Cabbagetown People commemorates the numerous historical personalities and colourful characters who lived in Cabbagetown and who have contributed to Canada’s rich heritage.
Project Chair Sheila Schirmer conceived the vision several years ago, and with the help of a communications consultant knowledgeable of the interpretive signage used on the Trans Canada Trail, put together a comprehensive plan. The plaques and the Orientation Directory were designed by CPA Board Member Steve Yeates, and the Program is managed by a dedicated volunteer committee. The cost of manufacturing the plaques and the Orientation Directory, as well as the other components have been self-funded by the Program through various fund-raising efforts.
Since 2002, more than thirty of these “heritage heroes” have been commemorated by plaques at residences, businesses and other properties throughout Cabbagetown, and the Program has expanded to include the many other “heroes” and their inspiring stories through our website, and in our Program for Schools. To facilitate walking tours by the public, we have installed an Orientation Directory, including images, biographical text and a map of plaque locations, which is located at the northwest corner of Riverdale Park.
The educational outreach to schools began with producing and providing teaching manuals (including biographies of these “heritage heroes”) for teachers to use in classroom projects and to “pre-teach” students in advance of participating in guided walking tours of Cabbagetown.
What makes Cabbagetown People a truly unique program is that it honours a broad range of historical individuals who have made contributions, and salutes not only famous persons, legendary figures, or people who have distinguished themselves in their occupations or careers. It celebrates the ability of any individual to be a “hero” and of ordinary persons to do extraordinary things.
If you know of other remarkable historical individuals, please send an e-mail to the attention of the Cabbagetown People Committee.
For more detailed information on Cabbagetown People, please visit: www.cabbagetownpeople.ca
In 2004, with a grant from The Tour of Homes to help identify Cabbagetown as a Heritage District, the CPA and its designer-in-residence, Steve Yeates, worked with the city to produce enough signs to mark seven intersections. The signs were installed in 2004.
With the extension of the Heritage Conservation District to the west of Parliament Street and the South of Carlton, funds are being raised, as of Summer 2008, to mark intersections in those areas.