Ontario implemented prohibition of liquor sales via the Ontario Temperance Act in 1916. It was about as successful as such things go, which is to say, people still wanted to drink. Its repeal began in 1924 (after which weaker beer was allowed), then replaced entirely in 1927 by the creation of the LCBO.
A follow-up to Mr. Jennes's transgression appeared in the Globe five days later. Along the line, his last name lost an "e":
Fred Jenns, bartender at the Brunswick Hotel, was fined $50 and costs or 10 days for obstructing the police. Jenns held on to an officer when he entered to look for liquor. The explanation was that Jenns kept a little liquor for his own use, and that he did not mean to obstruct the police.
Globe and Mail, November 3, 1969.
A fuller account of the wedding of Henry Ford and Nora St. Jean. It wasn't the last nuptials witnessed at the Brunswick...
Globe and Mail, April 4, 1971.
Three months after their wedding, Mrs. Kalman won the title of "Mrs. Brunswick" in what was intended to be the first annual contest for the "woman with the mature figure." Among the runners-up was 78-year-old Olive Lyman, who attested her youthful looks and good skin to living "the clean life," which several bystanders swore she said with a wink. Wearing a black bathing suit, Ms. Lyman trotted out what the Globe and Mail described as her "withering soprano."
Globe and Mail, July 25, 1970.
Note that the Brunswick was the last survivor of the singalong bars mentioned in the article.
Toronto Star, March 19, 1979. Click on image for larger version.
Giving a sense of the great musicians who played the Brunswick House, especially during the 1970s and 1980s, merits another full-length article. Here's a profile on one of them (and one of my partner-in-crime's favourites), Blossom Dearie.
Among the clips of Peter Appleyard Presents floating around YouTube is this one from Dearie's performance.
Toronto Star, September 4, 1982. Click on image for larger version.
The full article on issues surrounding the Brunswick House's application for a sidewalk cafe license in 1982.
Additional material from the December 17, 1921 edition of the Globe and the July 26, 1971 edition of the Globe and Mail.
From November 2011 through July 2012 I wrote the "Past Pieces of Toronto" column for OpenFile, which explored elements of the city which no longer exist. The following was originally posted on May 20, 2012. Advertisements, (left) the Toronto Star , April 22, 1966 (right) the Globe and Mail , July 26, 1967. In an August 1967 article, the Globe and Mail ’s Blaik Kirby set the scene for anyone curious about entering one of Yorkville’s oddest coffee houses. “The Mynah Bird is a fetid room in a former Victorian home, with a tiny triangular stage behind bars in one corner. There are two other rooms in reserve if needed. You enter through a hallway, passing the piranha and the caged mynah bird after which the place is named. Hanging rushes conceal the high ceiling. The walls are red flecked wallpaper. The lights are low, with candles on each table. One of the two friendly go-go girls ushers you to a seat, and soon reappears on the stage. She is slightly plump, with lo
From November 2011 through July 2012 I wrote the "Past Pieces of Toronto" column for OpenFile , which explored elements of the city which no longer exist. I've republished all but two of those pieces on this website. Here's the first of the final pair, both of which provided good lessons for future writing. Prepare yourself for a lengthy preamble.
The December 31, 1920 edition of the Pasadena Post spotlighted (mostly) grinning photos of the paper's staff and local businessmen. Given my penchant for going down research rabbit holes related to anything quirky I stumble upon, this series will look at some of the stories behind the smiling faces. Pasadena Post, December 31, 1920 . "That ponderous body of his simply shakes." There's descriptive language you just don't see any more. From the accounts I've found, it seems William A. Haas was a classic old-time entertainment PR man, full of stories and tall tales to go along with his eternal smile. When he died in 1941, his obituary included many claims that might not hold up under scrutiny. He unsuccessfully ran for coroner (possibly in Iowa) against future president William Howard Taft. He suggested that William McKinley be promoted as the “Advance Agent of Prosperity” during the 1896 presidential campaign. He planted the idea of motion pictures in Thomas E
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