Author Archives: scarboro

In the news: Providence Villa Healthcare celebrated 50th Anniversary

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Excerpt from www.insidetoronto.com – Published January 28, 2012.

Providence Healthcare history rooted in Scarborough’s past
Facility celebrates 50th anniversary of Providence Villa’s opening in 1962

By Danielle Milley.

This Saturday (Jan. 28, 2012) is the 50th anniversary of the ‘Caravan of Kindness’ that marked the beginning of Providence Healthcare in Scarborough.

Jan. 28, 1962 was the day the residents were moved from the original House of Providence downtown to a new building on St. Clair Avenue, between Warden and Pharmacy avenues, that was once the site of a farm used to supply the food at the House of Providence. The first House of Providence was founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph in 1857 and located on Power Street downtown; the relocation was necessary as the building was slated for demolition to make way for the expansion of the Don Valley Parkway.

During its 50 year history in Scarborough, Providence has operated under several different names, but its mission has remained the same.

It has helped thousands of people through the years including Karen Moloney. The Scarborough resident ended up at Providence after she hit her head in a fall and needed rehabilitation care. She was at The Scarborough Hospital for nearly three weeks before being transferred. She was at Providence for a month before being discharged earlier this week – she wanted to stay for some of the 50th anniversary celebrations that began on Thursday morning. “I’m really impressed with what’s going on here,” she said.

After the move to Scarborough, the House of Providence was renamed Providence Villa and Hospital to better reflect its new focus on providing residential care and rehabilitation, particularly to older adults. In 1990, the name was changed again to Providence Centre and then in 2004 the facility, which was expanded to include a long-term residence in 2000, was renamed Providence Healthcare. It offers rehabilitation, long-term care, palliative care, community programs and caregiver support.

While Moloney’s experience at Providence has been challenging, she said the staff and volunteers have helped to make it more enjoyable.

Volunteers such as Vera Newman who has been volunteering since 1998, right after she retired and found herself bored with all her free time. “I’ve been hanging around ever since,” she said. Newman is a very popular fixture at Providence where she provides some pampering to patients and residents. Every Wednesday she hosts a spa day for residents in the Cardinal Ambrozic Houses of Providence (the 288 unit long-term care residence) and on Tuesday afternoons she does spa house calls for patients in the hospital.

“These are nice people. If we can make them feel better for the last few years (of their life) we can give them dignity,” Newman said. “That’s why I do nails because if your nails look nice they’re just so happy and it makes them feel good.” She offers a range of colours from the more subtle nudes and blushes to the eye catching greens and bright red. Newman also does arm massages with cream to complete the spa experience.

Newman’s experience with Providence isn’t limited to volunteering, five years ago she hurt her hip while on vacation in Cuba and ended up at Providence for four and a half weeks. “They treated me just great,” she said. She had more visitors than most with many of the women of the Houses coming to see her. “As soon as I could I was back,” Newman said. “It’s a wonderful place, that’s why I stayed (all these years).”

Moloney has learned what a wonderful place it is over the past month. She even used the time to read about the history of the organization located right in her own community. She’s enjoyed being so close to home. “It means my husband can come twice a day and I get to see him,” she said. She added the two take a walk each night through the hospital’s Memory Lane, a hallway full of artifacts and information about Providence’s 154-year-old history, which opened late last year.

That opening was a teaser for the many celebrations that are to take place during 2012, which began with staff and employees being greeted Thursday morning with coffee and an anniversary pocket calendar and was followed by the presentation of the Living Our Values awards Thursday afternoon. The anniversary theme will be part of a summer barbecue and gala fundraiser in the fall.

In the news: Heritage designation rejected for Pollock house

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H.R. Pollock "Lakewood" house, built 1939

H.R. Pollock "Lakewood" house, built 1939.

*From www.insidetoronto.com, Jan. 18, 2012.
Also appeared in The Scarborough Mirror on Jan. 26, 2012.

By Mike Adler.

Scarborough councillors reject heritage designation for home built in 1939.
Bluffs’ home “Lakewood” built by Harvey Robert Pollock.

A man whose family built a home on the Scarborough Bluffs says an effort to designate the property historic wasn’t fair. “Realistically, the house is tired,” said Greg Pollock, whose grandfather Harvey Robert Pollock finished a large home on land west of the Bellamy Ravine and Gates Gully in 1939, told Scarborough councillors last week. “It makes the most economical sense to tear it down and start over.”

Pollock’s testimony on behalf of the men who bought the four acres – and a letter from his parents stating they don’t object to seeing new homes there – helped to sway councillors against investigating its heritage value.

In November, local councillor Gary Crawford, after hearing from another resident, introduced a Scarborough Community Council motion directing the Toronto Preservation Board to consider a heritage designation for the home, called Lakewood, at 13 Pine Ridge Dr. At the time, Crawford said he hadn’t had time to contact the property’s new owner but said “we owe the Pollock family” to get the designation process started before something happened to the house and land.

The matter was deferred, though, and last week the new owners complained seeking a designation now is unjust. “This is financially damaging to us,” said Robert Sterijevski, adding he and George Lazarevski paid $2.1 million in September for the property, intending to build homes for themselves and create a third building lot. The Pollock family accepted this, he said, and so did agencies such as the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, which regulates building on the bluffs.

Crawford acted when Jane Fairburn, who has investigated old homes along Toronto’s waterfront for an upcoming book, argued both Lakewood and the property itself have heritage significance. She repeated that position last week, adding she is not a “crusader” who looks around for houses to designate. It’s legal for citizens to come forward to defend heritage, Fairburn told councillors. “That’s called democracy. I’m not trying to inhibit anyone.” Asked why she didn’t act before the Pollocks sold the property, Fairburn said Lakewood’s fate was never “a live issue” until recently.

Greg Pollock said Fairburn talked to his father Robert about the house, but not, to his knowledge, about a designation. He added the family knew it was impractical for new owners to think of restoring the house. Asked by Crawford whether he felt there was historical significance in what his family contributed to Scarborough, Pollock said he felt honoured by the recognition, but “to me, it’s a private matter.”

Crawford later was alone in voting to ask the board to investigate adding Lakewood to its list of properties. He said he knew a designation may not be warranted, but wanted to be comfortable in saying the property is or isn’t worthy. “I want staff to give me proper advice.”

Lazarevski and Sterijevski said they were willing to preserve some parts of Lakewood, including a gothic stone fireplace Fairburn noted was once housed in the Ontario Legislature, in order perhaps to move them to an interested museum.

Councillor Paul Ainslie also suggested a historical plaque could one day be placed on the property.

In the news: Bell Estate to be restored as residential dwelling

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The Bell estate, as it appeared on Jan. 27, 2012.

* Article as printed in The Scarborough Mirror, December 8, 2011.
www.insidetoronto.com

Looking Back – By Rick Schofield

In 1828, 100 acres of land on the east side of what is now Warden Avenue, south of St. Clair, was first inhabited by Richard and John Thornbeck.

A lovely, cut fieldstone house standing one and a half storeys in height was erected about 1830 to house the Thornbeck family. The 1861 Census verifies the occupancy of the property by Richard Thornbeck, his wife, six children and his widowed mother. The four bedroom home was also equipped with a cooking fireplace and built-in bake oven in the basement kitchen stone wall.

The house and property were sold to William Bell in 1882 for $11,800 and later passed on to his son George. However, a massive fire gutted the interior shortly thereafter and the Bell family set about rebuilding the interior around the surviving, massive stone walls, which measured about two feet in thickness. To provide more headroom on the second floor, the walls were raised and the house became a full two storeys in height.

In 1931, John H. Bell and his brothers: Joseph, Robert and William established a dairy known as Bell’s Scarboro dairy, which flourished on the property until 1943 when it was sold to Donland’s Dairy. At one time, Bell’s Scarboro Dairy had their own embossed milk bottles and was one of the largest dairies serving rural Scarborough.

The farm was eventually subdivided and rezoned industrial, but even though John Bell passed away in 1954, two years after his brother Joseph. The remaining family members decided to keep the stone farmhouse and a small area of surrounding land. Ironically, the area to the south of the stone house became the Becker’s Milk plant, keeping the dairy theme for the property. However, the house was hidden from public view, surrounded by trees and behind the plant’s parking lot.

Ella and Ethel Bell, surviving spinster sisters remained in the house until they, too, passed away. Determined to have the 150 year old stone dwelling survive, Ethel Bell’s will included a clause that the building not be demolished for at least 25 years after her death (1988) and the proceeds of any sale of the property be given to charity. The house was later renovated and served as a seniors’ drop in centre for a short time.

It has recently been acquired by Stafford Homes for redevelopment of the area. Thanks to lobbying by Scarborough and Toronto Preservation groups and support from Scarborough Community Council, the house will be restored, its exterior intact, and once again serve as a dwelling.

Welcome to our new website!

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It has finally arrived…
The new official website for the Scarborough Historical Society!

* Note: Internet Explorer users must have version 9 (or newer) installed for this website to display correctly.

The Scarborough Historical Society was honoured to receive a grant this past year through the “New Horizons for Seniors Program”. Entitled ‘Scarborough’s Living Memories’ the project has resulted in many positive outcomes. Over the past year goals and activities focused around the Society’s Archives have included:

Seniors contributing skills knowledge and wisdom as part of a volunteer network
Seniors mentoring and learning from youth volunteers
Developing inter-generational relationships to increase social interaction
Development of interactive digital media to share histories, photos and artifacts
Opportunities for housebound seniors to participate in an online capacity

The development of the web 2.0 portion of the project sparked amazing participation on the interactive social media page and a welcome, user friendly interface for online users of all experience levels. There is new participation and social networking amongst seniors who are now sharing their stories and images on line with us and each other.

We would like to sincerely thank the New Horizons for Seniors Program for their generous support with our efforts to engage our local community through new levels of communication.

The New Horizons for Seniors Program (NHSP) is a federal Grants and Contributions program that supports projects led or inspired by seniors who make a difference in the lives of others and in their communities.

A few of the improvements to the S.H.S. website:

  • “Web 2.0” compliant, all items have descriptions.
  • Text Searchable: Just enter a word or two into the side panel search engine.
  • Larger “active” area than former website.
  • Clean, concise top menu bar that remains consistent throughout all pages.
  • Current events displayed on opening page with a “blog style” news page, site visitors may also post their own comments on these news items.
  • Site visitors may also subscribe to the news page through our RSS news feed, and share or send news items through their Facebook accounts.
  • ‘Scarborough Looking Back’ our Facebook page now has over 8000 users sharing history and images.
  • Community Histories are now more in depth, 20th century communities added.
  • Photo gallery previews from the Scarborough Archives collection.
  • Society Program Calendar now listed in their own menu, automatically updating.
  • “Today in Scarborough History” feature, updated daily.
  • “Members Area” page that has special document downloads for Society members.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

We hope you enjoy your new experiences here!