March 6, 2009

The Poster for Toronto’s 175^th  

Heritage events such as the 175^th birthday of Toronto are celebrated by those that enjoy the back story.  The Old Town Toronto Alliance knows it is not just the old bricks and stones which have survived till this day, but the people, activities and happenings that filled those days of history.  Our Poster for the 175^th is actually a map drawn for Toronto’s 100^th birthday, by E. G.A. Foster.  This is what we know of its back story. 

Many community meetings have been held in the Parish house of the Cathedral of St. James, one of those yellow brick buildings behind the Cathedral on Church St. and Adelaide Sts.  Along the hall way to the 2^nd floor lounge is a mixed collection of maps prints and art from parishioners.  There hangs a dry mounted copy of a most interesting map of old Toronto.  The only other copy we know of was given to the Citizen’s for Town several years back.  The map is like a “find Waldo” drawing full of detail and numerous intriguing historic tidbits.  Hand drawn in 1934, maybe a bit cartoonist but with obvious research into the people and events back in 1834.  The title at the top is more of a masthead for the historical record below.  It reads York -1834 –Toronto, just 20 years after the end of the War of 1812, in 1834 Toronto was proclaiming a grand step forward, taking back its old name and moving on from the little town of founding loyalist families. 

What a great memory to bring back once again.  It became the 175^th Birthday project for Old Town Toronto Alliance (OTTA).  In order to use the map for our 175^th poster we needed to clear any copyrights.  Research missions started with a visit to the City of Toronto Archives and the Toronto Reference Library.  Our searches were greatly assisted by city employees at these vaults of knowledge.  The best copy, though not the original, was found in the miscellaneous maps drawer.  It was hard to classify, something like folk art.  It really isn’t cartography but it is a map.  Anyway, there wasn’t any information in the file, just that it was something from the 100^th birthday of Toronto.  Who is the E. G. A. Foster?  The search began. 

Our scan included the signature of Ethel G. A. Foster.  Calls to a lawyer and the Archives letter made it clear that to use the map without knowing if she had passed way over 50 years ago was taking a risk of violating copy write.   We searched for days at the reference library, vital statistics and came up with nothing.  The obituaries of the Star, the Globe and Mail, and the Telegram showed know one by that name.  Maybe she married and used that name? 

While wrestling for several weeks with the decision to continue with the project we asked at St. James’ Archive for help and were happily surprised by Nancy Mallet’s research.  After checking though paper records, Nancy found a record of her renting a pew in the Cathedral in the early 1950’s!  From absolutely nothing to, wow she lived in Old Town.   The next week Charmaine Lindsay of the City of Toronto Archives called to say she had succeeded.  Her continued research and the size of the City Archive struck gold. 

She and her twin brother Harold came to Canada from England.  Ethel came at the age of 49 arriving in Montreal in 1930.   Her brother may have been here earlier and had married.   Her full name was Ethel Georgens Adelaide Foster and she lived at some point in time at 21 Bernard Avenue.

Research found her noted in a few newspaper articles as illustrating or illuminating retirement presentations and programs for celebrations.  In the days before computer copying and layouts, the art of calligraphy was used to create elegant and lasting mementoes of various occasions. This seems to have been Ethel’s talent.  She attended regular monthly meetings of the Alliance Francaise and won a prize for a 1938 radio play.  In December of 1940 Ethel Foster’s radio play “I hear the drums afar” was presented by the YWCA.  March 1942 newspapers recorded in “Society Highlights” that Miss Ethel Foster arranged the program for the Speranza Musical Club at the home of Mrs. Harold W.A. Foster of Bedford Road.  Her map of the 100^th Anniversary of the City of Toronto was talked about in the papers about up to 1940.

Miss Ethel Georgens Adelaide Foster was buried in a common ground grave in the Necropolis Cemetery in 1957.  Date at death: 76, buried in section B-9-D (no marker).  The Old Town Toronto Alliance would like to thank her for this charming artwork.  We take the opportunity to have her mentioned once again in the record of the day, to keep that thread of history alive.

Michael Comstock

President, Old Town Toronto Alliance