THELIGHTHOUSENewsletter of the Mississauga South Historical Society

Vol 20, Issue 3 – November 2019 MSHS Website: http://mshs.strikingly.com

NEXT MSHS MEETING

Tuesday, November 19 7:00 pm

Lorne Park Branch, Mississauga Public Library

1474 Truscott Rd., Mississauga

IN THIS ISSUE …

2 The Century-Long Family Secret, John Jefkins

3 Sheridan Mall – Part 2, Nick Moreau

4 The Facts About Mississauga

5 Do Your Recognize Anyone in This Photo?

6 Membership Renewal

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE • ELAINE EIGL

Finding William Harold LapenThe 1911 Census of Canada for Chinguacousy (Peel), lists one William Harold Lapen, a 12-year-old “Lodger” who was born in England in June 1899. William, who may actually be a Yacen, or a Gacer by birth, came to Canada that year and was working as a Labourer, for 36 hours a week, “on farm”. William, of the indeterminate last name, was living with my second great-grandparents, Samuel and Margaret Dolson and their 7 children, the youngest of whom was just a year older than William.

1911 CENSUS OF CANADA ENTRY FOR WILLIAM, ANCESTRY.CA

I’ve spent a lot of time wondering exactly who this young William was. Why was he living with my family; was it the Dolson family farm he was labouring upon; how did he come to Canada; and, surely such a young boy should have been in school and not labouring on a farm, or elsewhere?!? And, the question that bothers me most: was William a British Home Child?Until just a few short years ago, I had never heard of British Home Children. I didn’t know anything about Annie MacPherson, the Scottish evangelical Quaker who Wikipedia credits with being the founder of the Home Children scheme, and of “sending poor and orphaned children to Canada and other colonies to serve as slave child labour”. So, I have a more than passing interest in our next speaker, John Jefkins, who will share with us his own father, Albert Jefkins’, experiences as a home child, and the movement in general. Perhaps John will be able to direct me on how to find out if ‘our’ William was actually one of the more than 100,000 children who, accordingly to Wikipedia, were sent from the United Kingdom to Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa.

MississaugaSouthHistoricalSocietyESTABLISHED 1963

2019 MSHS DirectorspresidentElaine Eigl

vice president & historianJohn Wilson

past presidentJonathan Giggs

treasurerPieter Duinker

membership director & social convenerJenny Dale

newsletter editorLenore Neuman

website developerRichard Collins

MSHS Contact Informationemailmissysouth@rogers.com

websitemshs.strikingly.com

mailing address

Mississauga South Historical Society 1921 Dundas Street West, Mississauga, ON, L5K 1R2

To advertise in The Lighthouse, or to inquire about rates, please contact Jenny Dale at: missysouth@rogers.com

The Lighthouse – November 2019 Page 2

“The Century-Long Family Secret… and a 30-minute unravelling”Beginning in 1869 and as late as 1948, over 100,000 children of all ages left the U.K. and immigrated across Canada where they were used as indentured farm workers and domestics. Believed by Canadians to be orphans, when only two percent actually were, these children, known as the British Home Children and Child Migrants, were sent to many faraway places, including Canada. Today, Canadian descendants of BHC number in the millions! Albert Jefkins was just one of the 100,000+ British Home Children. His son, John, will share his story of finding his father’s ‘lost’ family, in 30 minutes via social media, and the history of the British Home Children, through his father’s experience.John is a featured speaker for the BHC and is published in the Mississauga Writers Group. Join us Tuesday, November 19 for John’s presentation at the Lorne Park Public Library at 7:00 p.m.

Page 3The Lighthouse – November 2019

Sheridan Mall Anniversary, Part 2NICK MOREAU, ARCHIVES REPROGRAPHICS, PEEL ART GALLERY, MUSEUM AND ARCHIVES ALL PHOTOS COURTESY PAMA

When Sheridan Mall opened fifty years ago, in November 1969, it apparently had more square footage than the first phase of Yorkdale. But almost instantly, owners JDS Investments were planning to expand. Bits of this story are public, thanks to the T. Eaton Company, which donated many of its corporate records to the Archives of Ontario.In its early years, Sheridan Mall was anchored by Dominion, K-Mart, Lansing Lumber. But it longed for a “top-line” department store. Consultants decided that it was prime territory for one, as a 1972 survey found that locals already made 40% of their “department store type merchandise” purchases at mall.Hudson’s Bay Company was ruled out by the consultant, as it already had a store at Cloverdale Mall, and one under construction at the “Mississauga Town Centre”. (The report also dubs Square One the “Mississauga Shopping Concourse”.) The consultant recommended a Simpson’s or Eaton’s, to serve customers from “western Mississauga and eastern Oakville.”JDS was prepared for an impending retail onslaught. The report listed a “proposed community shopping centre”, which became South Common Centre, a “proposed regional shopping centre”, which became Erin Mills Town Centre, and a proposed indoor mall at Royal Windsor Drive and Southdown. (The building permits for power centre Clarkson Crossing weren’t filed until 2002.)More studies came and went over the years, until 1987, when the T. Eaton Company signed an agreement with JDS Investments. Phase Two opened in 1988, with the newly renamed Eaton’s Sheridan Place growing to 500,000 square feet.As photos show, the resulting two-storey wing was impressive. But as an all-star retailer, Eaton’s demanded a signing bonus of sorts. A draft of the lease contract at the Archives of Ontario suggests they were to receive $70 per square foot from the mall towards construction and “fixturing.”The same contract lists their square footage as 120,000, meaning that the department store received $8.4 million. Eaton’s also stipulated that when any existing “entertainment or arcade store” or “a catalog store” left, they couldn’t be replaced

AN AD FOR EATON’S SHERIDAN PLACE IN THE MISSISSAUGA CIVIC CENTRE OPENING PROGRAM, 1987. (PAMA, CITY OF MISSISSAUGA FONDS)

EATON’S SHERIDAN PLACE, AS SEEN ON A 1990 MALL PAMPHLET. (ARCHIVES OF ONTARIO, T. EATON COMPANY FONDS)

with those categories. Their file at the AO reveal that an American “family entertainment facility” was proposing a major unit, back in 1996.JDS went public in 1987, shortly before work on Phase 2 began. Quickly, they were gobbled up by real estate firm Trizec. Suddenly they were sister malls with Bramalea City Centre, Yorkdale, and Scarborough Town Centre.Under that ownership, JDS and fellow Trizec subsidiary Bramalea Limited purchased 80% of Canada’s Wonderland in 1988. When they sold Wonderland to Paramount Parks in 1993, the $72 million purchase was only worth $66 million. The mall has passed through various owners since, and is now managed by Avison Young.The next time you’re in Sheridan Centre, head into Bluenotes. There’s a “ghost corridor” of sorts in the back of the store, with the 1988 skylight-style lighting still intact.

The Lighthouse – November 2019 Page 4

In the September issue of The Lighthouse we had the wrong photo of Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna. The photo printed was in fact Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna, eldest child Tsar Nicholas II. Here is a photo of Olga Alexandrovna, seated for a portrait, circa 1910–1915.

WIKIPEDIA

CORRECTIONThe Facts About MississaugaFormed in 1974, Mississauga is now recognized as Canada’s 6th largest and fastest growing major city with a population of 729,000 residents representing cultures from around the world.Mississauga covers 288.42 square kilometres of land, fronting 13 kilometres of shoreline on Lake Ontario.The name “Mississauga” comes from the Anishinaabe word Misi-zaagiing, meaning “[Those at the] Great River-mouth”.There are 22 neighbourhoods in Mississauga.Applewood, Central Erin Mills, Churchill Meadows, Credit Valley, Clarkson/Lorne Park, Cooksville, East Credit, Erin Mills, Erindale, Fairview, Hurontario, Lakeview, Lisgar, Malton, Meadowvale, Meadowvale Village, Mineola, Mississauga Valleys, Port Credit, Rathwood, Sheridan and Streetsville.Mississauga is now the third most populous city on the Great Lakes; far smaller than Chicago and Toronto, but recently surpassing the cities proper of Detroit, Milwaukee, and Cleveland.Mississauga Is Canada’s GatewayMississauga is home to Toronto Pearson International, Canada’s largest airport servicing 32 million passengers on more than 70 airlines with non-stop service to 180 destinations in 60 countries around the globe. Mississauga Is SafeRecognized as the safest city in Canada 8 years in a row. Mississauga offers family-oriented sports, leisure & arts facilities with 11 community centres and a vibrant downtown city centre with major retail, office, entertainment and condo living.Mississauga Is A Corporate CapitalWith close to 55,000 registered businesses employing more than 425,000, Mississauga is home to 61 Fortune 500 Canadian or major divisional head offices and 50 Fortune Global 500 Canadian headquarters.

Mississauga Is GreenWe have more than 480 parks & 23 major trail systems including part of a 485 mile (780 km) waterfront trail running from Niagara-on-the-Lake to the Quebec border.The Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) highway, one of the first controlled access highways in the world, opened from Highway 27 to Highway 10 in Port Credit, in 1935 and later expanded to Hamilton and Niagara in 1939.The City of Mississauga has had only four mayors in its history. Martin Dobkin was the city’s first mayor in 1974. He was then followed by Ron A. Searle. Searle was defeated in 1978 by then-city councillor and former mayor of Streetsville, McCallion. McCallion won 12 consecutive terms as mayor, but chose not to run in the November 2014 election and was succeeded by Bonnie Crombie, who won the election.Combined sources: Wikipedia and Mississauga.ca

SUNRISE IN PORT CREDIT

The Lighthouse – May 2018 Page 5

Show & Tell and AGMPlease bring along an interesting item to display!

JanuaryJohn JefkinsBritish Home Children: Connecting My Lost Family

November19 28UpcomingMeetings

Do you recognize anyone in this photo?

This is a class picture from Forest Ave Public School in 1956. Are you in this photo, or do you recognize someone? If you have information about this photo, or if you’d like us to feature a photo in our newsletter, please contact MSHS at missysouth@rogers.com

FROM OUR SEPTEMBER COVER…

PORT CREDIT YACHT CLUBJAMES V. SALMON, 1955 PUBLIC DOMAIN TORONTO PUBLIC LIBRARY

The Lighthouse – May 2018 Page 6

MississaugaSouthHistoricalSocietyESTABLISHED 1963

Mississauga South Historical Society2020 Membership Form

Renewal

New Membership

Check here if you would like to receive your newsletters via email to help us save on printing costs.

Individal Membership $20.00

Family Membership $30.00

Please bring to the next meeting or mail to: Mississauga South Historical Society, 1921 Dundas St. W., Mississauga, ON L5K 1R2

Name:

Address:

Phone Number:

Email:

Options Mississauga Print and Office ServicesWe offer a wide variety or products and

services – Photocopying, Fax, Word Processing, Internet Café, Promotions & Incentives

Located in Port Credit, Options Mississauga is also an authorized shipping agent for Purolator.

113 Lakeshore Rd W, Mississauga, Ontario L5H 1E9

(905) 274-8663 • www.optionsmississauga.com

Catering & Take-outSpecializing in Italian and

Portuguese Cuisine

Offering flavourful and healthy meals, My Secret Kitchen is your one stop shop

for grabbing lunch or dinner on the go for you or for your entire family. We also

provide Event, Party & Corporate Catering.

Daily Hot Table • Fresh PastaSandwich and Deli Counter

Fresh Daily Baked Bread

316 Lakeshore Rd E, Mississauga, Ontario L5G 1H4

(905) 990-2057 • www.mysecretkitchen.ca