Welcome to the Leslieville Historical Society's website. Please feel free to join us, to ask questions, to attend walking tours and other events, and to celebrate Leslieville's past while creating our future. Guy Anderson, President, Leslieville Historical Society and Joanne Doucette, local historian and webmaster.
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3 thoughts on “March 16th in Leslieville: Pape Recreation Centre Opens”
What a wonderful surprise in my e-mail this morning! I grew up on Austin Ave. and I remember the building that was there before the new rec centre opened. The park staff were called ‘trainers’ by all the kids. The park was much different then and I remember it as being a LOT bigger then. Of course, when they built the new recreation centre, it was wonderful. Kids could play games, learn woodworking and other skills. The wooden fence on the south side of the park enclosing the Jewish cemetary had cartoon character posters covered in plastic for the kids to enjoy. They also had a circular wading pool in the park that is still there, but I don’t know if it is used any more. The baseball diamond is still there. We kids used to climb up on top of the batting ‘cage’ and watch the players. Living on Austin Ave, we used to take a shortcut through the parking lot of a dance studio that was on Austin, but it has been torn down and a house built there instead. Many fond memories of that park. I still go there whenever I have time and am in Toronto.
I really appreciate your newsletter and I am enjoying the history.
I worked at Pape RC in the 90’s as a Rec. Instructor, then Coordinator then Area Manager. The building has good bones and if those hallways could talk. Excellent programs, amazing and caring staff, both full time and part time. The volunteers were a gift that kept on giving. I had the honour and pleasure of spending time with Matty Eckler back then who was a regular visitor and became a friend. He was the Centre Coordinator when Pape RC was a house and then when it became a recreation centre. It was wonderful to have the name of the centre changed to Matty Eckler CRC to honour his decades of service to the residents and neighborhood.
Leslieville Historical Society 
What a wonderful surprise in my e-mail this morning! I grew up on Austin Ave. and I remember the building that was there before the new rec centre opened. The park staff were called ‘trainers’ by all the kids. The park was much different then and I remember it as being a LOT bigger then. Of course, when they built the new recreation centre, it was wonderful. Kids could play games, learn woodworking and other skills. The wooden fence on the south side of the park enclosing the Jewish cemetary had cartoon character posters covered in plastic for the kids to enjoy. They also had a circular wading pool in the park that is still there, but I don’t know if it is used any more. The baseball diamond is still there. We kids used to climb up on top of the batting ‘cage’ and watch the players. Living on Austin Ave, we used to take a shortcut through the parking lot of a dance studio that was on Austin, but it has been torn down and a house built there instead. Many fond memories of that park. I still go there whenever I have time and am in Toronto.
I really appreciate your newsletter and I am enjoying the history.
Tim Philp
I worked at Pape RC in the 90’s as a Rec. Instructor, then Coordinator then Area Manager. The building has good bones and if those hallways could talk. Excellent programs, amazing and caring staff, both full time and part time. The volunteers were a gift that kept on giving. I had the honour and pleasure of spending time with Matty Eckler back then who was a regular visitor and became a friend. He was the Centre Coordinator when Pape RC was a house and then when it became a recreation centre. It was wonderful to have the name of the centre changed to Matty Eckler CRC to honour his decades of service to the residents and neighborhood.
Yes I agree, I used the recreation centre regularly back in that period. Joanne Doucette