Presenting - The Beaches Library - A Centre of Learning and Community Interaction

Right in the heart of the Beach, just a few steps from the intersection of Queen Street and Lee Avenue is the Beaches Library, a stunning building designed by architect Eden Smith in the 17th Century English Collegiate Grammar School Style. A $50,000 grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York City to the Toronto Public Library facilitated the construction. The current building replaced a storefront library and was opened in December of 1916.

Two other nearly identical libraries (the Wychwood and High Park Branch) were opened around the same time, and George Locke, the chief librarian wanted the three buildings to bring to the minds of the people of the outlying districts some recollection of the Scottish and English village type architecture. The design was actually considered to be a decided revolt from the Classical styling of other Carnegie libraries.

The building is impressive and features a soaring hammer-beamed ceiling, a plain stone fireplace, lead-glass casement windows, and a minstrel gallery. In 2004, the western section of the Library was renovated and restored and reopened to the public in January of 2005. The new two-level wing represents a harmonious architectural addition to the existing building that integrates extremely well into the design. Since 1979 the Toronto Beaches Library has been included in the Inventory of Toronto Heritage Properties.

I had had several opportunities to visit the Beaches Library: as a meeting place for historic tours with Gene Domagala, when Barbara Weissmann, the Branch Head of the library, provided me with historical background information about the Beach, and as a special stop in my Beach tour with Sandra Bussin, who considers the Beaches Library her favourite building in the Beach.

One evening I dropped by and talked to Eniko Szabo, the childrens librarian, and she informed me about the various programs that are being offered to children and adults at the Beaches Library. Eniko herself is also a puppeteer who puts on a variety of animated shows for children throughout the year.

Both Barbara and Eniko directed me to a variety of special places in the building: the main floor multi-purpose room with the fireplace, the comfortable sitting areas on both levels of the west wing which according to Eniko provide some of the best sunset views in Toronto; a majestic view from the gallery over the Reading Hall; a historic tapestry that was created as a community project, and the original water fountain that has been preserved throughout the years.

The Beaches Library primarily features English print material, fiction and non-fiction for adults, teens and children as well as videos, DVDs and CDs. In addition, it also has an extensive local history collection as well as a wide selection of audio books, a career information collection, English as a Second Language materials, language learning kits, a large print collection and French language collections for both adults and children. The Beaches Library is one of the most active libraries in the Toronto Public Library system, one of the largest and busiest library systems in the world. Public usage has increased dramatically since the 2005 reopening after the renovation, attesting to the popularity of this library branch.

A variety of special events are also held at the Beaches Library, including a weekly Wednesday Afternoon at the Movies featuring classic and contemporary feature films every Wednesday at 2 pm. Beaches Book Lovers is a monthly drop-in for book discussions. The Teen Programs at the Beaches Library include Anime Films for March Break and a Knitting Circle that teaches basic stitches and how to knit a funky scarf. The Knitting Circle is also offered for children ages 7 and up. The popular Storytimes programs are offered for children of different ages including Babytime, Toddler Time and Preschool Storytime.

Susanne Pacher is the publisher of a website called Travel and Transitions (www.travelandtransitions.com). Travel and Transitions deals with unconventional travel and is chock full of advice, tips, real life travel experiences & interesting life journeys, interviews with travelers and travel experts, cross-cultural issues, and many other features.

Susanne has recently published a series of FREE travel ebooks about destinations such as Spain, Cuba, Mexico, Sicily, New York City, Chicago, Montreal, Toronto, Nova Scotia and many more. Visit Travel and Transitions - FREE ebooks (www.travelandtransitions.com/ebooks.html)"Life is a Journey Explore New Horizons".

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Importance of Family Rituals

My wife and I are officially members of a unique group. We even have a certificate to prove it. The certificate states that we have "crossed THE ARCTIC CIRCLE and survived an adventurous journey through the Alaska wilderness..." It was signed on June 14, 2006 by Kati, our guide. To further prove it, I even have a photo of our first step into that circle while driving the Dalton Highway from Fairbanks to Coldspot. After stepping over a dotted line on the red carpet Kati rolled out for us she gave us all a piece of chocolate cake to celebrate our accomplishment. We laughed about it, swatted a few hundred mosquitoes and continued on our journey. The ritual attached to that little adventure made it one of those moments that will remain in our memory. It served to remind me that rituals of all kinds are vital to the life of our families.

To illustrate here's what Todd Shelton wrote about the importance of ritual in joining his Kappa Alpha college fraternity.

"Any ritual, if indifferently practiced, can indeed become rigmarole, but something far deeper than repetitive performances makes a ritual both vital and enduring. A good ritual is a distillation of wisdom from ages past. The appeal of any ritual is its universal communication. It penetrates the mind and heart of the young initiate. It deals with the fundamental character of personal growth with which all men must deal. Society is in constant change, but human beings remain basically the same. Herein lies the value of ritualism; the initiate of today can relate to the initiate of other generations because both have reacted to an identical personal experience. A new initiate can feel vaguely akin to the glory of the past, yet to him the ritual is as fresh as the sunrise. It is the ritual that makes men fraternity brothers even though they have never met. It binds each initiate by a private but meaningful tie to all other members of the brotherhood." So far Shelton.

I'm not sure I am bound by my Arctic Circle ritual to those hundreds of other brave and sometime fool hardy souls that poured across the tundra in search of gold in years long past. However, I do have a new feeling about what daunting challenges that wilderness presented to them. The Arctic is no place for sissies. Less than a foot beneath the tundra is the solid ice permafrost. The winter temperatures drop beyond 60 degrees below zero Fahrenheit, not counting the wind chill. On top of that, there is only darkness for nearly a month. In our day such extremes present real challenges to those seeking the black gold called oil.

By contrast with those hardy souls of the gold rush days as well as the present day oil drillers, our crossing was literally "a piece of cake." We rode north on the gravel road in a ten passenger van and flew back to Fairbanks in a nine passenger airplane. Nevertheless, we now have a kinship with them all and our little ritual confirmed it.

That's the value of rituals. They connect us with one another and with those who have gone before us. Sylvia and I arrived home a few days before our national Father's Day. I grant you that Father's Day is nowhere near as important as Mother's Day, but I was visited by my daughter, son-in-law and grandkids. They took Sylvia and me out to dinner and gave me a little present. My son and his family were on an African safari vacation, but he even found a way to phone his Dad from the other side of the world. It all meant a lot. It was part of the ritual. We all strengthened our bond to one another. This was much more than the third Sunday in June. It was Father's Day and by the rituals of the day I am the Dad remembered. I won't forget it.

Alvin H. Franzmeier, D. Rel., M.Th., M.Div. Lutheran clergy, marriage and family therapist. Pastor, missionary, therapist and campus chaplain. Retired. Author of Bible studies, sermons and novels. Retreat and seminar leader. Married, father of three and grandfather of six.

Email: alandsyl@airmail.net
http://www.alfranzmeier.com

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