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CCRA PRESIDENT Gay Cowbourne: September 1999
In July I went to England for the first time in almost ten years and I travelled around the country visiting friends and family. One of the places I went to was the tiny village of Stone-in-Oxney in Kent. "Stone", as the locals call it, has a small, medieval church which proudly displays beautiful stained glass windows, ancient wooden pews and a font of Roman origin. Quite recently, the diocese decided that the church was too small and insignificant to be kept open. It was to be closed, sold off and perhaps demolished. The people of the village were outraged and launched a very successful campaign to save something that was important to them. I also visited my hometown of Liverpool which became famous as the home of The Beatles. For years, people from all over the world have come to Liverpool to visit The Cavern club where the Beatles began their illustrious career. Every day tourists arrive in Matthew Street and are astonished to find that The Cavern club was unceremoniously torn down some years ago. I asked several Liverpuddlians why it was demolished and their answers were all pretty much the same. "Because nobody cared enough to try and save it." In Stone, the people cared and were prepared to work together to save something that was important to their community. In Liverpool, The Cavern was torn down because people didn't care. This year, the Centennial community has reached a milestone - the fiftieth anniversary of our community association. For 50 years Centennial residents have cared enough to work together to make this a place that we are all proud to call home. Admittedly, we don't have a medieval church or a Cavern club, but we do have several beautiful parks, a community centre, safe streets, kids activities, many sports teams and a real sense of community. For fifty years volunteers have worked with local politicians, City staff, Metro Police, sports teams, kids' groups and other organizations. They have organized dances, kids' events, parades and parties to keep the community spirit alive and vibrant. The City of Toronto is creating a unique 50th anniversary award for the CCRA, to recognize its long standing and special contributions to the community. Indeed, we are fortunate to have people who have cared, who do care, and who will continue to care and work together to preserve this very special neighbourhood.
Special thanks to Joan Gruchy who, together with Parks and Recreation staff, organized this series of three concerts. The weather was wonderful and the music was great. There was no admission charge, but where was the audience? Each concert had approximately 60 people in a space which could hold several hundred. Those of us who were there had a great time - those of you who were not there really missed out on some good music in a very pleasant setting. William Alexander Dempsey Ecopark The new park was officially opened on Saturday June 12, 1999. The sun shone, the band played, the cake was huge and everyone had a good time. The CCRA is delighted that Bill Dempsey has been honoured in this way and we all know how much he deserves it. Well done Bill! The Centennial community is proud of you. Membership Campaign The money is still coming in and Marilyn Hodge has excelled in reorganizing the whole campaign. Thanks Marilyn for what promises to be a bumper year. The CCRA Website Andy Bowers, our Webmaster, has been updating the web site on an ongoing basis throughout the summer and getting rave reviews. The address is: http://ccra.idirect.com If you haven't visited us yet, you don't know what you are missing! Manson Demolition Plans are underway for the imminent demolition of the vacant Manson factory and the clean up the surrounding land. (See Planning Report for details.) The CCRA is, and always has been, committed to the health and safety of the community during this project. We are meeting with all of the parties concerned and will accept nothing less than guarantees that the asbestos removal will be safe for us all. The City will be sending out regular newsletters to update the neighbourhood as the work progresses. The CCRA is working with City staff to ensure that the newsletters will adequately reflect the current situation. Special thanks to Liz Bowers, the Planning Chair who has continued to monitor this project throughout the summer months. Thanks also to Mike White and Joe Pileggi who, with Liz Bowers and myself, have spent many hot summer evenings in meetings with City staff, Penfund and the other parties involved in this project. All Candidates Meeting. On September 9, the CCRA will co-host an All Candidates Meeting at the Port Union Community Centre. The Municipal by-election is because of the death of Councillor Frank Faubert. His dedication to this City and his many years of experience as a Scarborough Councillor were invaluable. Frank will be sadly missed. 50th Anniversary Celebrations October 16 is scheduled as the CCRA's 50th Anniversary Celebration Day. There will be a Fun Run and Walk in the morning, kids events in the afternoon and a dance in the evening. Thanks to Joan Gruchy, Marilyn Hodge and Marg Penny for co-ordinating the main events. Help is still needed to make this day a success, so please call if you can help out for a few hours. New CCRA Logo After 50 years, we felt it was time for a change. The new logo is displayed, for the first time, on the cover of this NEWS issue. The winner of the competition was Julie Clieff and as of September 1, 1999, all CCRA stationery and publications will carry her design. Annual General Meeting This will take place at Port Union Community Centre on Tuesday October 26th. We are really fortunate that Rick Schofield has agreed to put together a special anniversary presentation focusing on the development of Scarborough over the last 50 years. Rick is an authority on the history of Scarborough and his presentation promises to be interesting and informative. Also, the CCRA Executive will be reporting on the past year and the Executive Committee for the year 2000 will be elected. There is always a lot going on in this community and we really need more people to join us and share the workload. Please think about becoming more involved with your neighbourhood. If you would like to know more, call me. |