HOTEL Sagamore in Mimico.

THE HOTEL Sagamore was the first cocktail bar, or lounge, in Mimico. City Archives.

The Hotel Sagamore in Mimico is still talked about in some circles as an iconic place of many years ago where friends met to lift a glass or two.

The landmark hotel made history when the owners in 1943, who is identified as a Mrs. Doughty, put in a petition to make the Hotel Sagamore the first cocktail bar in Mimico.

She received a license and the Sagamore was operated as a hotel and bar for more than 40 years, from 1943 until its final days about 1984.

For generations it was a popular spot where the community met and drank. Little is documented of the well-known hotel, and fewer people still are with us today who frequented the bar, which closed at least 36 years ago.

It was in the 1940s that the Hotel Sagamore made its name. Its owner was among the first to successfully apply for a cocktail bar or lounge in the community.

Under liquor laws brought in by the Ontario government in 1945, municipalities under 50,000 people can decide by plebiscite whether they want cocktail bars or lounges in their region.

The governing body of Mimico soon gave the thumbs up for booze at the hotel.

The establishment is located at 2472 Lake Shore Blvd. W., at Mimico Ave, for generations. In the early 1980s it was sold to the TD Bank, but remains in the same spot today, next to the Beer Store.

A Mimico realtor will literally be handing out beer to some community residents to mark St. Patrick’s Day on Wednesday, March 17.

Mike Majeski, or ‘Mimico Mike,’ of  Re/Max Specialists Majeski Group Inc., says he will be in the community on Wednesday wishing residents a happy St. Patrick’s day and presenting them with a four-pack of Guinness to celebrate.

“These are challenging times and I just want to wish people a happy St. Patrick’s Day,” Majeski says. “This is something that I look forward to.”

He and his helpers will be driving in the community and will select those who want to celebrate.

Majeski plans to purchase about 100 four-packs of Guinness, on his own dime, to distribute in the community to ‘cheer up’ residents.

He says he and his team are ‘embedded in the community.’ He not only lives in Mimico, but is president of the Mimico Resident’s Association.

“He loves this lake-side wonder of a town and … and is always giving back and putting Mimico first,” according to his website. “He is the most trusted listing salesperson for Mimico and holds several sales records throughout the area.”

He says motorists speeding through the area and the preservation of old homes are priority items.

Majeski also distributes pies and other goodies to residents during the year.

He can be reached at 416-988-3425 or mike@realestatelove.ca

Author Harvey Currell wrote a number of books about Etobicoke.

By DAVE KOSONIC

Harvey Currell had a thirst for gathering news and information and a knack for keeping South Etobicoke residents in the know about important local topics and issues.

Currell was well-known in the Mimico community where he lived most of his life with wife, Josephine. He was actively involved in the area and his contributions included serving as a member of the Mimico Public Library Board.

He was a reporter for The Daily Telegram newspaper and made a name covering the Etobicoke and  Lakeshore areas.

Currell was promoted to a Suburban Editor at The Tely and continued to promote coverage of South Etobicoke. It was quite an accomplishment considering that he was first hired as a young copy boy by the paper that shut down in October 1970, resulting in the loss of jobs of hundreds of newsfolk that resulted in the birth of The Toronto Sun.

Currell authored six books including, Where The Alders Grow, for the Mimico Conservation Authority. It was based on the Lakeshore watershed and this publication was also used as a text book in Etobicoke elementary schools.

He also wrote a 170-page book that was released in 1967 called The Mimico Story, which is filled with  information about Mimico dating back to the early days of the community. Historical topics include how Mimico got its name, the First Methodist Church and early families such as the Murrays and the Van Everys.

Currell authored DEDICATION, which at the beginning of this book stated: ‘To the men and women of Mimico who served King and Country in two world wars and Korea – in many instances giving their lives so that the democratic way of life might survive.’

He was also employed as information officer by the former Etobicoke Board of Education prior to the amalgamation of Toronto. Currell was right on track when he answered trustees’ questions during Board meetings held at the Etobicoke Civic Center. He always sat at the front of the room.

I was a part-time reporter for The Toronto Star at the time assigned to cover Board meetings.

Whenever I required additional information to dig deeper into a story and beat the deadline for next day’s paper Currell went out of his way to provide me with additional support because he understood ‘newspaper pressure’.

He cherished the outdoors and Currell was one of the founders of Ontario’s renowned Bruce Trail. To promote our province’s beauty he wrote a weekly newspaper column for 50 years titled Town And Country Trips.

Currell passed away in August 2020 at age 98 in Sault Ste. Marie. Josephine pre-deceased him and he is survived by his children Linda, and Robert, in addition to his five grand children and as many great grandchildren.

He was respected by all those who knew him as exemplified by condolences posted on his funeral notice and obituary site. When Bootsie Sammut recalled Currell she wrote: ’Harvey was a very warm kind cottage neighbor. I loved his stories and could listen to him for hours.’

THE TTC Long Branch Streetcar rolls on.

Some Long Branch businesses are calling for a major water main replacement project slated to begin in April to be deferred since it will restrict traffic and customer parking for struggling small firms just reopening from lockdown.

Construction of the water main replacement begins in late April and will run until the end of October affecting residents and businesses from Twenty Fourth to west of Thirty Second Streets, according to information from city contractor R.V. Anderson Associates.

Anderson Associates held a virtual meeting with some members of the Long Branch area in January.

The company said it anticipated impacts with roadway traffic, driveway access, curbside parking, pedestrian traffic, transit, water service and dust and noise.

Its officials said in a power-point presentation that lanes affected by construction will be closed to help ensure safety, and two-way traffic will ‘generally be maintained” and dedicated Traffic Control persons or paid Duty police will be required on site.

“Curbside parking on the north side of the street will be temporarily obstructed by the contractor’s equipment staging within their active work area,” according to Anderson Associates.  “Lake Shore streetcars will be out of service for the duration of the project.”

The contractor and City will coordinate with TTC for temporary relocation of transit stops impacted by construction, the company said.

Even though the main replacement is required, residents and members of the Long Branch Better Improvement Area (BIA) are seeking a one or two-year deferral of the project, which they say will force struggling businesses to close

“This will restrict access to the business all while in a pandemic and just when we are finally coming out of COVID-19 lockdown,” said Shelley Porritt, Broker of Record for Royal LePage Porritt Real Estate and member of the Long Branch BIA, in a letter to members. “If this project was to proceed, the only chance that these businesses may have to stay afloat will be taken away from them they may be forced to close down for good.”

She wrote to Mayor John Tory and other City officials warning them that businesses have suffered financially and will face more challenges from the water main  installation by losing their parking for customers, access to their retail spaces due to lane reduction, noise, dust and water shut offs to either run their business or for continued cleaning during the pandemic.

“If this project moves forward, we will create a ghost town as I believe many of our small businesses will not survive and close their doors permanent,” she said. “This project will be detrimental to the survivorship of many of our businesses along Lakeshore Blvd. W. in Long Branch.”

She was told the work will not be issued for tender until March.

“I, along with other business owners requested that the city defer this project one-two years to allow businesses to get up and running after such a devastating year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and multiple lockdowns,” she told residents and the BIA.

“The concern is that we have already been gravely affected as businesses by the pandemic and the various lockdowns issued,” Porritt told Tory. “Most of our businesses here are barely hanging on from being closed and unable to pay their rent, salaries, mortgages, etc.”

The Mayor or other City officials have not replied to calls to defer the installation.

SOME of the many condos ranging up to 70 storeys to occupy the 11-hectare area. Courtesy photos.

THE ICONIC water tower will be placed in a high profile position.

People are already complaining online about the traffic congestion.

New plans and updates have been released about a mixed-using community coming to the site of the former Christie’s Cookies plant at Humber Bay Shores.

A resubmission of an Official Plan Amendment application for the 2150 Lake Shore Blvd. W., development was filed in February by landowners First Capital Realty and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

The Master Plan introduces a new local street network, a relief road to direct traffic away from Park Lawn and Lake Shor, and an integrated transit hub centred around a new GO station and the TTC.

The development provides a network of open public spaces anchored by squares, a ravine, large community parks and a year-round covered galleria. It includes a ‘diverse range’ of building types and architecture.

Park space and other public space have increased and plans for now includes two daycares, two schools, a community centre, library, a retail galleria and non-profit human agency space.

“The fundamental vision and features remain consistent: a transit-oriented urban mixed-use community complete with housing, jobs, retail, parks, public space and community facilities,” according to the Master Plan.

The six phase project will feature 15 towers, with heights ranging from 28 to 70 storeys, according to information from the company.

The first phase will include buildings located beside the new GO station and Park Lawn Road, as well as the construction of the GO Station itself, the loop road that will serve it, and the relocation of the ramps connecting Lake Shore Boulevard to the Gardiner Expressway at the east end of the site.

Two public spaces will also be completed during the first phase; Station Square and Park Lawn Gardens, linking the GO station with new bus service facilities on Park Lawn Road. Ground floor retail near the station is to be oriented towards commuter convenience.

There will be a one-hectare community park on the 11-hectare property and a 2,500 square-metre Boulevard Square.

The developers say access to sunlight in the proposed community park has been further enhanced by shifting height and density away from towers mostly to the south of the park.

The iconic water tower is now proposed to be relocated in high-profile ‘Station Square’ instead of the community park, due to concerns from the community.

First Capital announced in February they have retained Allies and Morrison, the architectural lead on the master plan design team, to be the design lead for buildings in the first phase.

MORE than $22,000 has been raised so far to help Rocky stay alive.

 

Pet lovers are digging deep to help Rocky the cat stay alive after being found near death after falling eight floors from a highrise.

More than $22,000 have been donated by Etobicoke residents in a Go Fund Me campaign to help Rocky survive.

The ‘poor, sweet’ cat was found by an animal lover taking a shortcut through a construction site on March 4, in the Weston Rd. and Highway 401 area.

“He tried to give him food but the cat was in so much pain that he could not focus on anything else,” wrote Sarah Maajidah, an organizer of the fundraiser.

Rocky was rushed to an emergency veterinary hospital by the man who found him. He was being helped by Rescue Angels, a non-profit cat help and rescue service.

“On the drive over (to the vet), he yowled in pain, crying, desperate for a chance at life,” said Sarah, who drove Rocky to the vet.

Sarah said Rocky’s plight surfaced after the man sought help for the ailing cat online on a Facebook group for local lost and found cats.

“I drove there right away to help since I was close,” she said online.

Rocky was examined and found to be suffering from extreme body shock, low blood pressure, low glucose, bad oxygen levels, fractured pelvis, fractured tooth, shattered legs and fluid in the lungs.

He (Rocky) desperately needed care and they stepped in, giving me the green light to go to the emergency vet, she said.

“Vet bills were adding up quickly,” Sarah explained. “They asked if I could raise funds somehow.”

She said Rocky had to spend several days in the Intensive Care Unit at the veterinarian clinic. He has now been taken of oxygen support, but may have to breathe with the help of a tube for a couple more days.

More funds will be required to pay for his X-rays, CT scans, leg surgery, dental check; including removal of a tooth.

“The final main costs they are suspecting is leg surgery, which is quoted at $7,000,” Sarah wrote. Rocky’s medical bill is expected to cost about $22,000.

All funds collected will go to the Rescue Angels to pay the vet and for upcoming surgery,” according to the campaign.

“We want to give this sweet boy every fighting chance,” Sarah said as she thanked hundreds of pet lovers who stepped up to the plate to save one of Rocky’s nine lives.

Donations can be made on Go Fund Me.

March is Fraud Prevention Month, police warn.

Police said online scams are the centre of this year’s campaign, since people are at home spending more time that ever accessing online services and marketplaces.

“Knowledge is power and the best way to reduce fraud is to increase fraud awareness,” anti-fraud officers said. “We all have to recognize, reject and report online fraud.”

Throughout March, the Toronto Police Service’s Financial Crimes Unit and its partners will be staging a special four-week #Fraudchat series to engage and educate Canadians by providing them with important fraud prevention information.

The #Fraudchats takes place between 1 to 2 p.m. and includes on March 11 Tax Scams, March 18 COVID scams, March 25 Employment Scams and March 31, an eight-hour Fraud-A-Thon.

Detectives said four suspects were recently arrested in a year-long employment fraud probe.

In Project Drop, suspects were sending out hundreds of thousands of text messages to cell phones advertising employment opportunities for couriers to deliver loans for a Toronto area company.

Police said victims were instructed to pick up and deposit what they thought were legitimate business cheques, then pay funds to other individuals in cash, Bitcoin or e-transfer.

All the cheques were discovered to be well-made forgeries and victims searching for jobs were allegedly defrauded.

Search warrants were issued in Toronto and Mississauga, including a downtown Toronto condo unit suspected to be the operations centre for the scheme.
Officers seized cheque forging materials, electronic devices and SIM cards that were allegedly used to blast out the mass marketing texts.

Police alleged that one of the individuals arrested was in possession of fraudulent government identities under the name of one female.