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. 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.
While dodging back alley drunks in downtown Kitchener a month ago, I noticed that the back door to a Shoppers Drug Mart bore the mark of its previous identity as part of the Big V pharmacy chain. Years of hearing their slogan "an amazing part of your life" have burned it into my brain, along with images of their comical crusading knight mascot, 25 cent cans of Coca-Cola and the free lunch cooler bags sometimes offered up with the latter. Big V was started in the mid-1960s by a group of Windsor pharmacists who joined together to pool their purchasing and marketing. Most locations were pharmacist-operated, with names reflecting the owners (DeRe, Pond's , Cornett), the neighbourhood (Seminole in Windsor) or town. The chain grew to 135 stores by the time it was purchased by Shoppers in 1995. Amherstburg's store was originally Haslehurst's Big V, then switched to the more generic "Amherstburg" by the time I started shopping there with my parents. Loc
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 December 2, 2011. The Starbucks at 675 Yonge Street isn’t your typical branch of the corporate coffee giant. The walls are lined with sturdy old wooden bookshelves while the floor is a checkerboard of black and white. Why this location is not like the others is hinted at on the façade. Look up to the second floor and you’ll notice a legendary name in Toronto bookselling: Albert Britnell. The quality of the literature on the shelves inside doesn’t always match the standards the Britnell family maintained for over a century of book retailing, but it’s a nod to the building’s past that comes in handy while waiting for a friend or first date. English native Albert Britnell entered the book trade by working in his brother John’s bookstore in London. Both brothers moved to C
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