Author is one of the many words one could use to describe Elizabeth Gillian Muir. She is also an educator, researcher, key-note speaker, and volunteer. Living in Toronto, Elizabeth is a retired professor of Canadian Studies at the University of Waterloo and Women’s Studies at the University of Toronto. Having graduated from Queen’s University (Honours BA for English), McGill (BTh, PhD), and Harvard Business School (HRPBA), Elizabeth has had an abundance of experience in the world of education, making her an incredibly knowledgable woman in a variety of areas.
From the book: “John Bright and his family lived in this frame house on Queen Street East, west of Broadview Avenue, built in the 1830s next door to the Bank of Commerce” – From a watercolour by John Wesley Cotton. Photo: Toronto Reference Library, JRR 909
Her interest in writing sparked when she was very young, having a piece published in Children’s Life Magazine at the age of ten, and she continued on to write material ranging from children’s books to adult nonfiction. When Elizabeth first moved from Ottawa to Toronto, she lived on De Grassi St., making her familiar with the Riverside area. When Dundurn Press asked her to write the history of Riverdale, her jouney to research and write “Riverdale: East of the Don” began.
From the book: “Detail of the 1878 map of York from the Illustrated Historical Atlas of the County of York, before Riverdale was annexed.” Photo: Toronto Reference Library
This book gives a finely detailed recount of the growth and development of Riverdale, the Riverside area being a significant part within. The book begins with the earliest settlements and prominent families in Riverdale when Riverside and Leslieville were joined in 1884, and goes on to talk about many other intriguing components of the neighbourhood’s history. This includes the struggles with pollution in the Don River and how they were overcome, various accomplishments of the women of Riverdale, and the progression in ethnic diversity and multiculturalism, something that Toronto is widely recognized for in present-day. Elizabeth also goes into deep detail on the history of the streets and buildings in Riverdale, many of which are widely-recognized in Riverside. Essentially, this is a thoroughly researched collection of history of Riverdale and, by extent, Riverside.
With WalkFEST 2014 quickly approaching, you may be able to catch Elizabeth Gillian Muir at one of our History Walk stops. And, if we’re lucky, there may be signed copies of her book available for purchase as well! Make sure to come on out and participate on October 25th!