Muddy York

07/11/2024

By 1916, casualties on the western front continued to mount and the supply of army volunteers was starting to ebb. The problem was that more than 15% of the men in Toronto had already enlisted and many others were too old or infirm to fight.

06/11/2024

In 1915, the first veterans began returning home, usually due to illness or wounds. The first military hospital was set up at 35 College Street. As a result, the intersection at Yonge and College became known as Shrapnel Corners and veterans tended to congregate in this area.

06/11/2024

Throughout the war, the Exhibition Grounds became a military base called Exhibition Camp. However, the Ex was still held each year because the government felt it was good for morale. During the fair, soldiers would conduct marches, drills and bayonet charges for curious crowds.

05/11/2024

Bertram Denison is believed to be the first Torontonian to die in World War I. He was wounded in combat on August 26th and would spend more than a day lying on the battlefield before he was captured by the Germans. He would succumb to his wounds on September 15th.

05/11/2024

In commemoration of Remembrance Day, our next two episodes will tell the story of Toronto during the First World War – how the city supported the war effort, how Torontonians volunteered to fight and sometimes die overseas, and how the war changed the lives of the people who stayed behind.

This episode is about the first two and half years of the war from 1914-16. We will cover the last two years in our next episode on November 19th.

World War I was a cataclysm that fundamentally changed western civilization. Toronto was just a small piece of this massive event, but four years of war would transform the city in ways both big and small. In commemoration of Remembrance Day, our next two episodes will tell the story of Toronto duri...

04/11/2024

On this date in 1876, Mt. Pleasant Cemetery opened north of what were then the city limits of Toronto. Pianist Glenn Gould, Leafs icon Charlie Conacher and insulin co-discoverer Frederick Banting are just some of the people buried there.

03/11/2024

On this date in 1803, the Lt. Governor of Upper Canada declared that a public market was to be held in York every Saturday between 6am and 4pm. It was located between Front, King, Jarvis and West Market Streets and would eventually become St. Lawrence Market.

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02/11/2024

On this date in 1977, Toronto Reference Library officially opened near Yonge and Bloor. It had 1.2 million books on 45 km of shelving.

01/11/2024

On this date in 1946, the first game in NBA history was held at Maple Leaf Gardens between the Toronto Huskies and the New York Knickerbockers.

31/10/2024

2104 Toronto is an asteroid from the outer reaches of the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It got that name because it was first discovered at a U of T observatory.

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31/10/2024

Toronto, England is in County Durham. It got the name because a local landowner was visiting Toronto, Ontario when he learned that coal had been discovered on his land. He decided to call the coal mine Toronto and that’s where the village got its name.

30/10/2024

Nobody lives in Toronto, Indiana anymore and that’s probably a good thing because it avoids conflicted loyalties anytime the Raptors play the Pacers.

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30/10/2024

Toronto, Ohio is the only other city in the world named Toronto; other places called Toronto are towns or villages. It got the name because a local businessman came from Toronto, Ontario and said that it was “a place worth emulating.” One imagines that he didn't mean the traffic.

29/10/2024

If you come from Toronto, that usually means that you're from southern Ontario, but you could live in PEI. You could be from Indiana, Illinois or Iowa. You could live in Australia or England. You could even be from the asteroid belt between Jupiter and Mars. Yes, there a host of different places called Toronto and we’re going to talking about them on this special bonus episode of Muddy York.

If you listen to this podcast, then you probably live near Toronto. That usually means that you're from southern Ontario, but you could live in PEI. You could be from Indiana, Illinois or Iowa. You could live in Australia or England. You could even be from the asteroid belt between Jupiter and Mars....

28/10/2024

On this date in 1945, 1050 CHUM signed on the air. It was the fifth radio station in Toronto and it was only licensed to broadcast during the day. Twelve years later, it would adopt a Top 40 format and become iconic to boomers.

27/10/2024

On this date in 1856, train service began between Toronto and Montreal along the Grand Trunk Railway. A one-way fare cost $10 for first class and $8 for second class. The journey took a mere 14 hours.

26/10/2024

On this date in 1974, the new building for the Art Gallery of Ontario opened on Dundas. The AGO has undergone four major renovations since then which is why it looks so different today.

23/10/2024

On this date in 1861, ten veterans of the War of 1812 posed for a group photo at Rosedale, one of the earliest photos taken in Toronto. Unfortunately, we don't have a copy of the photo, but we do have a sketch that was made of it.