Leaside Life Issue 114 November 2021

N O V E M B E R 2021

Leaside Life No. 114

LEST WE FORGET

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Editor’s Welcome

Lest we forget Whenever I think of Remembrance Day, my mind turns to my husband’s old friend, the late Major Ed Nixon.

Major Nixon – never Ed or Mister Nixon – was a lifelong North Leasider who with his wife Ruth raised four children who graduated from Leaside High.

While he never saw active duty during World War II, Major Nixon attained his rank serving in the Canadian Forces Naval Reserve where he provided signals for both the navy and army.

According to The Communicator, Major Nixon was an officer in the Irish Regiment and the Toronto Scottish before he joined the Toronto Signal Regiment, in about 1967. He served with the Regiment for two or three years and then was a frequent visitor at monthly dine-ins and a

Jane Auster Editor Leaside Life

player at the favourite poker table.

He was also a regular visitor at the Royal Canadian Military Institute on University Avenue, where he enjoyed entertaining his friends, my husband included.

Every Remembrance Day he would attend a special ceremony for veterans at Fort York. Though Major Nixon was a man of few words, it’s clear he had high regard for Remembrance Day and felt its meaning deeply.

Many ceremonies continue to be virtual this year, but the symbol of Remembrance Day – the red poppy – will be highly visible. In fact, 2021 marks the 100th anniversary of the Poppy of Remembrance in Canada. Wear it, wear it proudly.

November 11 – lest we forget. n

Lest we forget.

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ing with honours in 1949, and then the University of Toronto, graduating in 1953. Afterward, he worked for the BBC and CBC as a television Few people know that one of production worker – until retiring Canada’s most respected poets, in 1990. But his real Richard Outram passion was poetry.

(1930-2005), lived During his lifetime, in Leaside as an he published nearly adolescent and two dozen volumes young man. of poetry and prose – Fewer still know receiving the Toronto about his father, Book Award for Alfred.

Poetry in 1999. His Alfred Outram, works are the subject an engineer by proof numerous acafession, moved his demic articles and family here in the studies. early 1940s after Richard deeply purchasing a house respected his father, on Rumsey Rd. Richard Outram’s graduating class – Leaside HS,1949. who saw intense He and his wife Photo courtesy of Susan Parr. action in France Mary remained in with the Canadian Leaside for nearly Expeditionary Force during World joining the local air-raid precauthree decades and were active comWar I. On Remembrance Day 1992, tions service, giving blood, and munity members. Alfred served Richard published a moving tribute growing a victory garden. as a Leaside municipal councillor After the war, his son Richard in the 1940s, while Mary joined POET Page 29 attended Leaside HS, graduatthe Women’s Auxiliary at Leaside

by T ED DEWELLES, Leaside Heritage Preservation Society

United and served on the Leaside Home and School Association.

During World War II, Alfred contributed to Leaside’s war effort by organizing bond drives,

3 Leaside Life • November 2021

A poet’s moving tribute to his father’s war experience

What’s the buzz in Leaside? Julia Edey knows Leaside Life • November 2021

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by SUSAN SCANDIFFIO What’s your plan for retirement?

While some retirees choose hobbies or sports such as book clubs, gardening, or cycling as their new pursuits, one Leasider has adopted a unique undertaking.

Julia Edey took up an activity before taking early retirement which has become an absolute passion.

Beekeeping!

Yes. She’s incredibly brave. She’s also, as she notes, “smitten.”

Edey’s interest in beekeeping was first piqued when one of her son’s teachers at Rolph Road School told her class about her work in the field.

But Edey was too focused at the time on gardening both at her Leaside house and her family’s property in Collingwood.

While she initially contemplated opening a nursery, her reading and studying about the topic kept bringing her back to the need for bees to keep a garden growing, and the importance of bees to our whole ecosystem.

Not waiting for her to make her

Julia at work

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mind up, husband Glenn stepped in, and under the Christmas tree, left his wife the book Beekeeping for Dummies.

That did it. Edey completed an introduction to beekeeping course in the town of Innisfil and notes that from the moment she entered the “bee school,” she was “mesmerized.”

Buzzed, really.

In 2018, her first year of beekeeping in Collingwood, Edey purchased a “nuc,” (a nucleus colony from a larger colony with a queen bee) of about 5,000 bees. That year, she focused on practising and mastering the skills necessary to maintain, and increase, her apiary.

With climate change, the use of herbicides and pesticides, and a variety of mites, there has been a worldwide decline in the bee population.

Avoiding chemicals and working diligently, Edey has increased her apiary to two hives but would ultimately like to double that number.

At the height of this past summer, each of her two hives had about 60,000 bees in each. Yes, she has been working with 120,000 bees.

Now in her fourth year of beekeeping, Edey is a fount of bee knowledge. She can easily identify each member of the bees in her hives by role. (Did you know that worker bees actually have various jobs such as being guards, housekeepers, nurses, nannies, etc.?)

Edey is thankful and ecstatic that she found a new passion at the age of 50, pointing out that it’s never too late to learn and undertake new adventures.

While she works hard, often losing track of how long she’s tending to her hives, she’s found another benefit to her craft. Her work “calms (my) mind a lot. You have to be mindful, and very focused.”

With bees producing different tasting honey depending on the flowers they visit, Edey would love to grow a field of lavender.

To find her comb or pure raw honey, visit the Leaside Community page on Facebook to purchase her sweet products. n

Leaside Life • November 2021

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MEET A LEASIDE BUSINESS: STATE OF THE ART GALLERY

Michael Leonard’s gallery is state of the art It took Michael Leonard a long time to find just the right location for his State of the Art Gallery at 1541A Bayview Ave., which opened in 1999.

He was looking for somewhere he could live and work, in an area that “had community,” felt friendly, and on a “better street.” He also didn’t want to locate in a traditional gallery area like Yorkville, but instead wanted to be “a more accessible type of gallery where you didn’t have to go out of your way to find great Canadian artists or attend private events.” Bayview came out the winner, in Scotiabank Lighthouse, 100 Yonge St., 5 Floor, Toronto ON, M5C 2W1 part because of the wider File: 1781954 - HFA Ad for Bita Garshasbi_4.5x4.875 Workfront#: 1781954 sidewalks. And the name Trim: 4.5” x 4.875” Colours: CMYK Insertion: July 26, 2021 itself is “a play on words and trying sculpting, carving and painting. He Bleed: .25 Deadline: July 29 2021 to be somewhat memorable.” likes to be creative, but “my things n/a Designer: Fabio Prod: n/a Michael hasSafety: no formal background are for me” and are not for sale in in art, but he has always enjoyed the gallery. th

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Leaside Life • November 2021

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State of the Art Gallery mostly represents contemporary, living, Canadian artists. His artists are people “committed to being painters – not amateurs.” Michael prides himself on being a “stable gallery” as opposed to a “showing gallery.”

He has had the odd show of a particular artist, but that isn’t what his gallery is set up to do.

Framing is an integral part of the business. Of course, he frames pictures, but he has also tackled crackers, cigarettes, a number of collections of significant objects – and on several occasions, a tree of life with prints made from placentas.

And then along came Covid, and for a retail business not deemed essential, big changes were necessary for survival. As Michael says, “you need to adapt to what the world throws at you.”

One change that he anticipates making permanent is having the gallery “Open by Appointment.”

This means that when you come and are discussing a possible purchase, or how to frame something, there are no interruptions from others who happen to be passing by. It also means that he can then more easily go off-site to consult with a client. As well, his “approval policy allows you to take a work home and view it in your surroundings to ensure you have chosen well.” And if it isn’t the right one?

When it comes back to the gallery, it goes into quarantine for 10 days, just to be safe.

The store’s website has become a greater resource, with the ability to showcase the many artists the gallery represents. Many of you will recognize the work of David Crighton, who does fine art giclée prints. Two in particular are favourites of mine – “Leaside – South Bayview 2000” and “Bayview Ave – Leaside 2020,” with his version of notable Bayview businesses and buildings. www.stateoftheartgallery.ca. n

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MEET A LEASIDE BUSINESS: ONCE UPON A CHILD

Kate Young wants YOUR used kids’ gear

by SUSAN SCANDIFFIO Kate Young is a prime example of bringing sustainable options to the neighbourhood, and beyond.

Young has been using her years of fashion retail and marketing experience to promote environmentally friendly alternatives. Focusing on the children’s retail sector, she has set her sights on providing parents with eco – and wallet-friendly – options.

As the child of a hotel executive, Young and her family frequently moved around the world. With a love of fashion, she worked in retail from the age of 14, selling clothing of varying price ranges to people all over the world.

She completed a degree in fashion marketing and management at Humber College and once again hit the road. She held a number of fashion positions, including managing a Roxy store in Australia, as well as working at Yves St. Laurent in Wales. Eventually drawn back to Canada, Young and her husband

ALISON RICHEY

Leaside Life • November 2021

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settled in Leaside.

Young and many of her parent friends became aware how quickly kids outgrow their clothing. Why, she wondered, would parents want

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to shell out vast sums of money for clothing their children would outgrow after as little as three months?

She soon dipped her toe into the sustainable fashion world by creating the Leaside Great Gear, Baby/Kids/Maternity Facebook page. With an obvious interest in selling and swapping new or gently used items, parents from around Toronto flocked to the site.

Young then discovered the eco-friendly store Once Upon A Child on Bayview (OUAC, as it’s known to regulars).

The store provides two invaluable services for parents: It purchases new or gently used items on the spot for cash, and it resells these to other parents looking for a large range of items including clothing, toys, strollers, books, skates, cleats, dance apparel, high chairs, scooters, and more. (Halloween costumes for $10?

Yes, please!)

When the Bayview store closed and moved to the East York Town Centre in Thorncliffe Park at 45 Overlea Blvd., the business was purchased

by Jeff Levens and Michael Cowans, also a Leasider. Thanks to a space five times that of the original store, inventory quadrupled.

Young initially offered to set up a relationship between the original store and her Facebook site. When the owners of the new location learned of her initiatives, including events such as story time to draw traffic, the new owners knew they had to persuade Young to come on board.

She now works as the store’s social media and marketing director, organizing in-store events and giveaways and posting regularly on the store’s social media pages.

With new inventory arriving every day, Young points out that for “people who want luxury goods but don’t want to pay luxury prices,” the store is a no-brainer.

A mere hop, skip and a jump from Leaside, the eco- and wallet-friendly Once Upon A Child is an invaluable option for parents. And with Leasider Kate Young leading the drive to promote such a sustainable alternative, the earth can breathe just a little bit easier. n

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MEET A LEASIDE BUSINESS: CARY PHYSIO

Far from remote – Meet Leaside’s virtual physiotherapist

by SUZANNE PARK Little did I suspect when I booked an interview with Cary Chittley, Leaside’s virtual physiotherapist who left an 11-year job to launch his business, that I’d have an injury to discuss with him. I was prepared to dig deep and perform like a standardized patient, the type who acts out medical symptoms to train and test medical students. However, a few too many hours at the computer had my right wrist feeling tender.

This permitted me to present actual symptoms to Cary, and what a lovely experience it was.

As he told me, “You’ll be assessed, diagnosed and receive a treatment plan all within approximately an hour. All from the comfort of your home.”

Virtual physiotherapy is a growing area of medical care nudged along by Covid. A University Health Network article provides case studies that support virtual physiotherapy as a valid and evidence-based method for assisting patients in staying on track with their rehabilitation treatment plans.

The testimonials on Cary’s website (www.caryphysio.ca) expressed what I experienced. He is generous with his time and knowledge. He ensured I was clear on the diagnosis, even showing me medical textbook photos and ensuring I understood the issue and treatment options. Cary even gave me a few minutes to collect some hockey tape so he could guide me through taping my wrist properly.

SUZANNE PARK

Leaside Life • November 2021

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As the saying goes, the proof is in the pudding, as I type this article with my healing wrist.

Cary’s credentials, depth of experience and caring nature boosted my confidence in virtual medical care. He also impressed me with how attentively and efficiently he explained his virtual physio process and my case, in a way that inspired me to further research my injury: triangular fibrocartilage complex. Right after our virtual appointment I explored the online links he provided, which supplemented the notes and treatment advice he sent me within an hour of our call.

When logging into our appointment, I had a small technical glitch.

A quick email to Cary and he solved my issue and our appointment started and finished on time.

When asked if he has concerns for

those in need of physio without the means or an extended medical plan to engage someone like him, he was eloquent. “Beyond reducing the environmental impacts of less driving, virtual appointments make it quicker and easier for those in pain to meet with their physiotherapist. I’m very committed to improving access to physiotherapy services for those in need by reserving, at minimum, 10 per cent of our appointments for those in need. Which I can offer, thankfully, as my virtual practice is very busy and has grown during the pandemic.”

Cary wrapped up our call by mentioning that “November is Fall Prevention Month.” So, with winter on the horizon, I plan to review the tips in the resources Cary mentioned and continue with my prescribed exercises to maintain my wrist strength. n

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Leasider sharpens focus with niche business

by ROBIN DICKIE Anyone who grew up in Toronto pre-1970 remembers a time when the milkman delivered fresh milk to your door, and when the local knife sharpener (proper term “cutler”) would drive through the neighbourhood ringing his bell to let you know he was on your street and could sharpen knives, tools, mower blades, and scissors! It’s a unique and niche business, but a very handy one. Who doesn’t need a good sharp knife in the kitchen?

How long has it been since you had a decent blade? The local cutler is a rare sight these days, but there is a new guy in town if you need one.

Enter Nathan Hunter. Nathan and his young family live in North Leaside. Nathan was a successful club/bar/restaurant owner when the pandemic hit in 2020. He owned and managed vintage arcade bars Tilt and Zed*80 on the Danforth, and concert venues such as 3030 on Dundas West. “I had a good thing going, but when the pandemic hit, it was game over.” He saw the writing on the wall for the restaurant and bar

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Leaside Life • November 2021

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industry and decided it was time to get out.

Having often decried the lack of a good knife sharpener in his restaurant kitchens, he made the leap to provide that niche service for businesses and homes alike. It was also his way of helping his former colleagues and fashioning a business that was based on reusing and refurbishing tools rather than discarding them. Hunter took courses in professional blade sharpening both here in Toronto and in, of all places, Saskatchewan. “I studied traditional Japanese hand sharpening and then expanded and built my own system around those techniques. Now, I use all power equipment,” he says.

Then he went looking for the perfect mobile shop. What better vehicle than an old ambulance?

Why an ambulance, you ask? Well, apparently you can get one on Kijiji for a reasonable price, and they come pre-fitted with storage banks, electrical and battery packs. This very enterprising man designed his own logo, refitted the ambulance and set up a website for bookings. The Blade Medic was off and running.

He gets most of his bookings through word of mouth, and has an active social media profile. He does pop-up locations around the city and custom visits. And he believes in giving back. Having his first child during the pandemic has changed his world view and he’s all about giving back and making people happy.

He does cross-promotions with other businesses where he’ll park

outside and offer deals. Free coffee outside a coffee shop, or he often partners with hair salons.

He’s passionate about community gardens and growing local food. He gives 2% of his profits back to community gardens and often pops by the Thorncliffe Community Garden and sharpens their tools for free.

A typical Leasider might ask if he sharpens skates. Hunter laughs and says “I don’t do skates, it’s too short a season, and there’s a lot of other people doing it. It’s different equipment and I take a lot of pride in the specific part of what I do.”

As we spoke, Hunter sharpened my ancient kitchen scissors. I got them back newly aligned, razor sharp and they can cut a single-ply wet kleenex!

– apparently the litmus test for a job well done.

Oh and he does house calls in Leaside. Only Leaside. He will pick up your blades in the morning and return them end of day, a special deal for us locals.

Hunter is charming and clearly very smart and entrepreneurial. He comes across as amiable, centred and easygoing. His pride in family is obvious.

And he is making a difference in his own small way. He thrives on being completely in charge of his own gig with no rent to pay (or landlords) and he can go where he chooses.

Business is going well in what he calls “the never-ending pandemic.”

“I’m just trying to roll with it right now. Get through this year being a Dad (to a newborn). ...Just happy to work.” blademedic.ca n

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Leaside Life • November 2021

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Leaside Life • November 2021

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Opportunity or threat?

The future of employment lands in Leaside Historically, the City of Toronto and the Province of Ontario have considered the supply of lands reserved for employment to be mostly off-limits for zoning redesignation. However, with the provincially led A Place to Grow: Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe in effect since May 2019, and the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing establishing July 1, 2022 as the deadline for municipalities to update their Official Plans to bring them into alignment with the provincial plan, change is afoot. As a result, the City’s Municipal Comprehensive Review (MCR) and Growth Plan conformity exercise is currently underway and the first preliminary recommendation reports are expected in early 2022.

The City’s own website describes the ‘Official Plan’ as “Toronto’s roadmap for land use and focuses on “identifying where growth should go, and what is needed to support healthy, complete commu-

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nities that are thriving and inclusive…[and] presents an opportunity to address, through planning policy, a number of the growth-related challenges facing Toronto today and in the future.” Sounds great.

I hope they do a good job because the City of Toronto is projecting growth of 700,000 people and will need more than 450,000 jobs by 2051. It’s clear that a number of these newcomers will want to live in Leaside. But where?

Where do newcomers go?

The obvious locations for residential development are relatively known to us: along the west sides of Bayview and Laird, across Eglinton, and through various infill projects. But wait, there could be more. The results of the one-year City Council-approved window to submit requests to convert lands designated as Core Employment Areas or General Employment Areas for non-employment uses in Leaside closed on August 3rd but was not made public – until recently, when we learned that more than 150 conversion requests were submitted and

(MTSA), defined as areas within an approximate 500-800 metre radius of a transit station and representing a 10-minute walk.

Two years ago, I came to my own conclusion: “Regardless of the final scope and pace of change we face, the obvious point is that the decision to move down this path has been made. As a result, our collective attention needs to focus on ensuring that Leaside’s ‘carrying capacity’ (i.e., infrastructure) will be able to sustainably support the total number of new residents and/ or jobs we expect to have in the future, without further degrading our current level of resources, many of which are already under strain and are ageing.”

Can big players help us solve big problems?

What are the big challenges we face as a community? Take, for example, the conversion request for the Loblaws site at 11 Redway.

I see the potential of the site but without having any details I can only speculate at this early stage of the process. If Loblaws’ $4.8B property arm Choice Properties REIT is involved, the vision for the site could be impressive. Just looking at their Golden Mile redevelopment project will give you a sense of the potential future. The project is described as “a dynamic mixed-use community at the gateway of the Golden Mile on the new Eglinton-Crosstown LRT,

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eight are in the ’hood.

Why should we care? In the September 2019 issue of Leaside Life I wrote, “Let’s face it, at the heart of the matter is the population densification of Leaside and what that will mean for us.” At the time, the focus was on a stated target of 16,000 new residents or jobs that would need to be created in Leaside as a result of becoming a “Major Transit Station Area”

comprised of retail, residential and office uses in diverse built forms and a new park.”

Here is the part where I think working together with a developer of note and scale could be extremely beneficial for our community. Before the project plans get approved, it would be a tremendous opportunity to bring to the forefront some

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Hockey returns to Leaside Leaside Life • November 2021

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Every year, early in November, my mind and memories turn to house league hockey at Leaside. After the last 18 months of Covid, safely returning to boys and girls hockey at Leaside is a small light at the end of the pandemic tunnel. We’re not there yet, but we’re on the right path with more than three-quarters of Ontarians with at least one vaccination dose (October numbers).

As I wrote in this space before some years ago, my twin brother Tim and I played house league and occasionally Select (then called All-Star) hockey at Leaside from the time we were about nine years old until we went off to university. Then when our sons, who were born just a few days apart (cue the twin jokes), were old enough to play, we coached them in house league and cheered them on in Select until they went off to university. The circle of life in Leaside.

So, I’m thrilled for the kids who are returning to the ice.

I remember being so excited and a bit anxious every Saturday morning as we donned our hockey gear in our basement. Then our dad drove us over to the arena with just our skates

Terry Fallis Columnist

left to put on when we got there.

It took Tim and me a few years to understand that the cool kids always dressed at the rink, not in their basements. One year, our dad forgot to ask the convenor to put us both on the same team. That meant spending twice as long at the arena – except when we played each other. From then on, we were always on the same team. Our coaches invariably put us on the same line, Tim at centre, and me at right wing, believing that twins would have an innate sixth sense of where the other was, which would surely lead to tape-to-tape passes and lots of goals. Alas… no. Not even close. Seemed like a good theory, but it generally failed on the ice. When

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Tim did happen to hit me with a perfect no-look pass, he was usually shooting and missing the net by such a margin that it looked like a pass.

But we loved every minute of it.

I remember turning on the boyish charm and selling raffle tickets doorto-door. If we sold all three books of tickets we’d been assigned, we earned ourselves a colourful Leaside Hockey Association jacket. I had two over the years. My first was green, followed later by a red one. We just felt on top of the world wearing our hockey jackets to school like the really cool kids. A few months later, we returned to the same people who had kindly bought raffle tickets and sold them tins of peanuts to finance our All-Star team’s trip to a hockey tournament in Boston, a highlight of our Leaside hockey career. I seem to recall my parents bought a few cans (or maybe cases) of peanuts to ensure we “sold” our quota. It got us to Boston.

Saturday mornings were filled with hockey-related rituals. Neither Tim nor I could ever eat much for breakfast on hockey days, and that continues to this day. Every second week, the legendary Peter Mahovlich Sr. would sharpen our skates in his little booth near the Zamboni bay. We’d sit in the dressing room as our dad tied our skates while we’d anxiously eye the door waiting for our best player to arrive. It was always a relief when our star hustled into the room.

If we won the game, and sometimes even if we lost, the parent who drew the short straw would eventually enter the dressing room carrying a wire tray of sorts bearing a selection of soft drinks, one for each player.

Almost as good as winning the game.

So, at this time of year, particularly after what we’ve been through and are still battling, I’m thinking about the kids (and the parents) as another season gets underway at Leaside Gardens. Playing house league hockey was a big part of my childhood. I still miss it.

A two-time winner of the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour, Terry Fallis grew up in Leaside and is the award-winning writer of eight national bestsellers, all published

by McClelland & Stewart. His most recent, Operation Angus, is now in bookstores. n

Leaside Life

17

Editor: Jane W. Auster Publisher: Lorna Krawchuk Webmaster: Erin Sorhaug Graphic Design: Robin Dickie Advertising: Karli Vezina

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Super moms’ group going strong since 1972

by JANIS FERTUCK

Stroller Socials

SARAH HENDRICKS

Leaside residents are fond of referring to their neighbourhood as “a village within a city” because of its high level of community involvement and engagement. One such group is the South Leaside Monday Group, which was founded in 1972 and is still going strong.

The idea for the group hatched in a living room when a small group of mothers decided to gather weekly for friendship and support.

It is a volunteer-run group “run by moms for moms” to provide young mothers with opportunities for meaningful connections. In addition to a president, there are 17 executive members in charge of programs, website, social media and finances.

Most of the executive were members themselves who want “to give back to the next cohort to provide the same opportunities they had,” says Cody Copeman Hubert, this year’s president, who joined the group five years ago when her oldest was a newborn.

The group has evolved since its early days when many of the members were stay-at-home moms who welcomed the opportunity to socialize with other mothers and encouraged their children to become friends. For many years, childcare was provided while the moms bonded and listened to speakers at Trace Manes. An early member, Lynda Martin, says the group was “key to making lasting friendships, a wonderful way for ‘community’ to happen.”

Today most of the members are young professionals looking for meaningful programs while on

maternity leave or home with very young children. The programs include small playgroups where local mothers with babies of the same age are matched up, and members take turns hosting in backyards or parks during the pandemic. The new stroller socials are outdoor meetings that feature a guided activity such as a music class or mom-and-baby fitness in nearby parks.

There are also evening socials for mothers to enjoy on their own such as wine-and-cheese parties, pub nights and trivia nights. Then there is the Members-Only Facebook Group, a dedicated site where members can connect, seek advice, offer recommendations and set up informal park meetings.

As Cody explains, “Covid has provided us with an opportunity to get creative” by making modifications like eliminating indoor meetings at Trace Manes, and meeting in smaller groups outdoors. The group is continuing to thrive, however. In fact, the stroller and evening socials are

so popular that SLMG had to close registration in September because of capacity limits set by public health, but hopes to reopen registration in January depending on the guidelines and comfort level of the members.

While their name refers to South Leaside, they have members from all over Leaside as well as nearby areas. The group’s popularity stems from the fact that it provides friendship, support and comfort to new mothers who are feeling isolated and want to connect with others with the same experiences. “(As)... the largest neighbourhood-based mom group in Toronto,” SLMG provides a “wonderful support system,” says Cody.

Those sentiments are echoed by Peggy Donohue, who is grateful for the new friendships that have expanded to include other family members. Another mom, Caitlin Kordic, concurs that “Leaside has a strong sense of community already and this group has made our community even stronger.” n

Trivia Night

JULIA BROOK

Leaside Life • November 2021

18

Leaside United honours Truth & Reconciliation Leaside Life • November 2021

19

PHOTOS BY MICHELE PETICK

Trauma, truths, and action...

A sunrise gathering was held at Leaside United Church on September 30th in recognition of the first National Truth & Reconciliation Day. Our local MP, Rob Oliphant led the assembled group in a period of personal reflection. The group also planted “Every Child Matters” signs on the church property and tied orange ribbons around the trees on the lawn.—Michele Petick

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FROM THE COVER

by LEASIDE LIFE It is hard to measure the value of a single gift to a young child.

But for many lower-income families living in Thorncliffe and Flemingdon Park, that question does not even arise. After paying for rent and food, there often are not enough dollars left over to spend on toys or gifts

for their children. For parents barely getting by, holidays, which for many are a joyous time, can be a time of stress, anxiety and unhappiness.

For nearly two decades, a committed group of Leasiders have worked to fill this void by running the Leaside Toy Drive in support of kids in need in Thorncliffe and Flemingdon Park. What started in

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Leaside Life • November 2021

20

2003 as a Guys Night Out fundraiser, with about 20 supporters, has grown exponentially into one of the city’s most meaningful, longterm toy drives.

Over its 18 years in existence, the toy drive has annually provided more than 4,000 toys – a toy for every child in the four primary schools in the area. The toys and gifts are provided in consultation with the local schools to ensure they are age, gender, and culturally appropriate.

As Principal George Patsopoulos says: “Our community loves the Leaside Toy Drive. It has been a great tradition here at Gateway Public School. The Leaside Community Toy Drive is a wonderful, generous contribution that truly exemplifies the definition of the season of giving.”

To date, over $250,000 has been raised and more than 30,000 toys have been distributed.

One of the founding members, Daryn Everett, said, the early days were about giving a group of local men the opportunity to get together, have a few drinks, meet other local men, and raise a little money for a toy drive. Fast forward 18 years and the organizing committee of Leasiders – Jeff Hohner, Michael Zivot, Edward Wong, David Skelly, Daryn Everett and Lisa Lefebvre – have put in countless hours to raise the over $35,000 needed annually to run the toy drive.

This entrepreneurial group, along with Leaside Life columnist and local hero Susan Scandiffio, also lent their expertise in the recent launch of the Thorncliffe Park Food Bank.

With the generous help of corporate, local business and individual donations, the Toy Drive was able to secure over $275,000 in goods and monies for the TNO Food Collaborative.

For 2021, the Toy Drive will once again host a Virtual Comedy night, on December 2nd. A donation of $50 (more, if you like) will get you a ticket to the online event. It’s a night of adult humour, teaming up with the Nowhere Comedy Club, along with a free draw and items to be auctioned. Leaside’s own celebrity comedy merrymakers, Colin Mochrie and Debra McGrath, will be making a special appearance.

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In further support of the Toy Drive efforts, Leaside Life has partnered with the Leaside Toy Drive to give people an additional opportunity to support the cause. A new platform called Toy Drive Local will allow consumers to come together with local merchants, and through their everyday transactions, lend extra financial support directly to the Toy Drive. This initiative launches on December 2nd in conjunction with the Virtual Comedy Night and will both support local merchants and add additional donations for the Toy Drive. n

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21 Leaside Life • November 2021

Leaside goes Halloween!

THE

Curious Idler

also were on hand virtually to share their well wishes and support. The provincial election is slated for June 2022.

Terry Fallis’ 8th novel, Operation Angus, is already a bestseller Multi-award winning author and Leaside Life contributor, Canadian novelist Terry Fallis, has published his 8th novel, Operation Angus. Fans will be thrilled with the long-awaited follow-up to his now classic debut novel, The Best Laid Plans (2008) and The High Road (2010). Operation Angus is a comic spy story featuring the return of Angus McLintock. Fallis’s own time working within and around government has certainly given him a unique and often amusing insight into the inner workings of our fine Canadian government.

Through the fictional character Angus McLintock, described as an accidental Member of Parliament, Fallis leads us into a hilarious spy story involving espionage, covert M16 meetings and international intrigue. And the best part is that Leaside Life and the Curious Idler are giving away 10 signed copies of Terry Fallis’s newest novel, Operation Angus. The first 10 astute readers who email the Idler at leasidelife@gmail.com and mention code “Operation Angus” will win.

Stephanie Bowman nominated as provincial Liberal candidate for DVW At a virtual nomination meeting held on October 13th, the DVW Liberal riding association officially nominated Stephanie Bowman as their candidate to replace Kathleen Wynne. Bowman, a 25-year resident of the riding, was both a former senior vice president at Scotiabank and a board member of the Bank of Canada. Kathleen Wynne, the first woman Premier of Ontario, said she will be around for the campaign and has extended her full support to the Bowman campaign.

Wynne commented that the current provincial political environment is not unlike her first provincial campaign in 2003. Provincial Liberal leader Steven Del Duca and recently re-elected DVW MP Rob Oliphant

Leasiders have been acquiring backyard trampolines. And who wants to jump alone, so these trampoline hubs have become hotbeds of happy but noisy jumpers. As one reader commented: “This affects the rest of us non-trampoline owners who still would like to continue using our backyards as a place to enjoy a meal, read, garden, or relax in peace and quiet.”

Property owners do have the right to the quiet enjoyment of their property, but the Idler thinks it is always in your best interest to try to work things out as amicably as possible as we will likely be neighbours for a long time.

Mallory residents fight to protect their green space

Jumping for joy?

Look honey, the neighbours just got a trampoline!

As the Covid crisis has continued to grind on our collective patience, the Idler has heard about a new emerging noise issue within Leaside.

With parks closed and warnings to “stay home,” it seems more

One of Leaside’s lesser known parks is hidden away near Leacrest Road and Mallory Crescent. This small, triangular shaped patch of green space is much loved and cared for by its local residents. Mallory Green is simple by design with only a single bench, a few trees and green grass – just how the locals like it. So, it was a big surprise when without any apparent public consultation that the City Parks department

PHOTOS BY BEN FLEMMING

Leaside Life • November 2021

22

IDLER continued

Here comes the snow – Shovel Me to the rescue Leaside resident and LHS student Jason Van Humbeck is literally putting his back into his work again this winter. As he and his team of teen shovelers prepare to keep our sidewalks and driveways clear of snow, this entrepreneurial 12th grade student is connecting Leaside homeowners with local student shovelers through his website shovelme.ca. With more than 20 local teens ready to get to work when the snow flies, Van Humbeck is looking to grow this innovative, Covid-safe small business. Kids helping kids helping Leasiders – the Idler thinks this is all good. n

23

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Leaside Life • November 2021

started the installation of numerous concrete pads meant to support new picnic tables and benches for the park. One resident commented that having five picnic tables and four benches on a postage stampsized lot did not make any sense.

The residents have contacted local councillor Jaye Robinson, and it does appear that the work has been halted and Mallory Green will remain, well, green.

Nine Leaside lads remembered in stained glass window

by GEOFF KETTEL Many Leasiders have seen the stainless-steel plaque at Leaside Memorial Community Gardens (LMCG) listing the names of 17 servicemen from Leaside who made the ultimate sacrifice during the Second World War. Raymond White, former chair of the LMCG board, told the story of the plaque in the September 2018 issue of Leaside Life.

But a second place where Leasiders’ service overseas is remembered is the Memorial Window at Leaside United Church. The spectacular Memorial Window, one of 21 stained glass windows filling every opening in the Sanctuary, holds the place of honour overlooking the chancel and the congregation (when the church reopens for worship, of course).

The central figure, in the window, is of Jesus Christ, with arms spread. The lower panel tells us that this is a Memorial Window: “Dedicated to the glory of God

ROBIN DICKIE

Leaside Life • November 2021

24

and in remembrance of the sacrifice of those who served the cause of Justice and Freedom, 193945.” This window was dedicated at Leaside on November 6, 1955 – the Remembrance Day service that took place a decade after the end of World War II. This lower panel lists the names of nine young men (average age 22 years) from Leaside families who made the ultimate sacrifice. Of the nine, seven were in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), one in the Royal Canadian Artillery (RCA), and one was in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). Eight of the nine were buried overseas (in Holland, England, Scotland and Belgium), while one died at sea. Six of the nine are also included in the list on the LMCG plaque.

The Panel of Symbols, just above the names, is “rich in meaning and memory” and includes The Tables of the Law and the Bible, the RCAF badge, the Red Cross emblem, the RCN emblem and the Canadian Army insignia.

“May we never forget the high cost of our freedoms. We are forever grateful.”

Full disclosure: the author acknowledges the source of much of the information in the article being from The Windows of Leaside at Leaside United Church, November 2000. This excellently researched book is unfortunately available only in hard copy. Until the pandemic, copies of the book were present in all the church pews.

As the book says, the stories of the nine young men are largely unknown. However, some information about each one is included in the Windows book. n

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OPPORTUNITY From page 14

Leaside Life • November 2021

LEASIDE LIFE

25

The Loblaw Redway site

of the local issues that might be addressed while under development.

For the Redway site, some ideas that jump out include: (1) revisiting the ‘Leaside-Redway bypass’ idea to help divert cut-thru traffic trying to get to Bayview, (2) increased funding for a co-developed stewardship plan/ program to protect Crothers Woods and enhance the gateway entrance, (3) a railway pedestrian overpass to connect the site to Leaside Gardens and the broader residential community, and (4) wider community indoor and outdoor space. The same ideation process for the other sites yields similar opportunities to benefit the surrounding community.

Of course, there is no guarantee any such ideas will ever see the light of day. Cooperation with the City and the developers will be paramount. As I understand it, there will be considerable opportunity to engage with all stakeholders during the planning process. Both the Federation of North Toronto Residents’ Association and the Leaside Business Park Associations are already named participants in City documentation.

But one thing I do know, unless we table our views in a coordinated and organized manner, this opportunity to make improvements that benefit the wider community could go unrealized. Now is the time, while the planning is taking place, to secure the resources needed to ensure that Leaside remains a place we all can live, work and play.

What challenges to you want the City to address as a result of the continuing intensification of Leaside? Let us know at leasidelife@gmail.com. n

Kathleen Wynne, MPP Member of Provincial Parliament for Don Valley West

Lest We Forget On Remembrance Day, let us honour the memory of our brave veterans.

Constituency Office 795 Eglinton Avenue East, Unit 101, Toronto, ON M4G 4E4 416-425-6777 www.kathleenwynne.onmpp.ca

It’s almost two years since RioCan, the City and the Leaside Residents Assn (LPOA at the time) reached a mediated settlement for the community benefits related to approval of RioCan’s proposed development at 815-845 Eglinton Ave. East (the Canadian Tire site). The City now needs to make a decision regarding “community space” to implement the settlement agreement and finalize the Section 37 agreement.

In addition to a 62-space notfor-profit daycare facility, and 40 affordable rental housing units to be provided on site, the Section 37 contribution package included “a cash payment of $11.3 million for on-site and/or off-site community facility and/or community facility improvements, off-site park improvements and/or parkland acquisition, and/ or public realm and streetscape improvements, with such funds to be used at the discretion of the Chief Planner in consultation with the Ward Councillor.” (See Leaside Life, January 2020).

Geoff Kettel

Saving old Leaside

The City can decide either to: (a) take up the community space offered in the Settlement Agreement, or (b) take the negotiated value of the property ($5.25M – comprising $3.25M for the bare space, and The Canadian Tire site.

ROBIN DICKIE

Leaside Life • November 2021

26

When is community space not really community space?

$2M to outfit that space) in cash and apply it for other Section 37 uses.

The City can elect to secure a 10,000 sq.ft. “community facility” on the site. In reality, though, it is “community agency space” not “community space” and would be occupied by a not-for-profit agency that could range from seniors services to shelter or a detoxification clinic, and with a catchment area that might be local, regional or citywide. The City runs the RFP process to select the agency without input from the community or the developer, although the selection of the agency has to be approved by City Council.

To date, the responsible department of the City (Community Services) has not indicated any interest in taking the space. The reasons are unknown but could relate to the legal complexities of locating in a condominium building.

At the time of the settlement, we envisaged uses like City-run recreational facilities and meeting rooms to complement those available at Leaside Memorial Community Gardens and Trace Manes. The Leaside community COMM SPACE Page 29

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Transit and traffic – updated Does the date “July 21, 2022” mean anything to you? If all goes well, it will. That’s the target date for the Eglinton Crosstown, so long in construction, to begin operating.

July 21 will also be the day that all of the city’s new and altered bus routes go into service.

Having represented the Leaside Residents Association at the TTC’s Five Year Service Plan meetings, I can report what is in store for Leaside.

The LRA had to persist, but we were successful in maintaining the 88A and 88B South Leaside bus routes, which will continue to start at St. Clair subway station, servicing internal Leaside and connecting with the new LRT station at Laird Drive. The 28 South Bayview route has been preserved as well.

Adequate service levels for Eglinton Avenue surface transit (aka buses) are still unclear: there will be buses, but the question is with what frequency.

The TTC is aware that in order to give North and South Leasiders real access to transit, we need frequent east/west buses – and close-enough bus stops between the Leaside

(Bayview) and Laird stations.

The TTC will continue to monitor passenger numbers to prevent overcrowding on both subways and buses, in keeping with Covid precautions. Fear of overcrowding is one of the key factors causing many of us to choose transit less often and reverting to our cars.

Carol Burtin Fripp Co-president, LRA

Laird & Eglinton

ROBIN DICKIE

Leaside Life • November 2021

28

Increased gridlock Which leads me to the related subject of increased local gridlock.

Streets like Broadway Avenue, McRae Drive, and Southvale Drive are carrying more traffic than ever.

While their traffic – especially at peak periods – often resembles a slow-moving train, many other residential streets are experiencing higher traffic speed, as drivers turn off our arterials Bayview Avenue and Laird, or seek shortcuts from bumper-to-bumper traffic.

As we await details of the city’s Leaside Traffic Management Plan, we have been encouraged to request that the City install more speed indicator cameras in Leaside. These are only temporary and advisory, with no enforcement ability, and they only tell us what we already know: that drivers are driving too fast!

What we need are measures which ‘self-police,’ to have any impact.

2022 will see two elections: provincial (in the summer) and municipal (in the fall). They will offer a real opportunity for voters across Ontario and communities like Leaside to focus on a number of vitally important issues, like development and planning.

The related issues of local traffic management and reduction, alternative street design, and transit improvement will determine what kind of city, and what kinds of neighbourhoods, we want. The LRA encourages you to get involved (it’s not too early; candidates are being chosen now) so we can ensure our local and provincial representatives know where you stand.

ab

The next meeting of the Leaside Residents Association is on Wed., Nov. 3rd, via Zoom. You are welcome to attend any of the LRA’s monthly board meetings. If you’d like to come and watch or participate, please let us know by Nov. 3rd so we can send you the Zoom access details. You can also find us at www. leasideresidents.ca. n

COMM SPACE From page 26

in the Globe & Mail. Entitled “My was and is still believed to be Father: Lest I Forget,” it described warm to the idea of a “commuhow Alfred fought and survived both nity space” at Laird and Eglinton. the Battles of the Somme and of Vimy The expectation was that with all Ridge and was blinded by mustard the development in the Eglinton gas after being blown into a crater at corridor and the presence of the Ypres. He was only 21. After his sight LRT, Laird and Eglinton would was restored, he volunteered with the become the new centre of gravity Canadian Field Artillery for duty in of the neighbourhood. However, northern Russia. There, he and his the vision that led to the set-aside comrades almost starved during the in the settlement was for commuRussian winter. To survive, they nity recreation facility/meeting ate the remains of horses, rooms and to expand opporand perhaps – suggested tunities for the growing Richard – even those population in Leaside. It of human beings, was not for community killed by the brutal agency space, which weather. may or may not fit Richard wrote the needs or serve that his father the Leaside populararely talked about tion. There was also his ghastly war a desire to provide experiences. But Richard Outram recreation opportuhe seldom missed nities closer to North a Remembrance Day Leaside, which was feeling service either. shortchanged.

Alfred Outram died in 1974.

If the city elects not to take the Years later, his son wrote these lines space, the $5.25M cash would in his honour, excerpted from his be held as a fund (along with the poem Cenotaph: rest of the $11.3M) to be used for capital or operating expenses as He stood in his beret determined by the councillor, with and ribbons, with the same input from the community. faces, less a few, This delay would allow time for each autumn. We became proper consideration of the allocaaccustomed in the night tion of the funds and any studies to his muffled screams; required to understand the need it was, my mother said, for community recreation facili“only his war dreams.” ties or other projects, such as Laird He fought at Vimy Ridge, streetscape. the Somme, at Ypres was gassed, There is no question that, on face and more or less survived value, having community space the horror of his past…* (i.e. real estate) seems like a better Alfred Outram, like so many value proposition than taking the Canadians – from Leaside and across cash. But when you consider that Canada – made immense sacrifices the “community space” is not really in the service of their country. Some community space, but rather “comsurvived “the horror of [their] past.” munity agency space,” its value Many did not. May we remember diminishes, and the benefits of the them all this Remembrance Day – community space allocation to and every day. n Leaside residents are questionable.

Finally, there has been no community consultation process to help arrive at a decision about specific facilities changes/improvements needed in Leaside. For example, does Leaside Gardens have the potential for expansion as a multi-recreation facility to include gymnasium, meeting rooms and other facilities? The LRA has suggested that the councillor discuss the options and the arguments on both sides with key community * The full poem is in Peter Sanger’s Through Darkling Air: The Poetry of Richard Outram stakeholders. n (2010), p. 29.

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29 Leaside Life • November 2021

ESTATE OF RICHARD OUTRAM

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Leaside Life • November 2021

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ArtworxTO – “Creativity and Community, Everywhere” To kick off Toronto’s 10-Year Public Art Strategy, which was approved

by City Council in 2019, the City of Toronto has declared 2021-2022 the Year of Public Art. As Toronto continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, the City has launched ArtworxTO, a program designed to celebrate the community of creative minds behind our expansive collection of public art and bring installations directly to local neighbourhoods.

Historically, public art installations have been tied to major development applications and as a result, the City’s collection is largely centred in the downtown core. In 2017, a team of researchers from the Ontario College of Art & Design and the University of Toronto identified vast areas of the City with little to no public art available, which they dubbed “public art deserts.”

The ArtworxTO program will help eliminate these “deserts” by changing the development-centred approach and deliberately placing public art installations in neighbour-

Jaye Robinson

Councillor, Ward 15, Don Valley West

hoods across the city.

The program is guided by three pillars: 1. Creativity – providing new platforms for artists and community partners to create and experiment with public art; 2. Community – connecting local neighbourhoods with art and enhancing access by providing online creative resources; and 3. E verywhere – changing our approach to public art to produce new works in underserved areas of the city.

To date, ArtworxTO has engaged more than 1,500 local artists in the creation of over 350 new exhibitions, installations, murals, and

other productions. In September, the City launched the ArtworxTO website (www.artworxto.ca), which includes an interactive map of all the public artwork installations across Toronto that can be used to explore art in your local neighbourhood or plan your visit to installations in other communities. I would encourage you to visit the website to learn more about the public art available near Leaside and across Ward 15.

Before being elected as a City Councillor, I served as a Director in the City’s Economic Development & Culture division and helped establish initiatives such as Toronto’s Nuit Blanche and Moose in the City – two programs that brought public art to the forefront.

The arts have always been an integral part of Toronto’s cultural fabric and they will continue to play an important role in reanimating our city post-pandemic. Thank you to the 22 sponsors, donors, and media partners who have made this program possible. n

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Leaside Life • November 2021

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