By Tom Rakocevic
Your quiet unassuming neighbour may have an incredible story. Perhaps it’s a heart-warming tale or even a miracle. Maybe through fortitude or sheer luck they were able to overcome impossible odds to survive a disaster. You’d never know as they leisurely tend to their garden and give you a friendly wave.We all have our stories; the older you are, the more you have. This new column entitled, “My Story” celebrates the fascinating lives of our community members by having them share an interesting experience. If you have a unique story you wish to tell in an upcoming issue, or know somebody that does, contact the Downsview Advocate at info@downsviewadvocate.ca.
“Oh salty sea, how much of your saltAre tears of Portugal!To get across you, how many mothers cried,How many sons prayed in vain.”Fernando PessoaThough Armindo Silva immigrated to Canada in 1970, it wasn’t the first time he set foot in our country. In 1947, two years before Newfoundland joined confederation, the “Milena” a 700 hundred ton fishing schooner of the Portuguese fleet docked in St. John’s during one of its typical 6-month voyages on the open seas. A young, 14 year-old messboy named Armindo jumped out to see this new land on the other side of the Atlantic from his native Portugal. Working the messroom on the Milena’s long and arduous journeys, he saw a great many things.Today, Mr. Silva recalls the work of those fishermen aboard the Milena.“After all these years, I never saw such hard labour,” he said.Out at sea for months at a time, when the fish were plenty, the men worked 18-hour days for weeks straight catching, cleaning and salting cod.His recollection of these times were published in the Portuguese historical journal “O Ilhavense” and he is the author of Milena:1948 – Memorias de uma Campanha. This fascinating book written in the Portuguese language describes 7 different ordeals the crew faced while out at sea. One such event occurred in August of 1948 when Armindo, the ship’s youngest crewman was only 15.---In August 1948, when the Milena lost its propeller in the waters off of Greenland, the captain set a course for the safer waters of the Grand Banks using only the wind to guide the large vessel. They were only a day from Newfoundland’s shore when the wind died and the crew found themselves stranded. As the ship’s messboy, Armindo spent a great deal of time in the company of the ship’s officers. To this very day, he remembers the apprehension of the captain following a sudden and tremendous drop in barometric pressure, “Boys, we are going to suffer,” the captain said.Sure enough, the breeze returned that late afternoon, but it just didn’t stop. It grew and grew until the winds threatened to tear the men from the deck and fling them out into the ocean – a cyclone had come.The storm brought terrible darkness and crushing winds. Mr. Silva still remembers the terrifying waves that reached as high as 30 metres, “It was an inferno,” he said.The next morning, with the waters and winds still raging, Armindo was attending to the captain, first mate and deck boss. The captain had the ship in a holding pattern against the ongoing storm. He turned to his chief mate, “What do we do to get out of this?”The older and very experienced first mate replied, “Captain, the Milena is a strong ship but won’t last long if we keep fighting the sea like this.”The deck boss agreed, “We are going to sink if the storm doesn’t end soon.”The captain was silent for a long time. When he spoke it was with a grim determination, “Ok then. Call the men, and ready them for the worst. We will ride the wind. We are in God’s hands now.”With the crew assembled, the captain ordered his men to raise the sails and turn the rudder on his command. The ship was fighting the waves and wind, but to ride the storm they would have to turn 180 degrees. This was a dangerous proposition as the ship’s starboard side would be exposed during the maneuver and the great schooner could flip.The captain surveyed the terrible waters for what seemed an eternity. “Now!” he yelled.BOOM! The sails simply vanished.At the mercy of the ocean, the ship rocked back and forth to the point of near capsizing. The waves crashed on the deck washing away all 58 utility boats. Five men were unable to hold on and went overboard “screaming like children,” Armindo said.Mr. Silva cannot recall how long the men fought to turn the boat in that watery Hell. “We survived because the small forward sail held on. It was a miracle; it was the hand of God,” he said.When they finally turned they were propelled at a speed of 18 knots, almost double what they could achieve with the sails up and propeller at full speed on a normal day.They were able to save four of the men, Mr. Silva remembers with tears in his eyes, but one was unaccounted for. “I heard a shout, ‘There’s a man out there on that wave!’ and we all looked. I saw him way out there. He looked so small and alone in the water. We all began yelling to the captain to save him. The captain said it was impossible, that we would all die if we tried. He gave the order to go on,” He said. “We saw him three times and then we never saw him again. He left a pregnant wife at home. He was the nicest guy on the ship, lost at sea on his first trip.”---Listening to Mr. Silva tell this frightening account, I watch my silver-haired neighbour with quiet awe. Where others boast, Mr. Silva is a gentleman of quiet humility.Mr. Silva served two years aboard the Milena and spent the next 11 as a fisherman in the Portuguese fleet. At age 27 and already a veteran of the seas, he became a sailor on a Dutch merchant ship that docked at many international ports.“Working the merchant ship was easy. I was a week at sea between ports. I could come home every month. Also, that’s when I married Maria Fernanda,” He says with a big smile.Maria Fernanda and Armindo married in 1963, and happily celebrated their golden anniversary last year. They immigrated to Canada in 1970 with their two young children aged 5 and 2.Mr. Silva left the sea behind to work on land where he could raise a family. After 27 years of hard work in construction and manufacturing he began a well-deserved retirement in 1997 and has lived in Downsview since 2004, where he keeps a beautiful property and always wears a smile for others. The next time I come home from work feeling I’d had a tough day, I will remember 15 year-old Armindo holding on for dear life in the stormy Atlantic, and I will feel a little bit embarrassed.
Keeping the faith for 50 years
By David Ros
In the mid 1960s, Downsview was a rapidly evolving community. It had been a major centre for heavy industry since the De Haviland aircraft factory first set up shop in the neighbourhood in 1928.After World War II, the area, which, up until then, had been dominated by industrial factories and the Downsview Air Force Base, had began a period of rapid residential growth. By the 1960s, the neighbourhood's changing demographics meant that there was a real need for more facilities to serve the needs of the growing community.Around the same time, the American Lutheran Church had also developed a plan to expand its ministries, and it was decided that Downsview's growth had made it an ideal place to carry it out. At the time, the community had been home to other places of worship, but it did not have a Lutheran Church. Thus, land on which to build Faith Lutheran Church was purchased at 96 Hucknall Rd., and on Aug. 19, 1964, the Reverend John Judt brought his family to Downsview from Vancouver in order to start the ministry.When he had arrived in the community, Judt had no parishioners. “When we started, we were just knocking on doors, there were a couple of pairs working who would invite people into the Church,” said Judt's son, also named John. After the door to door campaign, Faith Lutheran Church held its first service on Sep. 20, 1964 in front of 50 parishioners.This past september, the Church celebrated its 50th year of operation. “When [the church] was started, it was a wonderful community place,” said Lida Spiers, a parishioner for more than 30 years. “A lot of people lived within a few block radius.” Since then, Spiers said, many of the original parishioners had moved away from the community, many of whom, still attend or keep close ties with the Church, but over the years, the Church has gained new members in the community, including students from nearby York University.To celebrate its 50th Anniversary, Faith Lutheran Church held an open house and an outdoor dinner in a large tent, followed by a Sunday service delivered by the head of the Lutheran Church in Canada, with many guest ministers in attendance. Spiers said that many of the older parishioners attended the event and photos and stories were shared about the ways in which the neighbourhood and congregation had changed in the 50 years since the church had first opened its doors.Over the years, the Church has also undertaken many community service initiatives, by building a nursery school attached to the church, specifically geared to help children who had been suffering from emotional disturbance, headed by the late T.E.E. Powell-Brown, an educator and parishioner of the church. The Powell-Brown nursery school moved to a larger facility in 1983, and the space is currently occupied by a full time daycare facility for children between 18 months to five years-old. Faith Lutheran Church continues to hold services every Sunday at 10:30 a.m.
I'll miss my uncle Gerard
By Tom Rakocevic
I will dearly miss my Uncle Gerard. He passed away this summer after battling that terrible illness which has affected all of our families, cancer. My uncle was a friendly, tireless and incredibly hard-working machinist who enjoyed a job-well-done, a glass of wine, a good book, the Toronto Maple Leafs, crossword puzzles and, unfortunately, cigarettes as well. He was always smiling and seemed invincible even at 69. His diagnosis was a shock for everyone who knew him. He had admitted himself to hospital after experiencing a shortness of breath that kept getting worse. My Uncle Gerard took the bad news with great dignity and optimism even until the very end. There are many among us who are silently battling cancer, and there are many of us who have beaten this disease. Even as I write this, the news is reporting that Mayor Rob Ford has been admitted to hospital with a tumour following months of abdominal pain – I wish him a speedy recovery. Cancer has also claimed the lives of very public figures like the late, great Jack Layton and billionaires like Apple founder, Steve Jobs. We are all at risk, but the risk can be mitigated. The end of our lives is unavoidable but the length of our lives and the quality of our years are largely of our choosing. Healthy living will make you live longer and better.Your diet and regular exercise will give you energy and boost your immune system. Local non-profit health organizations like the Black Creek Community Health Centre (located at York Gate Mall, 416-249-8000) is a great place to learn about healthy living.Our community centres such as Grandravine CC, Driftwood CC, Oakdale CC and John Booth Arena all have weekly seniors exercise programs during the colder months. When the weather is warm, take regular walks with your friends and enjoy our parks. Cut out the unhealthy bad habits – an Oncologist told me that smoking increases the risk of cancer by ten times. Monitor your health.Make sure to see your doctor regularly, especially if you are elderly, and obviously when you are feeling persistently unwell. Annual physicals are important for all of us since blood work can reveal health issues that are not readily apparent. If you are facing health challenges like diabetes, make sure to stay on top of it and follow the instructions of your doctor, pharmacist and other medical professionals. Also, learn the early warning signs of a heart attack or stroke. Ask about the health of others.I am proud of community members like Joe Astrella and my neighbor, Armindo Silva, who regularly volunteer their time to help others and drive seniors to health appointments. We can all do a little more to help one another, and there are many among us who may not feel well but are keeping it a secret. We all know people who are living in isolation – this can be unhealthy as our mental state can often affect our physical. Maybe that person is a family member, friend, or neighbour. Keep in touch and let them know that they are not alone. There are many interesting programs and social clubs at our community centres; encourage them to join. Finally, learning CPR and First Aid may help save someone else’s life in an emergency. We have all heard about these fast-acting heroes – that hero could be you! The loss of a loved one is a harsh reminder that we often spend a lot of our time worrying about trivial things. Someone you know may be silently suffering, perhaps even from something that can be stopped if detected early. I think we can all treat each other, especially those we love a little better and express how much we care and appreciate them.You never know when it will be your last chance to say “I love you”.
Safety first in our schools and our roads
By Matias de Dovitiis
Last year, the school year in the Downsview community started off with a tragedy. On the first day of school, Violet Liang, a high school student was hit by a truck and killed as she was crossing the street on Lamberton blvd. We should remember this event and learn from it to do honour to Violet. As school starts again and as construction and City traffic bottle, we as drivers should remember that we share the road with children, bicycles and other drivers. As a community, we should also learn from it to avoid such accidents from happening again. With this in light, the City of Toronto started a number of actions to rethink school zone safety such as lowering speed limits around schools, creating more signs to warn drivers they are in school zones and improving their designs, pavement markings, as well as meeting with the school boards to determine safety concerns, educational measures for students and more. These actions were started at the request of Councillor Anthony Perruzza, who asked for a report and started the ball rolling late last year. For the community around Sentinel Rd., the effects were two fold. Last year, we added a crossing guard at the intersection at Lamberton Blvd., and Sentinel Rd. The office of the Chief of Police expedited the process due to the circumstances and the crossing guard was added almost immediately after the request was made. Secondly, a new pilot project called “Watch your Speed” will be starting this fall. The City is purchasing a number of portable speed measuring display signs. There have been a few of these around, but the city will be purchasing more of them. Importantly, the location at Sentinel Rd., and Lamberton Blvd., will be one of 10 locations in the City of Toronto to get one of the displays on an almost permanent basis. It was chosen, because of the accident that occurred last year.
The project will last a year and start this fall, by late October or early November. It will help to remind drivers of the school zone driving speed. Importantly, there is a possibility of expanding the project to other areas. As construction and congestion in the community pushes traffic into more residential areas we need to start looking at ways to make our roads safer. One of the things that the school boards should be doing is rethinking how we transport our children. The TDSB only offers school bus services to students in grade 5 or under if they live more than 1.6 km away from the school they attend. For a 10 year old, with the way traffic in the City has grown, that distance is starting to become more of a danger. It is about time for the school to rethink the distance requirement. We need to think about the dangers that these distances create for school children, particularly to younger children.
New murals carry powerful message
by Yasmin Parodi
This summer, the Jane St., and Highway 400 underpass underwent a beautiful transformation.On Aug. 28, The Essencia Arts Collective completed an 8,000 sq. ft., mural dedicated to water, the Earth's most precious resource.The project was a massive collaboration between 18 local and international artists, part of the International Essencia Water Festival.The festival, co-directed by sisters Fiya Bruxa and Shalak Attack included a speakers conference and closing exhibition and concert to bring attention to the need to protect and conserve our water supply. 
Bruno Smoky, the artistic co-director said the goal was to use art as a means to spark a conversation about our connection to this most essential compound.“Without water we don’t exist,” said SkratchWon, an Alberta hip-hop artist who contributed to the mural. “It’s something we need to pay homage to and give respect to, and not take it for granted.”The mural is located in close proximity to Black Creek and the Humber River, two extremely polluted waterways which flow directly in to Lake Ontario, which provides drinking water to more than 6.3 Million people.
According to Cathrin Winklemann, a project manager for the Toronto Region Conservation Authority, the speed and intensity of the more frequent and intense rainfall we have been receiving due to climate change, has increased the amount pollutants such as garbage, chemicals and oil from city streets in our creeks and rivers and has caused their banks to erode more rapidly.Shalak said her contribution to the mural shows a mother and baby polar bear walking on drought plagued land caused by climate change.“This is a prediction of what may come if we continue to put a blind eye to mother Earth,” she said. “We are not above her, we are part of her and must treat her with conscious respect.”More than 70 local, First Nations and international artists participated in the festival.For more information on how you can help keep our rivers and lakes clean, please visit trca.on.ca.
Letters to the Editor
I am a mother of 2 young girls who when they were little studied in Downsview. This problem of underfunding our schools is nothing new. The TDSB has been short-changing our schools for the longest time.One thing I would have liked to have read in this article is; how do we as parents of children attending these schools change this.Tell parents and the community what we can do to help our schools. Parents need to speak up and be very active in what is going on in their children’s school.MiriamEvery year I receive my auto insurance renewal policy I have to wonder why I have an increase.I have no speeding tickets, I never make any claims and I don’t even drive my car to work, yet every year comes a hefty increase.This year it went up by $238. I've been with the same company since 2007 and to this date, the rates have increased by $1,006.I've lived at the same address for 10 years now and every year I search for quotes and end up staying with my present company. It’s not worth the hassle to change. Actually, my company is one of the cheapest. Lucky me, I get to pay $2,613 come May 1.JillianI have previously complained to a Downsview Municipal office regarding this problem, but I have yet to see a resolution. The traffic intersection at Keele and Sheppard is extremely dangerous. Drivers exiting both strip-malls, cross four lanes of traffic in order to exit in the opposite direction.There needs to be signs opposite, on both sides, indicating no left turn. Why has this not been done?Once proper signs are installed, hefty fines should be given which would very quickly put a stop to this horrendous practice. I have seen this type of sign in other parts of Toronto. Why can it not be done in the Dowsview area, where obviously some of the worst drivers in Toronto live? You can verify this fact by simply checking with your Vehicle Insurance Company, as local bad drivers cause Downsview to have one of the highest insurance rates in Ontario, and even the whole of Canada.N. Doherty