For November 2025, we highlight 52 Torontonians who died in the Second World War, and their connection to a large slice of Toronto and Canadian history. When Canadians heard that the Hudson’s Bay Company (Canada’s historic retail store “older than Canada”) was bankrupt and about to close, there was sadness, […]
A group of Toronto doctors served in the Great War (1914-1918); the Great Influenza epidemic (1918-1920); then with a short turnaround, faced the 1939 start of World War Two. Their contributions should be acknowledged. The Academy of Medicine, Toronto comprised four medical organizations joined together in 1907. By the 1980s, […]
Most Remembrance Day services focus on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. Prospect Cemetery’s ceremony marches to its own drummer, proud of a special history. Remembering at sunrise began in 1928, soon after the 1918 Armistice. Toronto Ladies’ Auxiliaries left poppies on soldiers’ graves in […]
Fire fighters race towards danger even in times of peace. “First in, last out” is understood. The attitude, skills, and stamina of trained fire fighters are valuable in times of war. The view of fire fighters as everyday heroes is recognized daily in Ypres (Ieper) Belgium, a city devastated by […]
A “gallery” of memorial plaques inside the front entrance to Old City Hall is plain and unassuming. Interested visitors, or those involved in court cases, will see them only if they glance up as they walk down the stairs on their way out. High enough that some of the small […]
Questions about a Harbord CI student’s musical path drew us into 1930s Toronto—an era of popular radio, big bands, and dance halls. The Depression dragged along (1928-1939); pre-war Europe simmered, but people flocked to venues like the Palais Royale to hear “Canada’s King of Swing,” Bert Niosi, and his house-band […]
In June1974—for the first time in its history—the Toronto Board of Education allowed liquor to be served at one of its schools. The occasion was a bang-up homecoming weekend for Harbord students flocking back to celebrate their beloved collegiate. A stellar barbershop quartet of Louis Weingarten and Frank Shuster (Wayne […]
In 1938, the Toronto Star ran a photo of the previous year’s Armistice Day at Toronto City Hall. The caption said of the gathered crowd: To most of them the Great War is an impersonal memory; evoked in silence on Armistice Day when the nation pauses to honour the fallen; […]
“To represent powerful women on the field.” Ayesha Hossain, student at George Webster school, explains her prize-winning poster. Ayesha’s artwork honours all women who served in military conflicts—but particularly nursing sisters of the Great War—with a special nod to one who died on active service. The text to the right […]
Two facilities on the University of Toronto’s St. George campus were founded specifically for Roman Catholic students: St. Michael’s College and the Newman Centre. Together they offer academic, spiritual, and social services to those studying away from home. St. Michael’s College—officially the University of St. Michael’s College—is a liberal arts […]