Leonard Luksenberg
AUDIO INTERVIEW
SUMMARY
October 2, 2015
00:35 PERSONAL INFORMATION: Leonard’s family left Europe after the war and arrived in Montreal. His father was a barber. It was difficult to get a barber’s licence in Montreal so they came to Toronto.
01:05 Leonard was born in 1954 and first lived at Atlas and Hursting with his parents and sister. In 1956 the family moved to 154 Arlington Ave. His father rented space at Arlington and St. Clair for his barbershop. He was in the shop until 1969.
02:43 NEIGHBOURHOOD STREET LIFE: Leonard has a picture of Arlington, where he played with his friends. It was a 2-way street, but seemed very quiet. They played hockey on the street. Played games in backyards.
04:31 DOMESTIC LIFE: When Leonard reached school age, he would take lunch to his father and run errands for him. He would be sent to scout out the other barber shops to see how busy they were. There were three chairs in his father’s shop.
05:55 SHOPS: Men’s hair styles changed a lot from the 50s to the late 60s. A shave was a big part of getting a haircut. Prices ranged from $1.25 to $2.50. At the end of the day his father stacked and rolled coins.
08:01 Leonard’s father retired in the late 1960s.
08:20 NEIGHBOURHOOD STREET LIFE/ WEATHER: Front porches: Leonard and his friends played on their porches, and sometimes he would sleep on the porch on hot nights. There was no air conditioning or many fans. They played on and under porches in the crawl spaces.
09:52 His friends were from school and the neighbourhood.
10:09 SCHOOL: Leonard went to Humewood School in the 3 storey brick building. Describes playgrounds and the track. The gravel field was for baseball, soccer, etc. Not much greenery. Leonard went to Humewood until Grade 8, then Oakwood Collegiate.
12:08 DOMESTIC LIFE: Pets: Leonard’s father would acquire animals through people at the barber shop, mainly dogs. Had fish, birds, cats later. Once his father came home with a monkey. In fact, they had two monkeys; the first was a squirrel monkey, the second a Capuchin. The Capuchin was wild, but the squirrel monkey was sweet.
16:47 The family dog walked Leonard to school and picked him up for lunch. Dogs were as free as the kids. Discusses other dogs in the neighbourhood.
19:26 PARKS: Played in Graham Park. Nowadays the alleyway looks the same and the fence is original, but there was no basketball court then. City-run ice rink in the winter and heated hut for attendant. It was a “scary place” with a smelly heater; Leonard once found a knife inside. There were also summer programs for kids.
22:50 When he was older, he went to the ice rink at Wells Hill.
23:41 RAVINES / PARKS: (Apparently talking about Cedarvale Ravine). Ravines were a great place to play, mostly as explorers. Wild growth with trails and tall grasses. The bowl was there then, for tobogganing. After the subway was built, bush was cleared and landscaped. There was the Glen Cedar footbridge but no stairs at that time.
26:43 Went on family excursions to High Park and picnics.
27:23 TRANSIT: Leonard started using the TTC when he was 11 or 12. During high school he went downtown to Eatons on the TTC.
28:01 ENTERTAINMENT: He took the streetcar to Dufferin for the cinema. Every Saturday he would go to the Vaughan Cinema or Dufferin Cinema. Paid $0.25 for two films. Describes Vaughan Cinema.
29:28 SHOPS: Leonard remembers several barber shops, a hairdresser, a pharmacy, a hardware store with old wooden floors, and a music store - Meister’s? - which offered music testing. Leonard took accordion lessons for a couple of years. Between Arlington and Atlas on the north side there was a CIBC Bank, a dry cleaners (Parisienne), a variety store for “refueling,” a pool hall, a shoe store, a hat store and a clothing store. He also remembers some candy stores in the neighbourhood.
35:31 DEMOGRAPHICS: Many of his father’s customers spoke Yiddish and were from the same European town as his parents.
36:21 SHOPS: Between Arlington and Rushton on the north side of St. Clair there was Golden’s Women’s Clothing Store, a doctor’s office (the doctor was arrested for performing abortions), the Scotch Bakery, a deli and a Jewish butcher shop with sawdust on the floor.
37:43 RESTAURANTS: Leonard would go by himself to the New Niagara Restaurant near Atlas for lunch on Saturdays. It was a Chinese restaurant, but he had fish and chips.
38:27 RECREATION: He remembers a pool Hall where Ferro’s is located now. He and his friends played pool there when they were in high school.
38:34 SHOPS: Also on the south side there was a tire shop and a Chrysler car dealership where the Bracondale building is now. Further on was the Maple Leaf Ballroom, but Leonard never went inside.
39:20 SHOPS: Leoanrd’s family shopped at the Dominion grocery store where MacDonald’s is now. Leonard remembers Woolworth’s at Vaughan and St. Clair (actually, it was a Kresge’s; he says Kresge’s was at Oakwood and St. Clair). On the north side of St. Clair near Bathurst he remembers the Health Bread Bakery.
40:52 RESTAURANTS: Memories of a Chinese take-out restaurant at Vaughan where he and his friends would go for eggrolls late at night.
41:13 SHOPS: Strangely, there was a boat store at Winona and St. Clair. Motor boats were displayed outside in the corner lot.
42:20 SCHOOL: Leonard’s main memories of Oakwood Collegiate are of the music program. He played the trombone in both the orchestra and the band and traveled with them. The trips “were the best part” of high school.
43:05 RECREATION: Later in high school he would go to Eatons for shopping and bars outside the neighbourhood. He remembers Pepio’s at Davenport and Dupont.
43:57 PARKS: Leonard went to Hillcrest Park for tennis but spent more time at Winston Churchill Park.
44:52 LANEWAYS: Used the laneways after he learned to ride a bike.
45:54 DEMOGRAPHICS: The neighbourhood had a strong Jewish component; he remembers a number of synagogues in the area when he was young and even in high school. But St. Clair has always been mixed, which has been a draw to the area.
48:03 NEIGHBOURHOOD: Everything residents needed was available on St. Clair.
49:02 DELIVERY PEOPLE AND VENDORS: Milk was delivered to the door (perhaps by horse and cart when he was very young), and maybe bread. Leonard also remembers a tool sharpener pulling his wheel and ice cream trucks.
51:01 NEIGHBOURHOOD: This was a safe neighbourhood. Once, in the 70s when his father was old and went out walking late at night, he was accosted. He refused to give up his wallet, and that was the end of it.
52:02 DATING: His first date was in Grade 8, but they went to a cinema downtown. High school graduation (1967) was at the Cottage Restaurant at Vaughan and St. Clair.