-
Old churches and new realities
On the corner of Hyatt Avenue and Hamilton Road sits the 108-year-old Hyatt Avenue United Church. But the fading front sign and black metal fence erected across the entrance signal that the church has closed. It is a church only in form, not in function. Two blocks west of Hyatt Avenue, at Adelaide and Little…
-
Anglers hooked on urban fishing
Paul Holmes casts his fishing line into the cold and fast-flowing Thames River. It’s snowing lightly and -6 C, but it feels much colder as wind blows across the river. Holmes slowly reels the line back in, past a small group of ducks squawking at each other. His lure – a flimsy piece of white,…
-
Taking care of a building… and people
Stan Szapiel stands atop a step ladder manoeuvring a long tube light into place. “Ah c’mon baby!” he said one Friday, just before finally snapping it into the socket. As the light flickers on, Szapiel climbs down and heads back to the storage room with the old light. Szapiel, 49, is a caretaker in the…
-
Hard metal, fast cash and easy crime
Two days before Robert Munroe took possession of his new house on Hyatt Avenue in London, it was robbed. The thieves broke in at night and made off with some valuable metal. But they didn’t take gold bars or platinum coins. They took copper. “All the copper pipes had been stripped from the house. A…