town crier leaside today - spring 2010

2010 LEASIDE ToDAY Town Crier 1

LEASIDETodaySpring 2010

Another MulticomMedia PublicationAnother MulticomMedia Publication

ThE LEASIDE

Look Is there one?

MEMoRIES Growing up in the area

Toronto’s Casual and Classy Community


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ON THE COVER: Leasiders Richard and Arianna McWhirter.

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Today’s dynamic communityWelcome to the

Town Crier’s fourth annual Leaside Today, which celebrates the people and places that make up this unique community.

This year we’ve decided to change things up a bit, because, after all, Leaside isn’t static, nor we be.

In the past we’ve brought you a detailed history of the development of Leaside from the early days of William Lea, drawing heavily on Jane Pitfield’s excellent book, Leaside.

This year we’ve interviewed the com-munity activist and author herself, bring-ing you an exclusive story on Pitfield’s association with Leaside over the years.

Speaking of memories, we have played historians ourselves, uncovering some great personal anecdotes from Lea-siders — including area businesspeople, real estate agents and those who grew up in the area but now live around the world.

We also decided to have a bit of

fun exploring the differ-ent aspects of Leaside by going on a Culture Crawl, where we ask you to take a little Lea-side stroll with us.

We have even hit the streets and asked some area fashion retailers if there was such a thing as a Leaside “look,” which we’ve teased out in our centre spread.

Last year the cover of Leaside Today asked if you were a “typical” Leasider. This year on our cover we have featured Arianna and Richard McWhirter, who, while they may look like the traditional Leaside couple, and are in many ways, also reflect how Leaside is changing.

Enjoy.

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LEASIDETodaySPRING 2010

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THE LEASIDE

LOOK Is there one?

MEMORIES Growing up in the area

Toronto’s Casual and Classy Community

Leaside Today: Covering the communities of Leaside, Moore Park, Bennington Heights, North Leaside & south eglinton.


Do you remember?

Memories ... in the corners of your laptop.

Chatting about times past needn’t always occur at the pub or at your high school’s 25th reunion.

For 800 or so Leasiders and former Leasiders, child-hood and teenage memories went viral last year when a flurry of recollections were posted on a Facebook page dedicated to the area.

Some of the fans have moved out of the city; oth-ers have stayed in Leaside or Toronto. What is obvi-ous, judging by the comments on the page: Leaside isn’t an easy place to forget.

Take Ian Clarke, one of the group’s posters who grew up in Leaside from 1962 onwards, attending Bessborough Public School and then Leaside High before moving away from his Sharron Drive home in 1982.

Though he says he now lives out of the city, the place where grew up is like no other.

“It has a charm and character that I’ve yet to find anywhere else in Canada,” he writes.

“I’ve lived in the Arctic, and almost every prov-ince except Newfoundland. I still go back regularly and get my fix.”

Another member writes that Leaside felt like its own little haven, an idyllic place that was separate from the rest of the city. It’s a comment that you still hear today when you talk to people about Leaside.

And that’s another thing that stands out about the memories people have shared on the page: many of them reference places or things that still exist in Lea-side today, a good 20 or more years later.

Interestingly enough, a good bulk of those memo-ries centre around the heart of Leaside itself, where Millwood Road and McRae Drive intersect near

Digital memories

Stories of growing up

Trace Manes Park.Many people reminisced about the China Food

restaurant on Millwood, which is still there to this day. Several commented that the Bravo Pizza just a few doors over had, and still has, the best pizza ever. The Town Crier did a little investigating and it seems the original owner, Jack, is still there making pizza.

Though it’s been gone for over 20 years, it seems no one who grew up in Leaside in the 1970s and 80s could ever forget the Endangered Animal Sanctuary on Millwood Road that was right next to China Food.

Some write that they were fascinated by it and used to love the place, while others were creeped out. Others couldn’t believe there was essentially a corner store in Leaside that housed a tiger, leopards, parrots and other exotic animals.

What ever happened to the animal sanctuary? The Town Crier covered the issue in the 1980s. It was even-tually forced out of the neighbourhood.

Other memories include hanging out at the Leaside arena, Sunnybrook Plaza, and Trace Manes Park.

Susan Spence, a former Leasider who grew up there and still lives in the city, has a particular memory

involving the phone booth across from the park.“I used to love it when people would call the phone

booth … We used to call to see who was hanging out at the park and if it was worth the trek from North Leaside.”

The phone booth, we are happy to report, is still there.

– Kelly Gadzala

fRAncis cResciA/toWn cRieR

STILL THERE: Many members of the Leaside Face-book page mentioned the taste of Bravo Pizza, still made by Jack the owner, and at least resident had an interesting story about the pay phone near Trace Manes Park.


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Say “history” and “Leaside” to most Leasiders today and two more words invariably jump to mind:

“Jane” and “Pitfield”.Though she calls herself a lover of history

over a historian Jane Pitfield brought the story of her community and its development to the world in her 1999 book, Leaside.

Ironically, Pitfield’s connection to the place she lived in for 20 years unfolded in an almost fate-like way.

Take her 1984 move to Leaside. It was her dad, an avid marathoner who used to run through Toronto’s many neighbourhoods, who told her Leaside was a good place to live as it was close to downtown and had good resale value.

“He liked that it small town in a big city,” Pitfield says. It was an ethic she also appreci-ated.

“Growing up I always lived in small towns,” she says. “I like small communities.”

So, pregnant with her first of four chil-dren, Pitfield and her husband moved to

Fleming Crescent.The years of community activism and

involvement started practically right away, though again, almost by chance.

Still new to the neighborhood and at home with a newborn, Pitfield says a friend approached her about becoming the director of the Leaside Property Owners’ Association.

She did and it was an experience that cemented her local spirit.

“It’s the single most important way to know about what’s going on in your neigh-borhood,” she says.

In October 1989 Pitfield started Concerned Citizens of Leaside in reaction to a proposed high-rise development at Eglinton Avenue and Brentcliffe Crescent, which resulted in the developer pulling out and to the eventual development of the Hyde Park community.

“We also got a two acre park for free,” she says of the group’s efforts.

In the same year she founded the After Four program at Bessborough Public School. It all started because her daughter’s Parks and

Living history Jane Pitfield

Author shares her story


COVER ART: Jane Pitfield holds artist David Peacock’s painting of William Lea’s octagonal house that adorned the front of her book.BOOK Page 7


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Once a Leasider, always a Leasider.Drew Homewood has been involved in Leaside life for over 40

years. He was born there in 1964, attended Bessborough Public school and Leaside High School, and lived in the neighbourhood until he

moved to East York about five years ago.But Homewood still considers himself a Leasider. His two children attend the

same schools he did, his real estate office and main business focus is in Leaside, and he sponsors and coaches sports team in the neighbourhood.

In fact many of his clients are Leasiders who have returned to the community to raise their own families, he says.

It’s fitting, then, that when asked about Leaside memories Homewood says he remembers hanging out as a young teen in an abandoned home built in the 1890s.

The Gundy mansion, Homewood says, was located in the woods behind what is now the Hugh MacMillan Rehabilitation centre. It was still standing in the 1970s, he says, though it was completely dilapidated.

“A lot of people didn’t know it was there,” Homewood says. But the kids who did used to break in and hang out or party, he says. There was an indoor pool with brass ladders that he vividly remembers. The house was torn down years ago and he says he doubts he could find the site today.

Homewood has no troubles finding Trace Manes Park, site of the Leaside Winter Carnival he says was held in the 1960s and 70s.

“It was a huge deal,” he says of the festival. There were kids’ games and racing on the skating rink, plus music, hot chocolate and hotdogs — and a bonfire that was at least 5 metres high, he says.

Across from Trace Manes there was the Endangered Animal Sanctuary, he says, which was in a corner store on Millwood until the 1980s.

“You used to see (the owner) Bill walking his tiger on the hill.”Homewood says he’ll never forget the fire on Eglinton Avenue East between Laird

and Sutherland Drives around 1985. The blaze originated in the Rendez Vous restau-rant, he says, and destroyed the resto and the pool hall above it on the second level.

The pool hall was a neighbourhood draw, he says, that brought people to the block. “It was an institution for decades,” he says, and after that fire, the commercial strip never really recovered.

Speaking of restaurants, Homewood and his Leaside High classmates organized a reunion of sorts at Originals on Bayview Avenue last June, after a classmate had died. Over 100 people showed up, he says, and the event was so well attended they’re hoping to do it again this year.

Originals, by the way, is referred to by locals as “OG’s,” he says, and it’s the place to go if you want to bump into Leasiders.

While we’re on the subject of local lingo, Homewood says Leaside High students who graduated in the late 1980s and 90s will never forget “The Butt Hut,” a shack between the small baseball diamond at Talbot Park and the west doors of the school.

The hut was off school property, he says, so students would congregate on the stairs and smoke. The hut is still there, though the smokers aren’t.

Good to know some things change.– Kelly Gadzala

Drew Homewood

Teenage memories

Fun times


SCHOOL DAYS: Drew Homewood has fond memories of growing up in Leaside.

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Recreation ballet class was cancelled. The feeling was that there wasn’t a market for ballet in Leaside, Pitfield says.

After approaching the principal of the school to see if there was space for a class, he told her yes — only if she ran it.

With a four-year old, a two-year old, and newborn twins to take care of, Pitfield says she wasn’t wild about the idea. Then she was told the position was paid.

“I said, ‘I’ll take it.’ ”Subsidized by the board of education, the classes were inexpensive for

parents, she says, and grew to include other kids’ classes like theatre, and eventually adult classes, PA day courses and March Break programs.

“Before I knew it I had 50 courses a week,” she says. “Bessborough really became a hub.”

She ran the program until 1994, when she was asked to run for school trustee.

“It was the furthest thing from my mind,” she says of running. But she won and became a trustee for Leaside and Thorncliffe Park with the East York board of education.

But she found that she thrived in the political environment. One could say her book on Leaside was part political move, part labour of love.

The idea for it came about before amalgamation in 1998, something Pit-field says she was opposed to. To her the book was an antidote, of sorts.

“It was a way of ensuring the local community didn’t get swallowed up,” she says.

And during her time with the Leaside Property Own-ers’ Association, she says she had the opportunity to read several old books on Leaside, most of which were out of print.

“I found the little bit of history available fascinat-ing.”

Several residents did the bulk of research, while she wrote about 80 percent of the tome, she says.

The book was a wonderful way to engage the com-munity, Pitfield says.

“The more people know about their neighborhood, the more they appreciate it.”

Leaside sold 800 copies straight off so they did a second release right away. A third printing happened last year.

Proceeds from the book — $25,000 from first issue, Pitfield says — helped to build the Leaside Room in the Leaside Library. Though there’s a plaque on the wall commemorating the donation, Pitfield says she asked the library not to put her name on it.

“It’s not about me.”Over 10 years after the book’s first printing, Leaside’s legacy lives on.Members of the group who fought to save the historic Talbot Apartments,

used information on Henry Talbot from her book to bolster their arguments over the site’s importance, she says.

Now running for city councilor in Ward 29 in East York, Pitfield is opti-mistic about her win, and plans are already in the works to write a book on the area in conjunction with the East York Historical Society.

This past summer, she penned and self-published a book on the history of her great, great grandfather, who emigrated from Scotland and built up a lumber and banking businesses in Quebec around the same time William Lea was building up Leaside.

“Like the Leaside book I lost myself in it,” she says of the experience. “I take myself back and imagine what it was like to be there.”

Though she’s moved on in a way, Leaside always remains.“My heart is in Leaside,” she says. “I miss it but I haven’t completely

left.”

– Kelly Gadzala

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David Sandquist is a wrench jockey and an intellectual and from his long stand-ing vantage point he’s almost seen it all when it comes to Leaside.

The owner of Sandy’s Cycle Shop and Books, Sandquist has been working in the neighbourhood for 20 years.

“I’ve been watching how the immediate neighbour-hood around me has changed over time,” he said.

Sandquist points to the neighbourhood’s working-class beginnings in the post-war era that saw develop-ers plant two-bedroom bungalows on sprawling lots.

“Leaside in the post-WWII era was relatively remote. Toronto has grown a huge amount since then,” he said.

These days, he said, it’s become common practice to replace those original homes with houses that take up most of their given lot.

“There are a lot of newer monster homes here,” he said. “Now working-class people can’t afford to live in Leaside.”

This includes Sandquist himself, who’s always commuted to the area from more affordable environs.

Although the shop has moved around the neigh-bourhood from time to time, the current spot is on

Laird Dr., an area Sandquist remembers as being heavily industrial.

“When I first got involved, the area that was behind Laird was exclusively manufacturing, now it’s become more retail,” he said.

But the retail has been slow to come, and it looks to Sandquist like its development into the future will be slow, too.

For years, especially in the area’s industrial heyday in the 1950s, industrial practices were such that the soil in the area became heavily polluted. Remediation, he said, is just too expensive for most developers.

“I think that issue probably more than any other is going to make this conversion from manufacturing to retail a very long process,” he said.

But Sandquist is one of the few small businesses who’ve set up shop looking toward that retail future for this part of Leaside.

His father opened the first incarnation of Sandy’s in 1972 on Millwood Road. The shop was tiny; a labour of bicycle love. Teaching at the University of Toronto during the day, the older Sandquist would open the shop on weekends and once or twice during the week, but over the summer it became a fulltime operation.

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the shop and, needing it to function as his livelihood, moved it a few times over the years.

In the latest spot, Sandquist discovered a small area out of the way that wouldn’t be suitable for bicycles.

“So I built shelves, purchased books, organized books and voila, you have a used book store,” he said.

But it wasn’t just a random fancy that spurred the creation of Toronto’s only cycle and book shop.

“I’ve been a book collector for decades,” he said.Sandquist reported with pride on one of his biggest

book scores. “Seven or eight years ago I bought an enormous

library that had belonged to a prominent lawyer in Toronto, Sir Aemilius Irving, an MP who worked with Sir John A. Macdonald,” he said.

Many of the books, which generally hail from prior to 1850, have been sold to public archival institutions, but a good portion of them are for sale in the shop and range in price from $5 to $2,000 plus.

But it’s the cycles at Sandy’s Cycle Shop and Books that remain Sandquist’s primary business.

“I don’t know how anybody makes a living selling books,” he said, “(but) to me it’s really immensely fun to do.”

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David Sandquist says retail development is slowly coming to Leaside’s former industrial area.

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The Sleuth of Baker Street

brian baker/town crier

HOUND OF BAKER STREET: Co-owner Marian Misters not only stocks stacks of mystery novels in her shop, but also shares it with a pooch named Percy.

Whodunits on Bayview

Mysterious book store

It was a diamond all right,” Dashiell Hammett’s novel The Dain Curse begins, “Shining in the grass half a dozen feet from the blue brick wall.”

If talking about a precious gemstone in the middle of a lea, the Sleuth of Baker Street, all snug in its commercial strip along Bayview Ave-nue, would be the sparkle catching any private eye’s attention.

Whether you don Holmes’ deerstalker cap, Spade’s fedora or Miss Marple’s bonnet, there’s bound to be a few mysterious discov-eries for the thrill-seeking, bookish type here.

But it’s the warmth and enchanting atmosphere, much like Harry Potter’s Flourish and Blotts that keeps proprietor Marian Misters happy.

“We work in here all the time, so we try to make it look like that country manor house library feel,” Misters says. “At one point we just thought we would hang up a bunch of chandeliers, and then I thought, ‘Oh no, I’d have to keep them clean’.”

She runs the novel sanctuary with former hus-band J.D. Singh. Both are chartered accountants and they purchased the shop 28 years ago when it was situated a little further south on the Leaside throughway.

“It was a two-line ad in the Globe and Mail that just said bookstore for sale,” Misters says. “We drove over. We walked in and it just felt right.

“Then we looked at the financial statements and said we shouldn’t,” she adds. “But there was just something about the place.”

After their first location, the Sleuth moved to 1595 Bayview Avenue, now home to a Second Cup. After some time at that spot, they moved again across the street to 1600.

“

“It was a two-line ad ... bookstore for sale ... We walked in and it felt

right.”


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They’ve been at their current cubbyhole for 15 years, with Misters residing above.

And owning the bookstore has been quite an enjoyable way to spend her time, says Misters.

“Imagine waking up every single morning and loving where you work?

“That’s the best thing,” she adds, “and obvi-ously loving to read, I can read whatever I want, wipe the fingerprints off and put it back on the shelf.”

With the comforts of home, there’s only one thing missing. Like all famous detectives, there needs to be an amiable sidekick: the Watson to Holmes, the Sneaky Pie to Mrs. Murphy or the Asta to Nick and Nora Charles.

Enter Sir Percival — aptly named after the knight of Arthurian legend due to his Pendragon Poodles breeding — and he is hardly the hound of Baskervilles infamy.

He is the first canine to tally-ho through the stacks, after 15 years of cats. All of the Sleuth’s four-legged friends have names starting with the letter P and they all have prolific lifespans.

Misters can’t explain why the letter P is promi-nent, but she has an answer to the mystery as to why a pooch was purchased: she saw it in a dream.

Percy, as he is known in brief, can even read three flash cards Misters specially prepared for him.

But the long line of felines has not been forgot-ten. Paddington, discovered as a kitten at Eglinton station, has a portrait above the cash register. Porky and Princess are found in photos inside the shop, and Poppy has been immortalized as the logo of the Sleuth, wearing a deerstalker cap and smoking a pipe.

“Before we used to have the Sherlock Holmes profile, and then we decided we’d put Poppy on every thing,” she recalls, adding Poppy was a great big, fat tabby.

Much like the cats before him, Percy loves the warmth of the spotlight. Though his services come with a voluntary fee: dog treats.

“There’s no point telling (customers) that we want scotch for Christmas anymore, they just bring dog biscuits,” Misters says, with a laugh.

But be forewarned: Percy has a solid schedule.“If you read the little sign in the window, it

says, ‘If you really want to see Percy, you have to make an appointment’, because people would come in and he wouldn’t be here,” Misters says.

Besides meeting up with bookshop royalty, it’s not uncommon for patrons to cluster around, much like an Ellery Queen denouement, and talk whodunits.

“We get a lot of people who are just going to dinner, they’ll come here shop and meet their friends here,” Misters shares. “It’s not as though it’s a gathering place, but I think people associate books with good things.”

She even shares an anecdote of how a couple met each other while at the Sleuth.

“A man and a woman came in carrying a tulip basket and said, ‘We would like to give you this’,” she recalls. “J.D. and I were here and said, ‘Why?’ Well they were standing in line to checkout and one of them started talking to the other about mys-

tery books that they had in their arms, and one of them asked, ‘Do you want to go out for a coffee?

“Anyway they’re dating now. That was just last August,” she adds.

“I thought, ‘You know this is what that’s all about’, there’s just something about it.”

That something draws people not just from Leaside but from around Ontario.

“We feel we’ve become a destination shop. People come to us to get mystery books,” Misters

says. “They make an effort to come here because the parking is terrible and we keep bankers’ hours.”

“And if I had a dime for everybody who came to see Percy, I wouldn’t have to sell any books.”

She looks to bookshelves with an expressive Sam Spade smile, knowing they hold the stuff that dreams are made of, then nods to Percy, who awaits his investigations of Bayview Avenue.

– Brian Baker

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For Paul Terry, Leaside is a place of many firsts. It’s where he first discovered his love for books at Leaside Library,

where he first learned to play hockey at Leaside Memorial Gardens and where he first explored his love for science.

“It was an amazing time (in Leaside),” said Terry, who is now the supervisor of traveling exhibitions for the Ontario Science Centre. “I decided early on I was interested in space. I’d seen Sputnik around ’58, I remember being in the yard with the neighbours, everybody was watching it. I was about five (years old) and I remember asking ‘Can we go to the moon?’ and everybody laughed. Well just about 10 years later people were on the moon.”

Terry said he owes his early fascination of science to his parents, who got him his first library card allowing him to read about the cosmos during the early days of the space race. He said he’s glad his old neighbourhood offered so many opportunities for learning right on its doorstep.

“The Ontario Science Centre being so close is such an important thing for the people of Leaside,” said Terry. “It certainly was important for me when I was growing up.”

A land of firsts

Dreaming of spacePaul Terry


Congratulations to thenew Junior Black Belts!!

And Congratulations to Our Community for another fantastic year at the Don Ritter Family Martial Arts Centre

techniques, but they have also developed essential life skills that make the difference between success and failure in life. Not only have they learned to focus on completing a task, but they have also developed confidence and self assertiveness when confronted with what at times may appear insurmountable challenges. These five children have also learned the true meaning of leadership and initiative, while at the same time working in a cooperative setting to help others to improve and achieve their goals. The Don Ritter Family Martial Arts Centre is proud to have dedicated Martial Arts Educators, whose overriding goal is to empower children to improve their character qualities that will make them better prepared for the teenage and Young Adolescent years ahead, and that will stand them in good stead into adulthood. By helping our children grow, we are empowering them to build a stronger community.

Don Ritter

Five Children from Our Community have successfully attained the Junior KARATE Black Belt Level!

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This success does not come easy. Through their hard work, dedication and commitment for the past four to five years, these children have persevered to be the best that they can be and their perseverance has paid off. Their effort and achievement are to be recognized.They not only have attained a comprehensive knowledge of Karate and other Self Defense

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One of Terry’s fondest memories of Leaside involved the Confederation train that toured across the nation during Canada’s centennial celebration in 1967 pay-ing the community a call.

“It was a train of 12 cars, you entered at one end and effectively saw exhibits related to each province and territory from across the country,” said Terry. “It was nice, it was important, and most people didn’t get a chance to see it more than once or twice in their lifetime.”

When he thinks back to his earlier days in Leaside, he recalls participating in annual canoe trips at Wilket Creek Park and stopping by the music store that used to be on Bayview Avenue and Millwood Road where he and his friends grabbed a CHUM chart and got their first taste of rock and roll.

He recalls Leaside as being a special place to live and although he has since moved, he still holds his former neighbourhood in high regards.

“Sometimes, I might go out of my way just for the joy of going through Lea-side,” said Terry. “It’s really just a great community to be a part of.”

– Matthew Cohen

francis crescia/town crier

ONTARIO SCIENCE CENTRE’S Paul Terry got his first taste of space and sci-ence at the Leaside Library.


The Leaside look

A style for every occasion

Who is the Leaside lady, and what’s her style?We talked to two women’s clothing retailers who

cater to Leaside shoppers, asking them to give us their interpretation of the Leaside look. Their answers ranged

from eternal elegance to casual chic.

Classic sophistication Coco Chanel once said, “Elegance does not consist in putting on a new

dress.”But it may very well consist in donning a great vintage ensemble with

a darling little hat or alligator bag. And if it is a new dress, make sure it’s from some Paris couturier.

Inga Welsman of Act Two has been selling new and vintage couture fashions from her Mount Pleasant Road boutique for 14 years. She caters to Leaside women, even buying pieces from ladies living within Lea-side.

For Welsman, the Leaside woman is all about classic elegance. As Welsman sees her she’s in her 30s with one to three children. She may be a lawyer or a doctor or a stockbroker, and she’s well-educated and well-paid.

Or she’s more mature, possibly a member of the tennis or curling club who may not necessarily work. But whatever her stature, Welsman says,

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she’s independent, upwardly mobile and elegant. Welsman sees the Leaside working woman

wearing an Armani skirt and Max Mara cardi to work, a dressy casual outfit that can take her from the office to picking up kids after school or parent-teacher interviews.

For that event after work, perhaps a cocktail party, she’s dressed her in a black, brown and pink contemporary dress by Missoni. Don’t forget the brown vintage alligator bag to complete the outfit — a classy finishing touch that actually came from a Leasider.

Perhaps she’s going to a fundraiser. Then she’ll take that bag and pair it with a vin-tage winter white wool dress and jacket by French designer André Courrèges, a look Welsman calls the “classic Lea-side look.”

And if the event is quite la-di-da, she may have a nibble and some bubbly at French resto Mogette Bistro beforehand, while diners gape at her in her gorgeous black floor-length gown by Ballestra Couture.


CHIC CHICK: The “new Leaside woman”, seen here posing in Mogette Bistro on Mount Pleasant Road, is upwardly mobile and elegant, says Inga Welsman of Act Two boutique.

COURT Page 16

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Colour chameleonCoco Chanel also said, “The best colour in the world, is the one that looks

good, on you.”That’s a mantra Andrea Watley of ACE Boutique could live by.Watley designs and manufactures tennis, golf and sporty casual wear for

women in her Millwood Road shop. With numerous tennis clubs and courts in the area, Leaside women are no strangers to the game, she says.

Though classic white is the rule in many private clubs, Watley says, there’s nothing like a pop of colour, especially when the spring arrives and people move to the outdoor courts where rules about tennis garb shades are more relaxed.

“My Leaside is all about energy,” she says.For those early spring days on the outdoor courts, layering pieces is

essential, says Watley. That’s why she’s dressed her Leaside woman in white warm-up pants underneath a matching A-line dress, pairing them with a pop of turquoise in the jacket that goes overtop.

Or if pink is more your shade try adding a jolt of fuchsia to that white, as Watley did when she combined a fuchsia skirt with a white tank. If you’re a member of a private club the same skirt is available in white, and you can zoot things up by wearing pink bootie shorts underneath the skirt, she says.

Watley serves serves up her sporty wear to Leasiders from their mid-30s to mid 60s, which is why she designs outfits, like her classic A-line tennis dress,

Cont. from Page 15

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in styles that fit all body types. Her Leaside look, she says, is savvy sport fashion, and it’s all about life-

style. “You’re comfortable on the court in the same way you’re comfortable at

a cocktail party.”It’s also a style that’s bereft of logos. Instead of the company symbol

Watley features a sweet silver-tone heart on the zipper of some of her jackets — very apt for the game of LOVE.

“You look more polished when you don’t have logos everywhere.”– Kelly Gadzala


SERVING UP AN ACE: Andrea Watley of ACE Boutique on Millwood Road says the Leaside look is all about energy, colour and comfort.


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Richard and Arianna McWhirter

A demographic shiftThe new face of Leaside

Is there such a thing as a typical Leaside couple?At first glance Richard and Arianna McWhirter seem like the

average upwardly mobile Leaside husband and wife.They’re young and have two small children. He’s a partner at

a national real estate firm specializing in commercial properties, wears a suit to work every day, and has an office in the downtown financial district.

Meanwhile she’s a personal trainer specializing in pre-and post-natal exercise classes. She jokes that she spends her life in Lulu Lemon.

“We’re corporate versus cardio,” says Richard of he and his wife.But in another way the couple represents a new kind of Leasider.Arianna is from South America and, though that differentiates them to

a certain extent, says Richard, the area is transitioning and diversifying to reflect a different demographic.

Long-time Leasiders are selling their homes to new couples coming in, he says, some of which are Latin, French and Spanish. Their next-door neighbours, for example, are Iranian and Japanese.

The couple has been in their home in North Leaside only two years, having previously lived in the Annex. Arianna admits she was hesitant

about moving to the area.“I was afraid when I moved here,” she says. “(I thought) ‘This is a

white neighbourhood.’”But it’s not like that at all, she says. The

neighbourhood has always been welcoming and it feels like home, she says.

“It’s like a little town.”Her neighbours watch out for each other, she

says. One day a car pulled up in her driveway and her neighbour actually called her to see if she knew about anything about it. It turns out she did, but she appreciated the gesture.

“I don’t find that anywhere else in Toronto,” she says.

In fact she loves the area so much she’s even recruited friends to the neighbourhood, she says with one now living two blocks away.

When she’s not working or attending one of the many kids and moms programs at Northlea United Church, Arianna can be found in Trace Manes Park or Sunnybrook Park in the summer with her kids. She says

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she loves that she can walk to Bayview Avenue and shop there.

“I really don’t have to go far to find every-thing I need for my kids.”

When they lived in the Annex and it was a different demographic. “You didn’t see kids.”

Richard appreciates the convenience the neighbourhood offers. He likes the Smart Cen-tre on Laird Drive for one as there’s parking, he says.

“That’s a huge home run,” he jokes, “being close to Home Depot.”

Being accessible to downtown is important for him because of his work, and Leaside is great for a commute, he says. He can get to work in only 20 minutes.

“The Bayview extension is one of the last north-south links that isn’t stop and go.”

A North Torontonian born and raised, Rich-ard says the commute from there to downtown was deadly.

“You just idled forever.”Leaside is one of those communities where

you don’t get congestion, he says. “It has that web of streets that was particu-

larly designed,” he says. “It’s its own town.”

– Kelly Gadzalafrancis crescia/town crier

HAPPY FAMILY: Richard and Arianna McWhirter and their two kids Sophia and Christopher enjoy life in Leaside and have recommended it to their friends.


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When Phillip Francis retired five years ago, he was looking for a fun and social pastime that was readily available in his community.

What he found was the Leaside Lawn Bowling Club.

“I decided that I didn’t want to pursue an interest of golf, so I joined the lawn bowling club,” Francis says with a chuckle.

Apparently, it was a good fit. Today, he’s club president, and proud of the deep

roots the recreational club has in Leaside.The club boasts over 100 members. It opened in the

early 1950s in what was then still the Town of Leaside. But the creation of the club began in the late 1940s

when the town planned for a park and sports complex at what is now Howard Talbot Park near Bayview and Eglinton Avenues.

A recommendation was made to include two lawn bowling greens complete with lighting and a water sprinkler system.

To get the project off the ground, town council granted a loan of $20,000. A clubhouse was built in 1952, with the club officially opening in 1953.

Today, members use the club from the beginning of May to Thanksgiving. With eight lanes on two greens, the facility plays host to several provincial and national championships throughout the year.

“In the winter, we do indoor lawn bowling and we have cards,” he says.

Francis said the group is currently trying to get the

younger generation involved in the sport. “People talk about lawn bowlers being a bunch of

old people but all those old people started lawn bowling when they were much younger and then continue to do it,” he says. “Lawn bowlers are active people typically who love to get outside, participate in some kind of sport.”

Francis adds that lawn bowling is now a lot less formal than it used to be.

“Some people think that it’s some sort of exclusive club and it’s not,” he said. “It’s open to all members of our community.

“It is something that almost anybody can do and once people understand how the game is played it’s a very social thing,” he says.

– Karolyn Coorsh

Leaside Lawn Bowling Club

Rolling along

Fun, not formalphoto courtesy phillip francis

FOR ALMOST 60 YEARS the Leaside Lawn Bowling Club’s members have made the grass at Howard Talbot Park their home.


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Got the day off? Have some time to burn? Kids at camp during the break? Why not take a leisurely Leaside stroll? So up and at ‘em and let’s get out there — it’s time to soak up Leaside culture in all its different forms.

No time for breaky? No problem, let’s nip into Leonard’s Restaurant on Laird Drive. The place has been serving breakfast, lunch and dinner for over 35 years now, after all.

No, it’s not on the corner of Laird Drive and Lea Avenue — that’s Olde Yorke Fish & Chips, another Leaside culinary institution that was built on the site where the old Lea log cabin once stood. Maybe a little take-out is in order for later? Just to remember to get there before the line-ups start.

Those eggs hit the spot. Now we’ve got some energy to burn. We could get some ya-yas out with a little exercise by taking a spin on the ice of the Leaside Gardens. Public skating sessions go to the end of March — if we’re lucky we may drop in when there’s a free skate.

Or we could meander up Millwood to Trace Manes Park. Darn, the Leaside Tennis Club isn’t open until April 10, but they were busy accepting applications in early January so hopefully we got in and aren’t stuck on the waiting list. In the meantime, want to jaunt over to Howard Talbot Park? Maybe there’s enough snow to grab the toboggan and take a ride down the hill, what do you say?

Whew, all that exercise wore you out, didn’t it? Want to reenergize with some retail therapy at the Sunnybrook Plaza? It was Canada’s first ever shopping plaza and has everything from hardware and a drug mart to men’s suits and jewellery.

Speaking of jewellery, have you ever wondered if Leaside isn’t the jew-ellery capital of Toronto? There’s Arax Jewellers at Sunnybrook Plaza, and Bell Jewellers on Bayview Avenue has been around since 1936. Then there’s Bayview Diamonds, Aish, and some jewellery at Sharon’s Collection also on Bayview, not to mention custom pieces at Linda Penwarden on Mount Pleas-ant Road and vintage baubles at The Bead Goes On on Soudan Avenue. If you’re lucky you may be able to find vintage collectable Sherman jewellery pieces at The Elegant Garage Sale for under $50.

That’s really the neat thing about Leaside, isn’t it? The fact that you can find everything from diamonds to dim sum, beer to bananas.

Need a lunchtime nibble? We could do a café hop on Mount Pleasant if you’re in a European state of mind; there’s a few French patisseries and cafes where a croissant and café au lait can easily be had. Or if you want more of an old world feel there’s the Sweet Gallery, where we could bump into members of the Leaside Rotary on Mondays.

It’s late afternoon, so if you want a more casual vibe we could do one of the area pub-type establishments. There’s the Fox and Fiddle on Laird, the peanut-strewn floor of McSorely’s Saloon and Grill on Bayview, Originals, and the newest of the bunch, Highway 61 Southern Barbecue. Which do you prefer?

Er. Maybe you shouldn’t have had that pint. Now you feel like hauling out

A day in the neighbourhood

Culture crawl

Gone strolling

Where else, I ask you, can you find such a

culture?


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the plastic and hitting one of the many independent women’s shops on the popular Bayview shopping strip, don’t you?

I love that Canadian-made dress you just bought at Mode Suzan. Betcha you’re wearing it to dinner tonight. Haven’t decided where to go yet? I don’t blame you. Anyone who says Leaside has no ethnic diversity has never been to the many Asian, Thai, Indian, Italian and Japanese restaurants on Bayview.

Wow, dinner was great, thanks for the treat!I just couldn’t eat another bite.Did you just say dessert? We can’t sit on the patio yet, but that bicycle-riding duck outside Hollywood

Gelato beckons. Time to work those calories off. Want to take the long way home?

Oh, isn’t that painting inside State of the Art Gallery wonderful? I’d recommend you go back tomorrow when the gallery is open.

Leaside really is the greatest little town on earth, isn’t it? Where else, I ask you, can you find such a culture?

– Kelly Gadzala

erica simmonds/town crier

Mary-Ellen Aelick of Hol-lywood Gelato on Bayview Avenue has the scoop on frozen treats.

erica simmonds/town crier

Bill Filipopoulos, at top, owner of Leonard’s Res-taurant serves up a mean breakfast and Eddie Khatcherian, left, owner of Arax Jewellers can make your day sparkle.

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City Agencies

City of Toronto Phone within Toronto city limits ......... 311

Email ............................... [email protected] Fax ....................................... 416-338-0685 Website ..........................www.toronto.ca

Animal ServicesDog/cat licence .................. 416-338-PAWS

Garbage, recycling & yard waste bylaws Waste enforcement: illegal dumping,

littering on city property, illegal recycling and collection ... 416-392-0843

Customer service .................. 416-338-2010Household hazardous waste .....................

............................................. 416-392-4330

CyclingCycling Committee .............. 416-392-7592Post & ring installations ...... 416-392-9253Bicycle safety ......................... 416-392-1311

Death registrationsGeneral enquiry .................... 416-392-7036

HousingImprovement loans/grants . 416-392-7620Community housing ............ 416-981-5500Market rent units .................. 416-981-7368

Email [email protected] Website .......... www.torontohousing.ca

Subsidized housing applications: 176 Elm St. ..........................416-981-6111 Email ....... [email protected] Website ... www.housingconnections.ca

Long-term careGeneral enquiry .................... 416-392-8545Email [email protected]

Marriage LicenceGeneral enquiry .................... 416-392-7036

ParkingToronto Parking Authority .. 416-393-7275

24 Hour Hotline ................ 416-393-7300Parking Tag & Ticket (credit card

payment, inquiries).........416-397-TAGS

Streets & sidewalk snow clearing Customer service (24 hrs.) ... 416-338-9999Winter Snow Operations .416-338-SNOW

Street cleaning and repair Customer service (24 hrs.) ... 416-338-9999Litter cleanup ......................................... 311Website ...................www.toronto.ca/litter

Street lightingLight out calls ....................... 416-542-3195

TaxesProperty tax inquiries ........ 416-338-4TAX

Toronto Transit CommissionCustomer service .................. 416-393-4000Complaints ........................... 416-393-3030Rates & schedules ................. 416-393-4636Wheeltrans..............................416-393-4111Website ...................................... www.ttc.ca

WaterGeneral enquiry .................... 416-338-8888Billing and accounts ............. 416-338-4829

Who to call in Leaside


Marilyn WebbNursery School

Register

Now For

September

Monday to Friday from 9am - 11:30 am. For children ages 2.5 to 4yrs.

Located in Three Valleys School, 76 Three Valleys Dr., Toronto

Reading Readiness Skills · Math & Language Activities

Interactive Learning Circles · Creative Arts · Sensory &

Sand/Water Play · Music & Drama · Field Trips

www.uppercanadachildcare.com

416-443-9414

Or visit us on the web:

For more information, please call

Field Trips

m

all

Upper Canada

BUYERS OF ESTATE JEWELLERY

90 EGLINTON EAST

416-440-1233 • 416-440-0123

DIAMONDS & GOLD

ROLEX WATCHES

CARTIER

PATEK WATCHES

ANTIQUE JEWELLERY

AT VAN RIJK ’SIT ’S MORE THAN A BUSINESS...

IT ’S A PASSION.

BUY SELL TRADE

Community Centres & Services

Central Eglinton Community Centre160 Eglinton Ave. EastPhone .....................................416-392-0511 Fax ......................................... 416-392-0514

Leaside Community Websites Website .....................................leaside.info.........................www.LeasideToronto.com Leaside Memorial Gardens1073 Millwood Rd.Phone .................................... 416-421-4944Email ......... [email protected] ............www.leasidegardens.com

Mooredale House146 Crescent Rd.Phone .................................... 416-922-3714Email ..................... [email protected] .......................www.moordale.org

Trace Manes Centennial Building 110 Rumsey Rd. (at Millwood)Phone .................................... 416-396-2853

Libraries

Leaside Public Library165 McRae Dr.Phone .................................... 416-396-3835

Mount Pleasant 599 Mt. Pleasant Rd.Phone .................................... 416-393-7737

Politicians

John Parker, city councillor, ward 26 Don Valley West100 Queen Street West, Suite A13Phone .................................... 416-392-0215Email ........ [email protected]

Kathleen Wynne, MPP, Don Valley WestFerguson Block, 77 Wellesley St. W., 3rd

FloorPhone .................................... 416-327-9200Neighbourhood office 795 Eglinton Ave E, Suite 101 Phone .................................... 416-425-6777 Email ... [email protected]

Michael Walker , city councillor, Ward 22 St. Paul’s100 Queen St. West, 2nd Floor, Suite B26Phone .................................... 416-392-7906Fax ......................................... 416-392-0124Email [email protected] ................ www.michaelwalker.ca

Rob Oliphant, MP, Don Valley WestOttawa office Phone .................................... 613-992-2855

Fax ......................................... 613-995-1635 Neighbourhood office146 Laird Drive, Suite 203 Phone .................................... 416-467-7275 Fax ......................................... 416-467-8550

Ratepayer Associations

Moore Park Residents’ AssociationPOB 25, 1531 Bayview Ave. M4G 4G8Cindy Caron Thorburn, PresidentEmail ................ [email protected] .................... www.moorepark.org

Leaside Property Owners’ AssociationP.O. 42, Station R. M4G 3Z3Email ................................. [email protected] ..................................www.lpoa.ca

North Leaside Residents Association Chris Markham, presidentPhone .................................... 416-409-3784Email ............................... [email protected]

Town Crier

News tips or advertising information ............................................. 416-785-4300

Email ..................... [email protected] .......................................... 416-488-3671Website .................... www.mytowncrier.ca


Modular Can Be BeautifulModular Can Be Beautiful

ADDitionONline

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THE LEADER IN HOME ADDITIONS

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Full Service Contracting & Project ManagementFor Additions renovations & New Homes

Member of BUILD - Reno Club

Get free interactive Quote - for predesigned additions at -

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Read about us at:www.homestars.com

Best

in Town2008

GOLDAWARD

BUSINESS PROFILEMaking the

Dream Home RealWhen Vadja Jericevic and his

partner took over Modular Home Additions two years ago, they did so with the idea of offering a one-stop shop for clients looking for easy and worry free renovations, additions or the construction of a new home.

Whereas Modular had previously specialized in the swift execution of the fi rst phase of an addition (demolition and construction of a shell), it now offers a “Turn Key” approach: from architectural design to fi nal product, Modular does it all expertly and effi ciently.

“Over the last 10 years, we’ve done over 650 additions and new homes,” Jericevic said, pride resonating like a bell in his voice. “I believe that we are the biggest renovation / addition company in Toronto.” The company’s acclaim has everything to do with Modular’s methodical approach to its work. Clients are each given a project manager to help guide them through, what can often be a daunting and overwhelming process.

“Everything is organized for the client,” Jericevic stressed. “They have only one person to deal with from the start to the end of the project. Through our web site, customers can track schedules, make comments and communicate with the offi ce more effi ciently than through regular e-mail. We give the customer every opportunity to be involved in the process.”

Modular works fast. Being a specialist in second storey additions, the company can erect a typical second storey shell in usually three days.

“Everything is prepared in a factory,” Jericevic said. “It allows us to come in on the fi rst day to demolish the roof. On the second, we’re installing new fl oor systems, erecting the walls and part of the roof. By the third day, it’s completed and from the outside, it looks fi nished.” Depending on the complexity of the project, completion of the addition will, of course, take a little longer, but the wait is always worth it. Typical turnaround from demolition of the roof to completion of the project is three to four months, which is still better than the average fi ve to six months. To see what the Modular’s customers are saying about their experience, go to www.homestars.com. Modular Home Additions was recently voted the Best General Contractor in Town Crier’s Best in Town reader survey.

Modular Home Additions is located at 27 Bermondsey Road. Call (416) 759- HOME (4663) to schedule a consultation and see how Modular Additions can help turn your house into a dream home.


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Not intended to solicit clients already under contract.

Looking to Buy or Sell Real Estate?

Claire-Ann has been assisting Buyers & Sellers for 20 years!

Call today for a Complimentary Market Evaluation!

Recent Sold properties include:

For more information on properties listed & sold by Claire-Ann please visit her website at www.ClaireAnnRose.com

“I believe that determination and hard work are the keys to success. I apply this philosophy and work ethic to my clients’ real estate goals.”

Claire-Ann Rose, Sales Representative CHESTNUT PARK REAL ESTATE LIMITED

416-925-8427 x2540

[email protected]

www.ClaireAnnRose.com

town crier leaside today - spring 2010

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