Leaside Life Issue 97 June 2020

J U N E 2020

Leaside Life leasidelife.com

No. 97

Embrace the mask : Leaside edition Story on page 14.

Darren Sampson sews his way to success.

BE SAFE, LEASIDERS, AND CONTINUE TO SUPPORT OUR LOCAL BUSINESSES AND OUR VALUABLE ADVERTISERS

Leaside Life • June 2020

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WELCOME BACK We are OPEN

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Coping and hoping So, how are you doing?

Most people I speak to, FaceTime or Zoom with say they’re coping with the pandemic reality nearly three months in.

But there’s also something fresh in the air: a sense of hope. Maybe it’s the spring weather and all the Leasiders who have committed to planting Victory Gardens. What, you haven’t started yet? Well, it’s time to get digging. Spring is finally, definitely here.

How’s your fitness holding up?

Janis Fertuck shares her experience doing online yoga classes with her favourite studio, Prashanta Yoga, which introduced a “Nama-Stay at Home” program. Holly Reid devotes her cycling column to e-bikes, which are giving all sorts of riders that extra push to make cycling a regular part of their (new) routine. Even humourist Terry Fallis, who has the “Lockdown Blues,” has started running in the morning.

During the pandemic a number of entrepreneurial individuals and businesses have stepped up to make our lives easier. Take Leaside’s very

Jane Auster Editor Leaside Life

own Mask Man, Darren Sampson of NovoMask, who started creating stylish face coverings on April 10 while out of work from COVID19. Now, more Leasiders are smiling (under their masks, of course) as they don these fashion statements when shopping, at the appropriate physical distance. You can read more about Darren’s venture in Glenn Asano’s Business of Leaside column in this issue.

Hope – and a sense of optimism – is surely in the air. More and more Leaside businesses are cautiously reopening with new safety and hygiene protocols in place. There’s never been a more important time to support local enterprises as they take tentative steps to stay in business, serving us, in a COVID-19 world.

They deserve a collective, virtual hug. So, put on your mask, get on your e-bike, walk over, and say yes to Leaside’s local businesses. ■

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Whenever two or three...

Thinking about the sentence in the Bible about “whenever two or three are gathered together in my name...,” I wanted to find out how our local Leaside churches were managing in these extraordinary times.

At all six churches – Leaside Presbyterian, Leaside United, Northlea United, St. Anselm, St. Augustine and St. Cuthbert – the emphasis continues to be on community and looking out for those in the parish and the neighbourhood who need help in these difficult times.

Five of the six churches have come up with either pre-recorded or live Sunday worship services. The exception is the Church of St. Anselm, where the technical requirements were just not in place, so online worship services are available from St. Michael’s Cathedral.

Connections to important outreach ministries are continuing in different ways. At Northlea United, meals are prepared for Youth Without Shelter and delivered to the agency for their staff to serve. Leaside Presbyterian,

St. Cuthbert’s and St. Anselm’s churches continue their distribution of food cards in the nearby neighbourhoods – but now by mail, rather than with visits. Leaside United’s Outreach Committee is raising money for COVID CARE. Leaside United was preparing to meet their latest sponsored refugee family. That is now on hold, no one knows for how long. St. Augustine and St. Cuthbert’s are in the middle of a joint sponsorship, and continuing their financial support, but with difficulties in helping with formal English classes or in finding jobs appropriate for a former teacher and a skilled tailor.

The fact that Zoom meetings are available by computer or phone makes them an easy way to connect virtually. Leaside United’s building was closed because of their extensive renovation project (now permitted to restart after being suspended in April), so all their committees were gearing up to be elsewhere anyway.

All the churches are holding study groups or parish committee meetings weekly or as required. One session

Relax I will get it SOLD

Patrick Rocca bro ke r

at St. Augustine was based on the number 40, or “quarantine.” Who of us knew there were 146 Biblical references to this? A Prayer Shawl Ministry at Leaside Presbyterian started in February, and has grown since going online. The shawls were blessed on Mother’s Day and were then going to people in vulnerable situations.

Fundraisers and broad entertainment have taken place recently – a reverse rummage sale at St. Augustine, with a dumpster on site – and a variety show at Leaside United.

One event which hasn’t so far been switched online is the Ordination to the Priesthood of the Rev. Sherri Golisky at St. Cuthbert’s. She was to be ordained on March 29, and as of now, we are still waiting for the ordination to happen.

If you are close to Bayview Avenue, you might be able to hear the bells from St. Augustine or St. Cuthbert’s during the week at 7:30 p.m. when they’re rung to show support for frontline workers.

Leaside Life publisher Lorna Krawchuk is a parishioner at St. Cuthbert’s. ■

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Leaside Life • June 2020

by LORNA KRAWCHUK

Leaside Life • June 2020

by JANIS FERTUCK Like many people facing the new reality under the COVID-19 pandemic, I wondered how I could maintain my active life. I’ve been taking yoga lessons for 15 years and look forward to its many benefits each week.

What would happen now, I wondered, to my favourite studio? At a time when most yoga studios were closing, Prashanta Yoga introduced a “Nama-Stay at Home” program.

Owner and instructor Christine Dennis, in speaking with her class on March 15, decided to try a virtual program to allow her loyal students to stay at home but still participate in their regular yoga classes. She was also determined to keep her team of expert instructors employed. The first option was live streaming the classes on YouTube. But after two days of experiencing some transmission difficulties, Christine switched to pre-recording classes during the day and then uploading them to the

Christine at work.

AMANDA STREATHER

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Pivoting during COVID-19: Prashanta Yoga launches Nama-Stay at Home

internet and YouTube.

She soon discovered that it was easier to upload the classes at night when traffic on the internet is lighter.

But this makes for a “time-consuming and impossible undertaking” for her, considering that she does all the

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recording, editing and uploading herself, and gets up every two hours at night for the uploading.

Prashanta Yoga’s classes are limited to eight students to allow for individual attention from instructors, and students pre-register for eightweek sessions, motivating them to “commit to a program of selfcare.” An online system for cancelling classes and booking makeups is now being used to book the online classes. Students are able to book four classes for each of their pre-registered classes, thus allowing them to experience a variety of instructors and styles. The system also sends students links to scheduled classes 30 minutes before the start time, which then stay live for two hours afterwards, so that students can choose a convenient time.

With the majority of the pre-registered students taking part in the program, there are about 120 classes available online every week, including many repeats of popular choices.

The project has been a steep learning curve for Christine in terms of purchasing sound and lighting equipment, back-up devices, cables and microphones, and dealing with new challenges in filming every day. She also sanitizes the studio after each teacher’s session. Luckily, there is no commute time needed as she lives above the studio in her eco-friendly building.

Christine’s efforts have paid off. The teachers initially were a bit shy in front of the camera, but soon enough “they found their natural rhythm and sense of humour” and often add breathing exercises and thoughtful tips about coping with the current situation.

The students regularly thank Christine and her team for providing an oasis during this difficult time.

They also appreciate the excellent videos and the flexibility of the schedule, helping them to fill their time and giving them a break for self-care.

The studio, says Christine, was very fortunate to avoid a complete shutdown by offering online classes.

“For the most part, our students have embraced their classes as a part of their days in isolation. In fact, many students have requested that online classes be part of our offering once we reopen.” Namaste!

For more info, visit the website at www.prashantayoga.com. ■

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Leaside Life • June 2020

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Help feed our neighbours!

by SUSAN SCANDIFFIO Thorncliffe Park is a dynamic and vibrant neighbourhood of 30,000 people, with 64 per cent of the households consisting of immigrants.

The neighbourhood celebrates its multicultural pride through community fairs, markets, and the ever-popular Neighbours’ Night Out. Unfortunately, it’s a neighbourhood with almost 46 per cent of households living at, or below the poverty line, and 53 per cent of kids living in low income families.

With the onslaught of the COVID19 pandemic, families in Thorncliffe Park have been profoundly affected by the loss of employment and lack of access to meal programs for kids at Thorncliffe Park School.

With the need at such high levels, The Neighbourhood Office (TNO) in Thorncliffe rallied employees and volunteers to feed neighbours through an emergency food bank.

Staff quickly realized that the TNO’s existing office space was too cramped for a food distribution program, especially for adhering properly to the social distancing recommendations. The loan of the Masjid Darus

TNO volunteers at work.

LISA LEFEBVRE

Leaside Life • June 2020

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Salaam by the Islamic Society of Toronto at 20 Overlea Blvd. was a greatly appreciated gift.

Susan Wright from summerlunch+, whose company has provided lunches for the TNO summer camps for the last five years, offered her assistance to help set up the distribution centre and to reach out to Second Harvest, which now supplies weekly produce for the program.

With a plan in place, a space from which to work, and an enthusiastic crew to take on the work, TNO is now delivering free food boxes to 600 families and seniors.

The boxes are filled with non-perishables, as well as fresh produce, milk donated by Coca-Cola, eggs supplied

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by Braeburn, and other items from multiple generous donors.

TNO Executive Director Ahmed Hussein, notes that, “due to COVID-19, there is so much food insecurity. TNO felt the need to respond to the situation by appealing to the neighbouring community and donors to address the need.”

When Leasiders became aware of the program through Facebook posts and email chains, the response was instant and immense. Coordinator of the food bank, Aamir Sukhera, was “blown away” by the generosity of the Leaside neighbourhood.

The Leaside Toy Drive lends support The Leaside Toy Drive group also threw in their support and donated $5,000, set up a GoFundMe page, arranged for fridges to be loaned to the centre, and contacted several food companies which have donated a massive amount of food.

XYZ storage has donated all the boxes required to make deliveries, while Andy Elder, owner of Grilltime, collected $750 in donations at his store and generously matched that amount for a $1,500 donation to the program.

TNO plans to keep delivering food boxes as long as they can.

Food items can be dropped at 20 Overlea Blvd. (the parking lot is behind Tim Hortons). Donations are accepted Mon.-Fri. from noon until 4 p.m. Contact Aamir Sukhera when you’re en route to let him know you’re coming: (416) 346-3000.

Food items requested: vegetable oil (3l), rice (basmati 4 kg), all-purpose flour (2 kg), pasta (900 g bags), sugar (2 kg), tomato sauce (1.36 L), kidney beans (540 g), mixed beans (540 g), chickpeas (540 g), canned tuna (170 g), lentils (5 kg), mung beans (5 kg), oatmeal (1 kg).

The Toy Drive GoFundMe page can be accessed at www.gofundme.com and searching “Thorncliffe Food Bank.” The TNO is accepting donations through Canada Helps (which offers tax receipts). Go to www.canadahelps.org and search for “TNO.” In the message section, note that you’d like your donation to go to the food collaborative. To learn more: https://tno-toronto.org/donate. ■

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Leaside Life • June 2020

Stanley’s

W ILLS & E STATES

Secrets of longevity at age 100+ If you want to visit Leasiders Margaret Cerre or Loretta McCann, you’ll have to check their social calendars. At 100+ years young, they’re sharp, cheerful, and witty. And very, very busy.

Loretta McCann Born into the Filion family in Cornwall, Loretta grew up in a bilingual family and, at 18, moved to Toronto to work as a French translator.

She met husband Philip McCann at a bowling alley, and while she jokes that her father, a Canadiens fan, had to give her permission to marry a Leafs fan, it was more than a hockey match made in heaven.

The couple had four kids, Paul, Denise, Peter, and Danny, who all attended St. Anselm Catholic School.

The kids played Leaside hockey and baseball. “I loved going to their games,” she says.

During school hours, Loretta played bridge with a club at the Leaside Library.

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Loretta at 101, and with husband Philip on their wedding day.

She was employed for two years at the snack bar at Leaside Arena, earning $1 an hour (and $1.05 in her second year), and afterwards worked 17 years with the federal government.

These days, Loretta is busy. She plays bridge three days a week, reads and goes for walks three days, and on Sundays hosts family members.

She loves her walks, visiting valumart, the Dollarama, and Epi Breads, where she will drop in for a coffee and end up staying and chatting for up to a couple of hours.

With five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, she counts herself very lucky.

The secret to her longevity? Loretta says that she doesn’t stress the small things. When others would be shocked with dirty dishes in her sink, she knew they would be there later. (“If I’m tired, I’m going to bed!”)

She is also very aware of the need for a good diet and a balance of social life and quiet time.

Margaret Cerre Margaret Cerre was born into the Shea family in Sudbury and worked for the Bank of Commerce during the war while “the boys went to school and the girls worked.”

She married Torontonian Charlie Cerre, who was teaching and coaching hockey in Sudbury. In 1951, when Charlie was asked to transfer back to Toronto, the couple agreed to move for one year. Sixty-nine years later, Margaret is still here.

A “helpful” relative found them lodging in a pickle factory in Port Credit. With three kids, one on the way, a horrible smell, and Charlie working late, it’s small wonder the arrangement lasted only one week.

The family rented in East York for one year with Charlie often looking

over the bridge to Leaside and asking why anyone would “ever buy on that stupid hill with a railway.”

That stupid hill still remains home.

On Leacrest Road, the couple raised Mary, Anne, Paul, John, and Kate, who all attended St. Anselm’s.

Outside of the home, Margaret swam, curled, skated, cooked for the Good Shepherd, delivered Meals on Wheels, and once took a course in millinery. “Anything to get out of the house,” she jokes. The millinery course had her children complaining that “she had hat forms in the ovens while other kids’ moms had chocolate cake.”

Margaret now belongs to a book club and plays bridge. One of the

ANNE CERRE

by SUSAN SCANDIFFIO

SUSAN SCANDIFFIO

Leaside Life • June 2020

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Margaret today, and at age 20 in 1939. problems with the bridge club, she notes with a smile, is that, “people keep dying off and we have to find new players.”

Her children drop in frequently to visit and take her shopping.

Margaret loves the time with them and jokes, that she’d “be afraid to complain, they might stop waiting on me!” With six grandkids and four great-grandchildren, she has a loving and much-loved family.

She believes that her life of staying fit probably contributed to her almost 101 years.

With their sprightly nature, Loretta McCann and Margaret Cerre’s notso-secret secrets are clearly working. ■

Keep your spirits high and please practice safe distancing!

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I’ve got the Lockdown Blues

Leaside Life • June 2020

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Hello from lockdown! Can you hear me? Is this thing on? Hello?

Okay, good. I’m writing to you from what started out in March as our third-floor library, where I write, but now feels a little like Alcatraz, circa 1940. I’ve spent nearly every day since the lockdown working in this library. It’s a serene sanctuary.

But even surrounded by the books I’ve collected and cherished over the years, a change of scene would not be unwelcome, as long as it doesn’t involve large crowds. I’m thinking maybe the dining room.

With all of my public library readings, book club talks, writing workshops, and literary festivals cancelled for the foreseeable future, I’ve had some extra time on my hands to write. My editor at McClelland & Stewart will be very pleased with me as I’m about four months ahead of schedule on my next novel. In fact, the manuscript is finished. It still needs lots of editing and polishing in the coming month or two before I let anyone see it, but it feels like the heavy lifting is already done, partly thanks to the pandemic.

Our two sons are back home isolating with us. When they moved

Terry Fallis Columnist

out a year or so ago and we were empty nesters for the first time, it was quite a change. The fridge, for instance, had food in it but no beer.

I’d no longer stub my toe on an illplaced bass guitar. When I turned on the TV, I no longer had to remember how to switch from the video game console back to good old cable television. When I couldn’t remember, I just played whatever video game was up and running. I’ve actually become quite good at Assassin’s Creed. But the house did feel quiet and empty without them. I found, after a while, that I missed having them around, not quite as much as my wife, Nancy. Often, they’d still be home on the weekends and sometimes even during the week. So, they weren’t that far away. They weren’t really gone. But since March, they’re not gone at all. They’re back. Now

I kind of miss how the fridge used to be after they’d moved out. But it’s nice being all together, in close quarters. It really is.

Personally, the lockdown has affected me in other ways. I’ve gained weight. Not a lot, but enough that I’ve taken to running most mornings. And no, I don’t mean running from the family room to the kitchen for more snacks, though that’s how it started. I’m awake quite early so I run around our quiet neighbourhood just on the edge of Leaside for about 30 agonizing, painful, excruciating, ‘I’m never doing this again,’ minutes.

Then, when I finish, I’m too tired and lazy to stretch as everyone insists is so important. So, by the next morning, my legs protest even more, and the cycle begins anew.

And there’s my hair. It’s grown so much, I now sport quite a free-flowing cranial corona (no pun intended) of silvery-gray locks (except on the very top where my thinning hair continues to, well, thin.). On the sides, it’s getting so long, my great hair-cutting guy, David, to whom I’ve been going now for 30 years, could probably trim the really unruly parts while still maintaining social distance. And then there’s the great unspoken (until now) bane of many a man. At least I hope I’m not the only one. But my eyebrows grow at a pace that seems to outstrip the growth rate of the hair on my head. And let’s not even talk about the soft and manageable tresses in our ears. Am I right, guys? But back to eyebrows, or as the lockdown continues, eyebrow. If Netflix ever announces a biopic on Leonid Brezhnev, I’ll be auditioning.

Sure, these times are strange and cause us to look for humour to relieve the seriousness and downright danger of it all. But in the end, we’ll make it through this, with a few laughs along the way, by being the responsible grownups we’re all supposed to be. So even as the restrictions start to ease, keep doing the right thing. Keep your distance.

Wash your hands. Be glad your kids are home with you. And stay safe.

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

by McClelland & Stewart. ■

Leaside Life • June 2020

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TO ALL THE FRONT LINE AND ESSENTIAL WORKERS

THANK YOU FOR KEEPING US SAFE AND HEALTHY DURING THESE CHALLENGING TIMES. WE ARE FOREVER GRATEFUL.

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How do we celebrate lives lived during COVID-19?

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Leaside Life • June 2020

by SUZANNE PARK

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It seems neighbourly chitchats online or metres apart on the sidewalk are devoting more time to speculating about when we’ll get back to some semblance of normality. We’re all looking forward to gathering with family and friends to plan and celebrate birthdays, graduations, backyard BBQs – all still held in suspended animation.

Getting together to connect, reminisce and make plans while celebrating builds strong families, friendships and communities.

Conference calls and neighbourhood shoutouts have served us well, yet we long for the more personal, tangible, shoulder to shoulder contact. According to a 2017 University of Ottawa research report, entitled “Touch in the Healing Professions” that discusses a number of complex perspectives, touch deprivation brings pain and appropriate caring touch has amazing healing power.

With celebrations so valued, why is it that one celebration tends to be avoided until the last minute or planned furtively? Granted, a celebration of life brings with it much sadness and grief. Perhaps we delay what we fear will be a difficult discussion with our loved ones. During the COVID-19 pandemic, more of us are needing to have these sensitive conversations. So, Leaside Life reached out to two local businesses to provide guidance: Humphrey Funeral Home A.W. Miles – Newbigging Chapel Kim Hunter, owner of Humphrey Funeral Home A.W. Miles – Newbigging Chapel and a funeral professional for over four decades, offered timely advice regarding endof-life celebrations. “This winter we’ve had many more families contacting us regarding pre-planning arrangements. Some at the urging of care facilities, others realizing this may be a conversation long overdue. Some have mentioned that this pandemic has nudged them to venture into celebration of life conversations.”

A pre-planning celebration of life conversation can be uncomfortable,

yet Hunter advises that “this pandemic has pushed many families into an urgent and stressful situation. Plan now to ensure your own wishes are honoured and you have time to honour the wishes of loved ones. Pre-planning arrangements remove one stressor at a difficult time.” He added, “Write down your own and your loved one’s pre-planning preferences. Just as we consider a loved one’s wishes for other celebrations, how lovely to honour their wishes at end of life. Contact licensed professionals and ask all your questions. Keep all your pre-planning details and contacts easily accessible.”

Affordable Burials and Cremations Andrew Newbigging, owner of Affordable Burials and Cremations, has followed in the footsteps of his father and grandparents. “My grandfather started Murray E. Newbigging Funeral Home in 1950. My father took over the business in 1993, and when I secured my licence in 2000 I joined him,” he explained. In 2009, Newbigging shifted his career path slightly and launched his business in Leaside. As he said, “I wanted to serve families by offering a simpler alternative to traditional funerals at a time of shifting social customs.”

For this pandemic period, he offered sage advice: “Plan now while you are clear thinking and have the time to research and discuss the options with close family and friends. Contact several funeral homes and settle on one you feel comfortable with and get your pre-arrangements done, now.” He concluded with crucial information: “Be aware that new admissions for hospitals and nursing home residents are currently required to have pre-arrangements in place. Plus, the additional protocols required by the Ministry of Health have imposed strict timelines to ensure the safety of all frontline staff.

Now is the best time to settle your pre-arrangements.”

Resources: https://humphreymiles. com, https://www.affordableburialsandcremations.ca.■

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A note from Tammy, Store Manager: I would like to give a huge thank you to my staff for their hard work.

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Leaside Life • June 2020

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Embrace the mask – the Leaside edition

Leaside Life • June 2020

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The canon on COVID-19 is growing. Scientists keep chipping away at understanding the virus... but it will take time. As much as we think we know, I am of the firm belief that it will be the things ‘we don’t know we don’t know’ that have the greatest potential to blindside us.

Most of us already expect that as we slowly return to a new normal, our lives will be different and our behaviour will need to adapt. One obvious method of self-protection is to strap on a face mask.

Innovation through crisis Meet Leasider Darren Sampson, a multi-disciplinary artist with a background in graphic design, one of Leaside’s several serial entrepreneurs and the founder of NovoMasks.com.

Spend 10 minutes with him and you will find that you can’t help getting caught up in the whirlwind of unbridled creative energy and passion he brings to life. This is how our conversation starts. “I could take a picture of your face, Glenn, and put it on a mask so it doesn’t even look like you’re wearing a mask. I put a big black hole. That’s your next [mask].

Pie hole. You want to add anything?

Glenn Asano The Business of Leaside

Darren and his family.

FROM THE COVER I got ideas. I’m gonna have so much fun with this printer. It’s gonna be outrageous.” In a nutshell, Darren makes things happen and has a string

of enterprises such as Samsa Studio, GTA Financial, and Odds, to name a few. In fact, as a high school student growing up on a farm in Stouffville, he and a group of friends “leased some land…and started growing organic herbs and spices for the culinary arts community that grew into a 42-acre mass production facility selling product through the food terminals.”

Back to Q1-2020, the momentum was beginning to build after the launch of Darren’s startup Odds, a mobile app designed to drive patrons back into Leaside restaurants after a slew of new delivery services began to squeeze restaurant margins. Sadly, a two-year effort was one of the first to fall as a result of COVID-19. The Odds business model was hit hard with a coronavirus-tainted brick and he was out of work by April. Restless amid self-isolation, he had a burning desire to create. He looked at his old Kenmore sewing machine and began to ideate. “I said to my wife [and two daughters aged 7 & 9] that maybe I should make masks because I wasn’t working. I applied for the CERB benefit.” Like most entrepreneurs sensing an opportunity, he used the cheque to buy inventory, make a few designer masks, and posted to the Leaside Community Facebook page.

“Within two hours, I had over a hundred inquiries and 50 orders!

One post led to an entire sleepless week perfecting designs, filling and personally delivering orders for those with urgent needs. In that one week I fully, completely, passionately embraced the mask!” Just like that, on April 10th NovoMasks.com was born. Blessed with creative talent, Darren has brought all of his considerable skills to bear: sewing, airbrushing and fine arts, multi-media design, website development, commercial design, corporate branding, logo design and mobile application development, in his mission to build a personal protective equipment company right here in the ’hood.

A dash of panache STRAIGHT OUTTA LEASIDE! One of the biggest challenges was to ensure the process was mindful of the disease we are facing, and production and delivery protocols were developed to ensure the safety of the business and its customers. Over the four-plus weeks that have passed, processes are in place and resources secured. There are now three seamstresses on board with more on the way, as well as a

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Leaside Life • June 2020

full-time manager. A prototype for a fog-resistant mask to help those who wear glasses is in development.

Leasiders are jumping in to help with product beta testing, and the business is working with other local businesses, such as the Bayview Car Wash, to manufacture branded uniform masks.

Design and testing of new masks is ongoing (e.g. novelty masks like spring colours, limited edition collections, auction products). They are also working with a printer that can print hyper photo-realistic images on fabric and on prototype custom branded masks for over 20 different businesses in and around Leaside.

Darren tells me that “just like the situation with COVID-19, every week the business is evolving, there’s lots more development coming down the pipe. The weekly charity auction is a lot of fun (Joanna Kim was the first winner, resulting in a $40 donation to Sunnybrook Foundation.

Darren’s idea was to encourage Leaside (and beyond) to position protective masks as a fashion accessory and form of self-expression.

“Whether you choose to wear the mask or showcase it as a collector’s item from a truly unique period in history is up to you.” By the way, currently the most popular masks are blue floral, camo and denim.

When do you think things will return to ‘normal’? Will you wear a mask or other PPE to protect yourself when we begin to remobilize and resocialize?

Do you know other local businesses that have been able to take advantage of the current situation? Let us know at leasidelife@gmail.com. ■

Grow your own food? You can do it!

Leaside Life • June 2020

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by DEBORA KUCHME Food gardening has been an important trend over the last few years thanks to rising health consciousness and environmental awareness.

COVID-19 has turned this trend into something more akin to the Victory Gardens of the past.

Suddenly, everyone wants to grow their own, but because of COVID19 restrictions, this has been a very difficult year to start.

In March, our city went into lockdown, causing many of our horticultural businesses to close and events such as Seedy Saturday to be cancelled. Online seed sales went through the roof, so many companies had to shut down their sites so they could catch up with orders.

Our spring weather wasn’t favourable either, but in retrospect (at least in terms of gardening) maybe that was a good thing. Now

the garden centres have reopened and the weather has finally warmed up. Let the planting season begin!

Where will your garden be?

My advice is to learn as much as you can about what you want to grow and be willing to experiment, whatever your location.

Backyards

My colleague, Holly Reid, has been growing vegetables in her Leaside backyard for five years with varying degrees of success. She experiments with both seeds and seedlings and keeps a journal to record her results. Last year she planted jalapeño seedlings from the same flat in the garden bed and some in a container. “The difference was phenomenal! The ones in the pot did so much better, yielding dozens of peppers, versus one or two anemic-looking ones from the garden,” she told me.

Holly believes her

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biggest problem is the roots from the large silver maple and a row of cedars that rob her vegetables of water and nutrients. Her solution has been to install raised beds.

In May, she planted the cool season crops of carrots, beets, kale, radishes, spinach, lettuce and arugula, all from seeds saved from last year.

Now she is sowing pole beans, swiss chard, zucchini and nasturtiums (for a hit of colour), and adding tomato and pepper seedlings.

Like Holly, I have large trees to deal with, but mine are in a courtyard jampacked with evergreens and only a few areas that receive full sun.

My solution has been to plant in containers only and simply leave them where they are best suited or move them around to increase their sun exposure. I use both seeds and seedlings too, but I’ve become a bit of a seed snob over the years and use only those that are organic, untreated and open pollinated. My favourites come from Urban Harvest.

Balconies

Growing food on balconies is very different but definitely doable. Every floor higher becomes another micro climate with more extremes of heat and wind, and you may not receive any rainfall. But I have had a lot of success with balcony gardens.

Experiment with container planting and choose crops according to your conditions. South- and west-facing balconies can grow both fruit and veg (if not shaded by another building), but even north-facing balconies can produce a good and steady supply of fresh salad greens.

Indoors

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Yes, you can grow food indoors!

With hydroponic gardening, you can grow some fruit, vegetables and herbs inside your home and without any soil.

Hydroponic garden kits are available at both Home Depot and Canadian Tire or through a number of sites online.

Growing your own food can be challenging. It requires homework, physical work, some money and a lot of patience. But over time, it becomes less expensive, easier and even more rewarding. The best part is, once you have a crop, you can share and trade with neighbours and friends. This will increase your bounty – and your joy.

Visit leasidelife.com to read the extended version of this article and see photos! ■

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Leaside Life • June 2020

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by HOLLY REID If your street is like mine, you will have had a virtual parade of people pedaling past your house during the pandemic. In fact, across the city, cycling is on the rise as people try to get around, get some exercise and keep their distance. Have you dusted off your old two-wheeler and taken to the streets? Perhaps you have discovered that biking isn’t as easy as you remember. If so, an e-bike could be in your future.

Enhanced power Bike retailers in Toronto have reported a surge in e-bike sales in recent years. And Toronto’s BikeShare plans to add 300 e-bikes to its fleet in 2020. These are not scooters or mopeds. These are pedal-assist electric bikes or pedelecs.

Think of the “pedal-assist” as an electric motor that gets you off the mark from a stop and up hills faster and with less effort. For those wanting to traverse Toronto’s many ravines, ride up the old shoreline

of Lake Ontario or the Bayview Extension, this extra power can open up a whole new cycling experience, letting you ride further, and later in life than you may have thought possible.

The great equalizer As Kevin Wallace, co-founder of Gears Bike Shops, explains, “Thanks to e-bikes, people with differing abilities can share the cycling experience – this means more families, including grandparents, can enjoy a ride together.” Gears is a “big tent” bike shop, encouraging everyone to enjoy cycling, from kids to commuters, and trail riders to triathletes. They first got involved with e-bikes a decade ago but the All Stay new lis ti info rme ngs hav d–G e et o Virtua l n th e wa Tours. itin g lis t!

market for e-bikes really began to bloom when the electric motor and battery were integrated in the bike design instead of being an add-on. This year, Gears expects e-bikes to be their top-selling category of bikes. “We’ve built our business on the Baby Boomers – mountain bikes in the 80s and road bikes in the 90s. E-bikes can help people turn back the clock and continue to do something they love longer.”

Adaptive design But e-bikes aren’t just for aging boomers or recreation. Urbanites, young and old, are taking up e-bikes as an affordable mode of transportation. Leaside-based Revelo designs both electric-assist and pedal-powered bikes specifically for urban cycling. “Our imperative is a bike format that can live easily in cities and addresses the common barriers to commuting by bike. And Revelo’s innovative folding bike design makes it easy to bring your bike into your home, office and on transit. Features such as anti-lock brakes and a more upright ride enhance rider safety,” says Mary Chong, co-founder of Revelo. “We see e-bikes as a sustainable urban transportation alternative to the car and transit, and as a green solution for congestion and the environment.”

There’s plenty of speculation about what will happen in Toronto post-pandemic. One thing is for certain, if people avoid transit in favour of driving, we can expect clogged roads and more pollution.

Bikes, including e-bikes, have the potential to change that. Bring on the revolution!

Holly Reid is a recreational road rider and cycling commuter. An advocate for safe cycling, she is a member of Cycle Don Valley Midtown, Cycle Toronto’s advocacy group for Wards15/16. ■

Toronto’s E-bike Rules In Toronto, to ride in the bike lanes and on multi-use trails, e-bikes must be the pedelec variety with working pedals and steering handlebars, weigh no more than 40 kg and go no faster than 32 k/hr. To ride one, you must be 16 years or older and wear an approved bike helmet.

CITY OF TORONTO

Is the e-bike revolution coming to Leaside?

A (solo guided) walking tour.

Part 2: North Leaside Elgie House at 262 Bessborough Drive and Stop 3 at Eglinton and Donlea/Bessborough. One involves significant elevation changes – goes around the edge of the Leaside High School playing field and involves navigating trails on hills, with and without stairs. The other avoids significant elevation changes by taking Fleming Crescent and Parkhurst Boulevard to the Elgie House stop (262 Bessborough Drive) and then to Hanna Road and Eglinton. ■

The second solo guided walking tour of Leaside takes us to North Leaside. Where does North Leaside in fact start? Typically, we think of North Leaside as that part north of Eglinton. If you look at the map showing the walk route, you might be surprised to find that the first stop is south of Eglinton. We did that for a couple of reasons. First, going back to Leaside’s origins, Eglinton was not even considered, and Soudan, as it was then called (later renamed Parkhurst), was planned as the main east-west route in the north of Leaside (see the historic map, right). Second, the West Central Leaside walk went as far north as Parkhurst, not to Eglinton, and we really wanted to include the Elgie estate! The walk is broken into nine points to stand and read, watch and maybe listen!

The detailed description of each point is on the Leaside Life website at leasidelife.com.

Note: The walking map shows two ways of reaching Stop 2 – the Church

Cemetery

School

Walking Tour Route

Leaside Life • June 2020

by GEOFF KETTEL

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Walk 1. Talbot Park and view of Sunnybrook Plaza 2. Elgie House (262 Bessborough) 3. Eglinton and Donlea/Bessborough Drives (and Leaside High School) 4. Bessborough Drive and Broadway Ave. 5. Northlea Elementary and Middle School 6. Broadway and Brentcliffe (Northlea United Church and parkette) 7. Broadway and Brentcliffe (heritage plaque and parkette) 8. Broadway and Rykert - Serena Gundy Park entrance 9. Eglinton and Laird (main street commercial, and Laird in Focus redevelopment)

Supporting local businesses through difficult times

Leaside Life • June 2020

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For many of us, life has changed drastically over the last few months.

Spring is often the time of year where we begin to venture outdoors again, enjoying the mild weather after a long and harsh winter. This year, however, we have done the exact opposite – enjoying the fresh air from our backyards and balconies, and only venturing out for essential purposes as we practise safe distancing. While our lives have been changed by this global pandemic, our local restaurants and businesses have been particularly affected.

The impact of COVID-19 in the local business community has been nothing short of devastating. Since the government ordered the closure of all non-essential industries in March, we have seen some of our favourite spots close their doors. Only a month after the closure order was issued, a survey undertaken by the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas reported that more than half of Toronto’s small businesses fear they will have to shut down permanently as a result of COVID-19. While all levels of government have offered relief measures to those affected by the pandemic, the sad reality is that

Jaye Robinson Councillor

they have often not been enough to keep our Main Street businesses afloat.

As a long-time supporter of Toronto’s small business community, I believe we must continue exploring creative strategies to support our local businesses – especially in times of crisis. Before I was elected City Councillor, I worked as a senior manager in the City’s Economic Development division. In 2003, when Toronto was facing the SARS epidemic, I spearheaded the Summerlicious and Winterlicious programs to help stimulate the suffering restaurant industry. Both programs have since become staples in the City’s annual events roster.

In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, my team has worked closely with our Ward 15 BIAs – including

Kathleen Wynne, MPP Don Valley West

The COVID 19 virus continues to change the way we live our lives.

To be safe we have to stay separate from each other as much as we possibly can.

That means that celebrating Canada Day as we usually do, together in a large crowd, is impossible.

We have to continue to listen to public health professionals and stay home to keep the people we love safe and healthy.

Thank you to all of the key workers who make sure we have food, who pick up our waste, who look after us when we are sick, who ensure we still have trains and buses and safe roads to get around.

We will get through this together and this year on July 1st, we celebrate Canada Day apart from each other.

Happy Canada Day everyone!

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

the dedicated Bayview-Leaside BIA team – to establish a Shop Local, Eat Local initiative to support small businesses in Don Valley West. Our community is home to some of the best shopping and dining locations in Toronto and we can still do our part to support them, even if we cannot shop exactly as we have in the past.

The Shop Local, Eat Local initiative seeks to promote our neighbourhood through these uncertain times and into the future. As many of these businesses begin to recover and rebuild in the wake of COVID19, I encourage you to continue safely supporting our small business community. Every dollar we spend at our local businesses will help. On my website, you can find a list of restaurants with delivery and takeout options, and businesses where you can shop online or in accordance with the most current Toronto Public Health recommendations: www.jayerobinson.ca/ shop-local-eat-local.

While Toronto continues to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, I remain heartened by the support we have shown not only our local businesses, but also each other. ■

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11th Laugh Out Loud raises 40k for charity Maddy Project, and Moorelands Community Services.

Thanks to everyone who so generously sponsored the evening, including Lexus On the Park, Neal Brothers Foods, Outline Financial, Grilltime, Amsterdam Brewery, Chestnut Park Real Estate Brokerage, Alkaline Spring Water, Accurate Distribution and the Little Buddha Cocktail Co.! ■

Leaside Life • June 2020

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R: Christina Snelson, Lara Neal, Charlene Kalia and Selby Copeland.

Below: Andy Elder, Charlene, Shannon Wiens, Nick Saul and Peter Neal.

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EVERLASTING MOMENTS PHOTOGRAPHY

On what turned out to be the last large gathering in Leaside before the coronavirus changed our world – March 6 – Laugh Out Loud hosted its 11th annual charity fundraising event. And, as with previous LOLs, this one proved to be a big winner.

The almost $40,000 raised at this year’s sold-out event went to support Community Food Centres Canada. All proceeds will go to Harmony Hall, a community food centre in development, located in East York. Harmony Hall’s vision is to build a welcoming space where everyone can thrive, with educational food programs, healthy and delicious meals, and opportunities to build and deepen community connections.

For more than a decade, LOL Chair Charlene Kalia and her team – Lara Neal, Selby Copeland, Christina Snelson and Alison Rockwell – have worked tirelessly to bring the Leaside community together for an evening of fun and laughs, but mostly to raise funds to share with others.

These fundraising efforts have supported Leaside Memorial Gardens’ new ice pad, New Circles, The

COVID-19 sharpens the focus on the street I’ll say one thing for social distancing: it’s focused a lot of public attention on our main streets and sidewalks, and their unsuitability for both car traffic and safe and enjoyable walking and cycling, especially during the pandemic. Urged to spend more time out of doors, while staying two metres from each other, we are noticing how narrow the sidewalks are. Along Bayview Avenue, and other major streets, pedestrians have to step into the roadway, merging with cyclists and traffic, both to social distance and avoid lineups outside shops and outdoor patios.

As pandemic-related restrictions are gradually lifted, traffic volume on Bayview will increase. So will the number of heavy trucks, as Sunnybrook Plaza becomes a construction site. But the need for physical distancing is likely to continue for some time, whatever any “new normal” turns out to be.

So, changes must be made. The City recently announced two new initiatives: CurbTO, focusing on site-specific lineups in front of individual essential businesses, and ActiveTO, aiming to create more

Carol Burtin Fripp Co-president, LRA

user-friendly roadways and sidewalks for pedestrians, cycling, and public transit.

I have been told that Transportation Services is collecting data and developing lists of recommended locations for improvement. Once they have these lists ready, they will be contacting city councillors’ offices, ratepayer groups, and local BIAs for further information and feedback.

How might those initiatives affect Leaside, and in particular the Bayview shopping district? Or Eglinton Avenue east of Bayview, where speeding is a problem? Which curb lanes could be given over to pedestrians and cyclists in order to provide wider sidewalks, or at least safer walking space? Might parking availability be affected? Can everyone’s needs be accommodated? And,

not least, how much public consultation will take place before the City makes decisions?

It has taken a pandemic to demonstrate how inadequately our sidewalks meet our needs. As a resident of this community you no doubt have ideas (and certainly opinions). We are all active stakeholders. The Leaside Residents Association wants to hear from you!

Holding our monthly board meetings and discussions in public is an important commitment of the LRA, and thanks to technology we can maintain accessibility to these meetings via Zoom.

During this period of social distancing, we want to continue to be as accessible as possible.

If you wish to be a deputant or part of a deputation to the LRA’s online June 3rd meeting at 7:30 p.m., please contact us by that date (lpoa.ca) and we will give you the information to link to it. Please do not hesitate to contact us. ■

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