Eaton Hall ~ then and now

Cairns Photo Collection

Eaton Hall ~ south face ~  c. 1940

Photo by Barry Wallace

Eaton Hall ~ south face ~ 2012

Eaton Hall, on Dufferin Street at Eversley, in King Township, was once the country estate of the department-store Eaton family.   70 years or so after it was built, and now owned by Seneca College, it still looks very much as it did all those decades ago.   Apart from the awnings over the upper windows at the rear of Eaton Hall, the main difference is the enclosure of the  large rear terrace with a wall of glass windows.   Eaton Hall is now used as an inn and conference centre and a staffer recently described the glassed-in terrace as a "the solarium".   I have been in that space several times over the years and knew it as a lounge where I enjoyed a glass of wine with friends and colleagues.   The view, down over the lawns and across Lake Seneca (formerly Lake Jonda), is lovely, especially in summer and fall.   Pictured below is yours truly in front of the massive, outdoor fireplace /barbecue that was constructed long ago in the woods, a hundred metres or so north of Eaton Hall.    

  

Photo by Linda Wallace

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

Do these things still work?

Photo by Barry Wallace

I spot these things (above) along King Township roads all the time.  They are usually brown or pale green and many are mangled to varying degrees, like the one above.   They are some kind of a telephone-connection-thingy and I see them being worked on by Bell Canada technicians all the time, in any weather, and in any season of year.   The thing that mystifies me is that after the Bell guys have worked on these things, they always look the same, but seem to be operational.   They remain mangled, or missing there covers, or sorely misaligned or unprotected.   If they are still functional, then they are triumphs for technology.   I they are no longer functional, why aren't they hauled away?   Are there no longer spare parts for these contraptions?   I'll be the first to admit that many of my repair jobs around home look just the photo above.   Is this the new normal for land-line telephone service or are these cast-offs being passed-off as some sort of nouveau, roadside art form?   Well, this little fit of pique is over and yes I do have better things to do, so I'd better get at them.

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB             

Phil Chadwick on Tom Thomson

Tom Thomson's Thunderhead byPhil Chadwick

Thunderhead by Tom Thomson 

I happened upon former King Township resident Phil Chadwick's online site recently.   Phil is a retired Environment Canada weatherman and a remarkable plein air artist, who has moved to Singleton Lake, Ontario.   Phil is still presenting his one-man-show "Tom Thomson was a Weatherman" around and about Ontario and will be a featured speaker in Rockport, Ontario, on Feb. 25th at the Algonquin to Adirondacks Conservation Association's Annual Speakers Forum.   Phil has a gift for duplicating Tom Thomson paintings and illuminating the art from the perspective of a professional weatherman.   He is a unique, amusing, artistic and engaging communicator.   Catch him if you can.   Google Phil at The Art of Phil the Forecaster.

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB

Toronto winters - early 20th century

Toronto Bay ice boats ~ 1920

My cousin Beverley, from Bolton, sent me an email with 36 photos of Toronto winter scenes in the early 1900s.   The photos are from the City of Toronto Archives and certainly present a noticeable contrast to the winter we are experiencing in the Greater Toronto Area this year.   Some people regard these winter photos as being much more valuable than summer scenes, because there are so many fewer of them, in the archives, compared to the summer ones.   I have included 11 of the shots in this blog.

Glen Road bus ~ 1923

Casa Loma ~ 1936

Apparently a huge toboggan at Christie Pits ~ 1909

12 horse team pulling snow sweeper, circa 1890s

High Park toboggan runs ~ 1914

A propellar sled ~ Toronto Bay ~ 1912

Parking at the Old City Hall quadrangle ~ 1910 

Snowstorm on Richmond Street ~ 1929

Sleighing at Queen's Park ~ 1906

Bloor Viaduct under construction ~ 1917

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

Fallen warrior near Ansnorveldt

Photo and verse by Barry Wallace

     No more onions...no more carrots

     No more hauls to the food terminal

     On Strawberry Lane there lies a truck

     Rusting away upon the marsh muck   

Please comment if you wish.  

BtheB

Non-wintery look of Humber Trails

Photos by Barry Wallace

The East Humber River at Humber Trails Forest & Wildlife Area is open from bank to bank, during the remarkably mild winter we are experiencing.   The conservation area is on the western flank of the  hamlet of King Creek, south-east of the village of Nobleton.   The photo at top shows the only footbridge over the river at Humber Trails and immediately beside it is a natural bridge in the form of a fallen tree.   I have crossed by both methods but the tree route is highly non-recommended, especially in winter.    The photo immediately above was taken a short distance from the bridge, along one of the trails.   The fallen, moss-covered willow and the massive standing willows, with the bulbous, mossy lower trunks, give a winter-time hint of the magical notion they convey to children, in the summer when surrounded by huge ferns, that this is perhaps a place to spot a fairy or elf.
Please comment if you wish.
Barry Wallace  

New old wood barn

Photo by Barry Wallace

I recently featured some restored, traditional-style, wooden barns in this space.   Here's another very attractive restoration on the west side of the 11th Concession of King Township, a couple of kilometres north of Cold Creek Conservation area.   This horse farm features grand-looking, eye-popping new barns, but the one above seems to timelessly anchor the whole operation to the ground on which it stands.

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace