The MCHS 60s Reunion will take place on Oct. 17, 2015 at Old Mill Toronto
View looking south from Old Mill Road in the Kingsway residential neighbourhood. One of the three main entrances to Old Mill Toronto is the entrance where the cars are parked. Jaan Pill photo
In September 2014, after taking a break during the summer, the Malcolm Campbell High School 60s Reunion organizing committee met in Toronto and in Kitchener.
Sept. 22, 2014
Jaan Pill (left) and Scott Munro check out the fireplace at Brûlé Ballroom C.
On Sept. 22, 2014 Scott Munro and Jaan Pill visited Old Mill Toronto, the venue for the MCHS 60s Reunion, which will take place a year from now on Oct. 17, 2015.
Sept. 24, 2014
On Sept. 24, 2014 Lynn Legge, Scott Munro, and Jaan Pill met at the Boston Pizza at 190 Gateway Park Drive off the 401 in Kitchener, Ontario. This is a handy place to meet as it’s half way between London where Lynn Legge lives, and the Greater Toronto Area where several other committee members live. You can get an overview of the latter meeting at this link.
Registration procedure
We have also had some recent phone and email conversations related to our communications strategy, the work that our reunion accountant will be doing, and the registration procedure that we will be setting up for the reunion. We will highlight these topics in subsequent posts.
Key participants in the recent planning discussions have included Howard Hight, Diana Redden, Peter Mearns, Lynn Legge, Scott Munro, and Jaan Pill among other MCHS alumni. We have welcomed ideas and concepts from many source and continue to be most interested in input from each person who has an interest in the reunion planning process. As always, we have much to learn from each other.
We are very excited about this reunion and look forward to meeting you at this event.
In this post we’ll describe the Sept. 22, 2014 visit to Old Mill Toronto, which also goes by the name of the Old Mill Inn.
Google Map
A Google Map of Old Mill Toronto at 21 Old Mill Road can be accessed here.
An overview of the amenities and services available at Old Mill Toronto can be accessed here.
Kingsway neighbourhood of Toronto
Sheila, a Sales Executive at Old Mill, met with us on Sept. 22 and led us on a tour of the facilities including the meeting rooms, the Home Smith Jazz Bar, the Old Mill Toronto Dining Room, the outside spaces including a courtyard, the historic Old Mill building, and the hotel that has been added to the Old Mill site in a major redevelopment project some years ago.
We noted that the facility is surrounded by extensive green space and is close to several parks located along the nearby Humber River valley.
Scott Munro recalled that his parents used to visit the Old Inn for lunch or dinner years ago, after they had moved to Toronto from Montreal.
The Old Mill is located in Kingsway neighbourhood of Toronto. relevant links can be found at the Bloor West Village and Kingsway BIA websites.
Three main entrances to Old Mill Toronto
Click on the Google Map to enlarge it. Click again to enlarge it further. Use 'back' button on your browser to return to the page you are now reading. You can also access the Google Map at the link at the page you are now reading.
Floor Plan - 1st Floor - Old Mill Toronto. Click on image to enlarge it. Use 'Back' button on your browser to return to the page you are now reading.
Old Mill has three main entrances.
One is the main entrance (see photo above) from the paid parking area on Old Mill Road across from the Old Mill. The parking lot is close to the Humber River.
The most direct route to the Brûlé Ballrooms is through the Dining Room and Flower Shop Entrance. Jaan Pill photo
Another entrance is the Dining Room and Flower Shop Entrance. This is an entrance offering the most direct route to the Étienne Brûlé Ballrooms, where the reunion will take place.
As soon as you come in the door, you turn right. On the way you pass the coat check, so if you wish to check your coat, that’s where you can check your coat.
Old Mill Subway
If you’re travelling by subway, there’s also a direct entrance from the Old Mill subway station, which opened in 1968. As part of our planning process, we’re looking at hotels located along the Bloor-Danforth subway line, among other locations.
The Old Mill also features guest rooms that are well worth looking at, if you’re considering where to stay for the reunion. These rooms will be available at block rates; please contact Jaan Pill at jpill@preservedstories.com if you are interested in booking a guest room at Old Mill.
Brûlé Ballrooms
We’ll probably use balloons to indicate the route from the main entrances to the Étienne Brûlé Ballrooms where the reunion will take place in – in Ballrooms C & B, or in Ballroom C, depending on the attendance figures.
As you proceed, you avoid the stairs and proceed along the hallway. You then arrive at the Brûlé Ballrooms. The association with the history of New France is very good, given that MCHS was in Montreal. We can set up a registration table outside of the entrance to Brûlé Ballroom C, or we can set up a photographer’s booth (along with the photographer’s on-site printer) at that location. The Old Inn uses the rooms for New Year’s parties and their Christmas buffet.
When we visited the Brûlé rooms, they were set up in classroom style for a meeting. The 60s reunion will not be in a classroom format. The space will be set up for a buffet, with a space in the middle, close to the north wall, for dancing. We can also have a riser in place, with a podium, so that if you’re sitting at the back, you can see who’s speaking.
Scott Munro (MCHS 63) checks out the Brûlé Ballrooms. Jaan Pill photo
Each room features a fireplace.
Étienne Brûlé
Given that few primary sources are available about Brûlé’s life, stories about him tend to vary widely based on differing interpretations of the small number of historical facts that are known about him.
Étienne Brûlé at the mouth of the Humber River in 1615, 399 years ago as of 2014, accompanied by First Nations guides. Pen & Ink drawing, circa 1933, by C.W. Jefferys. Credit: Library and Archives Canada, Acc. No. 1972-26-1395. Copyright: Expired
Scott Munro has remarked: “If Brûlé was at the mouth of the Humber then the naming of the Brûlé room at the Old Mill is apt.”
After the meeting, Scott and Jaan had an enjoyable lunch at the Old Mill Toronto Dining Room. In subsequent posts, we’ll share more details related to Old Mill Toronto and will also highlight the Sept. 24, 2014 meeting of the MCHS 60s organizing committee in Kitchener.
This is great Jaan.
You folks have done yeoman work here.
Our town here has just had its class of 64 reunion for Grafton HS.
Since we have lived here only 14 years I have had to live this vicariously. Makes me even more excited about our our event. It ran 3 days. I was impressed with one event. A pig roast.
Think about it.
Great to read your message Howard.
That’s cool – to know it ran three days and included a pig roast which, as you’ve explained in an email, was highlighted in a local Grafton MA newspaper report.
We’ll have to think about that!
Our MCHS 60s event is on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2015. Once the key planning is all in place, what do you think about adding some optional events for the Friday (Oct. 16) and Sunday (Oct. 18) before and after the reunion?
One thought: The organizing of an optional walk of some kind along the nearby Humber River valley is among the concepts that have occurred to me. It might, for example, have stops along the way where one or another person shares a three-minute talk about a classmate or teacher who is no longer with us but that people remember, these many years later.
Other than the pig roast I was not suggesting the 3 days. Grafton was a small rural town 50 years ago and very close as a community. We were all from many diverse communities.
Our interrelationship s are very different. A couple of folks have expressed a hope it is not too structured. Just a thought to keep in mind. My sense is people just want to be able to freely mingle and find their comfort zones. I do think there should be some designated hosts that can ensure no one is left out.
Good points. I very much agree with your comments.
Every reunion is unique, and must be tailored to reflect the uniqueness.
One of the things that stayed with me, when we met with Sheila the Sales Executive at Old Mill Toronto, was Scott Munro’s comment (I paraphrase): “Keep it simple. A chance to mingle.”
I very much like the idea of the designated hosts that can ensure no one is left out. That is absolutely a priority. There is so much value in an event that is inclusive, where each person feels at home, and has a sense of comfort.
Scott is spot on.
Is this really happening??? Class of 70
Friends of N.Booth, Gary Lambertz, Heather Liddell,,
Rocky Dalonzo and many more.
Pls keep me posted on updates as to time, date, place and costs
It’s happening for sure, Derek!
I’ll get you in touch with Diana Redden and Howard Hight who are looking after the MCHS Sixties Reunion database. I’ll post a report soon on the Oct. 29, 2014 meeting of the organizing committee, in Kitchener, Ontario.