Paul Weldon
AUDIO INTERVIEW
SUMMARY
December 9, 2014
00:25 PERSONAL INFORMATION: Paul lived at 33 Wychwood Avenue, around the corner from the Arts Park. He lived there for about 31 years but has since moved.
00:38 PERSONAL INFORMATION: Paul introduces himself, explains why they moved to the neighbourhood and the history of the house.
01:44 WYCHWOOD BARNS: He recalls the TTC testing the new streetcars. He comments on the streetcars leaving the Barns in the morning.
02:44 DOMESTIC LIFE / NEIGHBOURHOOD STREET LIFE: They raised their kids here. It was quiet and the kids could play on the street (no traffic lights at St. Clair). It was friendlier than their previous neighbourhood and they got to know neighbours.
04:16 DEMOGRAPHICS: The thing Paul liked about the area was the mix of ethnicities, not one dominant ethnic group. The Toronto Planning Board did a study and the report concluded that the mix of ethnic people was the same as for the whole of Toronto, giving a nice variety to population.
04:55 NEIGHBOURHOOD STREET LIFE: There are pockets of gentrification with people renovating houses to make them larger. Some neighbours complained to City Hall when people wanted to add a third floor to their house.
06:00 SHOPS: Paul recalls the stores on St. Clair being the same mix over the years. He remembers the hardware on Vaughan Road was like going into an old country store (still there, now Home Hardware).
06:48 ENTERTAINMENT: He remembers the theatres on St. Clair. He saw “Rashomon” his first foreign film at the Odeon Christie that later became a Bingo Hall. There was also the great Vaughan Theatre where he saw Woody Herman play. He was an American jazz clarinetist, alto and soprano saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. It eventually was purchased by a multicultural TV station.
07:50 RESTAURANTS: He used to drive more so didn’t necessarily shop in the neighbourhood. He doesn’t generally go out to eat, but there’s a good fish & chips shop now (long time since we’ve had that) and a Churrasco Chicken. Shoppers Drug Mart location used to be Tamblyns. There was a British store on the north side of St. Clair and a Health Bread Bakery at the corner of Raglan and St. Clair.
09:40 PERSONAL INFORMATION: Paul was in a pop-rock band called Edward Bear in the ‘70s (hits were ‘Last Song’ and ‘You, Me and Mexico’). He was living on Davenport Road at the time. After leaving the band, he played in a jazz trio and did corporate events, including events at Wychwood Barns.
11:10 NEIGHBOURHOOD STREET LIFE: The artistic community in the neighbourhood includes a man who plays percussion in Toronto Symphony Orchestra who practices in a garage near Paul.
12:10 TRANSIT: Paul recalls the St. Clair streetcar but since driving was his main mode of transportation he doesn’t have too many specific memories.
12:30 SCHOOLS / LIFE OF CHILD: Originally their children went to Hillcrest School. Paul designed the logo for the Wychwood Tiger’s t-shirts. One child went to Winona and another went to Forest Hill. He recalls that renovations were done to make the school (Hillcrest?) larger and more of a community centre.
13:37 RECREATION / LIFE OF CHILD: They went to the park west of Christie to play on the swings and also across from Loblaws. The kids played pirates in the backyard and skateboarded on the street. Although they didn’t go to Cedarvale ravine often, they would enter from east of Bathurst.
15:35 WYCHWOOD BARNS: The TTC was still operating the Barns when he moved into the neighbourhood. He recalls when the Barns were sold to the City, the TTC auctioned off streetcars to the public. His kids played at the Barns but he doesn’t know if they got into the streetcars. After they sold the Barns, all the copper wire was removed but nothing happened for many years. The Historical Society stored the Toll Keeper’s Cottage on the site for about 10 years. It was rescued while they figured out what would be done with it before it ended up where it is now at Davenport.
18:13 NEIGHBOURHOOD / THE BARNS: A lot of investigation, research and city planning was done concerning what to do with the area (mixed use housing, etc). Paul attended meetings at Hillcrest school and at the church during this process. He and his wife were in favour of a combination park and refurbished buildings.
19:10 THE BARNS: The result looks great and has injected a lot of vitality into the area. He uses the farmer’s market and often goes to the Community Art Gallery. It looks like a film studio at night.
20:15 ACTIVISM / NEIGHBOURHOOD STREET LIFE: His main thing was the Art Barns. Otherwise there are not many changes and there are many long time residents on the street.
20:50 NEIGHBOURHOOD STREET LIFE / TRANSIT / RESTAURANTS: There are a lot of nice restaurants on St. Clair with patios, however, the removal of sidewalks for the dedicated streetcar line has meant less space for patios. He likes the streetcar because he can go all the way out to The Stockyards and can do all his shopping right along St. Clair.
22:10 NEIGHBOURHOOD STREET LIFE: The area isn’t going through that big a change and it’s safe. He and his wife have international students (eg. from Brazil) staying with them and they are impressed by the safety. The people are friendly and you have a chance to get to know your neighbours. The Historical Society displays historical photos at the farmers’ market which gives one a sense of the early days in Toronto. It’s a great area to live in – convenient to everything, lots of musicians and artists, so it’s “my kind of neighbourhood.”