47a: Post-Snowstorm Edition

Plus library conferences! Historical plaques! A brand new website!

NOTE: The original edition of this post had an incorrect link to the Curio Emporium. This has been fixed!

I am writing this newsletter a few days after Toronto received a record snowfall. I’m living in a zone which probably received around 60-65 cm/2 feet. Watching it pile up was fascinating, even if the images that swirled in my head were the disaster movie The Day After Tomorrow (which I watched that night when I discovered it was on a streaming service) and the finale to the TV series Dinosaurs.

We were lucky as the unsettled weather leading up to the snowstorm prompted the second cancellation of plans to visit family in deep southwestern Ontario. The blizzard struck the day before we would have driven back, so I’m relieved I didn’t have to drive through a giant snow fort. This was the second time the weather has delayed plans for the second half of Christmas - at this rate, I may finally make it down to Amherstburg for Eastermas.

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I was invited to visit the Ontario Library Association’s annual conference this week. Wandering the expo section, it was interesting to see how research technology and websites that I use were being marketed to institutions. Along the way, I discovered some good news about at least one online resource that is making a comeback, and a better understanding of why I get Cloudflared a lot.

The importance of school libraries was on display, making me reflect on the time I spent in them as a kid, from eagerly awaiting the latest Dynamite magazines and Choose Your Own Adventure books in elementary school to the brief time my father spent watching over the library at our local high school. fun to browse.

This board allowed visitors to post their thoughts. I added a heart noting how critical a resource they were for developing young minds (book banners be darned).

Among the furniture vendors, this table caught my eye. I would have loved it as a kid.

Who am I kidding, I could picture myself using this now.

I should have asked if they had a rectangular version I could adapt into future plans for a new office desk.

On my way out, I stopped by the marketplace and found a pair of library card inspired socks (right) to match the ones Louisa bought for me at the Los Angeles Central Library a few years ago (left).

(Many thanks to Salvy Trojman for the invite!)

What’s New?

Photo by Andrew Francis Wallace, Toronto Star.

My first published piece of 2026 is a Toronto Star opinion piece about the value of historical plaques, in the wake of an eternally grouchy/no fun/know the cost of everything and value of nothing self-appointed fiscal watchdog group’s complaints about wasting money honouring Conrad the Raccoon. If anything, this plaque is a great example of the flexibility of such commemorative markers and how a story like Conrad’s reflects the community in many ways.

(LINK)

On the Newsstand

The new issue of Spacing looks at the ever-evolving Eglinton Avenue. As part of its coverage, a piece I wrote about Richview Cemetery (aka the one in the middle of the 401/427/Eglinton interchange) for the book 50 Toronto Hidden Gems & Curiosities is excerpted.

(LINK) - Editor Dylan Reid’s opening editorial.

Announcing a New Site!

Last time, I promised I would revive some dormant websites.

For once, I’m carrying through on that promise.

While I didn’t live up to my initial goal of a post a day, I’m not doing too badly with the new, Substack-based version of JB’s Curio Emporium.

From the opening entry:

One of my goals for 2026 was to begin blogging again. Social media isn’t as enjoyable as it once was, thanks to bad algorithms, bad actors, and lousy content. Going back to the blog format allows a little more room to stretch, to test out ideas, and to use up all the weird and wonderful things I’ve collected on the side over two decades as a writer and historian.

You’re probably not going to find the most profound writing you’ve ever encountered. There are a lot of people doing great work in that regard. No, this is a opportunity to have a little fun (even if I will be deadly serious at times) and install some discipline for my writing habits.

So far, the new site’s posts have been based on my deep reserve of files on my computer. Topics have included 1960s annual reports for Harvey’s and Swiss Chalet, bad copyright ads, provincial government pamphlets on speedy breakfasts, head-swapping surgery on early 1970s hockey cards, “Windsor Ballet,” and that time the Incredible Hulk served other superheroes incredibly bitter coffee.

Feel free to drop by the Curio Emporium regularly or subscribe. The link below will take you to the site’s home page.

(LINK)

Curio Collection

I’ll still run some side research findings and other things in this newsletter, such as this article from the April 22, 1968 Globe and Mail I just stumbled upon about the supposedly awful effects of apartment living on virile fathers…

I doubt this means anything, but perhaps it should be noted that Kumove ran in the 1967 provincial election as the NDP’s candidate in the riding of York-Forest Hill, a riding where an increasing number of apartment towers were rising around that time. He finished second behind the Progressive Conservative incumbent.

Hire Me

Photo by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash

I have some interesting projects in the works, but always on the lookout for a few more to pay the bills. If yourequire a public historian whose research and writing skills can assist you, drop me a line at jamiebradburnwriting_AT_gmail_DOT_com. Let’s talk.

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That’s all for now. Be kind to each other, and see you next time.