John Lynch
AUDIO INTERVIEW
SUMMARY
March 2, 2016
00:30 PERSONAL INFORMATION: John taught at Loretto College School on Brunswick Avenue. He tells about the school’s early history.
02:08 SCHOOLS: Loretto College moved to Dufferin and St. Clair in 2006. They were going to celebrate its 100 year anniversary in May 2016, though the actual anniversary was in 2015 (delayed due to strike action). John taught English and Dramatic Arts at Loretto College.
03:09 PERSONAL INFORMATION: John’s family moved into this area in 1977 while expecting their 3rd child. It was an affordable area close to downtown and his job. They bought a house on Cherrywood Avenue.
03:53 DEMOGRAPHICS: Their Greek neighbours were very welcoming.
04:28 NEIGHBOURHOOD STREET LIFE: Front porches: There was a definite “front porch culture” in those days. Kids would play like brigands on the street, parents would sit on the front porch after dinner, kids would wander in and out of each other’s houses.
05:30 RAVINE / RECREATION: The family would go sliding down “Killer Hill” in Cedarvale Ravine in the winter.
05:38 SHOPS: There was a convenience store east of Arlington on Vaughan Road that sold penny candy. The owner was kind to kids and a Maple Leaf’s fan.
06:23 TRANSIT: John took the Vaughan bus to Bathurst and transferred to the Bathurst bus or walked through Wychwood Park to get to work. He enjoyed looking at turtles in the Wychwood pond.
06:55 NEIGHBOURHOOD STREET LIFE / DEMOGRAPHICS: The area has maintained its character, but now there is pressure from development; downtown seems to be invading the neighbourhood.
08:00 City of York: Originally, north of St. Clair was in the City of York. It had strange boundaries which cut the area off from commercial taxes. This seemed unfair because the City of Toronto was “at our doorstep,” but York politicians were focussed on Eglinton and Keele.
10:20 Recreation: Piccinnini Centre offered swimming lessons to residents of the City of Toronto; after awhile, you had to bring a utility bill to show your residence, and you were not allowed to sign up if you lived in the City of York.
11:36 COMMUNITY GROUPS / SERVICES: Humewood Neighbourhood Ratepayers Association organized community events, school fairs etc. Later it became more political. Some people on the executive were Ira Greenblatt, Peter Finestone and Bob Menagh.
13:20 ACTIVISM: There was a historic case when the Association appealed a development at Vaughan Rd. just north of St. Clair. Lawyer Al (Alan) Heisey represented them at the Ontario Municipal Board and won. This was precedent-setting.
15:09 MEMORABLE PEOPLE: Lauretta Brooks & Bridget Lynch were the organizers of almost everything the Association took on.
16:17 LIFE OF A CHILD / RECREATION: In their early days, John would take his older son to Bert Robinson hockey practice at Keelesdale Arena (now Chris Tonks Arena). His daughter played hockey at Phil White Arena and his younger son was in the Blessed Sacrament Hockey League at St. Mike’s Arena, which was nice as it connected the high school to the neighbourhood.
18:26 Ravine: John remembers a skating party at a natural rink that formed in the ravine after a freezing rain storm sometime in the 1980s.
19:54 SHOPS / HISTORY / PARKS: The No Frills parking lot on Alberta Avenue is a historic spot. No Frills used to be a Dominion store, and the whole area was fenced off for 2 years when Dominion closed. There was talk of developing the area, but it was discovered that Garrison Creek flows underneath, so the land is unstable. Also, they found that the land was polluted from when it was a stock car racetrack. They had to cover the polluted soil when they created Roseneath Park.
22:17 No Frills Parking Lot: In the 1940s the area was designated a National Defence staging area in case of nuclear attack.
23:04 Stadium: The parking lot was once where the Oakwood Stadium stood. John’s Father played for the Ottawa Rough Riders between 1947-49, and they played at Oakwood Stadium against the Argos when Varsity Stadium was booked.
24:05 Underground Railway: From the parking lot, you used to be able to see a shed up the hill behind the YMCA on Robina, one block west of Alberta. Apparently, this was a terminus for the Underground Railroad. Escaped slaves would be processed by church volunteers and introduced to Toronto. The building has been replaced now by townhouses.
26:03 SCHOOLS / MEMORABLE PEOPLE: John’s children attended Rawlinson, Humewood / Cherrywood, St. Michael’s and Oakwood schools. St. Mike’s was a “nostalgic trip” because John’s Dad came from Winnipeg in the 1930’s to play Junior A Hockey at St. Mike’s. The coach was Joe Primo, and he played with David Bauer and the Schmitt brothers. In 1942 his father joined the Navy, so missed out on an NHL career.
27:57 NEIGHBOURHOOD STREET LIFE: It was a safe community; children running around on Hallowe’en was never an issue.
28:51 TRANSIT / LIFE OF CHILD: In the late 1970s John’s 7 year-old son would take the Vaughan Rd. bus and St. Clair streetcar alone to get to his school near Dunvegan Rd.
30:08 WYCHWOOD BARNS: The family would often take a Sunday walk through Wychwood Park, so John remembers a few streetcars pulling into the Barns. A fellow teacher wanted to be a TTC mechanic at the Barns, like his father.
32:16 SHOPS: Business changes: Patachou Bakery has been replaced by a condo development, and there are more fancy restaurants now. The TD Bank at St.Clair & Winona used to be a Shell Gas Station. The Crosstown Gas Station has been demolished, and the TD Bank across Bathurst from the Crosstown is now on the first floor of a condo building.
34:13 MEMORABLE EVENTS: There were incredible heat waves in the summers of 2012 and 2013.
35:41 World Cup 1982: When the Italians won, St. Clair traffic was stopped from Oakwood to Lansdowne; there were about 1 million people out on the street.
36:44 Euro Cup: Greece won in 2010. That night his family was out for dinner, and John had to walk home to get the car keys. The street was packed with cars and people because Greece had just won. Near Lauder on the north side of St. Clair he nearly knocked over Russell Crowe who was out celebrating, as he was in the area filming “Cinderella Man”.
39:44 Football: Former residents bring their kids and grandkids to St. Clair to watch football games. Nowadays there are as many Latino bistros as Italian, but everyone enjoys the game.
40:48 PLACES OF WORSHIP / MEMORABLE PEOPLE: John and his family used to attend St. Clare Church which is historically important and architecturally interesting. Queen Elizabeth was invited once in the late 70’s or early 80’s.
42:31 TRANSIT: The Oakwood trolley made for an ugly street with overhead cables from the trolley buses.
44:11 SHOPS: John Vince store had a great deli, Italian food and bulk food; it was a big loss when it closed. Now you have to go to Dufferin and St. Clair for Italian food. Darrigo’s was an Italian grocery store at Alberta and St. Clair; it sold Italian products and had bins of vegetables. The store then became a Blockbuster.
46:34 RECREATION: Alberta Avenue used to set up your Friday night: you could go to the LCBO for wine, Blockbuster for a video, and No Frills for chips or popcorn.