Keith Miller was born March 11, 1946 in Pittsburgh. He grew up in small town America in the 1950s, enjoying what life had to offer, from TV to baseball to playing in the street. It was also the time of the Cold War, and Keith remembers that his childhood was also interrupted by “duck and […]
Archives: Oral History Project
Daniel, Philip
Philip Daniel was born July 24, 1925 in Toronto. He grew up on a farm in the Leaside neighbourhood, where his father – a Great War veteran – delivered dairy goods. Philip’s father was part of the Canadian Engineers in the First World War, working with horses and keeping the supplies moving; his mother was […]
Claggett, Rick
Rick Claggett was born March 19, 1947, not too far from Philadelphia. Rick grew up against the backdrop of the “Fabulous 50s” – and the Cold War. By his account he lived a good life, enjoying the outdoor life and just being a child in postwar America. Vietnam entered the American consciousness in 1964-65; initially […]
Grubb, Alfred
Alfred Grubb was born October 25, 1921 on a farm near Hanover, Ontario. Alfred’s father had been a farmer, but when Alfred was three years old the family relocated to nearby Teeswater, where his father took a job at the local creamery. Alfred attended school up to Grade 8, but he was not fond of […]
Hurst, Rodney
Rodney Hurst is a civil rights activist and historian and author. He was born March 2, 1944 in Jacksonville, Florida, where he witnessed the tumult of the 1960s. He was personally involved in – and in fact was a leader of – the 1960 sit-in demonstrations in Jacksonville, Florida, events that saw a violent culmination […]
Cottrell, Edwin
Edwin Cottrell was born January 17, 1922 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. His parents moved to Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania the next year though, and that is where he grew up. Edwin remembers a good childhood – and one where he played all kinds of sports. His father – a Great War veteran – worked at the […]
Fejfar, Cliff
Cliff Fejfar was born May 1, 1949 in Yankton, South Dakota; when he was 3 the family moved to Sioux City, Iowa, and that’s where Cliff grew up. It was the 1950s, and life was good: Cliff and his friends played baseball, went to school, and watched TV – all the things that punctuated American […]
Woods, Larry
Larry Woods was born December 17, 1947 in Pittsburgh. Larry grew up there against the backdrop of the 1950s, which he remembers as an idyllic time. His father worked in a steel mill, supporting Larry and his many siblings as best he could. Life in the 50s was good, and Larry recalls games with his […]
Jones, Dorothy
Dorothy Jones was born November 29, 1920 in Lancaster, South Carolina. She grew up there with her five siblings, against the backdrop of the Great Depression and the early years of the war. Her father was a barber, and as Dorothy recalls that meant that he held onto his job during the lean years, but […]
King, Wallace
Wally King was born October 31, 1923 in Cortland, Ohio. He grew up in that rural part of the Buckeye state, not too far from the Pennsylvania border. Wally recalls a pretty normal childhood, growing up against the backdrop of the 1920s and the Great Depression 1930s. His father had two sons from his first […]
Martin, Donald
Don Martin was born June 9, 1933 in Toronto, and he attended Danforth Tech in the city’s east end. Don grew up during the war years, and two of his older brothers served in the Second World War. That includes Jack, who stormed Juno Beach on D-day, and whose story also appears in the Crestwood […]
Doduck, Marie
Marie Doduck was born May 10, 1935 in Brussels, Belgium. She was a young child when the war began, but given the intensity of her experiences, she remembers those early days well. She grew up in a large Jewish family in Brussels, one that had a long history in Poland. When the war came the […]
Gross, Daisy
Daisy Gross was born April 20, 1939 in Nitra, Czechoslovakia. She grew up there, and had a good life by all accounts; her father had a good job, and she and her parents were doing well, alongside their housekeeper Tonka. But the tone changed with the war: Daisy’s father ran a sugar beet refinery, and […]
Goss, Warren
Warren Goss was born February 9, 1925 in Glenshaw, Pennsylvania, where he grew up in a large farm family. He grew up against the backdrop of the Great Depression, working around the farm and delivering papers and being a Boy Scout. When the attack on Pearl Harbor happened, Warren recalls selling many newspapers – and […]
Regan, John
John Regan was born March 22, 1950, in the Channel Islands. His parents were both from there, and had experienced the Second World War firsthand. John’s mother was a teenager, and she endured German occupation during those years; John’s father – a few years older – enlisted in the British military, first as a gunner […]
Duffy, Joe
Joe Duffy was born January 1, 1922 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. He grew up there in a large working class family, against the backdrop of the Great Depression and the emerging war. Joe joined the Royal Canadian Navy in 1941: it was the “thing to do”, as he and many other veterans have noted. […]
Quddus, Marguerite
Marguerite Quddus was born December 4, 1936 in Paris, France. Her parents had fled Russia at the time of the revolution in order to escape the pogroms that were devastating Russian Jews. Her grandfather, Rabbi Shlomo Eliashev, was a well known kabbalist, and he made his way to Palestine with some family members, while Marguerite’s […]
Wentzell, Tyler
Major Tyler Wentzell is a currently serving member of the Canadian Forces, one who hails from Nova Scotia. He comes from a family with a military and especially a policing tradition, and as a teenager he worked on an oral history project that involved interviewing some of the same veterans that we have met here […]
Crowe, Leanne
Commander Leanne Crowe is a currently serving member of the Canadian Forces; she is on staff at the Canadian Forces College in Toronto and visited Crestwood twice during the 2022-23 school year. She was born in Vancouver in 1964 and grew up in different parts of Canada, including Montreal and Oakville, Ontario. In high school […]
Stockhamer, Vivian
Vivian Stockhamer was born in Lida, Poland in 1936 to Leibel Litovitz and Charna (Boyarski) Litovitz. Her father had 10 siblings and her mother had 3 siblings, all of whom were married with children and many of whom were living in Lida prior to the outbreak of World War II. From 1939 to 1941 Lida […]
Clarry, Richard
Richard Clarry was born October 23, 1936 in Toronto. He grew up in the city’s west end during the Second World War, when his father was a pilot in the RCAF. Richard’s wartime years were spent in school and in High Park, where he played baseball and hockey and everything else. He left school at […]
Mayer, Frank
Frank Mayer was born January 22, 1927 in Pittsburgh’s 27th Ward. His father was a First World War veteran who died when Frank was just seven, so Frank grew up in the care of his mother, grandparents and uncles. He remembers growing up against the backdrop of the Great Depression and the early years of […]
Gropper, Rae
Rachel (Rae) Gropper (nee Kruger) was born March 3, 1941. Her parents came from Poland, where they had made a life for themselves in prewar Warsaw. They shared memories of that with Rae at a later time, as she was born during the war, and they also told her about the bombing of Warsaw in […]
Williams, Durwood
Durwood Williams was born November 24, 1921 in Godwin, North Carolina. He grew up in that state, playing on the banks of the Cape Fear River, and looking for lost Confederate treasures. The Great Depression impacted Durwood’s family; his father went to Fayetteville to work, and Durwood had to work his way through college. He […]
Hollywood Jade
Hollywood Jade was born January 4, 1984. He is a Canadian dancer and choreographer best known for his regular appearances on the reality television series Canada’s Drag Race. He began his career as a choreographer for drag queen Michelle Ross, and as a dancer in many major films. After facing some barriers in his career […]
Henderson, Taigen
Taigen Henderson is a roshi – or teacher – at the Toronto Zen Centre. He visited us at Crestwood early in 2023, taking students on a guided meditation. Taigen grew up in Canada in the 60s and 70s, a time of profound change where he and many members of his generation were looking for new […]
Hogg, Doug
Doug Hogg was born March 29, 1925 in London, Ontario. He grew up in that city, mostly against the backdrop of the Great Depression. He remembers that his father worked several jobs to support the family, and that his grandmother was able to contribute as she had a pension, having lost two sons in the […]
Byrne, Jack
Jack Byrne was born March 13, 1925 in Sydney, Nova Scotia. His parents had to come to Canada – from Newfoundland – just before his birth. Jack grew up in the Whitney Pier area of Sydney, and he remembers it fondly. When he saw footage of the Russo-Finnish Winter War, he was motivated to join […]
Norman, Bud
Bud Norman was born October 29, 1923 in London, Ontario. He grew up there in his grandparents’ care, attending school and doing all the other things teenagers of the day were doing – school, sports, work, and so on. Bud was able to complete high school at an early age, and he went to work […]
Mitchell, Don
Don Mitchell was born December 19, 1924 in the Tower Hamlet of Poplar, in London, England. He was an only child, as his parents had lost an older child in the aftermath of the Great War, when conditions were still poor. Don’s father was a veteran in that conflict, having served with the artillery, though […]