St. Mary’s School Bathurst and Adelaide Toronto 1925

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bathurst and Adelaide streets Toronto, original st Mary's school, school Toronto 1925, st mary' school

My dad Solino sitting for a class picture in front of all the girls and many were relatives.  This was not the present St.Mary’s School but the old building the sits between St.Mary’s Church and the present rectory. I believe this was the original building used as the school and later in the 1950′s that same building turned into a girl and boys club.  I never did ask my dad why he was the only boy in the photo and were were the other lads or should I believe that even than my dad was a charmer. If anyone has other stories to tell about the old St. Mary’s School please make comment I would love to hear from you

An unknown relative with gorgeous furs

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elegant fur pieces, fashion 1920, fur and fethers, fur fashion, furs importance in fashion

This is a photo we inherited from MY husbands family.  Unfortunately we are not aware of just how she is related to him but we know she resided in England probably the Liverpool area and

also feel it would be on his mother’s side of the family.  I note how elegantly dresses this lady was and how fur played such and important part in the fashion of the era.  I suspect this would have been taken in the 1920′s.  The fact the I love vintage fur this is special to me I also see that feathers and fur worn together in the ensemble I also feel this is fox although I am not a furrier.

School System Toronto – 1940′s

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Niagara and Adelaide streets Toronto, Niagara street Public School, Public School, school taxes. Separate School, Toronto school system

This is a photo of me and my mother in 1942, standing in front of Niagara Street School on the corner of Niagara and Adelaide Street in Toronto.  My mother eventually tires to register me at that school since she felt the school being directly across the road from our home it would be a safe journey to and from school.  All my family were Chatholics and paid seperate school taxes so therefore they would not allow me to attend a Public School which Naiagara Street school was. Therefore when the time came for me to go to school  I went up Adelaide towards Bathurst Street were I attended St.Mary’s Catholic School. The school had the girls on one side and the boys on the other even in the playgrouns at recess and for the longest time I thought that was why they called it a seperate school.We were taught by nuns the Sister’s of St. Joseph. I think my mother was gorgeous and always smartly dressed dispite the low income we had. As I grow older I realize what a classy lady my mother was.

 

 

Weight Loss in 1935

This is an article published in a “Old Hollywood” movie magazine that shows a proven home method to weight Loss. This is a do it yourself vibration machine.  criteria for this exercise is a towel and wearing beautiful satin pyjamas.

Just look at what it did for her figure.

Bare beginnings

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farm

This photo I got from my mother’s uncle on a recent trip to Manitoba. In this picture my mother is the child on the far right standing along side her brother and sister. There is her mother and father and her father’s sister and brother. When I saw this picture It really makes me think how hard times were for them. I think of how well we all live today and she and her family truly scratched their living

Bare beginnings

from the land.

Old Hollywood 1935

I have just returned from a visit to my mother’s hometown of Selkirk Manitoba Canada where I had opportunity to visit with my uncle an antique collector of over 50 years.  His collection of oil lamps is unbelievable.   When touring his sheds filled with many items that would not be possible to fit into a carry on bag I was pleased to find two scrap books which were actually Canadian National Railway log books turned scrap books.  The collection of clippings some dated 1935 and articles from Movie magazine were carefully pasted into these books.  The movie stars their clothing styles their hair do and footwear a catalogue of the vintage rich and high fashion. I thought I would share some of these glamour shots with you.  The first article says Joan Crawford tops a frock of turquoise with a blue fox coat, Myrna Loy wear powder blue pebble crepe. The next picture says Don Ameche Simone Simon and Robert Young in the film “Josette” Joan Blundell and Melvyn Douglas in “Theres always a Woman”  (Never heard of either Movie have you???)

The Waitress Pencil

The Waitress’s pencil was what every good waitress had pinned to her uniform low enough on her chest to be able to pull the pencil which was on a chain write the order and when finished a slight tug would wind the chain and the pencil would spring back in place.  I remember my mother placing this pencil on a decorative handkerchief and attaching it to her blouse.  My sister and I would wait at home with our father until it was time to collect her from her evening shift waitressing at the Mercury restaurant on Yonge Street in Toronto or the Pickin Chicken in Parkdale and the pencil would return to the dresser until her next shift. This keepsake has got to be 50 years or more old and it still remains in my jewel box as a “my mother” souvenir.

Carol Tannenbaum at the Royal Ontario Museum

Several years ago Carol Tannenbaum the vintage jewellery expert was giving a seminar at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto.  I as a long time vintage jewellery collector had to attend and we were told we could bring a piece of jewellery for Carol to give her opinion on.  Since the time I started collecting  I never sold or gave away any on my favourite piece so it was quite a task to decide which piece I would take along.  I thought long and hard but on that day I decided that the white milk glass four strand beads with the decorative ornament and it’s wired matching bracelet would be my choice because I knew it was old.  After waited in the line which I felt had no end I approached the table and stood in front of Ms. Tannenbaum who held my beads and bracelet in her hand and told me they were made in West Germany and dated the early 1960′s.  While still holding the set she glance up at me and said”The brooch you are wearing is valuable since I would say it is French Carved bakelite.  This was a wonderful surprise I got two assessments quite accidentally and now this large brooch is a very special piece that will stay in my collection and wait to be inherited.

Sterling Silver Bangle with diamond cut amethyst

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amethyst., bangle, bracelet.sterling.silver.vintage

I know that vintage jewellery is always a hot topic and I have not written much about that even though I feel I have a nice collection of such.   I have started to look over some of my better and most favourite pieces and truing to see that the items I want my daughter and granddaughter to have are in good repair.  I have added charms to my bracelets and ensured they are welded on and had extra clasps and secured clasp to prevent loss. I know that charm bracelets may not be the vogue right now but things go around and they are pieces of jewellery that are down right valuable just due to their gold content.  This bracelet is one of my very favourites, and I remember buying it from a elderly nurse who was retiring and it did belong to her mother but she felt she wanted to sell some things since there was no one to pass them on to and this purchase I made in the late 1970.  I do suspect that this Sterling Silver hand made bangle with five large deep purple amethyst with diamond cut stones would be approximately 60 years old.  

A 1935 Wedding

WOW I have discovered PINTEREST and what a great site. There are so many new things to learn from other posters that we can see what interests other people. I created a board called “Collecting family Weddings” since ther had been so many weddings in my family over the years that I thought the old wedding pictures were amazing to see. In my board I put the picture of my mother as a bridesmaid in Selkirk Manitoba in 1935 and to my surprise so many people clicked in on the board and said they like i i decided to share it with my bloggers. This is the original photo and it has the original carboard frame that came with the photo.