John Beram will take us on a fascinating tour of the former industries of the West End of Toronto and the connections some of these companies had with the West Toronto Industrial Athletic Association and the sports leagues and facilities they supported, such as the Ravina Gardens Arena, and their lasting impact on our community’s character.
đź“… Date: Thursday, March 5th đź•– Time: 7:00 PM đź“Ť Location: Annette Street Library
John Beram grew up in the Junction Area and attended public and high school locally. He has a keen interest in the west Toronto industrial history and has spoken on many occasion on these local employers and their history.
A video recording will be provided after the talk.
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.
đź“… Date: Thursday, February 5th đź•– Time: 7:00 PM đź“Ť 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.
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.
đź“… Date: Thursday, December 4th đź•– Time: 7:00 PM đź“Ť 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.
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.
đź“… Date: Thursday, November 6th đź•– Time: 7:00 PM đź“Ť 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.
West Toronto Junction Historical Society 