PARC Beat_November 12.indd - Parkdale Activity

PARCbeat
NOV 2013 - ISSUE 05
1499 Queen St. W.
Toronto, ON,
M6R 1A3 Canada
Tel: (416) 537-2262, Fax: (416) 537-4159
www.parc.on.ca
Parkdale Activity - Recreation Centre
Stories, opinions, and updates from our community
The Birth of a Legend:
T
The Beachcomber Bill Story
his past summer NOW
Magazine ran a feature
called the “Tattoo
Special”, detailing the
growth and mainstreaming of ink
culture in Toronto. While the article
briefly touched on the earlier years
of tattooing in the city - the punk
rock basement tattoos of the 80’s
and the tasteless “Taz” tattoos of
the 90’s - we at PARC Beat feel it
missed out on a big opportunity
to pay homage to some of the art
form’s pioneers, such as the lategreat Kenneth William Cotterell,
or Beachcomber Bill as he was
known to his customers, fans, and
students.
Enter the son of Beachcomber Bill,
Beachcomber Brian: long-time
PARC artist, Parkdale resident and
amateur tattoo historian. Believing
passionately in the legacy of his
father and the mark he left on
Toronto’s tattoo scene, Brian put
together this memoir piece as a
tribute and a testament to his
father – and the birth of a legend.
The year is 1962. Our family lived
at 1408 Queen Street West. Dad
worked as a delivery driver for
Swiss Chalet. One day, Dad met
this guy named Tiny who sold Dad
some tattoo equipment and told
Dad he would teach him how to
tattoo. Well, Tiny’s way of teaching
Dad how to tattoo was doing
half of the outline himself then
PARCbeat
1
stopping and telling Dad to finish the
tattoo. And that’s what he’d do. Can
you imagine? What a way for a guy to
start tattooing!
Back then I was a bad kid and went
to a group home. Dad would bring
me home on weekends. By 1970 our
family moved across town to 395
Pape Avenue, which would also act
as the storefront of the very first
Beachcombers Tattoo Studio. Dad
opened the shop while he was still
working his delivery job. At the time,
Tiny worked for Dad. Dad would come
home at night, walk through the front
door and ask Tiny how business had
been that day. Tiny would tell Dad
business was slow. Then Dad would
ask Mom how business was and she
would tell him business had been
good. It turns out, Tiny had been
pocketing money from the till, which
of course did not sit well with Dad
and he was forced to let Tiny go.
It’s now 1972 and Dad has quit his
delivery job to start tattooing fulltime. What a risk for the old man to
take! Dad would continue to work
in the shop and I would eventually
come home to work for him. In the
mean time, Beachcombers would
go through various tattoo artists
and ragtag characters. There was
Poncho Peter, who worked with Dad
a little while until the day Poncho
f@#%ed up a tattoo and Dad had
to let him go. Poncho would go on
to open his own tattoo shop called
Seven Seas Tattoo. After Poncho left,
a guy named Dave Hall asked Dad
to teach him how to tattoo but Dad
said “no”. Dave went out west and
worked for a tattoo artist named Roy
and learned how to tattoo there. Dad
was still working 24/7 when a guy
named Tex came and started working
for him. Tex would drive in from the
2
PARCbeat
Falls and work weekends. Tex eventually
moved in with us at 395 Pape and began
tattooing full time at the studio.
Over the next five years, Dad worked
his ass off, establishing a name for
himself as the city’s go-to tattoo artist.
Folks would come from all around to
get tattooed at the shop. After nearly
a decade of sacrifices and shaky
times, all the hard work had paid off.
Beachcombers Tattoo Studio was now a
success and that is the story of the birth
of a legend.
By Beachcomber Brian
How food flows to
community kitchens
is no easy recipe
T
o most of us, the idea of
“food procurement” may
be unfamiliar. It may
sound like a technical term, like
something large institutions do,
such as governments, hospitals
or national grocery chains. The
reality is food procurement
remains the backbone of
community-based food programs.
There are many non-profits that
provide food programs, including
drop-in centres, shelters,
supportive housing, community
health centres, social enterprises,
and foodbanks. In fact, Toronto
Public Health identified over 350
programs in the city with meal
programs that are supplied via
food procurement.
Opened seven days a week and
serving over 70,000 meals a year,
PARC’s Community Meal Program
is one of the largest in Toronto’s
west end. Its major food sources
include donations from Second
Harvest, which delivers perishable
items such as fresh produce and
meats, and Daily Bread Food
Bank, which delivers items like
fruit, yogurt, milk, eggs and dry
goods. Without the contributions
from both these agencies, PARC’s
Community Meal Program would
not be able to do what it does.
Yet despite these large food
donations, PARC’s Community
Meal Program still runs short on
volume, key ingredients, and the
nutritional value required to meet
the daily needs of its membership.
To make up for these gaps, PARC
also purchases various kinds of
food from nearby supermarkets
and wholesale distributors.
One example is that PARC
buys fresh fruits and vegetables
wholesale from FoodShare – the
province’s only non-profit food
distributor with a contract to buy
directly from the Ontario Food
Terminal. It is this combination
of food donation and food
PARCbeat
3
purchasing that defines community
food procurement. Of course the
process is easier said than done.
To be achieved successfully,
community-based food programs
such as the one at PARC, which
strives to provide hundreds of
healthy and nutritious meals
everyday, need to be creative,
flexible and adaptable.
Community food procurement
is not just about the movement
of food from point A (distributor)
to B (consumer). It is also about
an organization’s ability to work
within the constraints of small
budgets, limited storage space and
staff time, as well as unpredictable
food donations. All of which make
advance planning for community
kitchens an incredibly difficult task.
4
PARCbeat
In response to these challenges
and in the name of exploring
collaborative solutions to food
procurement, PARC initiated the
Community Food Flow research
project. Funded by a two-year
project grant from Ontario Trillium
Foundation, PARC is currently
leading this groundbreaking
partnership project with a wide
range of players working in
different aspects of Toronto’s food
system.
By developing a better
understanding of existing food
distribution networks, the project
aims to create a strong network
of distributors and community
partners who will address the gaps
and inefficiencies in community
food flow, particularly to food
insecure groups such as the PARC
member community.
By Kuni Kamizaki,
Research & Community
Economic Development
Coordinator at PARC
To learn more and get involved with the
Community Food Flow Project, visit:
parkdalecommunityeconomies.wordpress.com/
Local activist
calls on Parkdale
to fight against
poverty
I have been advocating in the community of
Parkdale for several years now working with Parkdale
Anti Violence Education Working Group (PAVE). Last
October, I was asked by Cole Webber from Parkdale
Community Legal Service (PCLS) if I would sit in on
a meeting for Parkdale Against Poverty. I of course
said, “yes”, because we have so much poverty in the
City of Toronto.
year, the HSF may be gone. There is speculation they will
extend the HSF, but who’s to know.
What we really need is to get the Community Start Up and
Maintenance Benefit restored and to do this we need your
help. Yes we are winning the fight! I’ve seen the difference
it makes to challenge the government. But we need more
people to get involved.
If you’re interested in getting involved or are looking for
any more information, please feel free to contact Cole
Webber or Vic Natola at Parkdale Community Legal Services
at 416-531-2411. You’re also encouraged to join Parkdale
Against Poverty in an open meeting on Monday, November
18 at 6PM in PARC’s Drop-in (1499 Queen Street West)
By Darlene Lucas, activist, musician,
writer who believes in Parkdale
During this first meeting for Parkdale Anti Poverty,
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing! Our Ontario
government is trying to sock it to the people on
Ontario Works (OW) and on the Ontario Disability
Support Program (ODSP). It was revealed to me that
the Community Start Up and Maintenance Benefit
(CSUMB) was going to be cut as of January 1st,
2013. “They can’t do this to us. What can we do?”,
I thought to myself. How are we going to be able to
make change?”.
So we ended up rallying with Ontario Coalition
Against Poverty (OCAP), CUPE (Canadian Union
of Public Employees) and many other allies. We
started to urge people to apply for the CSUMB.
The new year came and went and the CSUMB was
gone. The government had taken $67,000,000
from the CSUMB.
Since we had been fighting, the government
gave back half of the monies. Due to the fight
and our continued effort, they started the Housing
Stabilization Fund (HSF). The HSF allows people on
OW and ODSP to get an allowance for the following:
looking for an apartment after leaving an institution,
fleeing domestic violence, in arrears of rent, hydro,
or phone bill, or purchasing new furniture because
of bed bugs infestation. All year long, we have been
holding HSF clinics where we help people apply for
the HSF. We have been very successful getting this
allowance for people in need. Now at the end of the
PARCbeat
5
This holiday
season, PARC’s
community
meal program
needs your
support
S
erving up 200+ healthy and
nutritious meals, day in, day
out, at PARC’s Community Meal
Program is a challenge at the best of
times. Ensuring every PARC member
is looked after during the holiday
season is probably the hardest thing
to do.
As you read in the “..No Easy
Recipe” article, the PARC kitchen
relies heavily on donated food. Your
donations provide the flexibility
needed to serve healthy meals
by enabling our kitchen staff to
purchase that special turkey or
walnut (protein is always highest
kitchen expense) we could not
otherwise afford.
This holiday season please give
generously!
$ 3,650 feeds one PARC member for
a full year
$ 300 feeds one PARC member for a
month
$ 70 feeds one PARC member for a
week
Of course, all gifts help. Please
donate now at:
parc.on.ca/donors/how-to-give/
Or you can mail a cheque to:
1499 Queen St. W.
TO, ONT M6R 1A3
*All donations over $20 will receive a
charitable tax receipt
6
PARCbeat
SPIRIT MATTERS
Whether you believe in nothing, everything or something
in between, spirit matters. With that in mind, PARC
Beat introduces the following guest column by Michael
Taylor, PARC member and Masters of Divinity student at
Emmanuel College, University of Toronto. In the first of
what will hopefully be many columns to come, Michael
takes on the topic of death by presenting its friendlier and
more humanistic side. Just like spirit, ideas and opinions
matter too. So if you have any that you wish to share with
the PARC Beat community, please do so. The conversation
is open.
Talking About Death
While it may be irreverent, there is a kernel of truth in
the cliché; in life, there are only two things upon which any
individual may be certain, death, and taxes. Albeit in poor
taste, indeed, at one time or another, death is inevitable, and
every human being dies.
To talk about death, is to come face to face with mortality,
and for some, it is to encounter God. Henri Nouwen, mentor,
professor, spiritual leader, and celebrated author once wrote
that we need to view death “as a familiar guest instead of a
threatening stranger.”
But how is one to befriend death when death seems
exceedingly unfriendly? I believe the key words to remember
are “truth”, “touch”, and “time.” Ideally, when talking
about death we should speak the truth of the person who has
died, touch the hearts of the living and grieving with words
of compassion, and give them the time that is necessary to
grieve. They are such small things, to be there with someone,
to give a moment of one’s time, a supportive word, a loving
look, a gentle touch, but it means so much to those for
whom every memory of each moment and every interaction
becomes precious.
By Michael Taylor
Awakening the night:
memories, experiences and
serenity at Camp Kandalore
T
he sun drifted down below
the horizon. In the falling
light, eight canoes are
gathering slowly in the reeds
scattered about the lake’s shallow
bay. Each canoe has a single
paddler sitting low in the thwart
section - with a bright, flaming
torch wedged into the bow.
Paddles caress the water gently;
easing each canoe on to an
invisible and perfect line.
41 PARC campers and eight
PARC staff sit in silence. They
are scattered across the rocky
shoreline and out on the dock
where a railway lantern swings
back and forth to the slow, soft
beat of a PARC drum. We are
inviting the night to fall and this
strange ballet to begin.
The canoes begin to ease off
each end of their line in pairs;
gliding towards the waiting camp
and then turning back to recover
their invisible but changing place
on the lake. The paddles, men
and women move slowly, in
harmony and without hesitation.
Their canoes turn, glide, pivot
and then come briefly to rest. At
every pause the distance between
canoes and campers diminishes.
The drumbeat is softened by a
voice in song; singing for faith,
hope and love. Then the canoes
move again, fading into the lake’s
dark waters until the sky explodes
with fireworks.
This is the last night of the 4-day
2013 Camp. And it is already
becoming a storehouse of many
memories that will last a lifetime.
PARC has been coming to Camp
Kandalore for 27 years.
The camp, started by two
brothers in 1947, was purchased
by Kirk Wipper in 1955 and soon
transformed into one of the
world’s premier canoeing and
canoe tripping facilities. Kirk
founded the Canadian Canoe
Museum on the Kandalore site
and was awarded the Order of
Canada for his work in camping
and canoeing.
For this PARC program tradition
to carry on over 3 decades it
must have a special and unique
value. What comes first is the
spirit of union with this place:
with the beauty of its trees,
wilderness trails and rocky cliffs,
the daily changes in an open sky,
the feeling of cooling water on
skin and the warmth a campfire’s
light throws over conversations
under an eternity of stars.
Kandalore can inspire a reconnection to one’s true self
– an inner reality – that is
suddenly made stronger by the
release of suffering, stress and
worry. In the space of Kandalore
there is an awakening: to happy
memories, new experiences,
laughter and intense feelings
of pleasure or serenity. This
invites trust in yourself and
your companions. One member
said “Seeing each other out of
context and past barriers……..
Community
Calendar
Thurs day, Novem ber 4
PARCʻs hockey se ason starts up.
Lace-u p ever y Thursd ay af ternoo n
at McCor mack Arena with Hume and
the gang. From 2-3:30PM. All are
welcome. Games run until April.
Mond ay, Novem ber 18
Open Mee ting for Parkda le Agains t
Povert y. 6PM in the Drop-in (1499
Queen Stree t West). Come and le arn
about how we can stop the thre atened
merger of Ontari o Works and Ontari o
Disabil it y Suppor t Program.
Friday, Decem ber 20
Winte r Solstic e – Come celebra te the
shorte st day and longes t night of the
ye ar with friend s and commu nit y.
8AM-9PM in the Drop-in . Dinner at
5PM, Lunch at 1PM.
Sunday, Decem ber 22
Holiday dinner donate d by our friend s
at Veʻahaf ta.
Tuesday, Decem ber 24
Holiday gif t gi ve away, games, music
and more.
Tuesday, Decem ber 31st
Itʻs frickinʻ Ne w Ye ars! Come celebra te
the last night of the Gregor ian
calend ar ye ar, PARC-s t yle. 6PM-12PM
Thurs day, Februa ry 20, 2013
Blues for Edmon d – A Music Benefi t
for PARC. This is the 2nd annual show
honour ing Edmon d Yu and raising
money for afford able housin g in
Parkda le. Venue and band t.bd.
Mond ay, March 17
PARCʻs 34rd Anni versar y. St. Pat t yʻs
Day has never been the same.
PARCbeat
7
gives us a rich understanding about
others and ourselves as well”.
Ancient sages believed the bridge
between land and sky is water. If you
place two canoes together and stand
them on end they are unmistakably a
rocket. At Kandalore you place people
together under the stars to find new
friends, joy and discovery.
By Bob Rose
"Thanks to our
friends and
neighbours for
supporting PARC's
Community Meal
Program with their
sweet and savory
treats."
8
PARCbeat
The Beat Con spir ato rs:
Bob, Mich ael, Darle ne, Kuni, Brian, Loude s,
Claud ia, Griff in, Omid , Leslie and Will.
Wan t to contr ibute to the Be at? Got a
probl em with some thingʻs weʻve publis hed?
Or mayb e you liked some thing and want
to see more of it? Send your thoug hts to
ggan s@pa rc.on .ca or talk to Geoff on the
2nd floor.