Community Members – CRESTWOOD

Ai Yi-Ying

Ai Yi-ying is a survivor of the 1937 Nanjing Massacre, otherwise known as the “Rape of Nanking”. When the Japanese invaded, her family was trapped, and many were killed at the outset. Ms. Ai’s mother managed to save some of the family members, and they were able to escape to the nearby mountains, evading the […]

Ali, Habeeb

Mr. Habeeb Ali has been a friend of Crestwood since 2013, when he welcomed Crestwood students to the Toronto Islamic Foundation as part of our Houses of Worship Field trip. In addition to his scholarship on Islam, and his experience as an educator, Mr. Ali works with the International Development and Relief Foundation. In December […]

Alkhaykanee, Khitam

Khitam Alkhaykanee was born in Baghdad, Iraq on September 22, 1980, the same day that the Iran-Iraq War started. Growing up in a time of war, she would use that experience to foster peace, later emigrating to the United States and starting up an NGO, the Global Jothoor Foundation. Khitam grew up normally, attending school […]

Amani

Anne-Marie Woods, aka Amani, is a Toronto performer who visited Crestwood for a Black History Month presentation in February 2017. She entertained and educated students with her show Journey Into Me, a series of songs, raps and spoken word mixed in with her unique storytelling style. Journey Into Me is the story of how Black History […]

Anderson, William

Dr. William Anderson was born December 12, 1927: there is no actual record of his birth, but that is the date that he and his adoptive parents chose. His parents were from Moultrie and Cordele respectively, and their family histories had only recently emerged from the yoke of slavery. The young William knew these people […]

Appel, John

John Appel was born August 21, 1937 in what were then the Dutch East Indies, where his parents supervised a sugar plantation. When the Japanese invaded and occupied the area in the Second World War, John and his family were held in an internment camp, living in very difficult conditions. John’s father was taken as […]

Augustine, Jean

In 1993, Canadian politician Jean Augustine became the first Black woman elected to the Parliament of Canada. An advocate of social justice, she worked as the principal of an elementary school before entering politics. Among her accomplishments as an MP was the introduction of a motion, passed unanimously, to have February proclaimed as Black History […]

Axworthy, Tom

Tom Axworthy was born May 23, 1947; he hails from the Canadian Prairies, and presently lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Tom remembers that he did not come from a strongly political family, but the fact is that he and his brother Lloyd would go on to be very politically involved throughout their lives. Tom attributes this […]

Azarov, Vladimir

Vladimir Azarov grew up against the backdrop of Stalin’s Soviet Union. He and family were relocated to Kazakstan while Vladimir was young; a standout memory involves a confrontation between his mother and a secret police officer. In spite of the hardships, Vladimir had many fond memories of his early life, and it gave him the […]

Bansbach, Augusta

Augusta Bansbach was born October 9, 1921 in the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia. She grew up in a small rural community there, living on a farm with her parents and grandparents, alongside her Czech and German neighbours. Educational opportunities were limited for girls at that time, so Augusta’s schooling was complete after 8th grade, and […]

Beissel, Henry

Henry Beissel was born April 12, 1929 in Germany. It was a period where Germany was still struggling to recover from the punitive terms of the Treaty of Versailles, which were at the time of Henry’s birth coupled with the impacts of the Great Depression. Henry grew up in Nippes, near Cologne; both parents were […]

Bennett, Donnovan

Donnovan Bennett is a popular host on Sportsnet, a podcaster, and much more. His family is originally from Jamaica, and they came to Canada in the days of Trudeau’s multiculturalism initiative, a time when Canada was becoming increasingly diverse and attracting immigrants from Commonwealth countries. He spoke about his own upbringing in Toronto, and the […]

Bharucha, Daraius

Daraius Bharucha is a past president of the Zoroastrian Association of Canada, and a winner of the 2012 Governor-General’s Award for Teaching Excellence. In November 2014 he visited us at Crestwood, when he sat down with a group of students from Mr. Masters’ World Religions class, sharing his insights into this ancient faith. Daraius is […]

Boothe, Shaun

Shaun Boothe is a fixture in the Toronto hip hop community, one we have been proud to host a number of times at Crestwood. He first visited The CHC classes in 2011, where he showed Mr. Masters’ and Mr. Hawkins’ classes an alternative approach to modern history, using hip hop as a means to teach […]

Broere, Marie

Marie Broere was born in 1926 in Rotterdam. As a teenager, Marie witnessed the Rotterdam Blitz of 1940. Marie remembers her daily life, living under the German occupation of Holland. She remembers her father being taken from the streets by German soldiers, and managing to escape and return with his family. Being the eldest child […]

Butt, Asta

Asta Butt was born June 12, 1930 in a small village not too far from Bremen, Germany. Her father had a business transporting goods on the rivers of northern Germany, and her grandfather – a Great War veteran – did the same. Asta went to school , and has largely positive memories from her early […]

Cameron, Dianne

Dianne Cameron was born in 1943, and she grew up in southern California. She enjoyed the typical childhood of the time, going to Catholic school and watching TV and going to bowling alleys – all in the shadow of the Cold War. She took up the drums when she was young and by her late […]

Chambers, Mary Anne

Mary Anne Chambers is someone who understands the power of community involvement. After emigrating from Jamaica with her family, she succeeded in the worlds of business and politics, first as a vice-president with Scotiabank, and then as an MPP and cabinet minister in Dalton McGuinty’s cabinet. All the while, she has worked tirelessly as a […]

Chang, Shiying

Chang Shiying grew up in the Chinese city of Nanjing, where his family held a prominent position in the community. Born in the early 1930s, Mr. Chang was a child of 4 when the War of Japanese Aggression reached his city. Unlike so many others, the Chang family had heard the news of the Japanese […]

Chen Chun Hua

Chen Chunhua is a Chinese citizen who was a victim of Japanese germ warfare during the Second World War. She and her team are actively seeking justice and medical treatment for the ways in which she and so many others were attacked and harmed during that distant conflict. One of her advocates, Mr. Wu Jianping, […]

Chen Lifei

In July 2017 Crestwood teacher Scott Masters took part in Alpha Education’s Peace and Reconciliation Tour. Seventeen educators, activists, lawyers, and documentarians toured China and Korea, learning about the Asian perspective on the Second World War, and exploring ways to raise awareness of this side of the war to an international audience. The tour was organized by […]

Chouinard, Robert

Robert “Boots” Chouinard was born December 21, 1923 in Newburyport, Massachusetts. He was the youngest of 8 children. His father was employed in a paper mill and as a barber. Robert attended various schools, including Massanutten Military Academy in Woodstock, Virginia, where he played football on a scholarship. He said that he went from being […]

Christie, Jeanne “Sam”

Jeanne “Sam” Christie was born September 26, 1944 in Madison, Wisconsin. Her father was a fire captain there, and Sam remembers growing up with a sense of community service. Hers was a large family, and Sam had an older sister and two younger brothers that she would help to take care of. When she finished […]

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Ciano, Sergio

Sergio Ciano was a young boy when World War Two began. He lived in Somalia, an Italian colony in Northern Africa. His father was an officer in the Italian Military Police. Sergio was interviewed for this project by Lowell Williams in early 2009. […]

Clarke, George Elliott

George Elliott Clarke is a Canadian poet and playwright who is currently serving as the Canadian Parliamentary Poet Laureate. His work largely explores the experience and history of the Black Canadian communities of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, creating a cultural geography that Clarke refers to as “Africadia”. Of Afro-Metis origin, George is also researching that side […]

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Close, Ginny

Ginny Close grew up in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Her father came from a farm family and was a veteran of WW2, and Ginny’s mother was from Madison; Eau Claire seemed the perfect compromise for the two to raise their own family. Ginny attended the University of Wisconsin right at the time when the postwar generation […]

Colhoun, Jack

Jack Colhoun was born in Philadelphia on February 9, 1945, but moved to upstate New York when he was quite young, growing up mainly in the small town of Sacket’s Harbor and experiencing 1950s small town America. He saw the beginning of the tumultuous changes of the 60s, events which would challenge America – and […]

Damboise, Betty

Betty Damboise was born July 3, 1933 in Schoenecke, Germany. She grew up in the Schnee Eifel region, near the Luxembourg-Belgium border. Betty’s father worked in the metal trades, and he was classified as an essential worker because of his connections to the local farming community. Betty started school in 1939 in her village, and […]

Daniel, Carmi

Carmi Daniel is a representative of Hashomer Hatzair, an NGO that works on behalf of Israeli causes and issues. he was interviewed in December 2013 by Politics 12 student Matthew Cohen. […]

Davis, John T.

John T. Davis is a legend on the Toronto music scene, where he is known professionally as a high energy jazz/blues/gospel organ player. The Hammond B3 Organ is his instrument of choice, but he also plays the piano and synthesizer, and sings. John also arranges music, playing originals and standards of many diverse styles, both […]

Deverell, Rita

Rita Deverell was born in Houston Texas, 1945. She is an only child who grew up in the United States. She moved to Canada in 1967 to be with her husband. She got an M.A. in the history of religion soon after immigrating. Rita has had many jobs such as being on a school tour […]

Du Peizhen

Du Peizhen was born in 1932 in Tieling, China. Her father was an officer who worked in the court, and her mother was a teacher. She should have had a happy and affluent family at that time, but Japan had occupied the North East of China at that time, called Manchuria. She directly experienced World […]

Ebrahim, Kassim

Kassim Ebrahim grew up during the Apartheid era in South Africa. Later a teacher in Rhodesia and Zambia, he eloquently provided Crestwood students with a glimpse into the history of Apartheid, as well as telling them his own stories and sharing his memories. We met him through the Noor Cultural Center in Toronto, where he […]

Elliott, Omar

Omar Elliott came to us courtesy of the Noor Culture Centre, a mosque and Islamic Centre in the Crestwood neighbourhood. Omar is from Guyana and has travelled extensively, living in South America, Europe, Asia , and North America. He spoke to a group of Crestwood students about his experiences and life’s lessons along his personal […]

Fahmy, Charazad

Crestwood has been very fortunate to build a partnership with the Noor Cultural Centre in the last few years. Kassim Ebrahim and Samira Khanji have welcomed us and have taught Crestwood students some very important lessons about Islam and tolerance and diversity. We visit each year, and members of the Noor community generously have shared […]

Fang Cai Pei

Fang Cai Pei and Ye Sai Chu are a married couple, Chinese citizens who were victims of Japan’s system of germ warfare during the Second World War. Both of them are actively seeking justice for the ways in which they were exploited and harmed during that distant conflict. Both lost many family members when Japan launched attacks […]

Flanzraich, Aaron

Rabbi Aaron Flanzraich, was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1966. A graduate of Bar Ilan University, he was admitted into the University’s prestigious Advanced Talmudic Institute. In 1990, he received a dual ordination from Yeshivat Sha’ar Ephraim and the Israeli Chief Rabbinate. He has been the senior rabbi at Temple Beth Sholom in Toronto since […]

Gao Xiongfei and Li Liangjei

Gao Xiongfei and Li Liangjei are Chinese citizens who were victims of Japan’s system of forced labour during the Second World War. Both of them are actively seeking justice for the ways in which they were exploited and harmed during that distant conflict. Mr. Li is currently the President of the Chinese Slave Laborer Association, […]

Gould, Dennis and Raybell

Dennis and Raybell Gould are the grandparents of Crestwood student Sarah Gould. Dennis and Raybell grew up in wartime England, where they experienced the bombings, the rationing, and the general anxiety of life in England at war. Dennis enlisted in the Royal Navy near the end of the war, and he served aboard the HMS […]

Gutmanas, Aleks

Aleks Gutmanas is the External Secretary for the Bahai Community of Toronto. He visited Ms. Laforest’s World Religions 11 class in the fall of 2009 and later sat down with Alix Postan, Sy Greenberg, and John Shahidi for an interview. […]

Hamilton, Shelley

Shelley Hamilton is a singer/entertainer based in Toronto, and one we have gotten to know very well over the years at Crestwood. Shelley is a woman of many talents, whose diverse portfolio can be seen at her website at http://www.shelleyhamilton.ca/. She has done supply teaching here and has been involved in many Black History Month […]

Hartford, Bruce

Bruce Hartford was active with several Civil Rights Movement organizations in the 1960s including SCLC, CORE and SNCC. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, January 15, 1944 to Communist Party activist and union organizer parents, and he grew up in Los Angeles, California. Bruce became aware of social injustice in part through the experiences of […]

Henderson, Taigen

Taigen Henderson is a roshi – or teacher – at the Toronto Zen Centre. He visited us at Crestwood early in 2023, taking students on a guided meditation. Taigen grew up in Canada in the 60s and 70s, a time of profound change where he and many members of his generation were looking for new […]

Hollywood Jade

Hollywood Jade was born January 4, 1984. He is a Canadian dancer and choreographer best known for his regular appearances on the reality television series Canada’s Drag Race. He began his career as a choreographer for drag queen Michelle Ross, and as a dancer in many major films. After facing some barriers in his career […]

Hurst, Rodney

Rodney Hurst is a civil rights activist and historian and author. He was born March 2, 1944 in Jacksonville, Florida, where he witnessed the tumult of the 1960s. He was personally involved in – and in fact was a leader of – the 1960 sit-in demonstrations in Jacksonville, Florida, events that saw a violent culmination […]

Hylton, John

John Hylton grew up in 1940s England, where his childhood was deeply impacted by wartime events. He remembers the Battle of Britain, the rationing, the V-1 attacks, and most importantly he remembers his father’s service as a physician. John was interviewed for this project by Alec Maavara. […]

Ikeda, Sid

Sid Ikeda is a past president of the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre in Toronto. As a young boy he was relocated along with his family in the British Columbia interior, where he experienced the internment camps. He was interviewed by Colin Walker in January 2009 and has since come back to Crestwood several times to […]

Jal, Emmanuel

Emmanuel Jal was born in the Sudan on an unknown date in the early 1980s. He went through a series of struggles, including time spent as a child soldier in that nation’s civil war. Emmanuel managed to survive that time, and after being rescued by an aid worker, he went on to build a life, […]

Johnson, Cheryl

Cheryl Johnson was born July 3, 1951 in Batesville, Mississippi. She grew up on a farm in a rural community, during the era of Jim Crow. Her family owned the land, and they grew cotton, corn, watermelons, sugar cane, and had their own garden, fruit trees, cows, pigs, chickens, and dogs. Her family also grew […]

Johnson, Rene

Rene Johnson was born August 15, 1946 in South Carolina, where her father was serving on a military base. She is a 5th generation Floridian though, and that is where she presently lives. Her father was a World War Two veteran who stayed in the military after the war, and he was based in West […]

Jones, Eve

We met Eve Jones at the Castle Peak Retirement Suites in Bracebridge, where she presently lives. Eve is one of several authors/editors who assembled At Your Age, a collection of stories of those who live there. The residents felt it was important for them to record their stories, which serve as a great entry point […]

Jull, Megan

Megan Jull is the Pastoral Associate at All Saints’ Kingsway Anglican Church and is a postulant for ordination in the Diocese of Toronto. This means that she is in the midst of the training and formation required to become a priest in the Anglican Church. She hosts a popular blog where she posts a collection […]

Junaid, Bushra

Bushra Junaid is a multidisciplinary artist-curator and author based in Toronto. She grew up in St. John’s, Newfoundland, where she and her siblings were raised by her Nigerian and Jamaican parents. Bushra’s own life story and her memories of the culture and food of Newfoundland provide a backdrop to the narrative and themes of her […]

Protected: Kahrel, Albert

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Kai, Sue

Sue Kai (nee Sumi Matsugu) was born January 26, 1925 in Alert Bay, British Columbia. Her parents had emigrated from Fukuoku, Japan to Canada, settling in the remote community to work. Sue lived there for just one year, as her parents decided to move to Vancouver to pursue better opportunities for their children. They lived […]

Kelsey, Ann

Ann Kelsey was born June 20, 1946 in Indiana, though she grew up in southern California. Her father was a World War Two navy veteran, who continued to work with the navy as a civilian contractor in the postwar period. Because of that Ann grew up in Riverside, California, not too far from Branch AFB, […]

Kien Le

Kien Le spent his early life in Vietnam, growing up as the American phase of the war was coming to an end. He recalls that he was not too impacted by the war in the early years, but since his father was in the navy, he and his family were on the move as the […]

Kim Han Soo

Kim Han Soo was born in northern Korea in 1918, during the time of Japanese occupation. When the Japanese invaded the Chinese in 1937, Mr. Kim remembers an offhand remark from a Japanese officer, bragging about a Chinese girl he had raped and murdered. It would prove to be a powerful lesson for Mr. Kim, […]

Kleihauer-Ward, Elke

Elke Kleihauer-Ward is from southwestern Ontario, in the Stratford area. She attended high school there, and a guidance counselor saw something different in her, encouraging her to think about the trades, and to become an apprentice. At the time this was an unusual path for a young woman to follow, and it wouldn’t be easy. […]

Krier, Mae

Mae Krier was born March 21, 1926 in North Dakota, and she grew up in the rural community of Dawson in that state. She recalls that the times were tough: the 1930s was the Depression era, and for the people of Dawson that meant the dust storms and unemployment. Mae’s father was able to find […]

Lane, Ruth

Ruth Lane grew up in Wales, in the U.K. She was six when World War Two began, and her memories of childhood against the backdrop of wartime restrictions remind us that the war was about much more than the battlefield itself. Ruth recalled the American soldiers stationed nearby, the rationing, the bombing, and the disruptions […]

Lee Yong Su

Lee Yong Su is a halmeoni, or “grandmother”, a name Koreans use for the women who were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese during the Second World War. The Japanese military developed the term “comfort women” to describe these women who were coerced into this terrible existence. Ms. Lee was kidnapped at the age […]

Levitt, Michael

Since 2015, Michael Levitt has served as a Member of Parliament in Canada’s House of Commons, representing the Toronto riding of York-Centre. As an MP, he has worked to represent his riding, one of the most diverse in Canada, as well as serving as a voice for Human Rights on the international stage. In March […]

Lewis, Chris

Chris Lewis is a member of the Taoist Tai Chi Society of Canada. He visited Mr. Masters’ World Religions class in October 2014, sharing his insights on Taoism and taking the students through a few Tai Chi movements. […]

Lipson, Rabbi Leslie

Rabbi Leslie Lipson grew up in Rochester, New York; he connected to Canada by attending Camp Ramah for ten summers as both a camper and on staff. After graduating from Haverford College, Rabbi Lipson traded currency on Wall Street and then returned to Toronto to work on his MBA at York University. After working in […]

Loc Le

Loc Le spent his early life in Vietnam, growing up as the war raged around him and his family. He recalls that he was not too impacted by the war in the early years, but with 1968 and the Tet Offensive, he and his family were on the move, staying ahead of the NVA and […]

Lv Faxue

Lv Faxue grew up in postwar China. He shared his memories of the 1950s and 1960s with Crestwood student Victoria Xu in March 2014; they are here overdubbed in English by Victoria. Mr. Xu’s memories include growing up against the backdrop of the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, as well as the changes […]

Marcharia, Bodia

Bodia Marcharia is the current president of Friends of the Congo, an NGO dedicated to improving the quality of life for the Congolese people. Bodia is a passionate speaker, and she addressed many of the region’s concerns, among them conflict minerals and the conditions facing Congolese women. Bodia visted Crestwood in January 2012, where she […]

Matsuoko, Tamaki

Tamaki Matsuoka began her career as an elementary school teacher in Osaka, Japan. As she taught her students about Japan’s past, she became aware of the many gaps in her and their knowledge; this led her to become an advocate for remembrance and recognition of the real history of Japan’s World War Two aggression, notably the […]

McCarney, Rosemary

Rosemary McCarney is President and CEO of Plan International Canada Inc. (Plan Canada), an international and humanitarian development organization. Founded as Foster Parents Plan, this NGO now works in more than 45 developing countries helping children and their families achieve lasting improvements in their lives. That includes the notable “Because I am a Girl” campaign. […]

McGill, Kathryn

Kathryn McGill was born July 21, 1925 in Glasgow, Scotland. She grew up there in the 1930s, and by her account she had a good life, going to school, performing acrobatics and enjoying the odd day at the zoo. Her father was a carpenter who had a disability that kept him out of the Great […]

McLean, Susan

Susan McLean was born May 12, 1948; she came of age in the 60s, an idealistic young woman in the time of JFK. Asked what she could do for her country, she chose the Red Cross and Vietnam, serving as one of the fable “Donut Dollies” of the time. It became her mission to bring […]

McMullen, Jennifer

Jennifer McMullen (nee Conaway) was born October 22, 1924 in Scio, Ohio. She grew up there against the backdrop of the Great Depression, and she recalls government agencies such as the CCC and the WPA. When the war came her two brothers were drafted, and Jennifer recalls the way the country united, with everyone wanting […]

Mohammed, Tahir

On April 28, 2017, Crestwood World History and Religion students took a day to take in the multireligious and multicultural character of Toronto. Students visited a Sikh gurdwara, a Hindu temple, and in the afternoon we visited the Noor Cultural Centre and Mosque, to take part in Friday prayers. It was a day for students to put […]

Muinuddin, Talat

Mutabazi, Eugene et Rosalie Uwimabera

Eugène Mutabazi et Rosalie Uwimabera sont les deux survivants du Génocide au Rwanda en 1994. Eugène à passé son enfance au Congo, et puis au Rwanda dans les années 80s. Toute la famille de son père à été assassinée dans les massacres avant le Génocide, entre les années 1959 et 1973. Quand il a retourné […]

Nemat, Marina

Marina Nemat was born in 1965 in Tehran, Iran. At the age of 16, she was arrested on false charges and spent more than two years in the infamous Evin prison, in Tehran, where she, along with many of her friends, was tortured. She was condemned to die, but survived because one of the Revolutionary […]

Nitsch, Gunter

Gunter Nitsch was born December 3, 1937 in Konigsberg, Germany. He was only two when the war began, so he has no memories of that, but he does remember many remarkable events during and especially after the war as Gunter grew up against the backdrop of Nazism and the war, and then Stalin and the […]

Ohori, Joe

On the morning of August 6, 1945, the American B-29 bomber Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. This would mark the beginning of the final days of the war, ultimately leading to an unconditional Japanese surrender and VJ Day. The hibakusha are the surviving victims of the atomic bombs […]

Parfitt, Sheila

Sheila Parfitt was born March 9, 1928 in Lowestoft, England. Lowestoft was a coastal city, so most of the men in the family were involved in the fishing trade, but with tough times in the Great Depression, Shelia’s family relocated to Ely, a cathedral town inland. From that period she remembers well the early events […]

Patil, Raj

Dr. Raj Patil is a representative of the Jainist Society of Canada. He spoke to the World Religions class in October 2014, sharing his insights about this ancient faith. The students in the class completed this oral history project as a group, and they and Mr. Masters thank Dr. Patil for his generosity. […]

Pearl, Laurie

Laurie Pearl was born January 15, 1949 in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. She grew up in that small town in a large family, against the backdrop of the “Fabulous 50s” and the Cold War. Even though her experience of the outside world was limited, Laurie recalls the pages of Life magazine, and how it opened up her […]

Perhar, Ranbir

Mr. Ran Perhar is a valued member of the Crestwood community. In the spring of 2013 he welcomed Crestwood students to his gurdwara, and in the winter of that year Mr. Hawkins’ World Religions Class had the opportunity to return the welcome. Mr. Perhar was able to offer students a glimpse into how Sikh beliefs […]

Pietrzyk, Jenny

Jenny Pietrzyk was born in 1920s Poland, and she was a teenager by the time the war came. Finding herself in eastern Poland, Jenny and her family were in the Soviet zone, based on the Molotov-von Ribbentrop Pact. While the early years brought deprivation, the real onslaught for Jenny and her family came in […]

Pinderhughes, Charles

Charles Pinderhughes grew up in the Boston area in the 60s and 70s. His parents were connected to the civil rights movement of the time, and the young Charles absorbed the ethos of the day, often attending the SNCC (Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee) meetings that his parents held in their home. Charles moved in this […]

Pretlow, Alice

Alice Pretlow was born November 21, 1956. She grew up in Batesville, Mississippi in the 1960s, and was among the first of her generation to enter desegregated schools in that state in 1964. One of eight children, she grew up on a farm, where she learned how to work hard. Her parents were committed to […]

Ratansi, Yasmin

Yasmin Ratansi is the Member of Parliament for Don Valley East. A native of Tanzania, in March 2017 she visited with Crestwood students bound for Tanzania, telling them about her time there. The students learned about the ins-and-outs of Tanzanian culture and other economic and environmental realities. After her talk with the Me-to-We students, she […]

Rotondo, Dominic

Domenic Rontondo was born in Italy, in the early months of World War Two. When his father went off to war, his mother saved Domenic’s life during aerial bombing that devastated their village and killed most of the family. Domenic was raised by his grandparents and learned about his early life through them and other […]

Sallie, Rabia

Rabia Sallie is the sister of Zatoon Vania, who also appears on this page. Rabia too is fom South Africa, where she grew up under the shadow of Apartheid. Like here sister Zatoon, Rabia also braved the consequences and challenged the intolerance of that system. We met her at the Noor Cultural Centre in Toronto, […]

Saltzman, Paul

Paul Saltzman was born December 10, 1943 in Toronto. He grew up there in a secular Jewish family, amidst the affluence of postwar Toronto. Paul recalls that his parents were non-believers, so his Judaism was a matter of identity more than faith. Even so, he did remember the sting of antisemitism that at times entered […]

Santos, Rowena

Rowena Santos is actively involved in Ontario and local politics. She is a member of the provincial NDP, where she serves as Vice President, and she is affiliated with the organization Equal Voice, which seeks to promote women’s involved in Canadian politics, and she has twice spoken to Politics and Female Mentor Group students at […]

Shukyn, Murray

We met Murray Shukyn at the Baycrest Terraces in January 2015, as part of the new Crestwood-Baycrest initiative to document Jewish history in postwar Toronto. And Murray made interesting contributions in that regard. Murray grew up in the shadow of World War Two, and he reached maturity in the context of the 50s and 60s, […]

Sim Jin Tae

During the Second World War, hundreds of thousands of Korean civilians, along with thousands of others in the occupied territories, were conscripted for Japan’s war effort, a topic that is only on the periphery of Western historiography and education. During their visit to Seoul, members of the Alpha Education Peace Tour were able to meet […]

Singh Nagra, Pardeep

Pardeep Singh Nagra is a Canadian athlete and human rights activist. He came to speak to Mr. Masters’ History 10 class in the spring of 2010 and again in 2011, which he followed up with an interview by student representatives from the YARRD club. Pardeep’s story is an inspirational one; he came to Canada from […]

Smoyer, Nancy

Nancy Smoyer is from Princeton, New Jersey, where she grew up against the backdrop of the 50s and 60s United States. Coming out of college, Nancy yearned to travel the world, and after a year spent abroad in France – where she witnessed protests about Vietnam – Nancy decided to learn more about the issue […]

Snodgrass, Dagie

Dagie Snodgrass was born February 4, 1934 in Berlin, Germany. That means she grew up during the Nazi era, and she recalls learning from her father – who was a police officer – the importance of keeping secrets. Trust was a rare commodity in that period, and Dagie learned those lessons early in life. Dagie’s […]

Sprecher, Becky

Becky Sprecher was born in 1950 in Hopkinsville, Kentucky – the Baby Boom had begun. Becky remembers her elementary school teachers saying on the first day of school, “I’ve never had a class this big!” There were certain advantages in small town America in those days in that the kids could ride their bikes just […]

Stickley, Charlcie

Charlcie Stickley came to Canada at 7 years of age. After her fathger left, her mother had to clean houses; it was a hard life for her mother. Even as a student, Charlcie was aware of economic realities of Great Depression and felt restricted in school. In June 1942, she met her future husband. When […]

Subhani, Munni

Munni Subhani came to us through the Noor Cultural Centre, where she is a member of the congregation. Munni is an accomplished dancer who has taught north Indian classical dance for years at her dance school in Toronto. She says she has found that dance benefits not only the body, but the soul as well, […]

Sunohara, Vicky

Vicky Sunohara was born May 18, 1970 in Scarborough, Ontario. Her family is Japanese and Ukrainian, and her grandparents on her Japanese side were victims of Canada’s infamous World War Two internment camps; forced to leave British Columbia they came to Ontario after the war. Vicky’s father David played hockey at the university level for […]

Thiyagarajah, Nayani

Nayani Thiyagarajah is a speaker and community activist and a director and a producer, a daughter of the Yalpanam-Tamil diaspora, as well as a writer, performance artist, and filmmaker. She has worked extensively with multiple arts-based organizations and performance groups across Toronto, including Manifesto Community Projects, ArtReach Toronto, b.current Performing Arts, and Schools Without Borders. She […]

Tho Nguyen

Tho Nguyen was born August 15, 1927 in Vietnam. […]

Thu Nguyen

Thu Nguyen grew up in Vietnam, growing up as a series of wars raged around him and his family. He recalls that he was not too impacted by the war in the early years, but with 1968 and the Tet Offensive, he and his family were on the move, staying ahead of the NVA and […]

Topping, Al

Al Topping was born in Montego Bay, Jamaica in 1939. His family emigrated to the United States in 1946, on a Pan Am flight to Miami, and Al grew up in Brooklyn. He made the decision to join the airline industry in 1964, first with United and then with Pan Am in 1969. Pan Am […]

Trate, Dorothy

Dorothy Trate was born July 9, 1922 in Narvon, a community in Caernarvon Township in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. She grew up there against the backdrop of the Great Depression. Her husband was put on deferment during the war, as he operated specialized machinery in a war work factory. Dorothy for her part was a ‘Rosie […]

Tucker-Roberts, Dorothy

Dorothy Tucker-Roberts was born October 4, 1953; she grew up in rural Mississippi in the 50s and 60s, the daughter of parents who were active in the civil rights movement. She was among the first Black students in Mississippi to attend racially integrated schools. She remembers it as a challenging time; she and her siblings […]

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Tucker, Allen

Allen Tucker was born July 14, 1951 in Mound Bayou, Mississippi. He grew up in a large farm family there, dealing with the realities of the Jim Crow South. Allen recalls that the family did not go into town often, so the principal segregation the children encountered was at school. He also remembers working on […]

Tucker, Gloria

Gloria Tucker was born April 14, 1946 in Batesville, Mississippi, where she grew up in a farming community in the Jim Crow South. She remembers that her parents owned their land, and the family was actively involved in their church and 4H Club. The young Gloria worked on the farm and did the farm bookkeeping. […]

Turner, Davina

Davina Turner was in the CWAC Canadian Women’s Auxiliary Corps as WW2 came to a close. She toured Europe with her band, entertaining the occupying troops stationed in northern Germany. She met her future husband on the troop ship as they returned to Canada. After the war Davina settled into life in postwar Toronto, doing […]

van Dyk, Jerry

Jerry van Dyk was born Sept. 13, 1933 in the Netherlands, in the northern province of Friesland. Jerry saw the beginning of the German when the planes of the Luftwaffe flew overhead on their way to bomb Rotterdam in 1940, and he witnessed the German occupation of his country from 1940-44. His family lived in […]

Vania, Zatoon

Zatoon Vania grew up in South Africa, where she experienced the full weight of the Apartheid regime. She and her husband fought that system and became members of the African National Congress, where they worked with Nelson Mandela. Zatoon came to Canada in the mid-1960s, where she raised a family and pursued a career. We […]

White, Edith

We met Edith White at the Castle Peak Retirement Suites in Bracebridge, where she presently lives. Eve is one of several authors/editors who assembled At Your Age, a collection of stories of those who live there. The residents felt it was important for them to record their stories, which serve as a great entry point into […]

Wintrob, Kitty

Kitty Simmonds was a spirited 10-year old girl, growing up in London’s east end. She grew up with family and friends, and was living a normal childhood life. When the war came, that all changed; entire schools and neighbourhoods were evacuated to the countryside. Kitty was not happy about leaving; she did want to be […]

Wu Jianping

Wu Xianbin

Wu Xianbin is a private citizen in Nanjing, China, one with a passion for history. His commitment to keeping alive the memory of the Nanjing Massacre is second-to-none, as evidenced in the private museum he has founded in the city. Mr. Wu believes that history offers a guideline not only to the past, but to […]

Ye Sai Chu

Zhao Zong Ren

Zhao Zong Ren is a Chinese citizen who was a victim of Japan’s system of forced labour during the Second World War. He is actively seeking justice for the ways in which he was exploited and harmed during that distant conflict. Mr. Zhao – only 14 at the time – recalls being tortured by the […]

Oral History Project