All posts by fvcamp

Across the River

Much of the property on the other side of the Don River was within the bounds of camp property as shown in the photo below:

Ranger Area

The area at the top of the stairs was known as the Ranger Area – as it was once the Ranger unit area. Cookouts were often held there throughout the 1970s. However, after 1980, the area became largely disused.

At the left rear of the Ranger Area, a TTC bus stop pole could be found! How it got there is uncertain. Most likely it was placed there by Ranger staff in 1965 to 1970.

Behind the bus stop was a steep hill leading to the apartments on Goldfinch Crescent. It was known as “Counsellors Hill” and was a challenging climb requiring you to use the small trees to pull yourself up. The hill was off of camp property.

Stables

The stables were located behind the Ranger Area and to the right.

Here you can see part of the Stables area near the first bridge:

Here is the entrance to the Stables (behind the Ranger Area) in winter:

The photo below, shows the oval horse track (inside the yellow circle).

When the stables were closed in the mid-1970s, the open area that remained was called Ranger Field.

More on the stables HERE.

Maintaining the Pools

Cleaning and maintaining the pools was an annual chore. The concrete pools were prone to cracking with the freeze/thaw cycle. For many years, the I-Pool had a crack all the way along the bottom. The pool leaked and required regular filling. Many pools required annual painting.

Pool decks were also prone to cracking. In the late 80’s the decks around the T-Learners were replaced with paving stones as they could no longer be maintained.