>

Tag: 1930’s


Aug
2013

Canadian National Exhibition is Here! The Vintage Edition

categories: Toronto, vintage History, vintage images
1920s Vintage Photo of Toronto's CNE Princes' Gates.
Princes’ Gates 1920s

I have been living in Toronto now for almost 14 years and one of the events I have grown to absolutely LOVE is the CNE-Canadian National Exhibition. The CNE is basically a giant fair that runs for 18 days near the end of the summer and it’s known for its great shows, crazy food (anyone for a bacon, donut burger??), rides and all the cools things to see..bring on the Sham Wow guy! lol

The first Canadian National Exhibition took place in 1879, largely to promote agriculture and technology in Canada. Agriculturists, engineers and scientists exhibited their discoveries and inventions at the CNE to showcase the work and talent of the nation (Wikipedia). Apparently, prior to 1879, the fair had traveled throughout the province, but eventually settled where the crowds were after local stakeholders campaigned to make it a permanent city attraction (blogto.com).

That means that this year the CNE is celebrating its 135th season this year so I thought it would be fun if we checked out some vintage photos, advertising etc. of this historical event. So grab a bag of chocolate covered parmesan popcorn and lets take a trip down CNE memory lane…

1930s vintage ad for the Toronto CNE - 1937 Ad
Image courtesy of the CNE Archives
1940s Vintage Ad for the CNE in 1947. Go by the TTC

The Canadian National Exhibition-CNE

To start, I’m doing a blog series on the wonderful book “Lets Dance. A celebration of dance halls and summer dance pavilions by Peter Young” and one of the sections briefly covers the “CNE TENT” that was erected in 1938 to bring in top-notch entertainers. Acts like: Benny Goodman with Peggy Lee, Artie Shaw, Guy Lombardo and even the Tommy Dorsey Band made their way to this tent.

In Peters book he even mentions a story how in September 8th of 1939 the Tommy Dorsey band flew to Toronto on the American Airlines flagship craft to appear at the CNE. This was the FIRST time the entire band travelled by air so they marked the occasion by playing a few tunes right at the airport (“Lets Dance..”, pg 23, Peter Young).

1940s Vintage Photo of the Toronto CNE dance tent

The image above was from 1940 and you can see the dance tent in the background where apparently Eddy Duchin and his Orchestra were performing that very night (“take a ride back in history” by Mike Filey).

Then while scouring the internet for fun images/stories to share I stumbled upon the most AMAZING FIND! Did you know that the CNE created their own high-kicking dance troupe version of the Rockettes? The Canadettes and they made annual appearances from 1951 until 1967 at the CNE. How fun!

1960s Vintage Photo of The Canadettes, circa 1961 at the Toronto CNE
The Canadettes, circa 1961. CNE Archives, Alexandra Studio Collection.

Now for the random vintage CNE pictures I promised you…

Two adorable kids enjoying a coke break in 1959 at the CNE with their feet in a pail (must of been hot).

1950s Vintage Photo of 2 kids in 1959 at the Toronto CNE with feet in a pail having a cold drink.
Photo Courtesy of “CNE Facebook Page”

A cooking demo at the CNE in the 1940s.

CNE 1940 cooking demo in Toronto, Canada. 1940s vintage photo.
Photo Courtesy of: CNE Facebook Page

CNE-1937. I LOVE this photo! The couple in the front that stand out in the picture are just outstanding looking.

1930s vintage photo in 1937 of the Toronto CNE crowd photo. Super 1930s fashions on display.
Photo Courtesy of: CNE Facebook Page

CNE-1961. I’m enjoying eyeballing some of the great fashion in this over head shot of the midway.

1960s vintage photo of the Toronto CNE Midway grounds in 1961,.
Photo Courtesy of: CNE Facebook Page

Want to learn how to take care of your baby in 1918?

1910s vintage photo of a woman teaching people how to take care of their baby in 1918 at the Toronto CNE
Image courtesy of the CNE Archives

I will now leave you with a picture from my engagement photo session that was done at the CNE.

CNE Engagement photo Toronto Vintage Inn

Photo Courtesy of David Tom Photography

If you live in Toronto and are attending the CNE or have attended the CNE I would love to hear your stories of your favorite things to do there.

FURTHER READING: A collection of past CNE posts I have done and a link to my Toronto archive posts….

Liz 🙂


Feb
2013

Miss Toronto Pageant-The Early Days

categories: Toronto, vintage History, vintage images, Womens History

There is a pub/bar/my local beer hangout called the Rhino Restaurant in Parkdale, Toronto. They have a mural on the side of their wall that for some reason I only noticed recently that I have found very intriguing and has encouraged me to write a blog post about it. Here is the mural (sorry for the side image but the patio was closed and this was a close as I could get).

Photo of the wall at the Rhino Restaurant in Parkdale Toronto that has a mural of the Miss Toronto Pageant.

It’s a mural of the “Miss Toronto Pageant” in the 1920’s…1926 to be exact, the year that the Miss Toronto Pageant started at Sunnyside Park.

WOW…I never knew Toronto had done anything like this. I moved to the city in 1999 and from my reading I discovered that the pageant closed it’s doors in 1991, so of course I would not of read or heard anything about it. Anyways as I was looking thru some very cool vintage pics of the “early days” of the pageant (lets say pre 1960’s because that is what my blog focuses on) I discovered the original image that the mural was based from. Here it is…the first Miss Toronto winner of 1926 – “Miss Jean Ford Tolmie” in her full glory (holy flower hat!) at Sunnyside Park.

1920s vintage photo of the first Miss Toronto winner of 1926 - "Miss Jean Ford Tolmie" in her full glory (holy flower hat!) at Sunnyside Park. Stunning 1920s hair and 1920s swimsuits.

Image source: Toronto Archives

Look at the hair and the bathing suits and stockings but the best part is how very unhappy the ladies who did not win are. Totally Miserable! Cheer up ladies you are all beautiful and I would not of known who to have picked if I was a judge!

Note: Toronto Archives Website (where I found my images)

Miss Toronto Pageant-The Early Days

History & Photos of the Pageant

There is not a lot of history online about the pageant but what I could find, after its initial startup in 1926 it seemed to remain dormant till about 1937. In 1937 the “Toronto Police Amateur Athletic Association” who wanted to add something “extra special” to their annual Police Games decided to take over the Pageant and run it again. It was not without controversy though, no sooner had the pageant been announced than it came under fire from the Local Council of Women of Toronto in a letter to the Board of Control and the chief of police. The council’s issue was not that the pageant objectified women—as feminists would assert in the future—but rather that the pageant was “not in good taste.” Their letter read in part:

“We look to the heads of the police department not only to see that existing laws pertaining to standards of decency and good taste are enforced, but also to be most punctilious in seeing that nothing they sponsor may tend to have a lowering effect on the standards of the people in general.” (Torontoist.com)

But this did not stop the pageant from moving forward with 350 pretty 16+, British Subjects entering. 66 were then chosen to compete in the finale at the CNE Grandstand (Canadian National Exhibition) on July 17th, 1937. The website “Torontoist.com” has a super post on what went down that day that eventually had the very pretty 17-year-old Billie Hallam become “Miss Toronto, 1937“.

Please Read: Softball Pitcher & Beauty Queen

1937 Photo of 6 of the ladies –Look at their cute shoes and the hair..fantastic!

1937 Miss Toronto contestents posing in their 1930s swimsuits, 1930s hairstyles and 1930s shoes.

Toronto Archives

Your 1937 Miss Toronto Winner-Billie Hallam, isn’t she just a doll?

1930s vintage photo: 1937 Miss Toronto Winner-Billie Hallam spoting a 1930s swimsuit and 1930s hairstyle.

Toronto Archives

With her win, the lovely Miss Hallem won $200 cash (a lot of money in 1937), Free trips to the police games in several other cities, invite to the Miss American pageant, jewellery, and sponsorship deals with companies like “Ponds Produce” & “Star Taxi” to name a few. She even had a potential chance to screen test with R.K.O. Studios…amazing!! (Torontoist.com). This was a huge deal for a 17-year-old in Toronto.

The pageant continued on until 1991 where backlash from Feminists and declining sponsorship eventually saw it shut it doors but thanks to the internet we can relive some of those wonderful pageant moments thru the pictures that still exist today. Lets take a look…

Some of the other contestants from the 1937 pageant. OMG the parasols!!!

1930s Vintage Photo of the Miss Toronto Pageant Contestants from 1937 in 1930s swimsuits, 1930s hairstyles and holding parasols.

Now for something slightly different…”Miss War Worker 1942“. This contest was created to encourage women to enter the workforce during the war (not sure how a pageant would do this, but ok).

1940s Vintage Photo of the Miss War Worker 1942 contest. The image features a group of women in their 1940s factory uniforms standing in a row with numbers.

Miss Toronto 1946 – Her surfing bathing suit from Catalina is totally adorable and something I would love to have today. Check out the ladies in the background, the one to the left looks a bit like Ava Gardner.

Further Reading: Summer is here! Vintage Catalina Swimsuit Ads

1940s vintage photo of Miss Toronto 1946 in her two piece Catalina Swimsuit.

Miss Toronto 1947 – Look at the handsome Police officer hoisting her in the air. Lucky her! Once again her shoes are divine!

1940s vintage photo of Miss Toronto 1947 being held up by a Toronto Police officer.

Miss Toronto 1948-The bathing suits are super amazing. These ladies all look like they stepped out of a movie set.

1940s vintage photo of the miss toronto 1948 beauty pageant. The woman are all wearing 1940s swimsuits.

Miss Toronto 1950 contestants Beautiful!!

1950s vintage photo of the miss toronto 1950. The woman are all posing in 1950s swimsuits.

Miss Toronto 1956at the CNE – Ummm Hello! Where can I get THAT DRESS???? yooza!

1950s vintage photo of Miss Toronto 1956 in a slim fitting 1950s dress at the CNE in Toronto.

Miss Toronto 1957 – The runner-up should have won because her shoes were the cutest 🙂

1950s vintage photo of the Miss Toronto pageant 1957. The image showcases the winner in her 1950s swimsuit being crowned.

So there you have a brief early history/pictures of the “Miss Toronto” Pageant, hope you enjoyed learning a bit about the Glory Day of the Pageant.

FURTHER READING:

Liz