The Ontario Historical Society

Riverdale Historical Society (Virtual): Modest Hopes: Homes and Stories of Toronto's Workers by Leslie Valpy
2022-11-29 18:30 (America/Toronto) | online
RHS welcomes Leslie Valpy, a heritage conservationist practitioner and Don Loucks, a Heritage Architect, to speak about their recent book, “Modest Hopes, Homes and Stories of Toronto’s workers from the 1820s to the 1920s”, which celebrates Toronto’s built heritage of row houses, semis, and cottages and the people who lived in them.
Toronto’s workers’ cottages are often characterized as being small, cramped, poorly built, and in need of modernization or even demolition. But for the workers and their families who originally lived in them from the 1820s to the 1920s, these houses were far from modest. Many had been driven off their ancestral farms or had left the crowded conditions of tenements in their home cities abroad. Once in Toronto, many lived in unsanitary conditions in makeshift shanty-towns or cramped shared houses in downtown neighbourhoods such as The Ward. To then move to a self-contained cottage or rowhouse was the result of an unimaginably strong hope for the future and a commitment to family life.
Note: this is a Zoom presentation. If you are not on our mail list, send us your request via the “Contact RHS” page.

Riverdale Historical Society (Virtual): The 1852 Agricultural Exhibition and the Agricultural Association of Upper Canada with Ross Fair
2022-10-25 18:30 | online
“Toronto was all bustle and excitement”: The 1852 Agricultural Exhibition and the Agricultural Association of Upper Canada
Another year’s Canadian National Exhibition has come and gone. But when did exhibitions become an annual tradition and who first organized them? To answer these questions, the talk will centre on the Agricultural Association of Upper Canada (founded 1846) and its 1852 Provincial Agricultural Exhibition, hosted in Toronto. Susanna Moodie was so impressed by the show that she wrote a chapter about it. But a successful exhibition was just one of the association’s ambitions that year and, at the event, the provincial government made a major announcement that has shaped government support of agriculture in Ontario ever since.
Dr. Ross Fair teaches in the Department of History at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University). His study of agricultural societies, Improving Upper Canada: Agricultural Leadership and State Formation, 1791-1853, will be published soon. He is currently writing a book on the failed attempts to encourage hemp cultivation in Upper and Lower Canada.
Tuesday, October 25, 2022
At 6:30 p.m.
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83409291542
Meeting ID: 834 0929 1542
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+1 647 558 0588 Canada
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Riverdale Historical Society (Virtual): Technology, Crisis, and Toronto's Postal Slogans
2022-09-27 18:30 | online
Join the RHS as we present our September speaker on zoom, Robert O’Dell III. Mr. O’Dell, a historian of technology, labour and business, joins us from Bloomington, Indiana, USA, and will speak about the local, national and international history and origins of government postal propaganda during the Gilded Age and Progressive Era.
Tuesday, September 27, 2022
At 6:30 p.m.
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84006186316
Meeting ID: 840 0618 6316
One tap mobile
+1 647 558 0588 Canada
If you are not on our mail list send us a note via the ‘Contact Us’ page (link here).

Riverdale Historical Society (Virtual): Reconciliation: Is it what you thought? With Dr. Cindy Blackstock
2022-05-31 18:30 | online
An in depth look at inequality, mythology, discrimination and action. The importance of history and learning while working toward reconciliation with tie-ins to work that the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society has done to highlight Dr. Bryce’s legacy, as 2022 will be the 100th anniversary of the publication of “A National Crime.”
A member of the Gitxsan First Nation, Cindy is honoured to serve as the Executive Director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society and a professor at McGill University’s School of Social Work. She has over 30 years of experience working in child welfare and Indigenous children’s rights and has published more than 75 articles on topics relating to reconciliation, Indigenous theory, First Nations child welfare and human rights. Cindy was honoured to work with First Nations colleagues on a successful human rights challenge to Canada’s inequitable provision of child and family services and failure to implement Jordan’s Principle. This hard-fought litigation has resulted in hundreds of thousands of services being provided to First Nations children, youth and families.
She recently served on the Pan American Health Commission on Health Equity and Inequity and fundamentally believes that culturally-based equity is fundamental to meaningful reconciliation. Cindy is frequently sighted in the company of the Caring Society’s reconciliation Am-bear-rister, Spirit Bear, engaging children in meaningful actions to implement the TRC Calls to Action. For more information on the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society (link here).
If you are not on our mail list send us a note via the ‘Contact Us’ page (link here).

Riverdale Historical Society (Virtual): The Discovery of Insulin by John Lorinc
2022-04-26 18:30 | online
The RHS is pleased to welcome back John Lorinc – well known Toronto journalist, editor, historian and author. His presentation this month will feature the historic discovery of Insulin in 1921, one of the most mythologized and consequential stories of Canadian medical science.
John Lorinc is a Toronto journalist and editor. He writes about urban affairs, business, clean tech and local history for a range of publications, including Spacing, the Globe and Mail, and Canada’s History Magazine. He is also the senior editor with Defining Moments Canada, which featured extensive writing about Insulin at 100: https://definingmomentscanada.ca/insulin100/.
Please join us on April 29 for a memorable evening!
If you are not on our mail list send us a note via the ‘Contact Us’ page (link here).

Riverdale Historical Society (Virtual): Toronto City of Commerce 1800-1960 by Katherine Taylor
2022-03-29 18:30 | online
Author Katherine Taylor will share the stories of early Toronto businesses and products – some famous, some forgotten – and the ways in which they helped shape the city we know today.
Katherine Taylor will share the stories of some early Toronto businesses and products – some famous, some forgotten – and the ways in which they helped shape the city we know today.
Visit Katherine Taylor’s website One Gal’s Toronto.
If you are not on our mail list send us a note via the ‘Contact Us’ page (link here)

Riverdale Historical Society (Virtual): Massey Hall by David McPherson
2022-02-22 18:30 | online
Massey Hall : Listen to the fascinating story of Canada’s most revered concert hall and the myriad artists who have graced its stage.
Known for its intimacy and sense of occasion, a night at Toronto’s Massey Hall is magical for both audiences and performers. For many musicians, playing the hall is the surest sign that they have made it. Looking out over the crowd, performers often comment that they feel they have joined history as they stand on the stage where Sarah Vaughan, Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, and so many other legends have stood.
Author David McPherson is a Waterloo, Ontario-based author, freelance writer, and communications consultant. Ever since attending his first rock concert in 1989 (The Who) and buying his first LP (Freeze Frame by The J. Geils Band), music has become “the elixir of his life.” With more than 18,000 songs on my iPod, and an ever-growing vintage vinyl collection, it’s a joy to discover new music; he loves sharing these discoveries with his wife and two children.
After watching his first show [The Old 97s] at the Horseshoe Tavern more than twenty years ago, he was in love with this iconic venue. David’s first book: The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern: A Complete History was published in 2017 by Dundurn Press. His latest book – Massey Hall – was published in November 2021.
For more info on David McPherson visit http://davidmcpherson.ca/.
Note: you must be on the RHS mailing list to receive the Zoom link.
If you are not on our mail list send us a note via the ‘Contact Us’ page (link here)

Riverdale Historical Society (Virtual): Innovation in its Time: The World’s First Typewriter
2022-01-25 18:30 | online
Tuesday, January 25, 2022
Featuring the Martin Howard Collection of Antique Typewriters
The story of the typewriter touches everyone, from youngsters who have never seen a typewriter and are unaware that J.K. Rowling typed the first Harry Potter book on one, to those who will never use a computer. Today’s keyboard in its various forms is a tool that represents our means of personal communication in this technological age.
Meet Martin Howard, Toronto collector, historian, and repairman, who for more than a quarter of a century has been building a unique collection of the world’s earliest typewriters. Sharing his passion with others, his array of early 19 century typewriters has been exhibited at numerous locations including the Royal Ontario Museum and featured in the award-winning documentary California Typewriter (starring Tom Hanks, typewriter enthusiast).
For more on Martin Howard’s collection and services link here. Toronto Star, Oct 10, 2021 article link.
Note: you must be on the RHS mailing list to receive the Zoom link.
If you are not on our mail list send us a note via the ‘Contact Us’ page (link here)

Riverdale Historical Society (Virtual): Men o’ the North: The Most Talked About Hockey Outfit in the World by Stephen Smith
2021-11-30 18:30 | online
Tuesday, November 30, 2021:
Today’s NHL teams regularly celebrate the service and sacrifices of military men and women. Armored cars invade pre-game ice, players take warm-ups in camo. But the hockey’s top league has never seen anything like the episode that unfolded in Toronto in the turbulent years of the First World War when in 1916, an active Canadian Army infantry battalion on its way to the front took the ice to compete in a pre-NHL league with the world-champion Montreal Canadiens and other well-established teams.
Early in 1916, as more and more young men enlisted in the Canadian Army, one Northern Ontario unit began to accumulate some of the country’s finest hockey talent at its training depot. George McNamara, Goldie Prodgers, Duke Keats, Percy LeSueur were among the recruits, several of whom would later ascend to the Hockey Hall of Fame.
The fact that the battalion applied to and was accepted as a franchise in the National Hockey Association wasn’t, perhaps, so great a surprise in a country consumed by the winter game — and where, indeed, some considered hockey to be a perfect preparation for soldiers headed for combat. The team prospered on the ice for as long as they played there — they only lasted halfway through the season, as it turned out, when the Army decided that the battlefield was more of priority than a championship.
Hockey historian Stephen Smith’s telling of the vivid story of the khaki-clad team illuminates a lesser-known aspect of Toronto’s wartime (and hockey) history and reflects on the relationship, then and now, between sport and war.
Stephen Smith is a writer in Toronto, a sometime contributor to The New York Times, The Globe and Mail, and Canadian Geographic. He’s author of the book Puckstruck: Distracted, Delighted and Distressed by Canada’s Hockey Obsession (2014), and steers a blog at puckstruck.com that keeps an eye on hockey history and culture. He shoots left.
Note: you must be on the RHS mailing list to receive the Zoom link.
If you are not on our mail list send us a note via the ‘Contact Us’ page (link here)

Riverdale Historical Society: The Don Inmates, Guards, Governors, and Gallows by Lorna Poplak
2021-09-28 18:30 | online
Tuesday, September 28, 2021:
Join Lorna Poplak as she reveals the facts behind the Don Jail’s location and construction, and shares tales about inmates, guards, governors, gangs, officials, and even a pair of star-crossed lovers whose doomed romance unfolded in the shadow of the gallows. Listen to the saga of the Don’s tumultuous descent from palace to hellhole, its shuttering and lapse into decay, and its astonishing modern-day metamorphosis.
Lorna Poplak is a Toronto-based writer, editor, and researcher drawn to the people and stories behind the facts of Canadian history. With a background in law, literature, information technology, and technical communications, Lorna has written medical and scientific articles, travel pieces, children’s literature, blog posts, and a radio play. Lorna is a member of Crime Writers of Canada and Sisters in Crime. She has had two non-fiction books published by Dundurn Press: Drop Dead: A Horrible History of Hanging in Canada in July 2017, and The Don: The Story of Toronto’s Infamous Jail in January 2021.
For more info link here: THE DON
Note: you must be on the RHS mailing list to receive the Zoom link.
If you are not on our mail list send us a note via the ‘Contact Us’ page (link here)

Riverdale: A History Through Maps by Bob Georgiou
2019-11-26 18:30 | St. Matthew’s Clubhouse, 450 Broadview Ave., Toronto, ON, M4K 2N1, Canada
Bob Georgiou is a local historian from Scarborough. His interests lie in tracking the geographic and societal changes within Toronto’s history. His writings have appeared on his own website Scenes From A City, as well as Spacing Magazine and the York Pioneer Journal. He also explores his many curiosities on his social media sites.
Free to Riverdale Historical Society members or $5 at the door
