The Toronto Chapter: A History

By Harold D. Shield

An organizational meeting of Toronto area antique boat enthusiasts was held in November of 1980 with about a dozen persons in attendance. A vote confirmed that all were willing to proceed so 1981 became the first year of operation with an elected board of directors, a slate of activities, and regular meetings. Participation in the January Toronto International Boat show produced many new members as did a summer display at Harbourfront where 25 wooden boats created publicity and public interest. By year end the membership secretary was able to announce that 166 mailings were being made regularly to 242 members.

Darragh Elliott was elected the first president with John Blair as vice-president, Ken Russell as Secretary, Ken MacStephen as Treasurer. Fund raising efforts included the sale of club buttons at the boats shows but advertising, sponsorship, and corporate assistance were quickly identified as much faster methods of funding activities.

Geography and history provided a not surprising boost to membership development as Toronto, situated on Lake Ontario, had a significant Great Lakes maritime history, and the nearby vacation areas of Muskoka, the Kawartha Lakes, the Trent-Severn Canal system, Georgian Bay, the Bay of Quinte, and innumerable smaller lakes and rivers had given rise to many builders of canoes, rowing boats, runabouts, launches, and cruisers. Yacht clubs in Toronto harbor had achieved world standards in sailing competition dating back to the 1850's. The love of boating and sailing, the respect and admiration for fine craftsmanship, and the determination to preserve the past were an important part of our heritage.

In 1982 a new slate of officers took over, dedicated to increasing membership, adding club events, and publishing a catalogue of members and their boats. Heather Walker became president, supported by two vice presidents- John Blair and Fred DeBoer. Kathy Wheeler became the new secretary and Ken MacStephen stayed on as treasurer. Pam Blair became the new director of membership and the directory, while Bill Cleland was named fund raiser. Ken Kirk stepped into the post of newsletter editor while Murray Walker became the first archivist.

A second participation at the Toronto boat show plus another summer event at Harbourfront kept the membership growing. Prominent charter members of the new club included John Black Aird, the Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario, Douglas Basset of television fame, brothers Conrad and Montegu Black industrialists and financiers, Timothy A. Chisholm, food importer, and many more socially-prominent citizens of Toronto. Their willingness to support and encourage the club attracted the interest of society columnist Zena Cherry whose newspaper reports of club functions created a valuable endorsement of membership.

The membership directory revealed that Shepherd boats were the largest group in the club ownership, a position which they hold to the present time. The 1903 Rambler, a 70' day cruiser, was and still is, the largest vessel in the fleet. The oldest sailboat was an 1915 Aykroyd dinghy, and the oldest powerboat was an 1895 lifeboat powered by a two cylinder Habolt engine.

In 1983, the third summer boat show took place in Port Carling, a central location where a lock connects the three Muskoka lakes. Ken MacStephen was now the president and memberships had reached 262. This steady increase in membership has continued throughout the years with 1999 reaching 1044 mailings to 1719 members. During these years the membership fee has increased only from $25 to $35, but value has increased many times over as the annual schedule covers activities embracing every month of the year. The April tour of boat restorers' shops brings participants up to date on the over winter restorations and rebuilds, the August rendezvous offers a day on the water visiting owners' boathouses and collections, members' nights offer speakers and sociability in an informal situation while the February workshop offers technical expertise and assistance to boat owners. Our club publication, Classic Boat, has been improved and expanded over the years and now features color photography, informative articles, and a much-read classified sales section.

1984 was Ken MacStephen's second year as president and a banner year for the summer show which had returned to its Toronto Harbourfront location . Featuring vintage Gold Cup racing boats this memorable weekend attracted enormous crowds to the waterside park location drawn by newspaper, radio, and television publicity to see these old-timers put through their paces.

By now it was evident that the continuing strength of the club, its remarkable growth and its financial stability was due to the quality of its leaders. Excellent presidents supported at every position by dedicated, hard-working directors, chairpersons, and members meant that every year would see new accomplishments, additional events, greater membership participation, and more public appreciation of our pleasure boating heritage.

Each following president could easily be identified with innovations, expansions, improvements, and successes that occurred within his term, and it is only for the necessity to be brief that we cannot chronicle each year. But it is desirable to list them for the record, and hopefully expand our history in another document. Murray Walker became president in 1985, Gary Adams in 1986. Peter Bailey was another two term president in 1987 and 1988. Allen Flye served in 1989, Jim Domm in 1990, with Michael Ferguson serving in both 1991 and 1992. Bruce Clarke and Robert Rueter handled 1993 and 1994 respectively, while Harold Shield was in the chair for 1995. Andrew Dyment was in charge for 1996 followed by Ken Kirk in 1997, with Tom Mooney and Duncan Hawkins in 1998 and 1999. Doug Robbie was chairman in 2000 and Rick Terry is our President for 2001. Many of these persons served in important other capacities with ACBS International and Toronto. Many were recognized by important awards for their achievements, ability, and outstanding contributions.

The recipients of the President's Cup Awards are also deserving of recognition as their contributions were of the utmost importance in the continuing growth and success that has characterized the club. Pam Blair was recognized in 1983 for her organization of the club's first Port Carling boat show, Ken MacStephen in 1984 for his importance as a founder, president, and chapter organizer. George and Diana Thompson were honored in 1985 for summer boat show efforts, Anette Hurlihey in 1986 for her outstanding work as club secretary. Pam Blair, now a two-time winner, was the 1987 choice for her efforts in membership, while Jim Domm was honored in 1988 for the organization of a show at Orillia and the International convention which Toronto hosted at Clevelands House. In 1989 Paul Ambrose as treasurer was the President's choice for his work in reorganizing club administrative procedures while Peter and Joan Bailey received the award in 1990 for their leadership at the Peterborough summer show. Two couples, Paul and Marg Harden and Harry and Ruth Sutton were honored in 1991 for their long-time staffing of our exhibit at the Toronto Boat Show, and our outstanding membership secretary, Happy Thomson was the winner in 1992. John DeBoer was the choice in 1993 for his many years of support and sponsorship of club activities, with Ken Kirk achieved his award in 1994 for his outstanding ability to find sponsors for our magazine, boat shows, and other events. Another tower of strength in club administration, Tom Mooney was the winner in 1995, while Donna Townsend was singled out in 1996 for her efforts in organizing another successful international convention at Clevelands House. Jim Onions who certainly epitomized "volunteerism" was recognized for just that in 1997, while Bob Brown, as publication editor was awarded the President's Cup in 1998 for his outstanding improvements in Classic Boat. Pete Conacher was recognized as another "ultimate" volunteer in 1999, and Bob Brown, now retiring as Classic Boat editor was honored again in year 2000 for his outstanding achievements .

With the passing of the years our growth, stability, and expanding programs all speak of membership satisfaction and support, but the continuing improvement now allows us to enter new fields, carrying out our mandate of preservation and restoration.

To increase our communication and membership service we have now established a club website at hyperlink http://www.acbs.ca
www.acbs.ca where club membership, club activities, a photo gallery, links to other sites, and other wonders of the internet serve our members and the public.

To carry out our mandate to preserve the memory of our regional boat builders we have undertaken a program of "Taking Off the Lines" from important examples of their production, creating accurate drawings that will forever capture the details of their dimension and construction for future generations. Unlike the larger US production builders most Canadian shops left almost nothing in the way of accurate drawings, so our program hopes to rectify this knowledge gap.

Our annual summer show, which is being held on Saturday, July 14, this year, provides a focal point for our hobby. This has become a major club effort; more than 10,000 people attend this event held each year at Gravenhurst's waterfront park, within sight of the abandoned Greavette and Ditchburn factories. Over 100 vessels are shown in the water, another hundred on land, plus a flea market of marine parts, and the ever-popular "Field of Dreams" where 40 or more classic boats on trailers are offered for sale by their owners. Because of its quality, its superb location, and its friendly club membership this Gravenhurst show welcomes many US exhibitors. In fact, we are proud that many US members of ACBS maintain a Toronto Chapter membership, and at $35 Canadian it's even better value for Americans.

And finally, with financial success becoming a habit, our club is now able to provide limited but very welcome financial support to some marine museums and other boating institutions in our area. Since we are a club and large amounts of money will probably never be available, our support sometime takes the form of volunteer assistance and encouragement to these institutions, but it is valuable, appreciated, and satisfying to those who are actively participating in preserving our boating heritage.

The history of ACBS/Toronto from 1981 to 2001 is a story of hard work, success, achievement, and fun. All this is confirmed by the happy news that our membership has now reached 2000, which was our millennium target. We expect to add the record of future years to this account as time rolls on.

Harold D. Shield

January, 2000

Email: sal@salshow.com