happy birthday toronto

spaminator

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 26, 2009
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Celebrating Toronto's birthday

By Mike Filey
First posted: Saturday, March 05, 2016 03:16 PM EST | Updated: Saturday, March 05, 2016 04:03 PM EST
Sunday marks the 182nd anniversary of the very day back in 1834 that the Legislature of the Province of Upper Canada (after 1867 the Province of Ontario) passed 4th Wm IV, Chap. 23 being an act to extend the limits of the Town of York; to erect the said town into a city and to incorporate it under the name of the City of Toronto.
Now with the legislated ability to run the community under financial rules afforded to cities, Toronto could now institute methods by which it could raise money to pay for infrastructure improvements (sidewalks, sewers, roads, etc. sound familiar?) — actions that were heretofore impossible as a town. First on the list was the implementation of something called property tax. And so the story begins. Next came Toronto’s first municipal election day, when the first representatives were voted into office. That date was March 27, 1834, at which time William Lyon Mackenzie was elected as Toronto’s first mayor.
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As the years went by, the special anniversaries of the creation of the City of Toronto were held in different ways and with differing amounts of enthusiasm. Both 1884 (50th) and 1934 (100th) featured parades, concerts and in each case books that should be in the library of any fan of Toronto’s history. The 150th anniversary, dubbed Sesquicentennial Year, saw the publication of Edith Firth’s Toronto in Art, a collection of more than 100 drawings and paintings each of which featured Toronto scenes. The TTC covered one of its venerable PCC streetcars in Toronto’s sesquicentennial logos. There were many neighbourhood and school activities, far too many to squeeze into this column. And to top it off, a mascot was selected. With a costume provided by Canada’s Wonderland, Sesqui the Squirrel (a.k.a. Russ Horner) brought the Toronto story to thousands of school children, citizens and visitors.
Russ recently provided me with this heretofore untold story that took place the day Sesqui returned to the wilds of High Park after a busy year. Russ ... er Sesqui, had sewn five $20 bills in the tail of one of the two plush toy squirrels he/she threw into the large crowd that had gathered at High Park to wish him/her farewell.
The plush squirrel with the money had a note attached asking that the recipient make good use of this anniversary gift. “Use it for good,” Sesqui had written. Not long after, a lady contacted the Sesqui office saying she got the Sesqui with the note, but there was no money in his/her tail. Russ is pretty sure that somewhere in this great city someone has a Sesqui souvenir squirrel and has no idea there’s a 100 bucks in his/her tail.
Happy Anniversary Toronto.
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For more fascinating stories from Toronto’s past, listen to Mike Filey’s Toronto every Saturday and Sunday at 12:30 p.m. on Zoomer radio am740 and 96.7 FM. Many of Mike’s Toronto Sun columns have been collected in the 12 volumes of his “Toronto Sketches” (Dundurn Press).
Celebrating Toronto's birthday | Mike Filey's The Way We Were | Toronto & GTA |
 

Curious Cdn

Hall of Fame Member
Feb 22, 2015
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This year's furry mascot, "Rocky Racoon" will be seen all over Toronto during the celebration perched on an unside-down trash can.
 

Curious Cdn

Hall of Fame Member
Feb 22, 2015
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Notice that the first mayor was a revolutionary. Toronto got really dull, right after that.
 

Curious Cdn

Hall of Fame Member
Feb 22, 2015
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Toronto is a really nice city. Certainly earns its place as number four in North America and then some.

As world cities go, it is an understated place. Westerners might not believe it but Toronto is a quiet mouse of a place compared to other cities in its size bracket.