For the majority of two years, I have been passing the Leuty Lifeguard Station more than once a day, strolling out with “Eddie” the Australian Shepherd. It is close to a fenced area, where dogs are amoung themselves and at the beginning of The Beach-stretch to the really amazing R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant. During winters, dogs are allowed to run free, behind the snow fence. That’s something Eddie definitely made use of.
The Leuty Lifeguard Station is one of the last remaining historic structures on Toronto's waterfront in the neighborhood known as The Beach. Constructed in 1920, the station monitored Kew Beach for decades, with its lifeguards credited with saving over 6,000 lives. At the turn of the 20th century, the Toronto Harbor Commission developed the shoreline in what would become The Beach. The area transitioned from heavily wooded swamplands with private homes to include parks, boardwalks, and public gardens. Designed by the architecture firm Chapman, Oxley & Bishop, the station is a clapboard structure featuring a rooftop lookout tower. During its peak period, the Beach area contained boat houses, food vendors, and boats for hire. However, the erosive currents of Lake Ontario gradually affected Kew Beach and many of its historic buildings. The area's shorelines have historically experienced cycles of recession and regeneration. To address erosion, the municipality installed groynes to stabilize the shoreline.
After my return to Toronto from Hong Kong, times were very busy. One part of that was to vacate our home on Wheeler Avenue and prepare for a winter outside Canada. As Toronto is having a high rent environment, it seemed more feasible to put things into storage and return in spring time. So all, including the car, went into a 10 x 25 feet shelter in Scarborough. It’s not too far to fetch, but also far enough to get a good storage rate. It’s not climatized. So, I disconnected the car battery, and filled it up with defrosting agent which supports - 50° Celsius. I took a storage with a significant step at the entrance, so that, should there be a storm or some bizarre ways of melting snow, nothing should run in. The Subaru Forester took this step like a Gekko, of course: good clearance and a perfect 4x4.
While writing this, I am sitting in a forest in Germany, en route to Southern Europe. The fireplace is keeping things cosy and Eddie is sleeping under the table. He has a big journey in his crate to come here, in hold, with other oversized luggage, like surf boards and prams. He took it well, and enjoys running though the wet meadows, during the time the morning fog is still covering the valleys. Suddenly Canada looks very far, and definetely, I have a very sobre opinion on it. It is a great country with amazing people. But it has been completely mismanaged for about a decade. It’s dangerously complacent. There was a wake up call by the Southern neighbor, but somehow, somebody hit the snooze butten. Don’t snooze too long, Canada! I really feel the itch of doing my part, to get it back on it’s feet.
The photos below, are from my very early farewell walk to The Beach and the Leuty Lifeguard Station, together with Eddie having a last sniff of the “dog’s social media messages” and leaving a goodbye to his friends.
