Todmorden Mills - An Urban Oasis in the Middle of Toronto

Even though we have been living in Toronto for almost forty years, there are still many interesting and pretty
places where we have not visited.

Todmorden Mills was one such place.

The Cottage at the Todmorden Mills

Each year, during the last weekend in  May, Toronto and many cities across the provinces in Ontario host the Doors Open event.






Many historic, interesting and significant buildings are open to the public to visit, free of charge!









No longer used as a mill, there are a number of  buildings at Todmorden Hills and they are now used for heritage, cultural and arts events.


We visited two houses one of which was  a  cottage with a spacious kitchen furnished in the early 1950's style.

As evidenced by the wooden fence built on the middle of the property, the other house we visited was divided into two separate dwellings at the time.














 The larger portion of the house with a formal sitting room lived the foreman of the mills whereas  the workers lived in the smaller section.

We hiked the tree lined trail

I personally likes the cottage better as it looked really cute and cosy !


After visiting the historic houses, we hiked on a trail shaded by tall trees on both sides.

We discovered ponds, bridges and beautiful scenery along the way.

Fiddle heads !

As we strolled along, we saw fiddle heads, wild Geraniums and many beautiful wild flowers and plants.

I learned that the wild Geraniums are tough flowers. They can withstand the harsh Canadian winters and come back and bloom, year after year!

I jumped at the chance and bought one from the lady selling these plants at the Centre.

These beautiful Wild Geraniums come back and bloom year after year!

Though in the middle of the city, we felt as if we were miles away from Toronto!


How on earth had we failed to visit this beautiful historic part of Toronto was beyond our understanding!

Tomorden Mills - A quiet escape from  the busy life of Toronto within the city!

During the summer months, Torontonians race to escape from the city on the weekends driving miles away to their cottages or elsewhere.

However wee seem to have forgotten what we have right here at home.

Sometimes in life, we are so busy looking for something we yearn for that we neglect to see what's right in our own backyard!

We are glad we rediscovered Todmorden Mills.

When we feel like an escape from our modern life,  we can always turn back the clock and back to the past for a couple of hours by going to the mills!

R.T.
Tomorden Mills
Toronto's Doors Open 2016

A Year End Potluck Luncheon in a Don Mills Home

Both my spouse and I  are retired people and  have a little more leisure time. We want to give back to our community and fill our days with meaningful activities.

I love teaching the senior ESL class at a Seniors' Home!

Teaching has always been my passion and I just love it! I  worked in the Ontario education system for over thirty years and nothing will keep me away from teaching even in my retirement.

 Last year, I volunteered to teach an English as a Second Language class to seniors at my mom's senior home. I have been doing that and enjoying the experience ever since.

We attended a lunch party at a house in Don Mills recently

S. has done the same thing and has volunteered in a ESL class since he retired as well.

Volunteering is a way of life for many Canadians, many of whom put forth countless hours each year to make our communities better places for everyone.

Noma has graciously opened her home to host the party for the past eighteen years!

Noma, an elderly lady in her eighties, is one such volunteer.

Realizing that many new immigrants to Canada do have a good foundation of of English language but with few opportunities to practice their oral skills, Noma started an ESL conversation class for newcomers years ago.

A beautiful setting for a party!

Along with a few of her peers, they have been running this conversational class for the past eighteen years!

Noma and her guests in her backyard.

The ESL class takes place on Wednesdays from September to June every year.

At the end of June, Noma will host a year end potluck party in her home to celebrate the coming of summer and the end of another successful year.

Last year, I was invited to attend this party and enjoyed it.

This year when the invitation was extended to me again, I was prepared  and knew what to prepare and bring to the party.

A great variety of dishes from around the world were brought to the potluck lunch at Noma's house!

A creative way of presenting a fruit salad!

A potluck party is a very popular type of gathering in North America.

Instead of the host slaving over the stoves for hours preparing everything for the party,  a potluck party is when every invited guest brings a dish to the party to share with other guests so that the host will not have to cook all the food.

We love potluck parties as there are lots of different dishes from everyone who usually prepares and brings his/ her specialties.

Some people get very creative in the presentation of their food and we love learning from others!

Noma's big backyard had welcome guests for many years!

Noma has a beautiful home in Don Mills with a huge backyard!

A perfect day for a summer gathering!

We could not have asked for a better day for this outdoor gathering.

 It was a lovely breezy summer day!

A guest shared her Spanish music and culture from her native country

There was nothing better than sitting outside and enjoying good food with some great conversations and great music!

Even the little one was enjoying herself at the potluck lunch!

Thank you, Noma, for your great community service for the past eighteen years!  Really appreciate all you have done for the newcomers in the Don Mills community!

R.T.
Noma's Annual Potluck Party
Don Mills, Ontario

Doors Open 105 Gibson Centre, 2016, Markham, Ontario

Samuel helping with the signs

20,000 flyers and invites were distributed for Doors Open

All the preparations were done!



All the signs were up the day before the big event!

Signs and schedules were up for the Doors Open event

June 4, 2016 - a clear blue sky with mild temperature and no rain in sight! A perfect day for our neighbours and friends to come out and visit us at Doors Open 105 Gibson!

One of the helpers at the Stone Y. Cooking Demo

105 Gibson Centre is a great place to be for people of all ages in the community! But we are only two years old and few people have heard about us.

Pastor Wesley encouraged audience to participate

As the Chair of the Doors Open Organizing Committee,  my  role was to coordinate and oversee the planning and organization of this  event so that we could reach as many residents as possible and let them know about our community centre.

Story telling at the Kids Zone

Pastor Jonathan, Director of 105 Gibson Centre, and Pastor Monica, Director of Volunteer Services, assembled  a great team working on this event. 

Young people helping at the Photo Booth

Since March 2016, our group met weekly and planned for this event.  Dedicated  to sharing the programs and the great facility of 105 Gibson with others ,  Committee members and volunteers worked extremely hard on this project.

The Photo Booth - a highly popular booth at Doors Open 105 Gibson

Their  dedication and passion for this event was evident and to be commended as they spent countless hours accomplishing their assigned tasks.

The magician  entertaining the crowd

Praise God! Our efforts and hard work paid off as we welcome over two thousand visitors to 105 Gibson on June 4; many of whom were on their first visit to our centre.

First time visitors to 105 Gibson - learning about a magic trick from the pro!

Many came to attend the Mental Health Workshops while some were here to see other events.

Visitors to Doors Open 105 Gibson were invited to take part in the free classes

Numerous shopped at the Thrift Store, tried out various free classes such as line dancing. dancercise fitness, painting and arts and crafts classes

Visitors enjoyed many class demos

Many watched the Karate, Erhu, and cooking demo classes.

A robot welcome visitors at one of the 60 plus booths

Many groups and organizations from the community took part. There were a number of interesting and creative booths giving information ranging from health, to recycling to recreation and science  There are over our sixty plus booths.

Delicious desserts from our Middle Eastern families!

Off course, there were lots of food! Visitors enjoyed sampling delicious foods from various countries.

Malaysian food offered at Doors Open

Desserts from the Middle East to curry dishes from India, Malaysia, there were lots of scrumptious food from which to choose.

Senior group members and Pastor Jonathan

Everybody had a  part in Doors Open 105 Gibson.  From the oldest to the youngest, many participated in this event.

The Senior Fellowship Group worked all night and contributed their specialty desserts to the event.

Great desserts by our new Middle Eastern families

Our new families from Syria and Middle East showed off their fantastic sweets.

They were highly popular among the visitors!

One of the Committee members at the Food Booth

Some people were very creative not just in their cooking but in their presentation as well!

Everyone had a great time!

It was a fun and exciting event for the community!

Community open mic on Friday night featuring the visually impaired participants

What a privilege it was for me to have worked and served along side an outstanding and committed team of volunteers for the past few months!

The All Stars Concert on Sat. evening during Doors Open 105 Gibson!

 Initially, I  thought  I was sacrificing much time and efforts working on this committee.

Great audience participation at one of the concerts

After seeing the bright smiles on visitors' faces at the various events and watching their enthusiastic participation  that day gave us a tremendous amount  of pleasure!

A fantastic Concert of Hope took place on Sunday evening!

We knew that our months of hard work was rewarded!

A good friend of ours drove five hours to help us in the event!

The best part was knowing we did play a tiny part in letting people know 105 Gibson is here for the community and  serve the community!

On a personal level,  God has blessed me with a fantastic group of new friends who share the same passion, vision and positive attitude as me in serving  the community of Scarborough/ Markham!

It was an exhausting sixteen hour day but a joyful and exhilarating one for all the Committee Members!
















 We were grateful at how well everything turned out at the open house event. Praise God!!!

R.T.

Doors Open 105 Gibson Centre

Markham, Ontario

Youth Centre, Alberta

 Youth Centre in a northern community

Today was our last day we spent with the people of a reserve in northern Alberta,  after our almost two week long visit there.


We started our day at the Youth  Centre which was like the second home to us for our stay at this northern Reserve.

We sat around in a circle, much like the indigenous people do and took turn sharing our impressions about this trip.

We came as a group of strangers; but are leaving knowing a little bit more and gaining a greater appreciation of each other and the aboriginal cultures and the people.

P., our host and a the local volunteer for the youth programs has done a lot to make our trip there such a positive and pheasant experience.

Many remote small communities in Canada have few employment opportunity and recreational activities for their residents.

The youth volunteer has such a burden for the young people in this northern community. He is working full time while running some quality programs to attract high school students and young people to the centre so that they would have some meaningful after school activities to occupy their time.

A favorite place for the young people at the Youth Centre - A fitness room

Interested in athletic activities himself, P. worked hard and got help to start a fitness room at the Youth Centre. He is there two to three evenings a week from around 4pm - 7pm working with the youth.



The Youth Centre is a happy place for the young people indeed!


 The staff tried to create a happy welcoming place for them.  Many positive messages were posted on the walls of the centre.







The Youth Centre is a vital part of this northern Reserve as it provides opportunities and a safe place for local youths to hang out, get together, play sports, and get some of the teenage's energy out of their systems.   Or they can be with their friends, just sit, talk to each other or play some games.

The Youth Centre is well equipped with a spacious kitchen.

The Centre staff is busy and provides the children and youth who take part in the program with nutritious food to eat. Tonight - our last night at this reserve, the organizers put together a special dinner for us and invited the youth to take part and experience something different.

 I am sure that many parents of these youngsters really appreciate what this volunteer youth worker has been doing for the past few years. He has established excellent rapport with them and earn their respect and trust. A committed and dedicated Christian, full of love for the aboriginal people, P. has given much if his time and his life to this community. He has become a friend to many of the families and young people in this northern community.

We pray fervently that God will bless and use P.'s sports ministry at the Youth Community Centre and his work in northern community!

R.T.
Alberta
Week of May 16, 2016