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.
Announcing Hybrid Speaker's Nights for 2023 at Montgomery's Inn
Our Speaker's Nights will be returning to the Community Room at Montgomery's Inn beginning in February 2023. These will be presented as hybrid meetings - the Speaker will be presenting 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 will be returning to the Community Room at Montgomery's Inn beginning in February 2023. These will be presented as hybrid meetings - the Speaker will be presenting 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.
Image courtesy of the Town of York Historical Society
Thursday, September 21, 2023 - Speaker's Night: Toronto's Mayors from Muddy York to Mega City
Frank Nicholson will help us see the history of Toronto unfold through the careers of some of the sixty-five chief magistrates the city has had since being incorporated in 1834, including our first mayor, William Lyon Mackenzie, the leader of the Rebellion of 1837, and Mel Lastman, who oversaw the amalgamation of the city and its suburbs creating Megacity, our current city, twenty-five years ago.
Frank Nicholson earned a PhD in history with a study of the establishment of metropolitan government in London, England, during the late 19th century. Frank worked for many years in Ontario’s municipal sector, first as a senior policy advisor in the local government policy branch at the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, and then as director of government relations for a municipal managers association. Since retiring, he has focused his energies on deepening his knowledge of our city’s history and sharing it with others by leading historical walking tours for Heritage Toronto and delivering talks at several local organizations.
Location: Montgomery's Inn, 4709 Dundas St W, Etobicoke, ON M9A 1A8
Start Time: 7:30pm (Doors open at 7:00 pm)
Frank Nicholson will help us see the history of Toronto unfold through the careers of some of the sixty-five chief magistrates the city has had since being incorporated in 1834, including our first mayor, William Lyon Mackenzie, the leader of the Rebellion of 1837, and Mel Lastman, who oversaw the amalgamation of the city and its suburbs creating Megacity, our current city, twenty-five years ago.
Frank Nicholson earned a PhD in history with a study of the establishment of metropolitan government in London, England, during the late 19th century. Frank worked for many years in Ontario’s municipal sector, first as a senior policy advisor in the local government policy branch at the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, and then as director of government relations for a municipal managers association. Since retiring, he has focused his energies on deepening his knowledge of our city’s history and sharing it with others by leading historical walking tours for Heritage Toronto and delivering talks at several local organizations.
Location: Montgomery's Inn, 4709 Dundas St W, Etobicoke, ON M9A 1A8
Start Time: 7:30pm (Doors open at 7:00 pm)
Thursday, October 19, 2023 - Speaker's Night: The Don - Inmates, Guards, Governors and the Gallows
Join writer and researcher Lorna Poplak as she presents the facts behind the Don Jail’s location and construction, and shares tales about inmates, guards, governors, gangs, officials, and even a pair of ill-fated lovers whose doomed romance unfolded in the shadow of the gallows. The illustrated talk will highlight the Don’s tumultuous descent from palace to hellhole, its shuttering and lapse into decay, and its astonishing modern-day metamorphosis.
Lorna Poplak is a Toronto-based writer, editor, and researcher with a fascination for the dark side of Canadian history. She is a member of Crime Writers of Canada and Sisters in Crime. Her two nonfiction books, both published by Dundurn Press, are Drop Dead: A Horrible History of Hanging in Canada (2017), and The Don: The Story of Toronto’s Infamous Jail (2021). In 2022, The Don was shortlisted for both the Crime Writers of Canada Excellence Award and the Heritage Toronto Book Award. For more information, please visit www.lornapoplak.com.
Location: Montgomery's Inn, 4709 Dundas St W, Etobicoke, ON M9A 1A8
Start Time: 7:30pm
Join writer and researcher Lorna Poplak as she presents the facts behind the Don Jail’s location and construction, and shares tales about inmates, guards, governors, gangs, officials, and even a pair of ill-fated lovers whose doomed romance unfolded in the shadow of the gallows. The illustrated talk will highlight the Don’s tumultuous descent from palace to hellhole, its shuttering and lapse into decay, and its astonishing modern-day metamorphosis.
Lorna Poplak is a Toronto-based writer, editor, and researcher with a fascination for the dark side of Canadian history. She is a member of Crime Writers of Canada and Sisters in Crime. Her two nonfiction books, both published by Dundurn Press, are Drop Dead: A Horrible History of Hanging in Canada (2017), and The Don: The Story of Toronto’s Infamous Jail (2021). In 2022, The Don was shortlisted for both the Crime Writers of Canada Excellence Award and the Heritage Toronto Book Award. For more information, please visit www.lornapoplak.com.
Location: Montgomery's Inn, 4709 Dundas St W, Etobicoke, ON M9A 1A8
Start Time: 7:30pm
Thursday, November16, 2023 - Speaker's Night: Four Families, One Home
Undertaker William Baycroft opened the Ridley Funeral Home (then known as the W.E. Baycroft and Sons Funeral Home), in New Toronto in 1921. In 1947 it was purchased by Arthur Ridley and is today one of the oldest continually operating businesses in south Etobicoke, celebrating 100 years in 2021. From 1921 to today, Brad will talk about the history of funeral service through the eyes of Ridley Funeral Home’s history. Serving individual families and the community in times of need, Ridley’s operated an Ambulance Service until the 1960s, and has been a pillar of the community through the Depression and Second World War, Hurricane Hazel, and many other difficult times in Etobicoke’s history.
Brad Jones started working at the Ridley Funeral Home, located at Lakeshore Blvd. West and 14th Street, in June 1991 after completing his funeral service education at Humber College. On September 19th, 2013, Brad purchased Ridley’s from George Nill. Brad has served as the President of the Toronto & District Funeral Directors, Victim Services of Toronto, and Franklin Horner Community Centre, and has coached football and basketball for over 20 years. Brad is the host of Life’s Undertaking Podcast and is still actively involved in the day-to-day operations at Ridley. Brad & his wife Jody have 6 children aged 13 to 29; so far, only one of the children has joined the family business.
Location: Montgomery's Inn, 4709 Dundas St W, Etobicoke, ON M9A 1A8
Start Time: 7:30pm
Undertaker William Baycroft opened the Ridley Funeral Home (then known as the W.E. Baycroft and Sons Funeral Home), in New Toronto in 1921. In 1947 it was purchased by Arthur Ridley and is today one of the oldest continually operating businesses in south Etobicoke, celebrating 100 years in 2021. From 1921 to today, Brad will talk about the history of funeral service through the eyes of Ridley Funeral Home’s history. Serving individual families and the community in times of need, Ridley’s operated an Ambulance Service until the 1960s, and has been a pillar of the community through the Depression and Second World War, Hurricane Hazel, and many other difficult times in Etobicoke’s history.
Brad Jones started working at the Ridley Funeral Home, located at Lakeshore Blvd. West and 14th Street, in June 1991 after completing his funeral service education at Humber College. On September 19th, 2013, Brad purchased Ridley’s from George Nill. Brad has served as the President of the Toronto & District Funeral Directors, Victim Services of Toronto, and Franklin Horner Community Centre, and has coached football and basketball for over 20 years. Brad is the host of Life’s Undertaking Podcast and is still actively involved in the day-to-day operations at Ridley. Brad & his wife Jody have 6 children aged 13 to 29; so far, only one of the children has joined the family business.
Location: Montgomery's Inn, 4709 Dundas St W, Etobicoke, ON M9A 1A8
Start Time: 7:30pm