THURSDAY MAY 25, 2017
Ridley Funeral Home has served Etobicoke, Mimico and Mississauga Etobicoke a r e a fa m i l i e s fo r m o r e t h a n 95 years. As a family owned and operated business, we offer compassionate care and meaningful t r i b u t e s . We h o n o u r f u n e r a l prearrangements made with any other funeral home. Ready to make the switch?Transferring your existing plan to us is easy.
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395 Evans Avenue • 416-259-6344
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STORMY OUTLOOK
Commuters in the city were stranded on a flooded Richmond Hill-bound GO Train following a severe storm on July 8, 2013. Experts predict we’ll see increased severe weather events due to climate change. See page 4
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SHOP WITH US AT THE Largest Health Food Store in the GTA 1000 Islington Avenue, Unit 3, Etobicoke, ON M8Z 4P8 416-259-5197
Etobicoke Guardian | Thursday, May 25, 2017 |
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PHOTOS
3
Surfing enthusiasts take to the waves of Lake Ontario year-round
| Etobicoke Guardian | Thursday, May 25, 2017
SURF’S UP! PHOTOGRAPHY BY JUSTIN GREAVES Larry Cavero could never have imaged surfing the freezing Great Lakes when he first started surfing at age seven in his home country of Peru. But after moving to Canada and discovering the possibilities, he’s opened a new door to his favourite sport. Whether it’s -20C and hailing or the wind is gusting more than 50 kilometres per hour, you can find Cavero ripping up the surf along the Toronto shoreline. Cavero is one of the main organizers leading the surfing community in Ontario. He started Surf Dreams Canada, a local surf store which organizes events like beach cleanups and other environmental awareness events. On top of connecting aspiring surfers with gear and know how, Cavero is always keeping an eye on the weather forecast for rideable waves across Ontario. Surfers use websites specific for determining the size and direction of the waves.
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(Clockwise from top) Larry Cavero, (left) and Andrew Dawson celebrate a good day of surfing at the Scarborough Bluffs in mid March; Cavero selects a board in his Brampton home for a day of surfing on the Great Lakes; A group of surfers wait patiently for a wave at the Scarborough Bluffs in early April. The shore lines of Toronto attract surfers from all over the province year-round; Cavero cathces a wave.
Etobicoke Guardian | Thursday, May 25, 2017 |
4
ENVIRONMENT
Climate change: It’s here and it’s not going away CHRIS SIMON chris.simon@simcoe.com The environment is a bit like an aging relative - everybody wants to keep it healthy, but there’s plenty of bickering on exactly how to do it. At Innisfil’s Nantyr Shores Secondary School, the Enviroventure specialist high skills major program is shaping young minds around the notion they can still alter the course of the warming planet. The class is located in a portable, a few steps away from the school football field. The room is messy because it is teeming with teenagers more worried about saving the planet than tidying up their own world. They have been working on models of sustainable homes and just returned from the Change Your World conference at York University. A few inches of snow had fallen in the early hours of this spring day, covering grass shoots that had begun to pop up from the field. Within a day the snow was gone again, as the temperature fluctuated. "At our school, we have a lot of environmentally conscious students," Grade 12 student Maegan Damianakis said. "We want to see things change; we don’t want to adapt to the crappy situation going on around us." "We’re trying to speed up our processes, but it’s not going as fast as climate change," added Grade 11 student Johnathan Purkis. "I’m hopeful for change." The students believe that, if everyone pitches in, positive change can be achieved. However, many leading scientists seem less optimistic. In the Greenhouse Gas Progress Report 2016, the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario noted climate change will be less severe here than in other areas of the world, but pushed the need to prepare for the inevitable changes ahead. "It is too late to avoid some dis-
Climate change in southern Ontario
Emissions by source in Ontario
What we can expect:
Greenhouse gas emissions are changing the climate. Here are the major sources in Ontario: 1990 2012
Visit insidetoronto.com for more information about climate change and its effects on our communities, including:
• a look at how the Trump’s stance on the environment will affect Ontario
• tips on how you can be prepared for weather-related emergencies
• videos from young environmental champions
Extreme heat events
Flooding
Intense rainfall
High winds and storms
Power failure
Damage to roads, bridges, buildings
Poorer air quality
Transportation
26%
34%
Industry
36%
30%
15%
17%
Electricity
14%
9%
Agriculture
6%
6%
Waste
3%
4%
Heat-related deaths Buildings
How we can adapt:
Improved building codes and standards
Low impact development to manage stormwater, including rain gardens, impervious pavement
Develop early Policy and lifestyle warning systems, changes to reduce disaster planning greenhouse gas emissions
Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Source: climateontario.ca
Metroland Graphic
ruptive and expensive changes to our environment and economy," the report states. "But we can still influence how destructive those changes will be. By working together, we can still protect much of what we love." Climate change is already increasing the risk of wildfires, crippling cold-water fish habitats, stressing moose populations and helping invasive species flourish in Ontario. The outdoor winter sports season is shortening. Severe heat and drought have damaged crops and affected water supplies. In 2015, carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere were the highest they’ve been in at least 800,000 years. While Ontario lowered its
carbon footprint to six per cent below 1990 levels in 2014, mostly through the closing of coal-fired power generating stations, it still relies on fossil fuels for 80 per cent of its energy. Transportation represents the largest and fastest growing share of emissions. Blair Feltmate, head of the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation at the University of Waterloo, says the temperature is up, on average, 2 to 3C in southern Ontario, when compared to pre-industrial levels. For every 1C increase, the atmosphere holds seven per cent more moisture. The result is more extreme weather, including microburst downpours and ice storms - events communities across the province
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Publisher General Manager Director of Advertising Editor-in-Chief Metroland Central The Etobicoke Guardian, published every Thursday, is a division of the Metroland Media Group Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Editor-in-Chief Toronto Torstar Corporation. The Metroland family of newspapers is com- Managing Editor prised of more than 100 community publications across Ontario. Director Distribution Director Creative Services Advertising Manager
Dana Robbins John Willems Cheryl Phillips Joanne Burghardt Grace Peacock Georgia Balogiannis Mike Banville Katherine Porcheron Alison Fauquier
have experienced in recent years. "It is here to stay; it is irreversible," Feltmate said. "We can slow it down, which we should do, but it will not stop it. Climate change has happened, it is happening and it is going to continue to happen." He says governments need to immediately adopt standards and polices that reflect the impact of climate change and ensure all new infrastructure and residential developments comply. Climate models can be used to determine future floodplains and larger water pipes should be installed during the construction of new subdivisions to lower the risk of future disaster. "Don’t build the place as if you’re oblivious to the threat cli-
• photo galleries mate change or the potential for flooding presents," he said. "You cannot cheat this system. Every day we don’t adapt, frankly, is a day we don’t have." At this current pace, Ontario could see average temperatures climb by another 3 to 4C within decades. While the majority of Ontario’s electricity is produced by nuclear, hydro and renewable sources - leaving no carbon footprint and more energy efficient vehicles have been introduced in recent years, that good work is undone by gridlock on local roadways. "All the energy efficiency has gone out the window by having people sit in traffic endlessly," Feltmate said. "We’ve just got too many people concentrated in one locality. Building a relief line on a subway or getting more GO Transit cars in the morning isn’t going to compensate for the fact we’re going to have another 1.3 million people in this region in the nottoo-distant future." Federal, provincial and municipal governments have taken positive steps to address climate change, but action is about "damage control," rather than "righting the ship," he stressed. Still, others say the little steps, when added up, will help humanity complete the race. "I don’t think being hopeless is the solution," Enviroventure teacher Mark Gaynik said. "You got to think of what kind of world we want to live in. It’s important to advocate and be out there."
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EVENTS
5
l Saturday, May 27 Annual Garage Sale WHEN: 9:00 a.m - 1:00 p.m WHERE: Horner Ave Senior Centre, 320 Horner Ave, Toronto CONTACT: 416-394-6001 Donations of items is appreciated. Tables available for rent for only $15.
Community Garage Sale WHEN: 9:00 a.m - 1:00 p.m WHERE: Stonegate CHC, 150 Berry Road, Etobicoke, Toronto CONTACT: 416-231-7070 COST: Stonegate Community Garage Salein the parking lot. Clothes, toys, household goods, more. Etobicoke School of the Arts WHEN: 9:00 a.m - 2:00 p.m WHERE: Etobicoke School of the Arts, 675 Royal York Road, Toronto CONTACT: 416-566-4864, testawdy@yahoo.com COST:
l GET
CONNECTED
Visit insidetoronto.com/events to submit your own community events for online publishing. Yard Sale Fundraiser. Doors Open and Plant Sale WHEN: 10:00 a.m - 5:00 p.m WHERE: Applewood/The Shaver Homestead, 450 The West Mall, Toronto CONTACT: 416 622 4124, jswoods@bellnet.ca COST: Free Tour Historical Home and Sale of Plants from the gardens. Song of the Land WHEN: 2:00 p.m WHERE: Martin Grove United Church, 75 Pergola Road, Toronto CONTACT: 416239-5821 COST: The Harmony Singers present Song of the Land. Visit www.harmonysingers.ca Afro/Caribbean Night WHEN: 6:00 p.m - 8:30 p.m WHERE: The Salvation Army, Lakeshore Community Church, 5, Thirtieth Street., Toronto CONTACT: 416-200-1112, samuel_tim@can.salvationarmy.org COST: $10 adult, $5 children Come and enjoy the tastes, soundsand sights of the Caribbean and Africa alongwith a silent auction of awesome goods!
l Sunday, May 28 Sashbear Annual Borderline 5-km Walk WHEN: 9:30 a.m - 1:00 p.m WHERE: Sir Casiir Gzowski Park Gazebo 1751 Lakeshore Blvd West, 1751 Lakeshore Blvd West Toronto ON, Toronto CONTACT: Karen Black, 647-528-2513, communications@sashbear.org COST: $25; Students $20 Sashbear Annual Borderline 5-km Walk along the historic Sunnyside Boardwalk to support Families and Youth struggling with mental illness. Everyone welcome l Thursday, June 1 Theatre Etobicoke’s Hotbed Hotel WHEN: 8:00 p.m - 2:00 p.m WHERE: The Assembly Hall, 1 Colonel Samuel Smith Park Drive, Toronto CONTACT: Maria, 416788-7467, qtpieinthesky@hotmail.com, http://theatre-etobicoke.com COST: Promo Code MM Tickets $23 Group of 10+ $20/per person Theatre Etobicoke presents the comedy Hotbed Hotel. June 1-3, 8 p.m.; matinees June 3-4, 2 p.m
5 things to do this weekend l Wednesday, May 24 21st Century Music Festival WHEN: 12:00 p.m WHERE: Royal Conservatory of Music, 274 Bloor St. W., Toronto CONTACT: 416408-0208 COST: Tickets start at $21 Today’s most innovative musicians bring fresh new sounds and ideas.7 Concerts. 5 days. 21+ Premieres. May 24-28. Visit performance.rcmusic.ca/ event/21c/2017-festival-pass. l Thursday, May 25 Inside Out Toronto LGBT Film Festival WHEN: 12:00 p.m WHERE: TIFF Bell Lightbox, 350 King Street West, Toronto CONTACT: clayton@insideout.ca COST: $11-$14 The annual Toronto LGBT Film Festival, runs until June 4. l Friday, May 26 Toronto Bach Festival WHEN: 8:00 p.m WHERE: St. Barnabas-on-the-Danforth, 361 Danfort Ave., Toronto CONTACT: info@torontobachfestival.org COST: Various prices Three concerts of sublime music by the incomparable Johann
| Etobicoke Guardian | Thursday, May 25, 2017
l Friday, May 26 Kids on Broadway WHEN: 7:00 p.m WHERE: Assembly Hall Theatre, 1 Colonel Samuel Smith Park Dr., Toronto CONTACT: 416 -237-9738 COST: Tickets are $20 per person Award-winning performance group Kids on Broadway presents Oklahoma. Visit kidsonbroadway.net
Metroland file photo
Francesca Cruz huffs tries to blow out a candle in a hurricane lantern held by historical interpreter Emily Hofstetter at Scarborough Historical Museum during Doors Open Toronto.
Sebastian Bach. May 26-28. l Saturday, May 27 Doors Open Toronto WHEN: 9:00 a.m WHERE: Various venues, Toronto CONTACT: spevprog@toronto.ca Doors Open Toronto offers free access to approximately 150 architecturally, historically, culturally and socially significant buildings across the city. The 2017 event theme is 15 Decades of
Canadian Architecture, highlighting each decade since the 1860s. CBC Music Festival WHEN: 1:30 p.m - 11:00 p.m WHERE: Echo Beach, Toronto, Toronto CONTACT: CBC music festival COST: $39:50, children under 12 free The CBC Music Festival has an all-Canadian lineup to kick off the summer, including Serena Ryder and Walk Off The Earth.
COMMUNITY
Nordstrom embarks on hiring blitz
Submitted image
Nordstrom will open another location, this time at at CF Sherway Gardens on Sept. 15. The company is prepared to hire 400 employees for the new store. receive a 33 per cent discount), dental, medical and vision options, and a RRSP matching program. The majority of the 24 sales and support managers will be promoted from the current Nordstrom Canada employees. Experienced managers at other Nordstrom locations will be providing training for new managers.
The new sales team will also participate in a training program prior to the opening of the store that focuses on product knowledge, selling skills, and how to provide Nordstrom customers with a great shopping experience. For more information or to apply for the available positions, visit careers.nordstrom.com
Mariola, Loida, Martha, Dr. Bishai, Lina, Karla & Karen.
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Leading fashion-specialty retailer Nordstrom is opening a new location at CF Sherway Gardens in Etobicoke in mid-September, hiring 400 new employees. The new location, at 25 The West Mall, marks the company’s sixth Canadian store since its expansion into Canada in 2014 and offers a variety of jobs. Positions in sales, alterations, building services, housekeeping, loss prevention, restaurant and coffee bar are open for applications. Sales positions at the store will be available in all areas including shoes, accessories, beauty and women’s, men’s and children’s apparel. Retail experience is not required for the position. Nordstrom offers employees a benefits package that includes a 20 per cent retail discount (managers
Etobicoke Guardian | Thursday, May 25, 2017 |
6
HISTORY
DNA helps woman solve mystery of her father’s identity CYNTHIA REASON creason@insidetoronto.com There’s a painting hanging in Elizabeth Kaegi’s Summerhill home that’s reminiscent of a vintage Hollywood movie poster. Fittingly, the real-life wartime story behind it is one many would deem worthy of the silver screen. From the fleeting romance between a Welsh nurse and American pilot in Burma that conceived Kaegi in the dying days of the Second World War, to her adoption and upbringing in India by missionaries from New Zealand, it’s a tale surpassed only by the retired physician’s decadeslong quest to trace it. "For years, I spent typically between three and 10 hours a day doing research, building out family trees and writing letters," Kaegi, 71, said of her long and arduous search using genetic genealogy to identify the man depicted in the painting she would later commission and hang with such care: her birth father. "One of the things I think it’s important for people to realize is that just because you use DNA testing and genetic genealogy, that doesn’t mean the answers will just fall out of the sky. There is still a hell of a lot of labour involved." For Kaegi, that work began upon her discovery at age 14 that, unlike her older sister Rosemary, she wasn’t born into the family she was raised by. That news, she
Justin Greaves/Metroland
Elizabeth Kaegi, who was adopted, used DNA testing and traditional genealogy research to track down the identity of said, didn’t faze her so much as it piqued her interest. From the documents provided to her by her adoptive mother, Kaegi learned that her birth mother - whose name was listed in the adoptions papers - placed
insidetoronto.com
How DNA Testing Works Genetic genealogy is the combined use of DNA testing and traditional genealogical research to infer relationships between people. Companies like Ancestry conduct autosomal DNA tests by using small saliva samples to extract more than 700,000 different DNA "markers", which are then used to create their client’s unique DNA profile. Then, using their database, they can compare those genetic codes to determine family relationships between clients. "In a nutshell, the autosomal test allows you to look through all your lines and connect with living cousins that descend from a common ancestor going back about five generations," said Ancestry Canada spokesperson Lesley Anderson. "Ancestry has revolutionized the way we do our genealogical research by combining what we learn from the DNA with the millions of family trees we’ve got up online to connect those dots." In addition to tracing familial
relationships, Ancestry’s DNA testing can also track ethnic origins by comparing its clients’ DNA profiles to the distinct genetic profiles it’s compiled for 26 regions around the world. "It’s a growing science, but we just compare your ethnicity to those and come up with an easy visual pie chart where you’ll see which percentage of you is from certain regions around the world," Anderson said. "The neat thing is that you may have a preconception of what your ethnicity should be, but some results could be surprising because of the way your people migrated over the years." Anderson, however, cautioned that some DNA surprises - be they ethnicityor family tree-related - are not always pleasant. "One caveat I always add when I’m talking to potential clients is that they need to be ready for surprises, both good and bad, because there are lots of things that can be covered up in a family tree - but DNA doesn’t lie."
an ad for her adoption in The Times of India newspaper in October 1945. Answering that ad, Kaegi’s adoptive parents finalized her adoption less than three weeks after her birth on Feb. 4, 1946 at a British army hospital in Poona, India. Using that information, Kaegi was able to successfully reunite with her birth mother in Wales in 1972. Although the two maintained a warm relationship for 30 years, Kaegi said her birth mother never divulged the identity of her father - a secret she took to the grave. Undeterred, Kaegi set about tracking her birth father down in earnest upon her retirement in 2002 - a feat made possible only through advances in genetic g Undeterred, Kaegi set about tracking her birth father down in earnest upon her retirement in 2002 - a feat made possible only through advances in genetic genealogy and DNA testing. While early efforts to track down several British candidates called "Leslie" - the first name of her birth mother’s rumoured Spitfire pilot boyfriend - led to dead ends when DNA analysis returned "inconclusive, but unlikely" results, Kaegi persisted. In 2010, when Family Tree
all started to come together." DNA introduced its Family FindKaegi admitted she didn’t er test - an autosomal DNA analysleep at all that night. A search sis that boasted the ability to relithrough the war diaries conably match second and third firmed that Pilcher cousins - Kaegi had had, indeed, worked in both herself and her Burma from February maternal half-sibto May 1945, so Kaegi lings tested. began developing a What she found family tree for him uswas that her test reing Ancestry.ca sulted in many more That exercise reDNA cousin matches sulted in the matching from FTDNA’s dataof three DNA cousins base - whose testees on their respective consist predominanttrees, so she continued ly of North Ameridigging. cans - than those of Pilcher, she sadly her half-siblings. learned, had passed While Kaegi’s adopaway in 1994, so Kaegi tion documents reemailed the Panama ported her father as City library for his being British, she was obituary and got a resuddenly faced with Morris Rudolph sponse within days. the prospect that per- "Pete" Pilcher Pilcher - who went by haps he was Amerithe name ’Pete’ - had two daughcan. ters, whom Kaegi tracked with "My matches, especially my the help of a Florida researcher closer matches, were all Ameriand wrote to soon after. can colonial with deep roots in "I told them my whole story, the U.S. - especially in South Carsent them photos, and basically olina and Georgia. So I suddenly said. ’Here’s why I think you’re thought, ’Maybe I’m a southern my half-sisters,’" she explained. belle,’" she laughed. "Now, it just so happened that After going back to the war rethey were at a family do the next cords, Kaegi found that the US day, so they took my letter and Army Air Force indeed had three photos with them, and I guess evliaison squadrons working out of erybody said, ’Oh yes, look she’s her mother’s casualty clearing got Pete’s eyes.’ So they were abstation in Burma around the time solutely convinced that I was of her conception. Armed with right." that information, she compiled a Both immediately agreed to list of 300 names of potential canDNA testing, which confirmed didates. Kaegi had finally traced her birth From there, she used father and earned her two new FTDNA’s Chromosome Browser, half-sisters. The trio met for the coupled with her maternal halffirst time in Florida in November siblings’ results, to sort her pa2012 - a visit that included a trip to ternal and maternal DNA cousPilcher’s grave and the sharing of ins. She then developed family photos, war records, and family trees for all close paternal DNA stories. cousins in an effort to develop a Kaegi now believes that she list of possible ancestral surwas likely the product of a brief names - a list she could then comromance at a V-E Day celebrapare to her roster of 300 possible tion party thrown in Magwe, American fathers. Burma sometime around May Then on Aug. 26, 2012 at 11 p.m., 12-14, 1945. the breakthrough she had been Whether or not her birth parwaiting for. ents had any further contact af"I was sitting up in the TV ter that remains a mystery to room fiddling with the family both Kaegi and her half-siblings. tree of a fourth cousin on FTDNA But when she shared the successon my iPad, when I spotted an unful findings of her search for her usual name among his greatfather with the maternal side of great-great grandparents that her family, Kaegi recalled her seemed familiar to me: Pilcher," half-sister sharing a telling story Kaegi recalled. about their mother. "I checked my list of American "’You know,’ she said, ’this all candidates and found a Morris makes sense of the advice Mum Rudolph Pilcher - an officer and a used to give us girls as we went off pilot with 155 Liaison Squadron to parties: Be careful with alcohol of the 2nd Commandos of the in social situations... it can make USAAF 10th Air Force, from Panyouover-affectionate.’’’ ama City, Florida. That’s when it
COMMUNITY
7
’City within a city’ designed to double number of visitors Woodbine Entertainment Group (WEG) has pledged to create "a city within a city" on its 684-acre racetrack site in Rexdale. WEG’s CEO Jim Lawson said the horse racing operator’s newly released master plan for the Woodbine Racetrack lands seeks to transform the site into the "future urban heart of northwest Toronto," while at the same time keeping "the beauty of the horse" at the core of the project. "With over 2,000 thoroughbred horses stabled on site, approximately 200 acres will continue to be devoted to horse racing op-
Woodbine Entertainment Group
Woodbine Entertainment Group recently unveiled its transformational master plan to create "a city within a within a city" on the 684-acre Woodbine Racetrack lands in north Etobicoke. erations at the centre of this unique development," Lawson said in a statement released April 25.
"The master plan sets out a detailed road map that will create thousands of new local jobs in the
community, introduce new fans to the sport of horse racing and be a transformative project for the City
of Toronto in the years to come." Under the new plan, Woodbine will continue on as a destination for horse racing and gaming, but also seek to integrate new expanded uses - including entertainment and cultural offerings, food and dining, hotel, shopping, office space, post-secondary education, recreation, health, wellness, and urban residential living. The first phase of the development will include an expanded gaming district, complete with integrated entertainment, hospitality and related amenities - additions WEG expects will double the current number of Woodbine visitors to upwards of 12 to 15 million people a year. Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) expects to name a private
sector provider to operate the Slots at Woodbine and to propose an expanded entertainment development by late summer 2017. The Woodbine master plan was developed with LiveWorkLearnPlay (LWLP), WEG’s lead real estate development advisor, in partnership with a dynamic group of industry-leading professionals. "The Woodbine Racetrack site represents a unique legacy opportunity to develop a place that can offer enduring social and economic value to the city and region, while ensuring the sustainability of the horse racing industry," LWLP’s Richard Martz said in a statement. "WEG’s ambitious planning and development strategy has been designed to effectively respond to that context and opportunity."
| Etobicoke Guardian | Thursday, May 25, 2017
Woodbine Racetrack reveals development master plan
HISTORY CORNER
Barker family farm from Thistletown finds new life DENISE HARRIS denise.harris@sympatico.ca
Montgomery’s Inn photo
The Barker family of Thistletown in 1890 at their farm "Llewelyn Hill" on Islington Avenue about where Thistletown Collegiate is located today. Left to right are: the "hired woman"; children Sarah Jane and Albert Barker; and parents Andrew and Mary Ackrow Barker. the impending demolition of Llewellyn Hill, they rushed to see it and fell in
love with it instantly. The developer agreed to sell them the house for $500, as
long as it was removed from the property within two weeks. They decided to
use the stone and wood from the house to build a smaller home on their lot. They found an architect willing to design a new house using old materials. A demolition expert dismantled the house, piece by piece, labelling every part. It took 35 truckloads to move the house, including 200 tons of stone, to the new location within two weeks. The work of rebuilding began in June 1956. Don and Elizabeth married a month later, and moved into their new home on Thanksgiving weekend. The new house is a bungalow, but the major rooms, including the farmhouse kitchen, were left intact. The old windows and front door were also used in the new house, capturing the feel of the original home in a beautiful treed setting, hidden from public view. Denise Harris is the Historian for the Etobicoke Historical Society. Her column appears every second Thursday. Reach her at denise.harris@sympatico.ca.
insidetoronto.com
It was a common story in Etobicoke after the Second World War: the Depression, followed by six years of war, created a pent-up demand for housing which was exacerbated by the baby boom. Farmers’ sons found they could make more money, with less uncertainty, working in industry and offices than they could by farming. Developers were offering to buy farms at unprecedented high prices. Over time, one old farmhouse after another disappeared from the landscape. However, one heritage farm house in Thistletown became a notable exception to this pattern. In 1955, it was rescued and rebuilt on a new site at 85 Yorkleigh Ave., southeast of Royal York Road and Lawrence Avenue West. Aaron Barker and Mary Calvert came to Canada from Yorkshire in 1832 with their children. After living a while in Richmond Hill, they moved to Etobicoke in 1841 and leased a 100-acre
farm on the west side of Islington Avenue, south of the West Humber River. They purchased the property in 1855 and soon after built the large, two-storey house of Humber River stone seen in the above photo. Ownership of the house known as "Llewellyn Hill" passed through the Barker generations, from Aaron and Mary, to Andrew and Mary, to Albert and Nellie, to Grant and Nita. Many of their siblings also purchased and operated farms in the area, and the Barkers ultimately owned over 500 acres of farmland and several houses in Thistletown village. Grant and Nita sold the original farm with its stone house to a developer, and in 1955 the house was scheduled for demolition so Thistletown Collegiate could be built on the site. Meanwhile, Don and Elizabeth Strathdee - soonto-be-married teachers had been collecting early Canadian furniture and were looking for an old house to move to a two-acre vacant lot they had purchased on Yorkleigh Avenue. After hearing about
insidetoronto.com
Etobicoke Guardian | Thursday, May 25, 2017 |
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