Please click on the names below to find the audio interviews as well as a written summary.
The years listed for each of the interviews belong to the date discussed.
Lois Adler
(1950s - )
Lois Adler grew up on Humewood Drive in the 1950s and ‘60s. She attended Humewood Public School in the old building and describes walking to school “like a train”, with kids joining in as they walked along Humewood Ave. Lois talks about creating Humewood Park in the 1970s. The public intervened to prevent Cadillac Fairview from building apartment towers where the park now stands. She discusses the changing face of St. Clair West.
Dorothy Bader
(1930s - )
Dorothy Bader’s family moved to Davenport east of Shaw St. in 1934 when she was five years old. She remembers a heat wave one year that drove people from the area to sleep outside on the Davenport hill. Her memories of the local shops, schools, parks and places of worship are vivid and include stories of life during WW2. Dorothy and her friends enjoyed skating, dancing, going to the cinema, playing on the railway tracks and swimming, though Dorothy herself once had a narrow escape when she was found sitting on the bottom of the Oakwood pool!
Mary B.
(1970s - )
Mary B. has lived and been active in the Humewood area since 1972. She talks about her involvement with the creation of Humewood Park - the vision required and the quashed plans before it came to fruition. Mary raised a family here, and she describes an urban neighbourhood life in the 1970s and ‘80s, reflecting on what has changed and what has remained the same.
Ruth Baumann
(1970s - )
Ruth Baumann, a longtime St. Clair West resident and former president of the Wychwood Barns Community Association, talks not only about the exciting ways that the Barns engages and builds community, but also about challenges the property has faced operating as a ‘Green’ heritage building. Ruth also discusses the many ways the neighbourhood has changed and stayed the same since her 1974 arrival.
Carolyn Bennett
(1950s - )
Carolyn Bennett has been a Member of Parliament for St. Paul’s since 1997. She describes the beginning of her family’s flower businesses — her grandmother’s first shop at Yonge and St. Clair, started during the Depression, and her mother’s business, Eunice Denby Flowers, which served the St. Clair West neighbourhood. Carolyn’s childhood memories of the area stem from visits to family friends on Grimthorpe Ave. She speaks of the remarkable neighbourhood communities that have formed over the years and how they have helped to create the Wychwood Barns as a hub for community gatherings, welcoming refugees and recognizing the original indigenous lands on which we live.
Doreen Boone
(1930s - )
Doreen Boone grew up north of St. Clair, close to Winona, in the 1930s and ‘40s and remained in the neighbourhood after she married. She provides us with a glimpse of bygone days, when local theatres provided abundant entertainment and walks were a beloved pastime. She describes her parents’ jobs on the old streetcars. Recalling memories of a time affected by the War, she remembers the kindness of Ma Thrower, a soda-shop owner, and the caring work of her own father at the Christie Hospital.
Colin Brown
(1970s - )
Retired TTC employee Colin Brown discusses his many happy years at Wychwood Barns in the 1970s. Whether talking about streetcar emergencies, planning transit for crowds, or some of the odd characters in the neighbourhood, Colin’s love of the Barns, then and now, shines through.
Rita & Sam Burke
(1970s - )
Rita and Sam Burke have lived in the St. Clair West area since 1972, where they raised two children in the neighbourhood. Rita and Sam have dedicated their lives to being educators - Rita graduated from the University of Toronto and taught nursing, specialising in mental health nursing, while Sam worked as a high school teacher and guidance counselor in Scarborough. They talk about their lives in the St. Clair West area, where they launched Burke’s Bookstore in 1994. The store curates Afrocentric books, art and gifts, and became a hub for the local community. They have also authored and published a children’s book, I Like Being Me.
Michael Colle
(1960s - )
Local politician Mike Colle lived on Hocken Ave. as a teenager in 1960 and attended St. Michael’s College School. He talks about the theatres, restaurants and shops in the neighbourhood at that time, as well as the sounds of the streetcars as they entered and left the Wychwood Barns. Memories of tobogganing at Winston Churchill Park, picking asparagus along the railway tracks, and seeing the Sheenyman driving along the laneways as he collected metal and clothing, are interspersed with tales of activism, from unsuccessfully opposing amalgamation to successfully stopping the Spadina Expressway.
Philip Decina
(1960s - )
Having grown up in the Italian neighbourhood of St. Clair West in the 1960s and ‘70s, Philip Decina shares stories about family life, summer fun and school escapades. From his recollections as a 14 year-old working for the original Pusateri’s store to descriptions of neighbourhood games, you will be transported to those days of close knit community and childhood fun.
Celia Denov & Bambi Katz
(1950s - )
Celia and Bambi both grew up in the St. Clair West neighbourhood. They talk about the schools they attended, going to the cinema and bowling alley, and their childhood friendships that have survived to this day. Bambi’s parents immigrated from Poland in the 1920s, and she discusses her Jewish identity, her memories of Yiddish school, and her parent’s involvement in the Workmen’s Circle organisation. Celia talks about her memories of the synagogue on St. Clair, trips to the library with her father, and her uncle being the first Jewish teacher with the TDSB.
George & Colleen Dunkley
(1940s - )
Growing up in the neighbourhood in the 1940s and ‘50s, this couple met as students at Oakwood Collegiate, the same school George’s father helped establish. Rich in details about a bygone era, their stories paint a vivid picture of a time when houses were replacing apple orchards and trumpet players could make school girls swoon.
Kathleen Dunphy
(1960s - )
Kathleen Dunphy arrived in the Wells Hill area of Bathurst and St.Clair in 1964 with a large adventurous family. She speaks of the importance of the area’s diversity and how it influenced her nine children. She shares anecdotes and observations of this busy, spirited family. Recounting stories of skating, local theatres, neighbourhood shops and protests against the Spadina Expressway, she provides a view of life in Toronto in the final decades of the 20th century.
Stephen Endicott
(1930s - )
Stephen Endicott has lived on Cherrywood Ave. since the early 1960s. He spent some of his childhood in the Missionary Home on Humewood and provides fascinating descriptions of the street in the 1930s and ‘40s, including the history of some of the old houses, delivery people and life as a student at Humewood School and Vaughan Rd. Collegiate. Anecdotes about streetcars and shops, theatres and restaurants on St. Clair, and the Rollerdome on Christie offer a glimpse into the past. He describes the mobilization of the Humewood neighbourhood in the 1970s to resist high rise development, led by theatre director George Luscombe, and resulting in Humewood Park.
Valerie Endicott
(1960s - )
Valerie Endicott grew up on Cherrywood Ave. across from the original Humewood School, and in the early 1970s, as a grade 4 student, she was one of the first to walk through the doors of its brand new building. She speaks of the importance of The Vaughan Co-op Nursery School, founded by Daisy Dotsch. She tells happy stories of her years at Arlington Sr. Public School. Recalling her childhood, she describes travelling along a dirt road to Damon’s, the local store, and happily celebrating birthdays at the local Kresge’s.
Robert Ashley Forster
(1980s - )
Since 1987, Robert Ashley’s salon has been a fixture on St. Clair West. Ashley tells how the street has changed over the years, with the transformation of the Wychwood Barns, the building of the streetcar right-of-way and the arrival of new businesses and condos. On the other hand, some things have not changed, especially the family-friendly feeling of the neighbourhood.
Paul Hersenhoren
(1930s - )
Paul Hersenhoren lived on Northcliffe and attended Regal Road Public School and Oakwood Collegiate. He talks about the many movie theatres along St. Clair where you were required to be either 16 or accompanied by an adult to attend an evening show. He remembers the snowstorm of 1944 and the coal-burning stoves on the old streetcars.
Alicia Howard
(2010s - )
Alicia Howard moved to the St. Clair West neighbourhood in 2014. Originally from Kentucky, she lived in Florida, Europe and Montreal, before coming to pursue her PhD at the University of Toronto. She is a licensed psychotherapist and music therapist, using music to help her clients with chronic pain. She met her husband at Ellington’s on St. Clair West. She loves the European feel of St. Clair West, with the tree-lined streets, cafés, stores and multi-cultural offerings. Alicia talks about the human connections with local businesses, neighbours and pets which have really made her and her family feel at home here.
Leonard Luksenberg
(1950s - )
Leonard Luksenberg was born in the St. Clair West neighbourhood, and his father operated a barber shop at the corner of St. Clair and Arlington until 1969. He has childhood memories of being walked to school by their dog, who would return to collect him at lunchtime and at the end of the day. Leonard’s stories of playing under people’s porches, on the streets and in the local parks and ravines illuminate the life of a child in the ‘60s. As a teenager, he ventured further on the TTC, but still remembers many shops and restaurants in the area, including a boat store at the corner of Winona and St. Clair.
Bridget Lynch
(1970s - )
Bridget Lynch and her growing family moved to Cherrywood Ave. in 1977 with an understanding of the importance of community. She describes her involvement in many neighbourhood initiatives, which include the creation of the Humewood Fair and the opening up of school buildings for community use. She talks about Cherrywood, the City of York’s only elementary alternative program. Weaving stories and reflections, including those of the old City of York, the remarkable work of Lauretta Brooks and the forming of her international midwifery career, Bridget speaks of an energized, caring and fruitful community.
John Lynch
(1970s - )
With his growing family, John Lynch moved to Cherrywood Ave. in 1977. They found a friendly neighbourhood with many opportunities for recreation and shopping. Like his wife Brigid, John has served the community and learned much about the history of the area, including the fact that National Defense has declared the No Frills parking lot a staging area in the event of a nuclear attack! He tells of the celebration in 1982 when Italy won the World Cup, an encounter with Russell Crowe during the filming of Cinderella Man, and the visit of Queen Elizabeth to St. Clare church at St. Clair and Northcliffe Blvd.
Linda MacDonald
(1950s - )
Having grown up around St. Clair West in the 1950s and ‘60s, Linda MacDonald spent all of her childhood in the neighbourhood. She shares stories about what it was like to grow up playing street games like hopscotch, exploring the shops and restaurants along St. Clair West, going to St. Joe’s Catholic School and dating. Rich with detail, Linda’s stories bring back the magic of her childhood.
Paul Magder
(1960s - )
Paul Magder has lived in the St. Clair West area since he was seven years old (1961). He attended Hillcrest, Winona and Oakwood schools. He talks about his childhood adventures in the ravine and at Casa Loma. Paul speaks fondly of his youth: “The whole neighbourhood was our playground.” He shares memories of his Oakwood Collegiate years and his involvement in the music program, including trips out-of-town with the band.
Joe Mihevc
(1950s - )
As a life-long resident and long-serving councillor for the area, Joe Mihevc provides a captivating look into the growth and development of St. Clair West. From stories about the original vision of the Barns as ‘the Union Station of the North’ to tales about the area’s many hidden creeks, this interview pulls back the curtain on many fascinating subjects.
Peter Mohan
(1960s - )
Peter Mohan grew up just east of Bathurst and attended St. Michael’s for high school. He returned to the neighbourhood when his own children were young and describes the shops and activities of his teenage years and then the 1980s and ‘90s when his children were growing up. He tells a story about the ghost purported to haunt the old Vaughan Cinema and talks about exploring the neighbourhood and ravine by bike. Peter’s children have made life-long friends in the neighbourhood, as has he.
Joanne Naiman
(1940s - )
With four generations of her family all intimately linked to St. Clair West, Joanne Naiman has many fascinating stories to tell about her family’s history and involvement in the neighbourhood. Having grown up in the Wychwood/Hillcrest area, Joanne married Neil Naiman, another local resident, and they raised their children in this community.
Neil Naiman
(1950s - )
Neil Naiman offers a quick recollection about growing up near Bathurst and St. Clair. He reminisces about going to the Vaughan Theatre with his brother, where his brother lost a tooth in Mackintosh toffee. Neil remembers attending a synagogue on Burnside Dr. and another on Vaughan Rd., spending time at the Wychwood library, and riding the Dupont Docks streetcar downtown to Shea’s Cinema. Neil speaks fondly about the neighbourhood.
Cookie Roscoe
(1993 - )
Cookie Roscoe, a passionate community activist, was a key figure in the campaign to repurpose the Barns from an abandoned TTC streetcar barn to a gleaming community gem. There were both struggles - councillors who said “You don’t deserve a park” - and successes - neighbours coming together to protect their self-created ice rink from city workers armed with bags of salt! This interview offers a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at operating a Farmers’ Market.
Annette Simms
(1960s - )
Annette Simms moved to Humewood Ave. in 1964 and four years later bought a home on Rushton Rd. In her amusing anecdotes and reflections on community life, she recalls her neighbours, including Adele Wiseman and Doug Henning. She speaks of a number of St. Clair’s hard working, multi-skilled business owners and tells us about a shock she had at the Vaughan Theatre. Remembering her many years of volunteering and advocating for her community, she explains how she worked in different ways to meet the needs of its African Canadian youth.
Paul Weldon
(1970s - )
Paul Weldon shares stories of raising his children in the neighbourhood. They lived on Wychwood Ave. for 31 years, and the area was so quiet and safe that he could let them play in the streets. He remembers the old streetcar buildings and the research and public discussions around developing the Barns of today. In the 1970s he was a member of the Edward Bear band, and since then he has played with other musicians, once or twice at the Wychwood Barns.
Craig & Anne Werden
(1950s - )
Craig and Anne Werden grew up a few blocks from each other, near the Wychwood Barns, but attended different schools and didn’t meet until their teenage years. They have wonderful stories to tell of growing up in the neighbourhood: all the stores and restaurants and the people that worked there, stealing apples from the orchard on Christie, watching the streetcar drivers deposit their day’s fares in the vault at the Wychwood Barns, enjoying hot dog buns flicked out the window for them at the Weston’s bakery on Dupont, and many more. Having emigrated from Italy at the age of 10, Anne has a fascinating perspective on life as an immigrant in the neighbourhood and from her active involvement at Holy Rosary Catholic Church. Craig and Anne returned to the neighbourhood to raise their family in the 1980s and have lived here since.
Donovan Wong
(1970s - )
When Donovan Wong was 17, his family left Jamaica for Toronto and opened Gerry’s Fast Food on St. Clair West in 1977. Donovan shares a unique perspective on the St. Clair West community as a young immigrant and now as a business owner, since he and his sisters have taken over the restaurant.
Robert Wright
(1930s - )
In 1938 Robert Wright and his parents moved into an apartment above a store on St. Clair West, near Dufferin, and later to one at the corner of St. Clair and Crang Ave. He talks about his many and varied jobs, ranging from selling The Toronto Evening Telegram at the corner of Oakwood and St. Clair to delivering bread with a horse and wagon for Brown’s Bread. He shares a poignant memory of watching war-time munition workers taking their night-time dip in the Crang pool (at Alberta and St. Clair). Bob’s engaging stories of the wilderness of the ravine, the old Oakwood Stadium and a snowstorm that shut down a city are just part of this journey back to 1940s Toronto.
Lois Adler Dorothy Bader Mary B. Ruth Baumann Carolyn Bennett Doreen Boone Colin Brown Rita & Sam Burke Michael Colle Philip Decina Celia Denov & Bambi Katz George & Colleen Dunkley Kathleen Dunphy Stephen Endicott Valerie Endicott Robert Ashley Forster Paul Hersenhoren Alicia Howard Leonard Luksenberg Bridget Lynch John Lynch Linda MacDonald Paul Magder Joe Mihevc Peter Mohan Joanne Naiman Neil Naiman Cookie Roscoe Annette Simms Paul Weldon Craig & Anne Werden Donovan Wong Robert Wright