Cottage Sketch
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A Community History Project site
Tollkeeper's Cottage Mementos
Mar.  Apr.  May  June  July  Aug.  Sept.  Oct. - Dec.
Events - 2006
March
 
Fri. Mar. 17
Irish tollkeepers, sodabread and tea at the Tollkeeper's Cottage. 5 -7 pm.
 
Sun. Mar. 19
Saint Patrick's Parade! CHP selling sodabread and tea from stand in the laneway at Yonge Street - Dress the part! 9 am-noon
 
April
Sat. Apr. 1
Spring Clean-Up. Major cleanup of park and grounds at the Tollkeeper's Cottage. 9 am. 'til done!
 
Fri. Apr. 28
Sweet Heritage at the Cottage. Sale of maple syrup & pancakes. 11 am - 2 pm
 
May
Sat. May 6 Environment Day at Wychwood Car Barns. Fundraising for the cottage. Volunteers from the tollkeeper's Cottage will be running a rummage sale and bake table, and selling historic recipes.  There will be a Bounce Tent for the children, with a small charge. All proceeds from these events will go to the Tollkeeper's Cottage, to pay the plumber so we can finish installing the floor in the addition to the Cottage.
 
Mon. May 22 Victoria Day. We'll celebrate the Tollkeeper's Queen with a display and Victorian food at the cottage.
 
7 - 29 All walking tours from May 7 - 29 have had to be cancelled due to the unavoidable absense of the head of CHP (and tour-guide supreme) for personal reasons. All the more reason to plan ahead to join us for the September tours!
 
June
Wed. June 21 National Aboriginal Day: An exhibit and information about the peoples who inhabited the region before the coming of the French explorers and later British administrators. Learn about the Toronto Purchase, villages, battles, culture. 6pm to 9pm, free.
 
Fri. June 23 Junque in June Sale of Antiques - in the laneway of Roy's Square (click for map - but it's only approximate!) (just behind the SE corner of Bloor & Yonge.
 
Sat. June 24 Junque in June Sale Continues: Previously-loved treasures donated by the public to raise funds: outdoor light fixtures, household goods of every description, skis & poles with boots, exercycle - you name it! Recycling at its best, just to raise funds! 11am - 4pm at the Tollkeeper's Cottage.
 
July
Sat. July 1 Canada Day. Come to find out what impact Confederation may have had upon life at the Tollkeeper's Cottage and its inhabitants. 4pm - 6pm, free.
 
August
Sat. Aug. 5 Food Focus Day- Elderberries. On sale are organically grown berries, pioneer recipes, baked goods made with the berries from historic recipes. This is authentic gourmet stuff! Other recipes for indigenous foods offered in this series in past years are also available. 11 am - 5 pm (or until sold out) at the Cottage.
 
Mon. Aug. 7 Simcoe Day. Celebrating Ontario's first Lieutenant Governor and his successors (one introduced each year), See the free display, and tour the restoration of the Cottage (making a contribution toward it as you are able).
 
Sat. Aug. 12 Food Focus Day- Gooseberries . Baked goods, historic recipes. 11 am - 5 pm (or until sold out) at the Cottage.
 
Sat. Aug. 19 Food Focus Day- Grapes. A Food & Drink focus. 11 am - 5 pm (or until sold out) at the Cottage.
 
Sat.- Sun
Aug. 26-27
Mississauga Pow Wow. Visit the Pow-Wow of the Mississaugas of the New Credit on their Reserve near Hagersville - our aboriginal landowners - and learn what is happening in the settlement of the Toronto Purchase. All day, Saturday & Sunday.
 
Sept.
Sat. Sep.2 Food Focus Day- Mulberries . Baked goods, historic recipes. 11 am - 5 pm (or until sold out) at the Cottage.
 
September
Walking Tours

Sundays in September. Each walking tour begins at 2 pm (EXCEPT SEPT. 10!) at The Tollkeeper's Cottage, Walking Tour#3 - with Jane Beecroft
rain  or shine, lasts 2 hours
and costs $5 per person ($18 per person for all 4 tours).
A Fundraiser for the
cottage.

Each walk builds upon information provided in an earlier walk with no repetition, so it's ideal to take the entire series if you can.

Sun. Sept. 3

Walking Tour 1. (click for pamphlet)
This walk explores the southwest corner of The Tollkeeper's Cottage area which includes:
- The Escarpment, the shoreline of Lake Iroguois that, over 10,000 years ago shrank to form the   Great Lakes;
- Davenport Road, shown on a map drawn on birchbark by Elizabeth Simcoe in 1796
extending    from Montreal to Niagara - possibly the oldest road in the world;
- Taddle Creek, the most "muscular" creek around (ask your tour guide!);
- The top part of Seaton Village (never incorporated);
- The MacNamara Farm, Market Garden, Hillcrest Racetrack, and Toronto Transportation Commission Hillcrest Yards.

Sun. Sept. 10
(START 10AM!)
 

Walking Tour 2. (click for pamphlet)
This walk explores the southeast corner of The Tollkeeper's Cottage area which includes:
- Farm lot 25, part of the amorphous area known as Seaton Village;
- Farm lots 23 and 24 which belonged to the great Baldwin family and included parts of The Annex, Yorkville and Seaton    Village.
- The Tollkeeper's Cottage, being the first building constructed in the area;
- The fascinating history of land use and later buildings in The Tollkeeper's Cottage area from the 1800's through 1970's,    including a blacksmith, Patterson (truck) Springs, the narrowest house in the City, a bakery (inlcuding George Weston and    Cawthra Mulock), George Brown College, Cooey's Machine Shop (building WW1 rifles ), a brickyard and Tarragon Theatre.

Sun. Sept. 17

Walking Tour 3. (click for pamphlet)Turtles in Wychwood Pond
This walk explores the northwest quadrant of The Tollkeeper's Cottage area which includes:
- Taddle Creek, Wychwood Park & Pond;
- Tyrrell Street, named after the Squire of Weston;
- History relating to the Davenport Street Railway;
- The Wychwood Railway Yards (1913 - 1921) and Poverty Pond;
- Bracondale, Hillcrest Park & Sir William Gage's Bon Air (1913);
- Davenport Square Park.
 

Sun. Sept. 24

Walking Tour 4. (click for pamphlet)
This walk explores the northeast quadrant of The Tollkeeper's Cottage area which includes:
- Crookshank's Lane (Bathurst St.), a dirt path from Crookshank's house....;
- Yorkville and Vaughan Plank Road;
- Hillcrest School;
- Kate Evans and the formation of Hillcrest Hospital in 1884:
- Ensign John McGill, and his small frame house (1797) called Davenport;
- The home of E.J. Lennox, who designed the old City Hall and Casa Loma;
- Casa Loma and Henry Pellatt
- The Baldwins, and Spadina;
- 1905 - Ravenswood, Ardwold, and John Craig Eaton.

 

Oct. - Dec.
Sat. Oct. 21

Food Focus Day- Apples and Pumpkins.This annual Food Focus event will be held again to celebrate Ontario's heritage apples and one of the famous 'Three Sisters' of the native peoples.  According to Siloam Orchards where we obtain our heritage apples, this year brings a bumper crop!  As before, we will bring a range of varieties, including the Northern Spy, to the Tollkeeper's Cottage, along with pie-sized or Jack-o-Lantern sized pumpkins.  There will also be some baked goods and historic recipes for sale at the same time. 11 am - 5 pm (or until sold out) at the Cottage.

Christmas Puddings
Here's an opportunity to order a Christmas pudding home-made by Dorothy Duncan using the classic recipe which she has in her book "Nothing More Comforting".  For this order period (up to November 15th only) two sizes of puddings are offered:
    small, which serves 2 or 3 people at $5; and
    medium, which serves 5 or 6 people at $10.
The puddings are very rich, and come with directions for serving, flaming, and making sauce.

Please order by calling the office at 416-515-7546. Your order may be collected and paid for on Sat. Dec. 2nd at the office, 719 Yonge St. on the second floor.  However, if you wish to obtain puddings in advance of that date, please specify your preference for a pickup date when ordering.  This is a one-time offer which may assist in preparing your Christmas festivities, but the puddings also make nice gifts.

Recipes
Variations on a Theme is the title of a booklet of collected recipes for Christmas puddings under a variety of names, collected from a wide range of sources.  The booklet is intended for gourmets and 'scratch' cooks, willing to undertake the work and time required for making a Christmas pudding. Included in the booklet are a range of recipes for making hard and other sauces for puddings.  An introduction, giving the history and evolution of the Christmas pudding, has been written by Dorothy Duncan.  The booklets will sell at $6 each, and will be available on Dec. 2nd at the office, 719 Yonge St. on the second floor, which provides sufficient time for them to be given as gifts or to prepare for Christmas 2007.

Sat, Dec. 2 Bake Sale - at the office, 719 Yonge St., 2nd floor. We will be selling plates with a variety of cookies, home made by our volunteers.  On the same day you can pick up the Christmas pudding you ordered, or buy a booklet (see item above) for planning your own Christmas pudding for next year!

   
   
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The Tollkeeper's Cottage