On November 14th Heritage Toronto held a special plaque presentation at Mary Ward Catholic Secondary School in Scarborough. 

At the ceremony two plaques were presented to commemorate the Alexandra Site - a 600-year-old ancestral Huron-Wendat village unearthed in 2001 during an archaeological dig. Heritage Toronto was honoured to be joined by students of Mary Ward and Luc Lainé, Representative for Ontario, Huron-Wendat Council, who's ancestors called the village their home. Mr. Lainé had travelled for over 10 hours from Quebec to join us in celebration. The school resides next to the site of the former village, which is in L'Amoreaux Park and an adjoining subdivision. 

Photos and story by Charles Garrad

Thanks to the kindness of a friend who had moved from Toronto to Devon, this August we were able to visit the Wolford Chapel, the burial place of Lt. General John Graves Simcoe, the first Lt. Governor of Ontario and founder of Toronto (York), his wife Elizabeth, and six of their eleven children, and other nearby sites with Simcoe connections.

Before leaving Canada we contacted the Ontario Heritage Trust and were provided a map and details of the route to the Chapel, an essential step because ancient Devon, with its narrow winding roads, is a landscape unlike Ontario, and requires unique local driving skills. It was therefore with an enhanced sense of privilege and responsibility that we found ourselves alone at the Chapel entrance on a Tuesday morning, with the door invitingly unlocked.

Heritage Toronto is looking for a volunteer to help with office duties on Tuesday. Our volunteer will help with a variety of tasks, including mailings and mail merging, dealing with the public, database management, and other duties as needed.

We are seeking a volunteer who can commit to coming in on Tuesdays (and possibly additional days) to help on a regular basis between the hours of 10am - 4pm, and has these skills:

• Good people skills - answering phone inquiries and making phone inquiries, dealing with visitors to our office
• Fully computer literate (Word, Excel, Internet) - knowledge of database software (SAGE) and some HTML (work with websites) is an asset 
• Detail oriented and organized

The rewards are working in a small, but fun office with a great team of people who are very passionate about heritage and history, where you'll have the opportunity to be exposed to some wonderful projects.

If you are interested in applying, please send your relevant experience to volunteer@heritagetoronto.org * by December 12, 2008.

On Sunday, November 9th members of the public and the congregation of St. Matthew's Anglican Church joined Heritage Toronto to honour the 134-year-old parish in Riverdale.

Here are some photos for the event:

Heritage Toronto Board Member Robert Lachance; The Rt. Rev. Patrick Yu, Bishop of York-Scarborough, Diocese of Toronto; The Rev. Ajit John, Priest-in-Charge and Rev. Steve Shaw, Honorary Assistant, St. Matthew's Anglican Church

Gerald Whyte, Riverdale Historical Society, addresses the congregation

Heritage Toronto recently celebrated the re-opening of the Dufferin/St. Clair Toronto Public Library Branch with a special plaque presentation on October 28th.

The historic library has been beautifully restored - including its 1921 facade, and murals by famed artists George Reid and Doris McCarthy - and is well worth a visit.

Heritage Toronto Board Member Barbara McPhail

Toronto Public Library Board Chair Kathy Gallagher Ross; Chief Librarian Jane Pyper, Local councillor Cesar Palacio and Barbara McPhail

Photos courtesy of the Toronto Public Library

In honour of Remembrance Day, we have published stories of two Toronto residents whose families were interned during World War II.

The Your Stories page also features a profile of The Harmony Singers, a long-standing Etobicoke choir.

A beautiful fall day on October 19 heralded our commemoration of the Kiever Synagogue, on Bellevue Square in Kensington Market.

Heritage Toronto Board Member Eric Slavens

Kiever Synagogue President David Pinkus

David and Eric, with Councillor Adam Vaughan's aide Eti Greenberg

The winning poster of the 2008 Heritage Toronto and Toronto Society of Architects Poster Design Competition is now available for purchase. The poster - designed by artist Anna Robertson - is available at www.cafepress.com/heritagetoronto to order. In addition to the poster, other items are available for purchase including a framed poster, mug, magnet, t-shirt and sweatshirt.

Additionally, if you would like to purchase a copy of the poster, we have a limited number available in our office for sale. Each poster is $10 and can be picked up at our offices:

Heritage Toronto
St. Lawrence Hall
3rd Floor
157 King Street East (at Jarvis)
Toronto
M5C 1G9

All net proceeds will benefit Heritage Toronto and the artist.

To see our online store, visit www.cafepress.com/heritagetoronto

Please note: Heritage Toronto does not have the resources to ship the items.

On Monday, October 27th at The Carlu, the Heritage Toronto Awards will celebrate outstanding contributions by individuals and community organizations, as well as industry professionals and associations, in promoting and conserving Toronto's history and heritage landmarks.

As part of the evening's program, John Campbell, President and CEO, Waterfront Toronto will present the William Kilbourn Memorial Lecture - "A Shore Thing: The Future of Toronto's Waterfront". The Lecture, which is held as part of the Heritage Toronto Awards, will explore Waterfront Toronto's plans to transform more than 2,000 acres of underutilized and contaminated land along Toronto's lakefront, from its industrial past into exceptional 21st century showcase waterfront communities.

Tickets are still available:

Members and Heritage Partners: $25
General Admission - $30
Groups of 10 - $250

Program Begins at 7:30 p.m.

Includes informal reception following program (catered by Daniel et Daniel - Cash Bar)

To order:

On Wednesday October 29th at 7:00 p.m., please join Steve Collie for a very special ghost tour of the Exhibition Grounds, with all proceeds benefiting the United Way.

Exhibition Place is known for its bright lights and entertaining shows, but lurking below the surface are a few well-kept secrets that, until this walking tour, were primarily known only to staff who work the late shift. That the grounds should harbour otherworldly visitors is not much of a surprise: the Horticulture Building was once used as a temporary morgue; the current site of the CNE midway was a bloody battlefield during the War of 1812; and the grounds were once home to two military forts. Not to mention the CNE's own long history, going back to 1879 - plenty of time and plenty of reasons for an accumulation of "things that go bump in the night."

Date: Wednesday, October 29th
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Leader: Steve Collie
Start Point: General Services Building, 2 Manitoba Drive at Strachan Ave. (north of the Princes' Gate entrance to the Exhibition Grounds)