Thorncrest Village ~ The Early Days

The Village (Part One)

We moved to Thorncrest Village in 1949. I was 4 years old. I loved living in the Village.

Back then, it was a new type of community. I think that it was the one of the first, of its type, in Canada. It was, and still is, located in Toronto (Etobicoke). Thorncrest Village was designed like today’s “gated” communities. The only real difference was that there were no gates, and for that matter, no fences. Fences and personal swimming pools were not allowed. This was a “managed” community, with strict rules and was governed by a Board of Directors made up of village residents.

When we moved to the Thorncrest, the community was only a few years old. The Thorncrest Village was being developed in the “middle" of nowhere. Surrounding the village were farm fields. For those of you who know the area, Islington Avenue was a bumpy paved rural road. Eglington Avenue was called Richview Sideroad and Kipling Avenue was a bridle path which “hobos” used to travel. Our home had just been built when we moved in. At that time, the community did not have many facilities.

(To be continued in Part Two)

 

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