Beth Nealson is rightfully celebrated as Leaside’s first female mayor. But she wasn’t the first woman elected to local office in Leaside. That achievement belonged to an independent and unconventional woman named Lenore Sibbald. Here’s …more
Remembering Ernest A. Wilson: Leaside’s World War I overseas fatality When World War I began in 1914, Leaside was sparsely populated and almost totally rural, so the number of young men who enlisted from the …more
Many readers of Leaside Life know Jane Pitfield’s excellent history, Leaside (1999). The book’s cover shows a painting of William Lea’s iconic and historic octagon house, after which Leaside is named, and which burned down …more
This photo at right shows the groundbreaking ceremony for Leaside High School. The much-anticipated event took place on May 30, 1946. Leasiders had long desired their own high school. For years, local teenagers had been …more
I loved the 1966 photo in last month’s Leaside Life showing three-year-old Mitch Bubulj at the old Trace Manes wading pool. It triggered fond memories of when I would take my daughter, Maddy, there 20 …more
Three years ago, I wrote how Leaside’s Research Enterprises Ltd. (REL) helped defeat Hitler and fascism by becoming one of the largest producers of radar equipment for the Allied war effort [“How Leaside helped win …more
“You couldn’t live and work in Leaside in Toronto in the 1950s and ’60s and not know [Holocaust] survivors.” —Former Employment Minister Jason Kenney, on Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s boyhood in Leaside and his hatred …more
Recent tariff actions by the U.S. government have triggered a wave of national pride among Canadians. Similar outpourings of patriotism occurred during World War II and following Canada’s victory in the Canada-Russia hockey series of …more
On the night of Nov. 3, 1919, a taxi driver named John Rowland (a.k.a. Rolland) was parked at Union Station when a man entered his cab and asked to be driven to Leaside. Within hours, …more
Many successful people have lived in Leaside over the years. I’ve written about some of them in Leaside Life. But this is the first time I’ve written about a successful Leasider who also happened to …more
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