Our Stories

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Annual Butterfly Release: A Celebration of Life

Each September, Mount Pleasant Group hosts its annual Butterfly Release to mark World United for Life Day, a global event that celebrates life and
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Interior view of a Jack Fraser department store showing long display tables stacked with folded clothing, sales signs hanging above the aisles, and staff standing behind counters under bright ceiling lights.

Jack Fraser: A Toronto Retail Icon

Portrait of J. B. Tyrrell wearing a dark, structured suit jacket with wide lapels, a high‑collared shirt, and a patterned tie, shown from the chest up against a softly shaded oval studio background.

Joseph Burr Tyrrell: A Life of Discovery

Black‑and‑white archival portrait of Augusta Stowe Gullen shown in profile, wearing a high‑collared Victorian‑era dress with decorative detailing at the neckline, her hair styled up, against a plain studio background.

Dr. Augusta Stowe-Gullen: Canada’s First Woman to Earn a Medical Degree

monument with plaques

Victoria Cross Memorial: Honouring Canadian Bravery

A vintage black‑and‑white photograph of a World War I–era biplane parked on an open airfield. The aircraft has roundel markings on its fuselage and bold striped patterns on the tail. A uniformed pilot stands in front of the plane, hands clasped, looking toward the camera. The background shows flat terrain with trees along the horizon.

William G. Barker, V.C.: Canada’s Fearless Air Ace

older black man in a grey shirt

George Ethelbert Carter: A Trailblazer in Law and Civil Rights

semi detached house

Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna: The Last Grand Duchess of Imperial Russia

A vintage sepia-toned portrait of Alice Freeman-Brown seated in an elegant pose. She wears a long, fitted dress with puffed sleeves and decorative details along the bodice. One arm rests on a fur-draped chair, while the other holds a folded piece of fabric or a cloth across her lap. The background is plain, highlighting the formal style of the period clothing.

Alice Freeman-Brown: A Pen Name and a Pioneering Spirit

houses and trees with brown grass

Benefit Society Oshchima: A Lifeline for Early Immigrants

Taller stone memorial monument set in a green park, inscribed with the words “Korean War Gapyeong Battle Monument” and “We Will Remember Them Forever,” featuring the South Korean and Canadian flags at the top, with engraved bronze plaques mounted on the base and trees surrounding the site.

Korean War Gapyeong Battle Monument and Conflict Sculpture: Honouring Courage Through Design

Black-and-white studio portrait of Private Walter Leigh Rayfield, V.C., seated in uniform wearing a service cap and a buttoned military tunic with chevrons on the sleeve, posed against a plain backdrop.

Walter Leigh Rayfield, VC: Hero of Arras

Black‑and‑white vintage portrait of a person wearing a formal suit with a tie and pocket square, seated against a dark studio backdrop.

J.E.H. MacDonald: Visionary of Canadian Art

Stone memorial obelisk standing in a snow‑covered park, surrounded by trees in winter. An engraved inscription on the monument commemorates those who lost their lives on 5 July 1970 in Air Canada Flight 621 in Woodbridge, Ontario.

Air Canada Flight 621 Memorials: Honouring 109 Lives

Image 1 (Aerial view): An aerial view of the Meadowvale Cemetery Garden of Remembrance featuring a large oval pond with a small fountain, and winding pathways. The image features an impressive arborteum of mature trees, surrounded by green lawns and buildings in the distance.

Meadowvale Arboretum: A Vision Rooted in Nature

short graves surrounded by trees

City of Toronto Soldiers’ Lot: A Tribute to Service and Sacrifice

Close‑up view of a carved stone urn atop a grave monument, weathered with patches of lichen. Leafless trees and soft daylight blur into the background, creating a calm, reflective cemetery setting.

From Veil to Urn: Symbolism in Cemetery Monuments

three medals shaped like flowers

David Bruce Archer: Champion of Labour and Community Builder

gravestone of Thomas Carfrae

Thomas Carfrae: Civic Leader and Pioneer of Toronto’s Potter’s Field

bald man with grey mustache

Jack Layton: A Legacy of Hope and Leadership

Historic street scene with a stalled truck on streetcar tracks beside a Dundas streetcar.

Lowkong Society Monument: A Century of Chinese Canadian Heritage in Toronto