The Rășcanu Weekly Update Lesson 84: Lasting community pillars begin with grassroots action Dear friend, While visiting Elora (one of Canada's most beautiful and historically preserved towns) with my family this weekend, I found myself reflecting on the profound impact that dedicated community organizing, and even just a single organization, can make in shaping a community's character and future. This reflection inspired me to focus this week's e-newsletter on the story of the LAMP Community...
11 days ago • 2 min read
The Rășcanu Weekly Update Lesson 83: Find value in what others walk away from Hi friend, In preparation for the ExperienceTO: New Toronto Historical Tour taking place on Saturday, August 8, I’ve been reflecting on how easy it is to pass by a problem every day and miss the practical opportunity hiding right inside it. If you walk through Humber Polytechnic’s Lakeshore Campus today, you see a busy, well-integrated educational site set among restored 19th-century brick cottages. But for over a...
18 days ago • 2 min read
The Rășcanu Weekly Update Lesson 82: You don’t need the perfect setup to start building something great. Hi friend, While mapping out the route and researching archives for our upcoming ExperienceTO: New Toronto Historical Tour, I discovered a piece of local history that offers a deeply practical lesson for our day-to-day lives. It is the story of a local legend named Gus Ryder. Long before modern sports were defined by multi-million dollar indoor training complexes, world-class athletic...
25 days ago • 3 min read
The Rășcanu Weekly Update Lesson 81: Your Vision Can Outlive You Hi friend, When we think about building a legacy, some may want to measure it by continuous, upward financial success. But history has a fascinating way of showing us that a person's truest impact can completely outlive personal business successes or failures. Let’s explore the roller-coaster life of Thomas McDonald, the man who looked at a patch of Etobicoke farmland and saw a booming industrial future. Thomas McDonald was "a...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
The Rășcanu Weekly Update Lesson 80: Independence is a Journey, Not an Event Dear friend, Did you know that Canada Day wasn't always called Canada Day, and that - for a long time - we legally needed permission just to change our country's laws? With July 1st fresh in our minds, I looked into the holiday’s history, and it turns out it’s been quite a journey: July 1, 1867: The British North America Act (today known as the Constitution Act, 1867) created our country by bringing the British...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
The Rășcanu Weekly Update Lesson 79: Service, not to self but to others Dear friend, During the ExperienceTO: Long Branch Historical Tour on July 11th, we'll get to visit the local Royal Canadian Legion's Branch 101 and hear from its President (and Veteran) Alan Roy. Looking back in history, we find that following the First World War, numerous veterans' organizations emerged across Canada, with the Great War Veterans Association standing as the largest of 15 distinct groups. The push for...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
The Rășcanu Weekly Update Lesson 78: Live a Life of Service to Others, as Inspired by Ann Marie Curtis Dear friend, While exploring the history of Long Branch on Etobicoke Historical Society’s website in preparation for the ExperienceTO: Long Branch Historical Tour, I came across the story of Ann Marie Curtis who served as reeve (i.e., head of municipal council) of the village of Long Branch from 1953 to 1962 and after whom the Marie Curtis Park and Marie Curtis Park (East and West) Beaches...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
The Rășcanu Weekly Update Lesson 77: Land Rich, Asset Poor. A 200-Year-Old Lesson from Long Branch’s First Land Owner Dear friend, I hope you’re having a great week! In preparation for the upcoming #ExperienceTO: Long Branch Historical Tour on July 11, I’ve been researching the story of Captain Samuel Smith, the very first landowner of the area we now call Long Branch. On paper, Captain Smith had the ultimate high-achieving backstory. Born in Long Island, New York, to a family fiercely loyal...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
The Rășcanu Weekly Update Lesson 76: Embrace Innovation to Expand Your Impact (And Other Insights From Hart Massey) Dear friend, As we prepare to explore the historic brick facades and hidden stories of one of Toronto’s most iconic neighborhoods this coming Saturday, June 13th, during the #ExperienceTO: Liberty Village Historical Tour, it’s the perfect time to look closer at the life of someone who helped built it. Every time we walk past the masterfully restored industrial buildings of...
2 months ago • 3 min read