Jim Munroe : Wonderland: A Solvitur Ambulando Mystery

An interactive audio story for the iPhone, set in Toronto’s Junction neighbourhood in 1915:  The projectionist of the Wonderland, one of the city’s first movie theatres, makes a grim discovery in the aisle one morning.

Heintzman Place resident Jim Munroe will be demonstrating how his audio story works, discussing the importance of the WTJHS in researching the story, and talking about future plans for it.  Jim is an indie creator in a variety of forms — post-Rapture graphic novels, political videogames, and lo-fi sci-fi feature films. He is currently the artist-in-residence at the Art Gallery of Ontario.

Larry Sherk: One Hundred Years of Sheridan Nurseries

In May 1911 British landscape architects Howard Dunnington-Grubb and his wife Lorrie  settled in Toronto to set up one of Canada’s first landscape architecture firms.   In 1913 they purchased 100 acres of land in Ontario near the village of Sheridan.  An ad in a British journal soon brought a young Swedish born nurseryman, Herman Stensson and his wife and four young sons to Canada to establish this new nursery in the spring of 1914.   The first catalogue was released in the fall of 1914 for the 1914-1915 gardening season. Growth was rapid and by 1926 the nursery had grown to 250 acres with an extensive selection of trees, shrubs, evergreens, roses and perennials.   A hundred years later and still flourishing!

Larry Sherk is Sheridan’s retired Chief Horticulturalist and for the last twelve years it’s unofficial archivist and historian.  He is senior  author of the book “Ornamental Shrubs in Canada” and author of “Growing Canada’s Floral Emblems.”

Sandra Joyce: British Home Children

Since the launch of her debut book at Upper Canada Village on September 28, 2011, native Torontonian Sandra Joyce, has given over 90 presentations on British Home Children.
A graduate of Ryerson’s Journalism program, she became interested in the British Home Children after finding out from a passenger list at Halifax’s Pier 21, that her father had been one.  He had passed away a few years prior to this revelation and Sandra, surprised that this huge part of Canadian history was unknown to her, decided this was a story that needed to be told.  Her book, “The Street Arab – The Story of a British Home Child” is in its third printing.

Visit www.sandrajoyce.com

The Odyssey Continues.  This month’s WTJHS meeting will be held at the Library’s Dufferin/St.Clair branch:
1625 Dufferin Street, Toronto, ON
M6H 3L9 (east side of Dufferin Street, 1/2 block south of St. Clair Ave.)

We’re on the Move Again!

On Thursday, January 2, at 7:30 pm join us for our first meeting of 2014 at the RUNNYMEDE LIBRARY, as we welcome two time Governor General award winning historian and WTJHS member Christopher Moore.  Chris will be speaking on his work-in-progress book celebrating the 40th anniversary of The Writer’s Union of Canada. Featuring special recorded interviews and dramatized readings.  A must attend event!

Runnymede Library, 2nd Floor
2178 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON  M6S 1M8
North side of Bloor Street West on the northeast corner of Glendonwynne Road