star “parading down a street in Hollywood in a dress big enough to cover a volleyball.” “In a just society everything this child is doing would be illegal. She should be arrested, stuck in a housecoat, and made to listen to Guy Lombardo records until she smartens up.” Lombardo and the Royal Canadians billed themselves as creating “the sweetest music this side of Heaven.” For years, they did the New Year’s Eve Party at the Waldorf Astoria, and I painfully remember my parents annually subjecting me and my brothers to the telecast. The idea that Lombardo’s music would smarten up a hypersexualized nymphet is exquisitely absurd. I guess his music is sweet and heavenly for some, but I can imagine a 10th circle of hell wherein the condemned are forced to spend eternity listening to records by Guy Lombardo. Me? I would rather read novels by Michael Redhill. n

ELMER From Page 23 37

Leaside Life • December 2023

Cresc. Taking a job as safety director at Kingsway Transports Ltd., based in Toronto and Etobicoke, he also entered local politics. He served for three years as a Leaside municipal councillor, running for mayor in 1958 against incumbent Charles Hiscott. Page lost badly to Hiscott and left politics for a while. But it was in his blood, and he returned to Leaside council in the early 1960s, serving as reeve from 1963-1966. During this time, he also wrote a weekly column for the Leaside Advertiser on local community matters called “This and That from Here and There.” Page was a fiscal conservative who advocated low-to-moderate taxes, sound administration and strong controls on new development – while always maintaining his commitment to road safety. He was a passionate defender of single-family homeowners and Leaside’s unique residential/ industrial character. He loved and took pride in his community – so much so that in 1964 he proposed to council that Leaside develop its own flag displaying the town’s coatof-arms and its colours of green and gold. Council unanimously supported the idea; unfortunately, the flag never became a reality. Following Leaside’s merger with East York in 1967, Page continued in local politics – serving six more years as an alderman on the newly formed borough council. For most of this time he also continued to work as safety director at Kingsway Transport until his retirement from that company in 1970. He then became a member of the Ontario Highway Transport board, where he served until 1980. He died at the age of 73 in July 1987 – still living at 52 Rykert, with his wife Anne. In a letter to the Toronto Star following his death, a former Leasider praised Page as a “very patient listener” who believed that if “I listen long enough to even the humblest of our citizens, I will gain some wisdom.” A few years later, in 1993, Page was further acknowledged when his wife Anne was presented with an award honouring her husband’s work in child traffic safety. Conspicuously present at the ceremony was an old acquaintance – Elmer the Safety Elephant (or rather someone dressed to resemble Elmer). I suspect Vern Page would have approved. n

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Leaside Life • December 2023

Traffic – what else? Last month I reported on both the Leaside Neighbourhood Transportation Plan (Phase One), and a separate recommendation from the City’s traffic staff that a traffic signal be installed on Bayview Avenue at Sutherland Drive, to create a safer crossing for pedestrians and cyclists. The Transportation report did not propose any alternatives to a traffic light, measures such as pedestrian crosswalks or other kinds of traffic control, or explain how their recommendation had been reached. The Leaside Residents Association (LRA) responded with numerous conditional criteria, questioning how the traffic light would be operated and how Sutherland could be protected from an increase in traffic turning onto and off Bayview. Feelings ran high. Leasiders (and not only those living close to the Bayview/Sutherland intersection) flooded the November 14th North York Community Council (NYCC) with emails expressing concerns. There was a clear demand to find a more acceptable option. After a few

Carol Burtin Fripp Co-president, LRA

minutes of discussion, Councillor Jaye Robinson moved to send their report back to staff, ordering them to identify and cost other measures, and to involve more staff consulta-

tion with residents in the process. There are alternative measures to consider. For instance, the Intersection Pedestrian Signal (Google it for an illustration). Staff needs to consider alternative street designs, which do not require a traffic light. We all feel that a safer crossing is needed. I think we all agree that the current unsafe situation at Bayview/ Sutherland should – finally – be properly dealt with, and soon. The Leaside Neighbourhood Transportation Plan Moving on to the Leaside Neighbourhood Transportation Plan (LNTP), I deputed to the North York Community Council that the recommendations contained in Phase One of the LNTP are both too modest and too few to make much difference in tackling Leaside’s traffic woes, given the pressures already on our community by lengthy delays in construction of the LRT, and an ever-increasing pace of development. I noted that Phase One states that study and research on Leaside’s major traffic problems will be delayed until there is a subsequent Stage Two, apparently far into the future. To quote Phase One: “The long term plan will need to be informed by neighbourhood changes associated with the Eglinton Crosstown Line 5; bikeway installation on Eglinton Avenue East …; planning directions of the Ontario Line; the Laird in Focus planning area; and proposed and potential development sites.” It will be many years before all of these are completed, by which time our traffic problems will have grown even worse, and be harder to resolve. Events will overtake the possibility of improvements, especially if Leasiders don’t get involved. The good news is that NYCC unanimously voted to request the LNTP team to accelerate Phase Two! The LPOA board of directors meets at 7:30 p.m. on the first Wednesday of every month, at the Trace Manes building on Rumsey, just south of Leaside Library. You are welcome to join us to depute on issues important to you, ask questions, have your say, or just listen. Our next monthly meeting is on Dec. 6th. For more details and updates between now and then, visit www.leasideresidents.ca.n

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Leaside Life • December 2023

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