The March 20, 2012 meeting of the Long Branch Historical Society will be held at James. S. Bell Junior Middle School

We’ve scheduled a speaker – Honorary Colonel Gerald Haddon will speak about the history of Canadian aviation – at the March 20, 2012 meeting of the Long Branch Historical Society. The meeting starts at 6:30 pm.

We have a contract in place for the renting, from the Toronto District School Board, of the library at James S. Bell Junior Middle School.

We owe many thanks to Pamela Gough, Ward 3, Etobicoke-Lakeshore Trustee, Toronto District School Board, for (a) suggesting James S. Bell and (b) ensuring that the paperwork was processed in time. We owe thanks as well to Debbie Wagdin, Constituency Assistant to Pamela Gough, for her assistance.

As well, we owe thanks to Barry Kemp, President of the Long Branch Historical Society, for his initial (and critical) phone contact with the TDSB regarding the room rental. We owe thanks to many people for enabling us to get this contract into place quickly. The assistance is much appreciated!

The school is located at 90 Thirty First Street, a short walk south from Lake Shore Blvd. West.

At this meeting, Hon. Col. Gerald Haddon will speak about the history of Canadian aviation.

The first airplane flight in Canada, and in the British Empire, took place on Feb. 23, 1909, when the honorary colonel’s grandfather, J.A. D. McCurdy, flew an airplane from the frozen surface of a lake in Nova Scotia.

This link shows a great shot of the pilot in the pilot’s seat.

In the event you plan to attend, we would advise you arrive early. This event has been extensively publicized.

We’re also working on planning of the Long Branch Jane’s Walk, beginning at 10:30 am on Sunday, May 6, 2012, starting from the East Parking Lot at Marie Curtis Park. As well, we’re assisting with planning of similar walks in New Toronto and Mimico. The Long Branch walk will be 90 minutes in length.

Here is an overview of planning for the Jane’s Walk in Long Branch.

The walks will include a social media component as a way of recording — and online sharing of – brief reactions and comments of Jane’s Walks’ participants.

If you have interest and/or experience in social media and would like to help with this aspect of the upcoming 2012 Jane’s Walks, anywhere in the Toronto Region, please let us know.

Best,

Jaan Pill