Crooked Little House reunion...

Ted & Lynn Bird

10 members of the Crooked Little House, a club created by me and several of my teenage friends, from the late 1960s, got together for lunch recently at 'The Mandarin' in Newmarket.   My partner Pat and I were among the attendees.

The Crooked Little House was created from an old  concrete block chicken coup, located next to the ancient farmhouse my parents, Emerson and Muriel Wallace had purchased in the early 1960s, just north of King City.   

Back then, my friends and I had guitars, a wash-tub bass, and banjo and sang ourselves silly each night into the early hours of our folk-music early 'twenties'.  A few beers were consumed as well, I must add, as we made the  music.

Ted and Lynn Bird (pictured above), of Schomberg, were on hand for the mini-reunion at The Mandarin. Ted was one of the founding members of the Crooked Little House. 

Now, 65 years later, 10 of us got together for lunch and some reminiscences.   Not all of the original members are still around, but we remember them well.

There was only one outhouse adjoining the Crooked Little House, which the guys used.   The Gals used the washroom in my parents house.   God bless Muriel and 'Em' for their goodwill and patience.   At least my parents knew where I and my friends were most of the time, and not roaring around the backroads of King Township doing God knows what.

By way of a footnote, my younger brother Bob, with two of his high school friends used the Crooked Little House for musicmaking also.   They called themselves The King City Slickers.   Bob's two friends, Russ deCarle and Keith Glass went on to become Canadian music icons as Prairie Oyster! 

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

Shift sculpture is inaccessible...

Photo above and below by Barry Wallace

Photo above by Phyllis Vernon

Richard Serra's monumental SHIFT sculpture, southeast of King City is no longer accessible to the public. 

The work was commissioned in 1970 by art collector Roger Davidson and installed on his family property.

Shift is a close collection of six large concrete forms, each 1.5 meters high  and 20 centimetres thick, zigzagging over 4.03 hectares of former rolling farmland.

The present-day owner of the property wants to remove Shift to make way for housing.   In 2013 the Township of King voted to prepare a bylaw to designate Shift as protected under the Ontario Heritage Act, preventing its destruction or alteration.   13 years later everything is still in limbo.

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

Winterscape Mourning Doves...

 

Photos by Barry Wallace

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Barry Wallace

Kettleby winterscape...

 

Photo by Barry Wallace

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Barry Wallace

Aurora United Church?

 

                                                                    Photos by Barry Wallace

I was  on a bus passing the new Aurora United Church still under construction on  Yonge Street, in the centre of town recently.   I mentioned the unfinished construction, which has been idle for a month or so, and the bus driver said to me the the church had "run out of money".

I was surprised by his comment.   I knew money for a new church had been an issue since the old church burned down 12 years ago.   But it now seemed very close to completion and yet nothing seemed to be happening recently.   I thought the completion delay was perhaps because of the very, very cold winter weather and snow we had received so far.

Mercifully, whatever has prompted the recent construction activity delay, will be resolved quickly, and the Aurora United Church, with its impressive new  towering spire and steeple will once again be the landmark that identified Aurora for 200 years. 

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

Radial Railway - Bond Lake - Oak Ridges

The Toronto and York Radial Railway (T&YRR) Metropolitan line ran along Yonge Street through Oak Ridges, featuring a major power-generating station, repair bard, and recreational Park at Bond Lake.  Operating from the late1890s to 1930, this electric railway powered the local area, as well as hosting a popular amusement park, and connected Toronto to Lake Simcoe.

The Bond Lake Powerhouse & Park: The Metropolitan Railway purchased a farm at Bond Lake for a power line to supply the line.   It became Ontario's first "electric park", featuring a picnic pavilion, a merry-go-round, as well as  boating, that drew thousands of visitors in the early 1900s.

A branch line, the Schomberg and Aurora Railway, often called "the Annie Rooney" (see my blog of Jan. 9th) connected with the main Radial line in the Bond Lake/Oak Ridges Area.

Infrastructure legacy: The remains of the old powerhouse foundation can still be found near Bond Lake.

      Photos by Barry Wallace

PLease comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

Slabtown Armoury - new restaurant in Aurora

A gang of us from Delmanor Retirement Residence in Aurora made a first-time visit to the brand new Slabtown Armoury eatery at 89 Mosley Street in Aurora.   The large building housing the restaurant, adjoining the town park in the centre of town, was long ago the historic Aurora Armoury.

The new Slabtown Armoury is a second location of a well-known Slabtown Cidery, orchard and and eating establishment in Uxbridge, Ontario.

I had two of the six cider offerings; the Founder's Dry and the Oak Chardonnay.  Both were delicious and refreshing.   My lunch was the Mushroom Risotto, which was made up of Shitake, Oyster, Portobello Mushroom, and Parmigiano Reggiano.   It was very, very good.   I always order Risotto when I try a new restaurant, so that I can compare the same dish that I have tried at other  restaurants.    The risotto I had was as good, if not better, as any I have had elsewhere.

My partner Pat ordered the 'Bison Smash Burger', which was about 6" high, but which she said was okay.

The menu has lots of interesting selections and the entrees are very attractively presented.   Our lunch was a bit pricey, with our risotto and burger costing $28 each.    Our total lunch bill, including gratuity was $119.33.

As intimidating as the prices are, Pat and I thought we would go back for a  dinner sometime in the future.

Our server Stacy was charming and really knew her stuff.   

The premises are huge and there is lots of seating, but the interior decoration is grey and brown and white in colouring, and the overall decoration is rather drab, giving the setting an almost warehouse or factory feeling.   Some flowers or greenery might help!

Please comment 

if you wish.

Barry Wallace