A little village right here in the outskirts of Toronto

Memories of living in the Warren Park the neighbourhood since 1955.

By Doris Dunne

I have always felt that I really was not a resident of the City - not when you live in Warren Park - it is like a little Village right here on the outskirts of Toronto - a river so close and beautiful woods right on our doorstep.

My husband Russ, our little daughter Maureen who then 2 years old and myself moved down here in the Fall of the year 1955. When I think back about how this area has grown and flourished in all it's greenery I can still hardly credit the difference of then and now.

As I am sure many of you know, this was originally a Market Garden with black top soil or loam covering the valley from one end to the other. Many of the residents were of Chinese origin.

When it was decided that homes were to be built down here I am sure it came as a shock to these people - however - as we all know there are always changes. This loam (black earth) was a very valuable asset and so before the houses were even started the bulldozers came in and took it away, leaving a barren stretch of land. There might have been an odd tree right in the centre of the valley and possibly around the outer perimeter but certainly nothing where the houses were being built.

I am going back to 1954 - a year before this building was to begin. A freak storm came up on October 15, 1954. It eventually became known as HURRICANE HAZEL I understand that the storm was originated near the Island of Grenada in the Caribbean. Northward it came through various States and by the time it reached New York state its winds had diminished but as it crossed Lake Ontario somewhere between Buffalo and Rochester, the storm collided with a massive cold front. At 11 p.m. Friday, night Oct.15th it began to rain heavily on Metro. Over the next 24 hours 7.2 inches of rain fell. It fell on land already saturated and the runoff soon turned local creeks and rivers into a raging watercourse - all feeding into the usually tranquil Humber and Don Rivers.

I have some pictures here a friend of mine took the morning after the storm. It really is hard to credit that our Humber River could look like this. There were many tragedies occurred as a result of this storm. (Old Bridge taken out)

The reason I bring this up is because of course it would have a profound effect on the housing development that had been planned for down in our valley. Certainly many corrective measures were taken all the way down the river's course and in addition the level of the land in the area was
raised up to five feet in some places.

Our home was not excavated as most are - the form of the foundation was built and then earth filled in around it. To us, anyway, it was the strangest thing we had ever seen - as the roads were being prepared - the sewers were sticking up five feet in the air;

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Most of our neighbours were first homebuyers and certainly none of us had any money to spare, but it is amazing how these plain little box-like houses have been transformed into lovely homes of which we can be proud.

Most subdivisions suffer growing pains - and pains we had! Our so-called sidewalks were made of cinders! By this time our second little girl Karen had arrived. Just try pushing a baby carriage on that.

The roads were finished in what was called Carpet Treatment. This was not what would be called a superior quality. Within a year or so, the residents voted to have proper sidewalks. As I recall it, there was a levy of approximately per house that was to be paid over a ten-year period.

There was a real problem with underground streams. Some of the houses have a double basement - one on top of the other.

The area was very stark - no trees or much greenery, but look at us now. As a community, the majority of people are very house-proud.

Over the years, we have had many changes. In the early years, we had a Shopping Plaza. A Grocery Store called the Red & White. Many of the young people had their first job there. There was a Drug Store, a Variety Store, Hairdresser and Barber as well as a Cleaners and various others that came and went. Many of these stores sponsored our Hockey and Baseball Teams. We had Sports galore with a lot of dedicated and hard-working people involved The kids were always kept busy. Magwood Park was a hive of activity. Every year the Sports Committee had a year-end Banquet with well-known SportCelebrities in attendance. To recall a few - Maurice Richard, Johnnie Bower and Bobbie Baun.

We had parades with drum majorettes and frequently in the Summer Months we had Band Concerts in Florence Gell Park in the centre of the Valley.

We were really blessed to have such a wonderful area for our kids to grow up in and how often we hear that phrase repeated by one and all.

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We had a large Brownie & Guide Pack and an extremely active Mothers' Auxiliary. We held all sorts of fund raising events.

When the Pack eventually ceased to exist the mothers felt that we had something in the way of friendship that we wanted to continue.

We re-named ourselves THE LILLIES OF THE VALLEY - appropriately named we feel. We are still about 10 in number with some returning for special events.

Our great advantage that has come to us is the bus service, which started on a part time basis in 1988. It rolls up our street at 5:30 a.m. on weekdays. Much the time I waken to the sound of it, mutter a bit but
then I rollover and go back to Sleep comforted with the thought that it is still running. Again, the credit of this service goes to the perseverance of a group of people that worked very hard for it.

The Lambton Tavern is a landmark of the community. Built back in 1850 as a Coach House. In those days of the Stage Coach, adults and children found shelter within that red brick house. Eventually it
became known as the Lambton Tavern and it ran a thriving business for many years after our community was established.

At one point the Ratepayers were attempting to obtain space to provide a Children's Clinic. The Tavern provided that space at the rear of their building. It was said that despite its normal function as a tavern, it was only fitting that the Old Coach House should provide this service to the new and expanding community.

This building still stands. The exterior has been re-furbished and the interior needs a lot of work to be done on it. The community spearheaded by the Ratepayers Association has done a lot of fund-raising in this regard. It would be a wonderful location for local events to be held - only problem is parking!

Warren Park is a great place to live and I am pleased to note that the community spirit seems to be re-surging

AS a final note - I mentioned to my daughter that I was going to talk about the Valley and she confided in me that as a little girl she always felt that she was very safe living down here. She had always heard about the Gates at Baby Point and she thought that they were closed at night to protect us. WHAT A COSY THOUGHT!!

Doris Dunne - June 19/96