West Toronto Junction Historical Society

Scarborough author, the award-winning Sheila White will give an illustrated talk about her biographical novel, The Letters: Postmark Prejudice in Black and White.  Drawn from diary accounts, familial correspondence, photos, and artefacts, the story revolves around a community’s opposition in the 1940s to the interracial courtship and marriage of the author’s white mother, Vivian Keeler, and Black father, “Billy” White, who went on to become a decorated Canadian. Their wedding took place in Toronto in June 1947. In the lead-up, an extensive letter-writing campaign, orchestrated by Vivian’s mother, tried to stop the union on racist grounds, but failed. Vivian, an intelligent, attractive and determined woman from a tight knit, Nova Scotia family defies convention to marry the man she loves – a charismatic and gifted member of a prominent and historically famous Black family from Halifax. A slide show is followed by Q&A. Books will be available for sale and signing.

A video recording will be provided after the talk.

📅 Date: Thursday, February 5th
🕖 Time: 7:00 PM
📍 Location: Annette Street Library

Sheila White is an award-winning community leader whose background includes local news reporting and editing, political and media work, and environmental activism. She is Music Director at Don Heights Unitarian Congregation, and a licensed Lay Chaplain. Sheila is a published songwriter and leads an open choir that performs mostly her original material. Sheila’s awards include an African Canadian Achievement Award, a Canada 125 Medal, an Urban Hero Award, a Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal and a King Charles III Coronation Medal. A lifelong Toronto resident Sheila lives in Agincourt with husband Alex. The Letters is her debut novel. It was taught in the African-Canadian Literature course at the University of Toronto in October 2025.

Video recording now available.

Author and historian Chris Higgins brings 19th-century Toronto vividly to life in his new novel, The Gaol Carpenter’s Diary—a story grounded in true events, real locations, and the city’s uneasy relationship with justice, faith, and redemption. Told through the eyes of an Irish immigrant carpenter who builds gallows for a living, the book blends meticulous research with storytelling that reveals the humanity behind Toronto’s early crimes.

In this presentation, Chris will share images, maps, and archival discoveries featured in his book launch, offering a fresh look at familiar neighbourhoods—from the Don Jail and St. Lawrence Market to Weston, High Park, and The Ward. 

Audiences will come away with a deeper sense of how our city’s past still echoes through its streets today.

A video recording will be provided after the talk.

📅 Date: Thursday, December 4th
🕖 Time: 7:00 PM
📍 Location: Annette Street Library

Chris Higgins was born in Montreal but has spent most of his life in Toronto’s west end. After studying English Literature at McGill University, he began his career as an advertising copywriter before earning a teaching degree and spending nearly three decades in education—most of them at Swansea Public School, where he taught IT and English, hosted poetry slams, and launched one of Toronto’s first school podcasts.

Over the years he has reconnected with his childhood friends and the old neighbourhood and became admin of General Mercer Public School and Osler Facebook social media pages serving as a historian for both pages.

Since retiring in 2020, Chris has written two nonfiction books and his first novel, produced podcasts and videos, and volunteered for local heritage projects. In 2025, he received the King Charles III Coronation Medal for his contributions to local history—a proud moment shared with his wife, Sue, and their four adult children.

Whether in the classroom, at the podium, or on the page, Chris continues to bring stories into the light.

Video recording now available.

Gary Christie was born in 1951 and lived his childhood in the St. Clair Avenue/ Old Weston Road area in his formative years. Through this presentation he will talk about his family roots that comprised the cultural community in the mid 1900’s and his early school experiences at General Mercer Public School.

A video recording will be provided after the talk.

📅 Date: Thursday, November 6th
🕖 Time: 7:00 PM
📍 Location: Annette Street Library

Gary received his Bachelor’s of Science in Biology from York University in 1977 and went on to a career and further post graduate education through Medical and Research Sciences Industry.

Over the years he has reconnected with his childhood friends and the old neighbourhood and became admin of General Mercer Public School and Osler Facebook social media pages serving as a historian for both pages.

He now enjoys retirement and is director of the Nottawasaga Steelheaders, a conservation oriented angling organization that works with the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority on watershed rehabilitation and preservation.

We’re thrilled to be hosting Haunted Junction Pub Crawl events once again–this time around with four dates to choose from. Join us and Junction historian and veteran tour guide Neil Ross for a night of spooky tales from the Junction’s past, told in some of the neighbourhood’s favourite watering holes.

📍 Location: See-Scape,  347 Keele Street
🕒 Start time: 7:00 pm
🗓 Dates to choose from:

Friday, October 17
Saturday, October 18
Friday, October 24
Saturday, October 25

Tickets: $25 for non-members of WTJHS | $10 for WTJHS members.

To purchase tickets, please visit the following link and select the date you would like to attend: CLICK HERE.

We are also looking for a small number of volunteers to help facilitate the events. If you are interested, please reach out to us to let us know which date(s) you are available and we will be in touch!

Please drink responsibly. Note that the event is not accessible (involves stairs).

Video recording now available.

What has golf got to do with God and godliness, and the green spaces of Toronto? Through our research into the social history of Toronto, we will show you how the golf courses of the Junction and area reflect the tension between public and private spaces; between godliness and abstinence and the rough and tumble bars of the Junction; between the elites of society and poor school boys with little but dreams; and the demands of urban infrastructure and the need for green spaces.

The talk covers the area within about three kilometres of the Annette Street Branch of the Toronto Public Library through the lens of these courses: Summerlea/Humber Valley Golf Course, High Park Golf Club (two locations), Highlands Golf Club (three locations), Lambton Golf Club, Humber Golf Club (on the Baby Estate), Humber Valley Golf Club (mouth of the Humber River), Kennedy Avenue Golf and Country Club, and Scarlett Woods Golf Course.

📅 Date: Thursday, October 2
🕖 Time: 7:00 PM
📍 Location: Annette Street Library

Joanne Doucette is a local historian, author of Leslieville: Pigs, Flowers and Bricks, who fell unexpectedly into the world of golf history. When she was leading a walking tour of the old Toronto Golf Club site at Coxwell and Gerrard near her home, a number of men and women showed up – all with great posture and a certain far away look in their eyes. She quickly realized that these were the field marks of the golfer (Joanne is also a Master Naturalist). When she was invited to co-operate with Scott Burk on the history of golf in Toronto she couldn’t help herself. A video recording will be provided after the talk.

We look forward to seeing you for what promises to be a fascinating evening of local history and rediscovery.

PUBLIC OPEN HOUSE (“drop-in” style format)

📅 Date: Wednesday, June 11
🕖 Time: 5:30 – 7:30 PM
📍 Location: West Toronto Baptist Church, 3049 Dundas St. West, Toronto

Heritage Planning invites you to a Community Consultation Open House to introduce the West Toronto Junction Heritage HCD Study. The purpose of the meeting is to share information about the Study objectives, process, and initial findings and to seek community feedback on the Study and Study area.

The WTJHS has mounted a display upstairs at the Annette Library, giving further information about the study, which has been a longtime project of the WTJHS and the Junction BIA. We urge everyone to attend and express your support for making this a priority for our community.

Information from the city can be found here.

Video recording now available.

Join us for a special presentation by Mima Brown Kapches, who will be sharing insights from her new book, The English Trip: Toronto, Sir Henry Pellatt, the Queen’s Own Rifles and the Press Gang.

📅 Date: Thursday, June 5
🕖 Time: 7:00 PM
📍 Location: Annette Street Library

This meticulously researched work brings to life a remarkable chapter in Toronto’s past: the 1910 50th anniversary celebration of the Queen’s Own Rifles, Canada’s longest-serving reserve regiment. Financed by Sir Henry Pellatt—the visionary behind Casa Loma—the celebration culminated in a spectacular four-week military and cultural trip to England for over 600 young reservists and a team of Toronto newspaper reporters, including Mima’s father, J.N.M. (Jim) Brown.

While researching her father’s journalism career, Mima uncovered original dispatches from the 1910 trip and was inspired to reconstruct this overlooked moment in Canadian history through vivid press accounts and historical context. A video recording will be provided after the talk.

We look forward to seeing you for what promises to be a fascinating evening of local history and rediscovery.

Video recording now available.

We are pleased to present the 2024 Annual Report for the West Toronto Junction Historical Society, prepared for our upcoming Annual General Meeting on Thursday May 15, 2025. This report provides an overview of our activities, achievements, and community engagements over the past year. It also highlights our ongoing commitment to preserving and promoting the unique heritage and stories of the West Toronto Junction community. We invite you to explore the report to learn more about our work and the exciting plans we have for the future.

In addition, please find linked below the slate of candidates for election, the proposed budget for 2025, and proposed updated bylaws. Each will be discussed and presented for consideration and approval at the upcoming AGM.

Thank you for your continued support and interest in our mission.

Video recording now available.

The West Toronto Junction Historical Society is pleased to announce that our Annual General Meeting will be held on Thursday, May 15, 2025 at 7:00 PM.

All members and interested community members are warmly invited to attend. Join us as we review the past year’s activities, seek new executive positions, and discuss exciting plans for the future of preserving and celebrating our community’s rich history.

🗓 Date: Thursday, May 15, 2025
📍 Location: Annette Street Public Library
🕓 Time: 7:00 PM

Coinciding with our AGM will be guest speaker Jim Adams who will be delivering a talk, Runnymede – The In-between Neighbourhood.

The Belt Line Railway

Tucked up in between three well known neighbourhoods and a set of railway tracks,  Runnymede is small but packed with history dating back 13,000 years when it was a beach.   Jim Adams, whose family has lived in the Junction, Bloor West and Runnymede neighbourhoods since the 1880s, is a newly minted historian with training in both journalism and creative writing, will lead you through an overview of the compact area’s history.

A typical horse powered mower used on golf courses around 1905

Jim is a contributor to the WTJHS’s Facebook page and has written two small books on Runnymede – Frederick Topham, A Runnymede Neighbourhood Kid with a Knack for Saving Lives and The Pop-up Golf Course.

Follow Jim’s blog at Everything Runnymede and Jim Adams | Vocal  for memoir writing including his recent essay Friday Nights at Vesuvio’s.

Runnymede looking south from St Clair while railway bridge is under construction.

Video recording now available!

Did you know Gordon Lightfoot once sang for just $25 a day at a Yonge Street dinner theatre? Or that a chance encounter in Toronto shaped The Beatles’ greatest album? Yonge Street has been at the center of music, theatre, and pop culture history, rivalling Times Square and Hollywood Blvd. From jazz and Motown to rock, hip-hop, and alternative, its influence is unmatched. Join Toronto native Mark Vendramini, founder of the Memories of the Yonge St. Strip Facebook group, for a fascinating 40-minute talk uncovering the stories, legends, and pivotal moments that shaped the city’s musical past. Featured on BlogTO, CBC Radio, and Boom 97.3, Mark brings Yonge Street’s history to life.

📅 Date: Thursday, April 3, 2025

🕒 Time: 7:00pm

📍 Location: Annette Branch Auditorium, Toronto Public Library

This meeting will be in-person only, but a video recording will be made available via the WTJHS website.

Light refreshments served after talk.

Join Junction historian and veteran tour guide Neil Ross for an unforgettable night of local true crime on a pub crawl through some of the neighbourhood’s favourite bars. Discover the dark, thrilling, sometimes hilarious stories of the railway town’s murderers, thieves, gangsters and cops!

📅 Dates: Friday, April 11, 2025 or Saturday, April 12, 2025

🕒 Start Time: 7:30pm. Please arrive 15 minutes in advance to check in.

📍 Location: The tour begins at Axis Cafe, 3048 Dundas Street West

🎫 Tickets: $25 for non-members of WTJHS | $10 for WTJHS members.

This event is 19+ and unfortunately not accessible (stairs).

Limited number of tickets available so purchase early.

Drink responsibly.

Video recording now available!

Join us for an engaging evening with Adam Waiser, co-host of Muddy York: A Toronto History Podcast, as he brings his latest episode, “Battle of St. Andrew,” to life in a special talk.

This discussion, inspired by the recent February 27th provincial election, will transport us back to 1955, when an election campaign in Toronto’s St. Andrew riding became a battle to unseat Ontario’s last Communist MPP. The race was about more than just party politics—it reflected deep divisions within Toronto’s Jewish community, raising pressing questions about representation, political identity, and allyship.

Adam Waiser is a passionate history enthusiast who started Muddy York after being inspired by a podcast about NYC history. He co-hosts the show with Grayson Miller, a media professional with a decade of experience in content creation and storytelling. Together, they uncover hidden stories of Toronto’s past, from political struggles to cultural shifts.

Muddy York has grown into a widely followed podcast, offering in-depth research, engaging narratives, and interviews with local historians and authors.

🔗 Learn more & listen to Battle of St. Andrew

📅 Date: Thursday, March 6, 2025
🕒 Time: 7:00 pm
📍 Location: Annette Public Library, 145 Annette Street, Toronto

This is an in-person event only, but a video recording will be made available afterward for those unable to attend.

Stay after the talk to enjoy some refreshments and connect with fellow local history enthusiasts!