Ruben Caceres

Ruben Caceres is the Building Supervisor and Events Manager at St. Michael and All Angels, the Anglican church on St Clair West. Originally from Ecuador, Ruben has been living in the area since 1985, when his brother’s family bought a house on Ellsworth Ave. Ruben talks about his work at the Church, and the changes in the community over the years, as well as his enduring relationships with his neighbours. He recalls a memory of a Columbian restaurant called Mi Tierra, which used to remind him of food from home.

AUDIO INTERVIEW

TRANSCRIPT

0:01 MARNY: So here we are today, in the vestry. Oh no, we're not actually in the vestry, in the third floor Upper Room of Saint Michael and all Angels Church. It's Tuesday, June 18, 2024, and I'm Marny Gibson interviewing Ruben Caceres for the St Clair Oral History Project, which is a part of the Wychwood Barns Community Association. Great and so Ruben, I am so pleased to be able to interview after all this time.

0:51 RUBEN: So, my brother and his wife and two kids bought a house on Ellsworth Avenue, and I lived with them. And we, I first lived on Ellsworth, between Wychwood and Christie, okay? So that was for five years, yes. And then in 1990 I moved over the other side. So yes, I live now between Wychwood and Vaughan Road, right? So, I've been living in the same house for nearly

2:39    MARNY: I lived… earlier than you I moved into the neighborhood and Alcina Avenue was very much changed since, since those days. The people have certainly done a lot of work on their houses there and, and I would say pretty much all the side streets there. So, how's it been living in the neighborhood?

3:07 RUBEN:  Well, maybe I should go back a little bit. So, what brought me to Ellsworth was my brother buying the house and stuff like that. But what kept me in this neighborhood is my work, right? I work for St Michael and all Angels church. I'm the caretaker there, yeah, and I just live around the corner from the church, right? Because I have some commitments and the person that works here has to open up very early in the morning, so therefore the person has to live nearby, right? So, so, so, yeah, I've been at St Michael's for these many years, since 1985-86 Right, right? And so,

3:50 MARNY:  You know, it's been just where you had to live it's, it's not really, neither good nor bad.

3:58 RUBEN:  No, I love it, actually, so good. I actually do. I do love the neighborhood. I love my neighbors. Good. I've known some neighbors for as long as I've been in the house, since 1990

4:08 MARNY:  No kidding, no kidding. They've been there all that…

4:10 RUBEN:  They've been there all the time. And it's been so great to see their kids grow up, yes, and, you know, have like, some sort of connection with them. So, it's been great.

4:18 MARNY:  So, there's a bit of a sort of neighborhood on the street

4:23 RUBEN:  There is, there is not as much as it was when I moved in. Oh, right. I have noticed that throughout the years, right? Although Ellsworth is a very family-oriented street, very quiet, is very safe. But I have noticed that, you know, more houses, they tend to rent a room or the first floor to single … So definitely, I've seen the dynamics of families change.

6:05 MARNY:  One thing we've heard about from people is that sometimes a lot of activity happens in the laneways. Now I know the laneway on Ellsworth is really the other end of the street from where you are. That's correct, yeah. But do you know much about what goes on?

7:13 RUBEN:  Oh, yeah, definitely. St Clair has changed quite a bit throughout these years. You know, for the good, for the bad. I mean, that's up to anybody to, you know, to have that perspective.

7:36 RUBEN:  Yeah, there were lots of businesses and restaurants, right? Not as many as we have now, no, not as many cafes as we have now, maybe one or two, but we, we used to have quite a bit of convenience stores, oh yes, food markets, the corners and laundry mats, that's what I remember, right? And it was very family oriented. You know, like, if you wanted to go for a stroll, for a walk, you can just go with the family. So that’s what we did.

8:19 RUBEN:  I do remember one restaurant. There was this Colombian restaurant. I'm not from Colombia, but I'm from Ecuador, and their food was a little bit similar to my country’s. And so, the restaurant was called Mi Tierra, which means my land, right? And they used to have like a bench outside the restaurant with their colors of the flag, yellow, blue and red. And it was a lovely restaurant, a family owned. And so, we used to go there quite a bit, and it's no longer there. So, you know, I do miss that one.

9:00 MARNY:  I miss it too. I remember going there a few times, nice people running it. I sort of lost track, because so many restaurants opening and closing, and

9:12 RUBEN:  That's correct. And the other place that I kind of miss but this was maybe like late 80s, 90s, it was KFC, the one near Winona, right? And it was a huge place. It had a big parking lot. And back then, the chicken was amazing. Yes, you know it was real chicken.

9:41 MARNY:  I know my mother used to take a night off and get us. KFC.

9:45 RUBEN:  There you go, yeah, and so did my brother. We used to order, like, the big bucket and all that. So, we had, like, maybe once every two weeks. So that was, like, our family dinner, right? And nobody was like, Why are you eating KFC? You see, like anybody of any social status will go there, you know? Yeah, so that's the one I missed quite a bit.

12:06 RUBEN:  Oh, my goodness, it has changed. And well, the streetcar itself has changed for the better. The old streetcars, I remember back in the 80s, there was no AC. They were small, and in the summertime, it was just brutal. It was so hot you can barely breathe there. So, and they were noisy too. Oh, my goodness,

13:08  MARNY:  And how do you feel about the right of way?

13:56 RUBEN:  My own life definitely is better. But I do understand, you know, the point of view of the business owners and people that show up. And I say, you know, there's no room. I do understand that, but at the same time, it's like … Laughter

14:15 MARNY:  Now you were around before the Barns became the community hub, yes, tell me. What do you remember about the Barns at the beginning in 1985? What was it like there?

14:26 RUBEN:  Well, from what I remember, the streetcars used to go there to, you know, they were being used. It was being used. Yeah, definitely. And I do remember, because we lived on Ellsworth near Wychwood, you would hear the streetcars all the time, and they were extremely loud, right? So, you would hear it. And then after a few years, they just stopped. They, I think they found a new place down on Bathurst. So, you know, in a way, I was glad to see that go because, like I said, it was quite noisy early in the morning, late at night,

15:12 MARNY:  What about the time when it wasn't being used, though? Did you notice anything going on?

15:18 RUBEN:  No, no. Actually, they, they, they sealed it off. You can’t go in; you can’t do anything. So, for many years, it was just sitting there.

15:56 MARNY:  Yeah. Were you at all involved in the development of the Barns?

17:43 MARNY: Yeah, the Out of the Cold program was going for quite a while. It was, but it's grown, hasn't?

18:54 RUBEN: Using it exactly. And I think within three hours you would cater to those 25 peoples. But then after the pandemic, or during the pandemic, that's when it changed drastically. So that's when we all came together and we said, okay, you know, there's so many people in need, because a lot of them lost their jobs, and some people can just afford the rent, but not food and so on. So now it's become like a, like a necessity for many people,

19:29 MARNY:  How many people now work at the food bank? There were three originally.

20:45 RUBEN:  Now it's between from nine o'clock and we're done at 12:30 Yeah. So, it's pretty efficient, pretty efficient. And like I said, and that's with this many volunteers, yeah, whereas before there were only three, they didn't do any of this. They just stayed in one room, and a lot of the food was just non-perishables, right? They would just pack a small bag and give it to the person, and, you know, see you next week. Now, is like, more, you know, we have produce, we have dairy and meat protein and all that. So, it's, it's a lot bigger, right?

21:23 MARNY:  And moving on, well sort of connected to that is the idea of people in need and brings me to the idea of how many people are kind of homeless in our neighborhood, and have you seen an increase in that would you say, or is it more visible?

21:42 RUBEN:  There has been a little bit of an increase. There's always been, you know, homeless people in this area, yes, but now I do see a little more. And especially like between Wychwood and Bathurst, that's where you see a lot of them. Some of them are outside the Shoppers Drug Mart on the corner of Vaughan Road and St. Clair, and near Wychwood and those are people that you see on a regular basis. So, this is their home. This is their home. This is what they need to do to survive.

26:51 MARNY:  Yeah, we're really lucky to have them, yes, definitely. Now, right now, on this day, June 18, 2024, we are in the second day of a heat dome event. And I'm going to ask you, Ruben, if you've experienced some extreme weather and, in your time, here?

33:34 No, I love that song so much that I didn't mind it to be honest with you but I do remember seeing him and he would wave hello or he would be at the back I remember he used to ride like a Harley Davidson. And he used to have a couple of beers, and he would just have that song on a loop. I don't know. I'm sure it was a cassette. I'm sure he just rewinded it and pressed play again. So that was one character that I do remember.  And there was a few other people that, you know, back then we didn't know what the problem was with them. We always thought they were a little bit weird, but now I understand. They had a little bit of mental issues, but they didn't show it. They were not, I would say, malicious. Or we just thought they were a little bit strange. Yes. But now I understand.

34:36 MARNY: Yes, that's something that's improved in our society. –

34:39 It has improved quite a bit. Now you know. It's out there that sometimes they can’t help it. Yeah, so, there's quite a few people, differently that I do remember.

34:57 RUBEN: Any famous people? The only person that lived on Wychwood Park. It was an actress that did a CBC show. Oh, my goodness, I'm terrible with names. But whenever I would walk around, she would come out and I would say hello. And one time I did say, you know, I'm a big fan of you. She goes, Oh, thank you.

35:24 RUBEN: Yeah, exactly. So, I think that's - the only famous person.

35:28 MARNY: Well, thank you very much, Ruben, for agreeing to do this. –

35:32 RUBEN: Oh, you're welcome.

35:34 MARNY: I really hope that you will be happy with this interview in the end.

35:40 RUBEN: No, definitely, and thank you for being persistent, because I know at the beginning I kind of said no. I thought that I wouldn't bring anything to the table, and I couldn't contribute to new things, or you know I didn't want it to be like repetitive or anything and you convinced me. And not in a pressure way, but you were like no when you know you would be okay You you've been here for so many years. So, it'd be interesting to see, you know, from your point of view. So

36:20 MARNY:  Great. Well, we'll stop there.