WHEW!!!
I joined in January but have been lurking since then. I have been in the “Then and Now” thread for over three months, sometimes for three to four hours a night to get caught up.
I am amazed at the knowledge, resourcefulness and pure research skills you all demonstrate here.
I am so glad I found this site! Thank you all. It brings back fond memories of growing up in TO
I am a born and bred Torontonian. I was born at East General but my family quickly moved to the Junction area. I went to Annette Public School, then Humberside Collegiate, then U of T.
We lived on Aziel St. from 1950 to 1967 and I have very pleasant memories of walking to school on Annette Street (nice to see the Sunnybar is still there) and then along Humberside Ave. to HCI. We hated the St. Cecelia’s kids with a passion!
We played on the street till the lights came on during the week and Saturdays were usually biking to High Park (making forts) or riding across the city into Scarborough (we called it Scarberia!)
In the winter we took the TTC wherever we wished to go (no fears from our parents, they never knew how far afield we went!!)
We rode across the city on the Bloor line and when the subway opened well.... we were in heaven!
Centre Island was a great place to visit while listening to “Summer in the City’ by the ‘Lovin’ Spoonfull’ at full blast (early boom boxes!)
When we were out for a ride with my Dad, we would always stop at the “Rondun Tavern” on Roncesvalles where he had a beer or two (?) and we got a Tootsie Roll for sitting in the car and being “good” – would surely be frowned upon now!!
Any body got any pics of the Rondun or “Minnies Pool???? This was a private swimming pool open to the public just north of Bloor St, west of High Park Ave. in the Gothic, Quebec, Bloor, Parkview Gardens block (IIRC, it was the early 50's!) The pool was lost when the subway went through. The owner Minnie (?) would throw all the day’s change into the pool at the end of the day and all the kids would dive in for the money – pandemonium followed!!!
Again, “thanks for the memories” (and pics). I will continue to look in faithfully and will add a story once in a while of growing up in the best city in the world.
John Kanakos, now in London Ontario (but my Mom still lives in Etobicoke!))
Born at Grace Hospital (the one at Church and Bloor; it's still there). Raised in North Toronto on Albertus Avenue. Schools: John Fisher, Glenview and Northern Secondary. Then York. Nothing left of the haunts in any of my old neighbourhoods - restaurants, our church on Chestnut across the street from the Armoury and such hangouts all gone. 
