I recall many years ago spying the stone pineapples along Mississauga Road and being intrigued by this curiosity. Together with the stone gate posts and dry-stone walls, they seemed to harken back to a landscape from yesteryear. First, it is hard to date stone walls. As you travel along Mississauga Road south of Dundas Street,…
This article might pose more questions than answers. There is a street (or a court to be precise) in northwest Mississauga named for Bishop John Strachan (pronounced “Strawn”). Bishop Strachan Court was developed in the early 1990s as part of the Trelawny subdivision development in Meadowvale, which in itself is a unique part of Mississauga’s…
On May 29th, Ronnie Hawkins, famed Canadian musician, died at the age of 87 to the sadness of many fans across the country. Hawkins was born in Huntsville, Arkansas, on January 10, 1935, later making a life for himself north of the border. Known affectionately over the years as “Mr. Dynamo,” “Sir Ronnie,” “Rompin’ Ronnie,”…
A new road sign in the Lakeview area of Mississauga carries a significant link to history. Douglas McCurdy Common is a recent addition to the landscape (or is it roadscape?), and runs north off Lakeshore Road, just to the west of Cawthra Road. The road is named in honour of John Alexander Douglas (J.A.D.) McCurdy…
When I was growing up in Mississauga, as a person of mixed Chinese heritage in Canada, I did not often see Chinese arts highlighted in my everyday life. I remember the glee I felt when I would see artwork from Chinese artists around my grandparent’s house or scattered around Mississauga’s Chinese Centre, where we would…
May 4 is International Firefighters’ Day. Established in 1999, the day recognizes every person who serves in emergency services, including hazardous materials specialists, fire prevention specialists, paid firefighters, volunteer fire fighters, heavy equipment operators, emergency service mechanics, emergency medical technicians, and more. Mississauga’s fire service grew from a scattering of volunteer departments to the professional…
A few weeks ago, I wrote about Mississauga connections to the collections of the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa. One of the “connections” I did not mention involved a model on display – that of an airship. On August 11, 1930, a giant airship called R100 flew over historic Mississauga. Specifically, its route…
When setting out to learn more about our city’s early Black history, it is an all-encompassing endeavor that can sometimes leave us with more questions than we began, but it’s always an enriching experience. Such is the case with the Canada West census in 1861, which shows a Black family living in Toronto Township, Peel…
As with previous articles on this theme, whenever I travel, I invariably find myself drawn to making connections back to Mississauga. We recently took a few days to get away and visit Ottawa, which is a place that our family always loves to explore. Our first “connect” to Mississauga came along the route there. Passing…
Today’s article is, as the saying goes, clear as mud. This article is about a street name: Byng Street. The only problem is that the street has had a few names, and it is not called Byng Street now. So, we will step back in time and explore the evolution of the street, and other…