Events
From our great Speaker's Nights featuring experts on local and national history to specialty event programming, our goal is to entertain and educate. Here is a sample of some of the events being held in the coming months. Come join us!
NOTE: OUR SPEAKER's NIGHT SERIES IS AN EXCLUSIVE EVENT FOR MEMBERS OF THE ETOBICOKE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. TO LEARN MORE ABOUT BECOMING A MEMBER, PLEASE CLICK HERE.
NOTE: OUR SPEAKER's NIGHT SERIES IS AN EXCLUSIVE EVENT FOR MEMBERS OF THE ETOBICOKE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. TO LEARN MORE ABOUT BECOMING A MEMBER, PLEASE CLICK HERE.
Hybrid Speaker's Nights at Montgomery's Inn
Our Speaker's Nights returned to meeting in-person in the Community Room at Montgomery's Inn in February 2023. All meetings are now presented as hybrid meetings - the Speaker is present in-person at the Inn while simultaneously being broadcast live over Zoom webinar. So you can choose to either attend in-person at the Inn or stay home and join virtually online.
All EHS members will receive an email before each event with information for the option to attend online. To become a member and receive an invite, please CLICK HERE.
Our Speaker's Nights returned to meeting in-person in the Community Room at Montgomery's Inn in February 2023. All meetings are now presented as hybrid meetings - the Speaker is present in-person at the Inn while simultaneously being broadcast live over Zoom webinar. So you can choose to either attend in-person at the Inn or stay home and join virtually online.
All EHS members will receive an email before each event with information for the option to attend online. To become a member and receive an invite, please CLICK HERE.
Thursday, September 18, 2025 - Speaker's Night: The Expansion of the Toronto Post Office, 1880 to 1900.
Between 1880 and 1900, Toronto was a city on the rise, bursting with energy and expansion. As businesses flourished and neighborhoods stretched ever outward, the demand for efficient postal services skyrocketed. Toronto's First Post Office, a cornerstone of communication since the early 19th century, remained at the heart of the city's connectivity. Garfield Portch will delve into the remarkable transformation of the postal system—tracing the construction of new facilities, the innovations in mail distribution, and the vital role these changes played in shaping a thriving metropolis.
Garfield Portch is an Etobicoke-based philatelist with a deep passion for postal history, particularly the evolution of Toronto's postal system. His interest in philately began in the 1970s with a collection of Canadian postage stamps, which later developed into specialized research and exhibiting. He has been actively involved in the philatelic community, serving as the President and Chairman of the Board of Directors at the Vincent Graves Greene Philatelic Research Foundation and as a member of several prestigious philatelic organizations, including the Royal Philatelic Society of Canada and the British North America Philatelic Society. He has also presented numerous talks on Toronto's postal history, covering topics such as the city's early post offices and their expansion over time.
Location: Montgomery's Inn, 4709 Dundas St W, Etobicoke, ON M9A 1A8
Start Time: 7:30pm (Refreshments served from 7pm onward)
Between 1880 and 1900, Toronto was a city on the rise, bursting with energy and expansion. As businesses flourished and neighborhoods stretched ever outward, the demand for efficient postal services skyrocketed. Toronto's First Post Office, a cornerstone of communication since the early 19th century, remained at the heart of the city's connectivity. Garfield Portch will delve into the remarkable transformation of the postal system—tracing the construction of new facilities, the innovations in mail distribution, and the vital role these changes played in shaping a thriving metropolis.
Garfield Portch is an Etobicoke-based philatelist with a deep passion for postal history, particularly the evolution of Toronto's postal system. His interest in philately began in the 1970s with a collection of Canadian postage stamps, which later developed into specialized research and exhibiting. He has been actively involved in the philatelic community, serving as the President and Chairman of the Board of Directors at the Vincent Graves Greene Philatelic Research Foundation and as a member of several prestigious philatelic organizations, including the Royal Philatelic Society of Canada and the British North America Philatelic Society. He has also presented numerous talks on Toronto's postal history, covering topics such as the city's early post offices and their expansion over time.
Location: Montgomery's Inn, 4709 Dundas St W, Etobicoke, ON M9A 1A8
Start Time: 7:30pm (Refreshments served from 7pm onward)
Thursday, October 16, 2025 - Speaker's Night: TBA
Location: Montgomery's Inn, 4709 Dundas St W, Etobicoke, ON M9A 1A8
Start Time: 7:30pm (Refreshments served from 7pm onward)
Location: Montgomery's Inn, 4709 Dundas St W, Etobicoke, ON M9A 1A8
Start Time: 7:30pm (Refreshments served from 7pm onward)
Thursday, November 20, 2025 - Speaker's Night: The Boyd Gang: Toronto's Notorious Bank Robbers
Edwin Alonzo Boyd, born and raised in Toronto, had a problem with authority. The son of a policeman, he gave up a job driving a TTC streetcar to rob banks in the early 1950s. Caught and sent to the Don Jail, he escaped with a pair of robbers and his gang became the scourge of Canada. They pulled off Toronto’s largest bank robbery and lived a wild life on the run. Caught a second time, they escaped from the Don Jail again before they were finally brought to justice. And two gang members who killed a Toronto policeman paid the ultimate price, being hung back-to-back at the Don Jail.
Our speaker, Richard Jordan, is the Chief Historian of the Etobicoke Historical Society, and a former President of EHS and board member for many years. For seven years, Richard contributed a local history column called Heritage to the Toronto Star. His feature articles on a variety of topics have appeared in the Saturday Star and Sunday Star, as well as international history and genealogy magazines. His family history book, Beyond the Great Pine Ridge, was published in 2004 and his most recent book, Ernest D. Banting and Life in Weston 1921-1973, was published in 2022. Richard is well known for his speaking engagements with historical societies and seniors groups. He is the recipient of the Etobicoke Historical Society's 2025 Jean Hibbert Memorial Award.
Location: Montgomery's Inn, 4709 Dundas St W, Etobicoke, ON M9A 1A8
Start Time: 7:30pm (Refreshments served from 7pm onward)
Edwin Alonzo Boyd, born and raised in Toronto, had a problem with authority. The son of a policeman, he gave up a job driving a TTC streetcar to rob banks in the early 1950s. Caught and sent to the Don Jail, he escaped with a pair of robbers and his gang became the scourge of Canada. They pulled off Toronto’s largest bank robbery and lived a wild life on the run. Caught a second time, they escaped from the Don Jail again before they were finally brought to justice. And two gang members who killed a Toronto policeman paid the ultimate price, being hung back-to-back at the Don Jail.
Our speaker, Richard Jordan, is the Chief Historian of the Etobicoke Historical Society, and a former President of EHS and board member for many years. For seven years, Richard contributed a local history column called Heritage to the Toronto Star. His feature articles on a variety of topics have appeared in the Saturday Star and Sunday Star, as well as international history and genealogy magazines. His family history book, Beyond the Great Pine Ridge, was published in 2004 and his most recent book, Ernest D. Banting and Life in Weston 1921-1973, was published in 2022. Richard is well known for his speaking engagements with historical societies and seniors groups. He is the recipient of the Etobicoke Historical Society's 2025 Jean Hibbert Memorial Award.
Location: Montgomery's Inn, 4709 Dundas St W, Etobicoke, ON M9A 1A8
Start Time: 7:30pm (Refreshments served from 7pm onward)