Leslieville Lives; Stories from the ‘Ville – Theresa Tate

Meet Theresa. More commonly known as ‘Mrs. Tate’ or ‘Mother Tate’. She hardly needs an introduction. As the matriarch of the East End Garden Centre for decades now, we’ve probably all crossed her path at some point.

I made it a point not to profile folks who own businesses in the neighbourhood as it might look like favoritism, but I’ve made an exception here. Besides, she hardly needs the press! As iconic as the EEGC is, her story will make you better understand and appreciate the life of this extraordinary entrepreneur.

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Leslieville Lives; Stories from the ‘Ville – Denise Lemon-Clayton & Stephanie Clayton

Meet Stephanie & Denise. Theirs is an extraordinary journey.

I first heard of Stephanie & Denise through Donna Riddell (from The Duke fame) one day when I was chatting with her at the bar. “Omg, you have to do Stephanie’s story”, she said. She told me about Stephanie’s condition after one of the comedy night fundraisers held at The Duke was going to benefit Make-A-Wish. I contacted Denise shortly after and it took the better part of 8 months (the everyday challenges) before we finally connected.

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Leslieville Lives; Stories from the ‘Ville – Rob DeBoer & Regan Daley

Meet Rob & Regan. I first met Rob in 2000 when he and Tony Grace (from my 2nd family, the Graces) crashed in our tent at the Hillside Musical Festival. Hard not to notice a 6’5″ giant tumbling through your flimsy doorway. I was away for the 80s & 90s but learned that weekend that Rob had teamed up with Tony & Paul Grace and the Boomtang Boys was now a trio.

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Leslieville Lives; Stories from the ‘Ville – Aubrey Clyke Jr. aka Junior

Meet Junior. When I had my first dog, George, back in 2004, every morning we would walk up Hiltz Ave., en route to Greenwood Park. Occasionally we would see a guy on his bike riding up or down and he’d wave. Then the wave turned into ‘Mornin’ Darlin’. I remembered ‘that voice’. Loud and deep. It was fit for radio. I imagined hearing it on a Jazz station or as a deep baritone/bass in a choir. He stopped one day and gave George a nice head scratch and we exchanged our hellos again. Ever since then, I’ve been seeing Junior riding his bike around Leslieville, or doing work in people’s gardens, on their roofs or doing renovations. I always shout out a ‘Hi’. He eventually came and did some work for me (and most likely many of you!) too. From George, to Gracie and now Sunshine, whenever we see him, we always stop, or wave, have a chat. There’s something about Junior.

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