As part of a community effort to preserve David Dunlap Observatory — a 190-acre park in the middle of Richmond Hill, a freedom of information request was issued to the Ontario Ministry of Culture. The FOI office released a 3-page letter from Lincoln Alexander to the Honorable Aileen Carroll, Ontario’s Minister of Culture. Lincoln Alexander is Chair of the Ontario Heritage Trust, a provincial agency that is charged with advising the Ministry on heritage matters.
I first moved to Richmond Hill in 1972. As a 12-year-old who grew up with the Gemini and Apollo space programs, I was interested in science and astronomy and owned a small telescope and a subscription to Sky and Telescope. In the pages of that magazine, the names such as Palomar, Mount Wilson, Yerkes and David Dunlap Observatory occurred frequently and resonated deeply. These were wonderful, inspiring, exotic places of science that generated deep intellectual attachments in thousands of young men and women. I was thrilled to move to Richmond Hill, primarily because it was the home of David Dunlap Observatory
After attending one of the public lectures and seeing the 74-inch telescope for the first time on my 13th birthday, my friends and I made many trips to the DDO. A few years later we moved to Weldrick Road and the observatory became a favorite place where I could walk, write and take photographs. Continue reading »
Blogging has been sporadic for months — hey, I’ve got my reasons! — but I’m going to crank it up again. Feeling inspired tonight after the U.S election (though you wouldn’t know it from the way I’m writing). Feeling inspired but a little rusty. In any case:
Obama’s acceptance speech and McCain’s concession speech were remarkable for different reasons. Obama is always very much aware of the arc of history and he has an uncanny ability to map paths along that arc for both himself and his audience. I envied the crowd in Chicago as tears of joy rolled down their cheeks in concert with his words. MLK had a dream and now (finally!) Obama is living it and inviting the world to go along. Continue reading »
Now that the moving vans have arrived to plunder the Dunlap Observatory, I’m reprising my original letter sent to U of T’s Governing Council. Recall, that U of T never once allowed anyone opposed to the sale to address the governing council. Remember that the university never once consulted with area residents over their plans. I briefly met a U of T librarian on the property this morning, but apart from her, the only official U of T representative I have seen in Richmond Hill since Oct 30, 2007 was a Cassels Brock lawyer at a Town Council meeting.
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