M II A II R II K
Senior Member
Bay St. - 1923
I wonder if that Mark Cullen guy on tv had anything to do with Cullen Gardens.. or if his family did? I looked up his bio and it didn't say anything.
Anyhoo,
I took a Now picture of a Toronto popcorn vendor a couple of weeks ago and found a Then on the picture on the internet to sort of pair it up with.
These popcorn carts have been part of the Toronto scene for such a long time.. I've never seen them in any other North American city.
To me, it's a soothing thing to see them, someone should do a story about their owners.
"The melted-butter aroma from those carts is such a strong memory. I can smell it as I type."
QUOTE: nostalgic.
Don't forget the chesnuts!
Regards,
J T
I have not seen one in ages, but the carts also came in a motorized version. They were three wheeled Italian jobs and had all the same treats on board. Some even had candy apples. The whistle is the big memory trigger for me.
Mustapha wondered if "that Mark Cullen guy on tv" is any relation to the Cullen family. Mark is the son of Len Cullen, who with John Weall had the nursery business Weall and Cullen in North York. The Miniature Village was Len Cullen's idea.
When my parents bought their house in a treeless new subdivision in York Mills, Len Cullen planted the garden, which included dwarf apple trees, dwarf pear trees and a cherry tree. I must have been hanging around because he told me to remind my parents to water the trees. I was four.
Round about 1954, my grandfather came to Toronto to sell popcorn, chestnuts and candy apples. He only stayed for four months but in that time he saved enough money to go back to his family in Greece and provide for them for the next three years. I think he went as far as the Spadina area from west Toronto, “The Junctionâ€.
I will never forget cause I helped my father build his bicycle driven cart! I was six years old.
The building on the left survived up until 1980 or so. I think it was a pumping station, but that's a guess - it was definitely municipal infrastructure.
Then and Now for March 4, 2013.
Then. Yonge looking N from York Mills. Pardon the psychedelic effect. Everything looks new.. Yonge appears to have been widened; so lets say this is post-widening; later in 1956 or 57. The building on the left survived up until 1980 or so. I think it was a pumping station, but that's a guess - it was definitely municipal infrastructure.
One of the houses on the right (at one point in time) was the home of C.W. Jeffery's.