Retro Toronto Thread for Nostalgia Purposes.
- Thread starter black booty lover
- Start date
I have a lot of memories of "rally racing" around the dirt roads north of Steeles and East towards where the zoo is.
Not sure if there are any old-time rugby players out there but anybody remember how long it used to take to get to Fletcher's Fields? When the club consortium bought that land it was truly out in the boonies and took over an hour to get to from eg: Yonge/York Mills. My eldest daughter played club rugby and now it's all subdivision almost up to Fletchers and only takes maybe 30 minutes to get to along the 404. The clubs are sitting on a goldmine, having purchased the land (big enough for 6 fields and parking) in the early 60's for about $12,000.
I had the hots for the Spoon's bass player. She didn't really know how to play bass very well but was super-cute eye-candy. It's really funny to look back at those '80's hairstyles. Don't know what it is about female bass players. I also had the hots for Tina Weymouth - of course, she could play.
Sandy Horne is competent in her band role but could benefit from a session or two with a vocal coach.
It's still good. Believe it or not, Alan Cross has started a gig as the imaging voice for Q107
Speaking of local musical talent - anybody remember "Lawrence Gowan"? Started out forming the band: "Rhinegold" which was kind of a Yes/ELP inspired prog-rock band. Solo career as more dramatic and theatrical "Gowan", briefly re-invented himself as country singer "Larry Gowan" during the country music craze (eg: "Guns and God"), was a member of Styx. Not sure what he's up to now? Talented musician but he always struck me as Toronto's own version of "Spinal Tap" - always morphing to follow whatever the musical trend of the day was.
Another great Toronto band from the mid-80's: The Pursuit of Happiness. "I'm an Adult Now" was probably their most well known song along with "Cigarette Dangles". Moe Berg continues to produce but I don't think he plays in a band anymore. This video gives a good look at Downtown Toronto and Queen West circa 1980's. Great lyrics in this song.
LOL. I remember when Don Mills south of York Mills Road was the E.P. Taylor stud farm. I went cutting through the fields one night when I was about 13 and got chased down by a herd of thoroughbreds. I honestly thought that I was dead and I turned to face my fate. They broke away and veered to my side. I was hyper ventilating with fear for the next 15 minutes! Never cut through fields with livestock in them since that time.
I had no idea there was a ski club located there. I have friends who grew up in the city and they told me there was always snow in the winter and they would go sledding.Here's another blast from the past: Don Valley Ski Center.
This was a 120 ft vertical (at most) ski hill at on the South East of where Lawrence Ave and the DVP cross. It was run by the Miller Construction company during the winter and had lights so you could ski until 10 pm every night except Sunday. It had a very short, slow ropetow beginners hill and then Hills 2, 3, and 4. 4 was the general recreational ski hill served by a Poma lift and 2 and 3 were slightly steeper served by a high speed rope tow. Most people had heavy duty leather glove protectors to use the high speed rope (which would shred regular gloves) and if you timed your release properly at the top - you actually got air as you let go.
Believe it or not, this little hill saw at least 3 National team level skiers who were weekday regulars when they were kids at various times: Paul Carson, and later the Podborski Brothers (Craig and Steve). Also Rob Safrata who eventually skied on the 1976 Olympic team. Lot's of development team racers too over the years. I was a few years behind these guys but used to go there several night a week when I was in Junior High just to train - I could walk there from school then my Dad would pick me up later. There would usually be at least one 4 or 5 gate course (bamboo gates back then) on Hill #3, and you could literally go non-stop without pausing - by skiing the course, grabbing the rope-tow and shooting to the top to do it again. Always a lot of fun and actually pretty good training. Don Valley had a very competitive ski team in the Southern Ontario Division at one time. Even if you skied for another club, it was a great place to go after school to get some gate time. It had early snowmaking too, but pumped water out of the river - so it often stank. The other memory was the old lift operator for the Poma lift - always a semi-drunk running commentary about all the people falling off the lift that that was hilarious. If the rope tow wasn't working - my friends and I would always just ski above this guy and grab a spare Poma on our own - to much swearing from the lift operator.
I think it closed in the late '70s. You can still see the vestiges of the hill if you drive East along Lawrence or North along the DVP. The entrance is often used as a radar location to catch speeders on Lawrence.
Below is a video on You Tube.
Did anybody go to Frank Vetere's Pizza? North east corner of Yonge and Carlton. I think that it was the first "deep-dish" pizza place in the city.
I used to go there before Leafs games at the Gardens. That is when a middle class person could still afford to go to a game.
I used to go there before Leafs games at the Gardens. That is when a middle class person could still afford to go to a game.
Anyone remember the "Pick'n Chick'n" on the Lake Shore Blvd just before the string of motels that stretched all the way near Etobicoke?
Wow - great find!! That brings back a lot of memories. To date that film - from the beginning vantage point, it must pre-date the construction of the Don Valley Parkway. So I would guess early '60's (before my time skiing there). Yes - there always seemed to be snow in the winters.
Now that you've seen the video, imagine that this little hill saw at least 4 Olympians including one World Cup Downhill Champion. (the Podborski's raced out of Craigleith but during the week when they were kids - they often skied at Don Valley). Paul Carson was older and skied on the 1968 Olympic team.
The other thing that was fun here was after the lifts closed for the year but there was still snow on the hill. My friends and I would take shovels and build massive jumps and attempt all sorts of stupidity until we were chased off (and the jumps destroyed).
Great thread. I too loved the Gloucestor car when the lights flickered. As a kid, it was amazing. The sound, the feel, the rumble. I could have sworn the windows opened too. Can anybody confirm?
Don’t know if you could open the windows on those, but you for sure could on the old street cars.
I used to watch sitting on the couch. I wonder if there were any guys who actually worked out while watching? I’m guessing maybe zero, unless you count getting a stiffie as exercise... lol!
Here’s a link to the models. My fav was Nicole. I used to love how by the end they were a little sweaty and doing the pursed lips breathing thing or when they were doing the cool down stretches with the upper body movement like they were being thrust into slowly from behind... Would have given my left nut for a horizontal workout session with Nicole!
http://www.angelfire.com/tv2/eccentric/20whos.htm
Nicole was my favourite also, totally sexy!, she had that cute girly-girl voice also!
side trivia: Bess Motta was killed by Arnold Schwarzneegger in "The Terminator"
The original Licks was in the Beaches, just east of Woodbine. It's gone now, another condo victim.
Only saw Peter Murphy ( ex-frontman of Bauhaus) perform there. Anyone remember the Morrisey for their inexpensive malted beverages?
Then there was Mr Greenjeans at the Eaton Center or Ginsberg & Wong ( across from AGO )
