News from the Archives v01-4

News from the Archives v01-4

• Created by: Albert Fulton
• Date: 1992-12-01
• Provenance: Collected by various members of Toronto Island Connections group
• Notes: scanned and removal of foxing by Edward English, OCR by Eric Zhelka, PDF by Eric Light; v01-4

News from the Archives DECEMBER 1, 1992 MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE ARCHIVES For a unique Christmas gift and a chance to help build up the Archives photography collection, here is an offer I hope you cant resist! In exchange for a decent photo, I’ll give you an uncirculated set of the coins issued in 1992 to celebrate Canadas 125th. Included are the 12 quarters for the provinces and territories, and the dollar. They are mounted in a sturdy vinyl container which displays both sides. Suitable photos preferably show people or places on Algonquin (the older the better), but other Island scenes are negotiable. The standard chainstore family photos are acceptable. If you do not have the negative, I would like to borrow the photo to make a copy. Lets make a deal! THE ISLAND IN PRINT To celebrate its centennial on November 3, The Toronto Star published a special 146 page magazine. Write-ups were provided for 100 famous Torontonians, past and present, including Ned Hanlan and Edwin Alonzo Boyd. Also included were 25 contemporary ordinary folks, of whom 2 are Algonquin Islanders – – Alice Aitken and Mickey McLaughlin! A copy may be borrowed from the Archives. And in the January issue of Canadian Living (to be released December 18), more Islanders appear. This magazine has profiled several Canadian island communities during the past year, and the final piece was prepared on the Island last February. Among those interviewed and photographed were Dorothy Powadiuk, Marilyn McHugh, and the Algonquin Archivist. A collectors item for sure! THE ISLAND ON TV To help celebrate its 25th anniversary, CITY-TV broadcast its 6 and 10 pm newscasts from the Island on September 24. Featured were many Island scenes, interviews with Dianne West and Fred Gaysek, and music by Tim Bovaconti. A videotape may be viewed at the Archives. Also available are Johnston Report interviews with Bonnie Hamburgh, Rick/Simon, Ernie Trepanier, Gerald Pressman and Dudley Davey, the infamous Street Legal Island episode, and Island scenes from the movies Police Academy 3 and Circle of Two with Richard Burton and Tatum ONeal. If you have any other Island material on tape, it would be appreciated if you would lend it to the Archives for copying. TVO has recently begun rerunning its arts and crafts series Hands Over Time on Monday nights at 7:30. The Island program on the work of Elizabeth Griffin, Barbara Klunder, Peter Noy and Irina Schestakowich appeared early in the series and should be coming up soon. ALGONQUIN ISLAND ARCHIVES c/o Albert Fulton 5 Ojibway Ave Toronto M5J 2C9 362-2171 or 537-5006 BRADLEY HOUSE If you happen to find yourself in lower Mississauga between now and Christmas, you may be interested in visiting a historical photography exhibition called Cottage Li fe at the Bradley House museum. The cottages were located on the shores of Lake Ontario from Scarborough to Lorne Park Estates, and 15 Island photos are included. Interior and exterior views o f the Manitou Hotel on Centre Island were loaned by Roxann Vivian Smith, daughter of Bill Sutherland who owned and operated the hotel. The Sutherlands lived at 372 Lake Shore, and Roxann has an extensive collection of her family’s Island photos. The museum complex is located on Orr Road, southeast of Lakeshore and Southdown Roads and is open 10-4 Tuesday to Friday and 1-5 Saturday and Sunday. Two 1830 farmhouses have been moved to the site and restored. MARINE MUSEUM If your last visit to the Marine Museum was to view Jerry Englars ferry dock panorama which adorned the place of honour over the gallery fireplace during the summer of 1991, you are due for another visit. Currently mounted, until March 31, is photography by Gill Alkin. Titled Unconventional Views, the exhibit features mundane scenes around the harbour in black and white, and according to curator Jeff Stinson, objects dulled by familiarity take on new life. His work should prompt us all to look more closely at the unloved or unfashionable places of our city. Also at the Marine Museum are mementos of two longtime Algonquin Island sailors who died in the same year. Above one of the staircases are two 19th century anchor lights which were donated in memory of Allan J Rae (1908-1977) o f 3 Nottawa, and the Museum owns Silver Heels, the beautifully restored iceboat which was sailed by Tom Swalwell (1921-1977) of 11 Ojibway. Several photographs of Silver Heels and Mr Swalwell, and of Mr Rae and his yachts, are in the Archives. Also at the Museum is a room devoted to Ned HanIan, the Ned Hanlan tugboat, and the Ned Hanlan monument by Emanuel Hahn, who also designed our current dime and quarter and the dollar coin prior to the loonie (northern scene with canoe and 2 Indians). A somewhat similar dollar coin was issued in 1984 to commemorate Torontos Sesquicentennial — but the scene was Toronto Harbour, there was only one Indian in the canoe, and the tall pine tree was replaced by the CN Tower! Samples of these coins are in the Archives. EX-VOTO In time for Christmas, Mike Davey and Delwyn Higgins have whipped up some nice pieces which are on display at the Costin & Klintworth Gallery, 80 Spadina, until December 12. Priced at $3500 to $35000 they may be beyond your gift budget, but a visit to inspect and admire the artists ingenuity costs nothing. From NOW, November 26: The processes of art, technology and desire fire Ex-Voto, the refreshingly playful exhibition of large-scale, cast bronze sculpture created by York University fine arts professor Michael Davey i n collaboration with glass-artist-turned-sculptor Delwyn Higgins t h i s labour of love has paid off with some genuinely delightful art. From The Globe and Mail, November 20: The practice of giving votive offerings dates back to the Middle Ages; chains would be set at the feet of a saints statue to give thanks for release from prison; a little boat would indicate the donor had survived a storm at sea. The objects, of vastly differing scales from their originals, symbolized experience i tsel f. D a v e y and Higgins conjure up a large universe filled not only with a vast array of experiences to be grateful for but also with disasters to avoid. Man rescued WELLINGTON ÔÇö A Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary boat rescued a Toronto man from the waters of Lake Ontario Monday morning. Picton OPP say a 13-foot Laser sailboat overturned around 9 a.m. and then righted itself. The vessel, with auxiliary officer Cecil Insley and OPP officer Const. Bill Walby aboard, rescued 44-year-old Klaus Bock. The man and his vessel were towed in to Wellington Harbor and Bock suffered no injuries. CLOSE CALL FOR KLAUS In a courageous attempt to sail his Laser from Kingston to Algonquin Island, Klaus Bock (13 Oneida) met his WATERloo on Thanksgiving Day. Klaus had modified Lazy Susann for rowing and camping, and he began his voyage by exploring the outer coastline o f Prince Edward County, camping on the beaches at night. However, wi th 30 knot headwinds out o f Wellington, Lazy Susann was no match for Lake Ontario! Klaus offers a modest correction to this i tem from the Belleville Intelligencer: I left harbour at 9 am, capsized about 3 times between 2 and 4 pm, gave up sailing and got back into the harbour mouth at 5 pm, where I was greeted by the rescuers. Also, Special thanks to Daryl & Casey Boyce, owners of Quinte Meats, who put me up for the night and got my soggy gear organized. Daryl’s dad spotted me foundering and sounded the alarm. Lazy Susann is not your average Laser — its the baby blue with the woodwork by the Lagoon at the foot of Oneida. OPEN STUDIO Merike Weiler conducts art appreciation tours for the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies, and she is interested in bringing a group of 15 adult students to the Island on a Tuesday afternoon in the spring of 1993. If any of our multitude of Island artists would be interested in opening their studios to one of these tours, please let me know. FROM THE GIBRALTAR POINTER, November 6, 1991: Albert Fulton, a resident of the Island, spoke recently with the 7/8s on his work with the Algonquin Island Archives. He used maps, photos and postcards from the Archives. He welcomes any loans or donations that Islanders may have. (photos, clippings, newsletters, etc., not cash!) RECENT ACQUISITIONS Luise Schoenborn donated primary source correspondence pertinent to the fi rst lease extension in 1968 and the eventual formation of TIRA. Dudley Davey provided the originals of many of his artistic MA handbills from the 1 70s and an LP of a Dixieland band recording made during a dance at the Clubhouse. Alexandra Poore delivered a wealth of newsletters and political ephemera. Adam Zhelka donated a whole carton of newsletters, magazines and newspaper pages, and a plate commemorating the restoration o f the Trillium. Other materials were donated or lent by Alice Aitken, Marg Burrows, Enid Cridland, Peter Dean, Jane Hodgson, Peter Holt, David Hustler, Joanna Kidd, Sandy Krzyzanowski, Gail Labonte-Smith, Vivian Pitcher, Ken Randall, Nina Wadon, and I apologize to those whose names Ive omitted — please remind me! Peggy Russell and her mother clipped Island newspaper articles for many years, and Peggy has deposited the bulk of her collection in the Archives. Most of the clippings, dating from the 50s to the present, had been carefully dated and preserved, with the larger ones rolled on cardboard tubes to avoid creases, but somehow the charming piece overleaf escaped being catalogued. I f anyone knows the source and date, please advise me. According to the assessment records, Catherine Smith and her husband William lived at 20 Omaha from 1951 to 1960. Algonquin Island A Paradise Across The Bay By CATHERINE E. SMITH It was a sultry sort of a day in August with the temperature about ninety degrees. I was lying on the comfortable lounge chair on our front lawn gazing up at the majestic old willow tree, with its canopy of leaves fluttering in the l ight breeze. H o w v er y for tunate w e are to be l i ving i n thi s cool paradise. I thought. T h e r e i s something enchanting about l i v i ng on an i sland t hat n o place on the mainland can surpass. Our home is an all-year – round cot – tage o n Algonquin Island, one o f t he thi r teen i slands t hat l i e s outh o f Toronto on the nor th shor e o f Lak e Ontario. Nature created a wonderful protective harbor for Toronto when it formed the islands out of a peninsula, after a wi nter storm ov er a hundr ed years ago. T h e y ar e gr ouped i n t h e form o f a r i ght angle, wi th t he apex, called Gibr al tar Point, out i n t he lake, and a cement gap built at the eastern and western extremities. This allows the huge freighters and other vessels to enter and leave the harbor in safety. Algonquin Island is on the bay side facing Torontos skyl ine. I t is about one mile long by one- quar ter mile wide. Our home faces the one hundred foot wide tree- lined lagoon t o t h e s outh, across which lies Wards Island. O n there, i s a r ow of large summer homes looking out onto the lake, with a boardwalk and a breakwater to pr otect them from the furious lake. storms. Our island is connected wi th Ward s Island by a large arched rustic wooden bridge, just two hundred feet from our house. In the lagoon are moored many boats of all different types and ÔÇö s i z e s , b e – longing t o t he residents o f these tw o islands. I t is a very peaceful and safe anchorage, yet i s easi ly accessible f r om the bay at the western end cif Algonquin Island. If you walk along the eight- foot sidewalk, to the west, passing a dozen pr et ty cottages wi th thei r beauti ful hedges and color ful f l ower beds , y ou c ome t o a large publ ic park. I n i t are many maple, poplar and wi l low trees to provide shade for the scores of people that come here for picnics, also a bal l f i el d where many a friendly game is played. I t is a favor . l ie place for visitors on week ends. The Algonquin Island Clubhouse is situated on the north side of this park, where many social activities such as wiener roasts and cor n roasts ar e hel d. T h e y also put cod fi rewor ks displays on hol i – days. I n the clubhouse they have car d games, bingos, concerts, dances, movies, badminton, rummage sales a n d home baking sales. ,- They even use the clubhouse f o r Sunday school i n the winter time. It was built by the male members of the club with the help of the lady members. The park occupies about one quarter of the island. Coming along the north shore you get a wonderful view of Toronto’s skyline across the bay. T her e the fer r ies ply t hei r way bac k and for th t o t he three main islands, l iantans, Centre and Wards, whi le tr ying to dodge the many sailboats and water taxis racing across the sparkl ing waters. A n d r i ght i n the midst of all this there may be a huge freighter c om e s l ow! ) , creeping in through t h e western gap, headed f o r the fr eight sheds to unload, or the coal wharves at the eastern end of the harbor . As you come to the eastern end of Algonquin you see the impressive white bui lding belonging t o t h e Queen Ci ty Yacht Cl ub, wi th about hal f i t s f l eet anchored to their moorings. I t is midsummer and many of the yachts are out sailing or are away on a cruise down the lake. A lot of the ones that are here are visi ting yachts staying overnight on thei r way t o far ther places. J u s t now there is a ketch i n fr om Durban, South Africa, on her way around the world. It is always interesting to look over the fifty-odd boats that are moored between the Yacht Club and -the bridge on the south side of Algonquin, just to lee who is new in, where they ere from and to make them welcome. – Almost everyone on the island owns a boat of some kind, so most Of the conversation is about boats, especially among t he men, as most of them are sailors. _ There are five streets running across the island and two lengthwise; One on the bay side and one on the lagoon side. Each house is on a fifty-foot lot, on . awreh mi canhy beautiful old willow trees on the velvety green lawns. Th e houses are mostly one-floor bungalows, built by the owners who live in them with their families. I n the trees are the nests of hundreds of song birds such as wi ld canaries, cardinals, bluejays, robins and song sparrows, which wake us up at dawn in the early spring. Of course we also have the noisy crows and starlings. I n the lazy lagoons are various breeds of wild clacks and thei r duckl ings, whi ch the chi ldren love to feed. Every afternoon – you will see a parade of young mothers with their children. all dressed up in brightly-colored bathing suits, going to the beach on Wards Island, just about ten minutes walk from Algonquin. They do not have to take them away to a summer cottage when they live on the island. It is safe for the children on the island, too, as there, are- no ,cars allowed on there in the summertime, except the police and doctors car, or the fire truck when needed. Mos t of the people ride bicycles, and those who cant have t o walk. The city ferry calls at Wards Island, then we have to walk about the distance of three c i ty blocks t o t he Algonquin bridge. F r om the moment you step of f the boat you feel as i f you are in another world, miles and miles from the city and its noises. For her e there are no screaming automobiles, no crowded streets and foul air , just space and trees and wi ndi ng paths al ong t h e water s edge. The sound of the waves rolling in on the lakeshore all night and day just lull you to sleep. Or if you want to take a walk in the moonlight you can watch the waves dancing i n the path of the silvery moon and see the myriad of stars twinkling in the heavens. You can always meet someone you know every time you go out, either on the street or on the ferry. Everybody is so fr iendly that people who have moved away are always wishing they were back on the island. Et ter yone is always ready to help a neighbor in time of need, something you will not find in a big city. It is just as beautiful in winter when all the trees are covered with a blanket of snow. Th e lagoons are frozen and on their glassy surface many parents, with their children, go skating.- They make a pretty picture in their brightly colored winter outfits. – I f you walk down to the bay front you see the winter tugs plowing their way through the ice from Tor onto t o the islands. O n clear days you get a good view of the city, which is just a mile and a hal f away, and of the many large freighters laid up for the winter . At night the city- is all – lit, up like a Christmas tree. There, are hundreds of wild ducks that winter in Toronto Bay and they walk right up to your front door to beg for food. Of course if you feed them once they will be right back the next day for more. The women on the island find plenty to do besides looking after their husbands and children. They bake cakes and cookies for the various activities in the community clubhouse – , or will get together to play bridge, or just knit and gossip over a cup of tea. The grandmothers come in handy to baby-sit while the young mothers go to the city to shop for clothes. We have a modern grocery store on Wards, where they have everything, as nice and fresh as in the city. The men also have their fun at their fortnightly stag party. There is a school for the children up to the eighth grade. A bus takes them to and from school, which is on Hanlans Point. So you can see why we are Torontonians only of necessity, but Islanders by choice.