JB's Warehouse & Curio Emporium

My last published piece for 2023 is a return to the pages of the Toronto Star , where I contributed a year-end quiz spotlighting some of the events and faces of the year gone by . If you prefer doing it in print, look for this weekend's Sunday Star . 

  Toronto Star Weekly, December 18, 1915. For my last TVO article of 2023, I share some stories revolving around holiday season drinks (boozy and non-boozy) in Ontario over the years. Tales include an interview with the Victorian equivalent of a hipster bartender discussing absinthe consumption in 1890s Kingston and a look at temperance advocates who thought 1917 was the best Christmas ever!

  Consumers Distributing 1984 Annual Report. For TVO, I look at the rise and fall of a retailer that was once a key part of the holiday shopping experience in Ontario: Consumers Distributing . This story took more dark turns than I expected.

  My latest piece for TVO looks at how Ontario nearly allowed sale of beer, cider, wine, and wine coolers in corner stores in the mid-1980s ...and why it didn't happen. It's a story to keep in mind over the next few years as we approach the possibility of booze in convenience stores in 2026. 

  Over on Spacing , I take a look at Christmas window displays over the years in Toronto . You many also want to read this TVO piece focusing on department store displays as a follow-up.

NEW! For TVO, I look at the 1992 Ontario Liberal leadership race, which, despite the press declaring it a dull contest throughout, had a very close finish. Also: do you know where your Dalton McGuinty rookie card is?  (For those of who wondering what's going on, I'm testing posting links to my journalistic pieces here to get around the shenanigans surrounding Meta and Canadian news outlets. These will last until I decide to leave Meta platforms again.)