Author Archives: wtjhs

St. John’s West Toronto and The Junction

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“St. John’s West Toronto and The Junction: A Century of Faith, Community and History on Humberside”

Join a special meeting of the West Toronto Junction Historical Society, in partnership with St. John’s West Toronto Anglican Church, to celebrate its centenary on Humberside Ave and 142 years in the Junction.

Historian Christopher Rutty will present on St. John’s story, evolution, and community impact within the Junction.

Over the past year, Christopher has led an effort to collect, document and share the history of St. John’s West Toronto, focusing on the story of its third church building over the past century, located at 288 Humberside Ave. at the corner of Quebec Ave, just west of High Park Ave.

Through the historical lens of St. John’s, one can explore the development of the Anglican Church in Toronto and St. John’s pioneering role in it, against the backdrop of the Junction’s evolution.

This occasion will be more than just another meeting of the WTJHS, the last few of which have been held in an in-person-Zoom hybrid format at St. John’s. It will be an opportunity for a historical and social event for members of St. John’s, the WTJHS, and the local community to celebrate the 100th anniversary of St. John’s home on Humberside.

There will be food available along with some surprises, with admission by donation.

To learn more about the history of St. John’s West Toronto, visit http://sjwt.ca/100th

Date & Time: Thurs., Dec. 7, 6:30 – 9:00 pm
Location: St. John’s West Toronto, 288 Humberside Ave (corner of Quebec Ave.), Toronto, ON
This event will be held both, in-person and on Zoom

Register for Zoom

Aazhgemog-Crossroads with Andrew McConnell – November 2nd 2023

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The land of the Junction was a crossroads long before the railroads were built. Many Anishinaabe have passed through this land, whether it was defending their allies, moving between early settlements, or passing from one lake to another.

Rev. Peter Jones or Kahkewaquonaby, 1802 – 1856. Indian chief and missionary in Canada | Scottish National Portrait Gallery

Please join us in the lead-up to Ontario’s Treaties Recognition Week as Andrew McConnell presents on some of the more famous people from the time of early English settlement, through the beginning of Anishinaabe resistance, to encroachment on their lands and unfair treatment by government agents. It will look at how this place is also a crossroads between the past and the present Anishinaabe settlements north and west of Toronto, a testament to the continuous presence of Indigenous people on these lands.

Burlington Bay, June 11, 1796 | Archives of Ontario

Andrew McConnell is a member of Nipissing First Nation living in the Bloor-West area, and has been teaching for almost 20 years. He is the coordinator for Indigenous education at the York Region District School Board where he directly supports the work of the Indigenous Education team, liaises with the education staff from Georgina Island First Nation, and the Anishinaabek Education System while constantly advocating for the inclusion of Indigenous content across the board. Before becoming a teacher, Andrew worked in the media, first at Aboriginal Voices, a Native arts magazine based in Toronto, and then at CTV News, where he worked in production for 7 years.

Date & Time: November 2nd, 2023 at 7 pm
Location: St. John’s Anglican Church, corner of Humberside Ave. and Quebec Ave.
This event will be on Zoom as well as in-person.

*** Light refreshments will be served ***

George Copway c.1847 | National Portrait Gallery
WTJHS 11/02/2023 General Meeting MinutesDownload

October 5th – Vincenzo Pietropaolo

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Please join us on October 5th as Vincenzo Pietropaolo presents his latest book Toronto as Community: Fifty Years of Photographs.

Toronto as Community represents more than fifty years of photography by Vincenzo Pietropaolo, “one of Canada’s pre-eminent documentary photographers” (Canadian Geographic). The photographs are grouped around short essays that explore Pietropaolo’s particular interests and observations, often questions of social justice, which, in turn, inform the photographs themselves

This poetic portrayal of the city of Toronto documents the daily life of ordinary citizens, at work, at play, in celebration, in protest, and in mourning. The book includes images of many parks and natural areas and some of the city’s architecture. All those who participated in Vince’s exceptional photo presentation a year ago on The Stockyards Then and Now will look forward to this showing of photos from his new book.

Date & Time: October 5th, 2023 at 7 pm
Location: St. John’s Anglican Church, corner of Humberside Ave. and Quebec Ave.
This event will be on Zoom as well as in-person.

Vincenzo Pietropaolo has been a dedicated chronicler of Toronto for more than fifty years. His attachment to the city and its people is demonstrated on every page of Toronto as Community. He was a city planner with the City of Toronto for over fifteen years before turning to photography full-time. His focus lies in social documentary photography and photojournalism, and his projects have taken him to many cities around the world. Pietropaolo is an award-winning photographer and has been deemed “one of Canada’s pre-eminent documentary photographers” by Canadian Geographic Magazine. He collaborated with Jane Jacobs by providing photographs for an exhibition based on her seminal book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities. He and his partner live in Toronto, where they are avid urban farmers in their own backyard.

June 22: Special meeting with Christopher Moore: Should the British monarch remain Canada’s head of state?

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Christopher Moore leads a group discussion at an in-person meeting at St. John’s Anglican Church, corner of Humberside Ave. and Quebec Ave. at 7 pm.
This meeting is in a hybrid format with Zoom available for those who prefer not to attend in person. We would appreciate feedback after the event on whether this arrangement works for you.

Advance registration is required to participate on Zoom. Click below to go to the registration page.

Register

There will be a brief business session at the end of our meeting with Chris. Our 2022 financial statements and the minutes of or May 4th general meeting can be found below.

Queen Victoria
Queen Elizabeth II
King Charles III and Queen Camilla
Governor General Mary Simon
Christopher Moore

Chris is a long-time member of the WTJHS, a Governor-General’s Award winning writer, and a contributing editor at Canada’s History magazine. His article, “Royal Dissent,” was published in Canada’s History shortly after the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II last year.

west-toronto-junction-historical-society-financial-statements-2022Download
wtjhs-general-meeting-minutes-4-may-2023-1Download