My Memories of Humber Bay
by Elsa-Ann Pickard (Sachau)

My sisters Greta, Elizabeth and I attended Humber Bay Public School on High St. As the Lakeshore was separated from the village of Humber Bay by the C.N. railway tracks and later by the Queen Elizabeth Highway, the children of families living on the Lakeshore, experienced a much different childhood from their schoolmates.

My earliest memories of growing up in Humber Bay are quite naturally the ones that were unique to living on the Lakeshore. To me the lake was like a living thing, it's moods were a part of my life. The two extremes of weather that controlled the water's temperament moulded our lifestyle.

In winter the east winds brought the waves crashing against the shore, freering and crashing over and over again, until the shorelines resembled an arctic landscape of craters and craggy outcroppings that we called "igloos".  Many winters in the 1930s and 40s the lake would freeze for a hundred yards
and more into a solid, though somewhat bumpy, sheet of ice, creating a natural skating rink that ran from the Mimico Creek to the Humber River. Skating on the lake was one of the few activities that broke the feeling of isolation for children growing up on the waterfront in winter.

The properties along Lakeshore Rd. were not like house lots on other streets.  Friends were not "just next door" and it was a long cold walk to visit a playmate.  Before we were old enough to go to school we did not venture off our own property.  At the end of a school day, the dark, cold,
and the distance kept us isolated in our own mile long community.

In summer, the water's edge was like a magnet to the curious minds of children.  There were treasures of coloured glass to be unearthed among the stones and pebbles worn smooth by the water and driftwood that could become a walking stick, a snake, or a gun depending on the game being played.
Seaweed and dead fish added a realistic aroma to the "playhouse meals" that were served on flat stone plates along with mud pies from the clay bank.

Not surprising, we were all avid swimmers at an early age, and it was not unusual to see the local kids swimming on the May 24th weekend.

Our backyard was one of the most popular for it provided a variety of activities in it's role as the local swimming hole. The marine railway that provided the launching slip for my father's boats, made a natural diving platform, and we had one of the few really safe boats for youngsters to play in.  It was a flat bottomed, flat ended punt that was great for diving from.

I remember summer evenings fondly, hearing the dance music from the Palace Pier or carnival music from Sunnyside drifting across Humber Bay. The exploding sky that lit up the city skyline as the C.N.E. fireworks said good-bye to summer.  The smell of a campfire as families roasted marshmallows and corn on the cob, and the splash of swimmers trying to beat the oppressive heat.

Several of the Lakeshore properties had "cabins" on them as early as 1936. Families operated motels during the 40s and 50s and as children reached their teens, were expected to help with the chores.  The peak was Exhibition time when the NO VACANCY signs were lit by noon.  Then we all knew that summer was really over.