Corktown Culture
Painter Hanna Kostanski is too young to be thought of as an ‘old soul,’ but behind her bright smile and clear eyes is the spirit of one on a quest to preserve the urban landscape of Hamilton. And she lives in Corktown.
One of Hanna’s pleasant memories of growing up in West Hamilton was being a tourist in her own hometown. With her parents, she made regular trips specifically within the borders of Hamilton, exploring points of interest both ‘up the mountain’ or in the city. Something about the look and feel of the lower city remained in the recesses of Hanna’s mind, until, later in life, as an art student at Toronto’s Ontario College of Art and Design, the memories came flooding back. Her response to a challenge made by one of her teachers would be to create acrylic paintings of those buildings and sites she had experienced so often as a child. Hanna found that each painting was ‘a labour of love’ and more deeply a kind of act of preservation. Her painting of the Royal Connaught building is majestic in size and scope, capturing the once grand hotel in its current state of ‘inertia’ but maintaining its original dignity and grandeur. Other areas of Hamilton, like the Century Theatre, Barton Street East, the Lister Block, the former Imperial Coiffures and more also receive Hanna’s attention and respect.
The most profound painting influence on Hanna was Edward Hopper’s ‘Early Sunday Morning,’ which reminded her of Barton Street and she says ‘changed my life.’ Hanna’s own painting ‘731 Barton Street’ could have been done early on a Sunday morning. Hanna’s work has been part of group shows and in the rental section at The Art Gallery of Hamilton and the Loose Cannon on James Street. See for yourself at www.hannakostanski.com.
Hanna adds texture to her paint surfaces by ‘distressing’ them with various and sundry articles to create a more interesting painting and because she loves the tactile feature of painting. Having graduated from OCAD in 2007, Hanna is hoping to get her Masters, noting that she misses the group critiques and interaction with other painters. She is looking forward to continuing her current painterly ‘journey’ of preserving the history and the mystery inherent in buildings, especially those past their prime, in Hamilton and other centres. Hanna’s work will allow those buildings and neighbourhoods to continue to exist because of her heartfelt choices and unique renderings.
Hanna loves Corktown because she loves downtown Hamilton. When she walks to catch the bus to her job at McMaster she is passing buildings that inspire her; she feels their history and their longevity and they are still standing. She also notices how some fellow travellers seem to take for granted examples of Hamilton’s classic architecture that has withstood time and the wrecker’s ball.
Hanna Kostanski, her paintings and her love of the downtown and Hamilton add yet another spark of life to Life in Corktown.
Fred’s Stories
Neighbourhood Memories
(The Crier is running a series of articles based on conversations over tea with 89 year old Fred Engelbrecht – Corktown native, survivor of Dieppe and 2007 Canadian Veteran of the Year.)
Built in 1887 the original Queen Victoria School stood on the north side of Hunter Street between Walnut and Caroline. Even as a young boy attending Queen Vic in the late 20s, Fred appreciated that it was a beautiful building. What really stands out in his mind however, were the large steel fire escapes that ran from the third floor to ground level on either side of the school (the older boys would cause the alarms to go off just so they would get to walk down them) and the smell of the wood floors that were soaked in oil each night by the caretaker to keep the dust down (“As if the floors themselves weren’t enough of a firetrap!”).
Mr. Hall was the principal, but in Fred’s mind it was Mr. A. the caretaker who really ran the school. “He was a big man who ruled with an iron fist. The school’s washrooms were in the basement and he would give the strap to the older boys there. I was afraid of him and tried to avoid him whenever possible.”
Unfortunately on one occasion Fred met his punishment. Mrs. Witherspoon, who spoke with an English accent and wore her glasses on a chain, was the victim of a practical joke, the old tack on the chair trick, at the hands of one of the girls in Fred’s class. All the kids were laughing, but Fred couldn’t stop. “The teacher asked if I did it, but I wouldn’t tell her that it was Dorothy B. who was the culprit. I took the fall for her and got the strap. I really got teased by all the kids when Dorothy started cozying up to me. I remember that she was rather homely with big lips and a bow in her hair.”
“I was rather shy in school because I stuttered. I never put my hand up and would pretend to forget even when I knew the answer. It was better to play dumb than be laughed at. There was one teacher who was most gracious and kind of took me under her wing. She would tell me to count first before I spoke. Then there was the teacher who told my friend Fay Chong (whose parents ran a Chinese restaurant on the corner of King and Walnut) and me to go to the back of the room because we should just be listeners.”
There was a spur railway line that ran up Ferguson Avenue and Fred recalls them bringing in bananas which shopkeepers would then pick up in their horses and wagons. The kids would climb in the banana cars, but would have to watch out for spiders. “There were white holding pens just north of the viaduct on Ferguson which would hold mostly cattle and some pigs. I remember seeing men drive the cattle down the middle the middle of the street to the slaughterhouse on Rebecca. Kitty corner to the Corktown Tavern were freight yards and the TH and B kept draught horses behind the houses on Charlton between Ferguson and Aurora.”
Because of the Depression and difficult financial times, Fred got farmed out when he was eleven or twelve to relatives who lived in Auburn, Ontario. “I attended school there for Grades 7 and 8 and there were only 7 boys in the class. I walked about 4 to 5 miles to school and remember that the dog would wait for me at the property line of the farm when I was coming home. I’d have chores after school like carrying in pails of water and milking the cow and then I’d have 1 hour to do my homework before my mom’s cousin would turn the lamp off. I went to the County Seat near Lucknow to write my exams and graduated with honours. My teacher said that she knew I could do it.” On his birthday Fred took a horse and buggy to visit his brother who was living with a male cousin in Clinton. “They were 2 bachelors with animals in the house and my birthday meal was a bowl of rice with molasses over the top.”
When Fred returned home in the mid-30s, he got a job in Millgrove working 10 hours a day for a dollar. “For 25 cents you could take a bus down Highway 6, and I’d bring sacks of cabbages home for my family.”
“Later I lived with a sister in Millgrove and worked for a miserable dairy farmer in Freelton. He was a drinker and yelled a lot. One time he got mad at me for hooking up the horses incorrectly and I had had enough and told him off. I packed my belongings, and his wife felt badly and fed me before I left. I walked down Highway 6 in the pouring rain of a thunderstorm, but I felt really good because I had stood up for myself!”
The outbreak of World War Two would take Fred’s life in another direction, and in the next edition of the Crier we’ll follow his journey to Dieppe and the German prison camps.
Beautification News
Well it certainly has been a busy Spring Season for the Beautification Committee! We began the season with an initial spring clean-up in Shamrock Park as part of our agreement with the City of Hamilton’s Adopt-a-Park program. We removed over 300 kg of litter and debris. It was a great day in the park as we were happy to see the first fruits of our labours…the blooming of the daffodils and tulips that were planted last autumn.
In early May the Committee held the Second Annual Shamrock Park Garage Sale to raise money for the Committee’s community initiatives. Thank you to all who generously donated so many wonderful items. If you missed it, you really missed an opportunity to find some great buys.
As part of the City’s celebration of Parks Month, the Committee held another clean-up and planting day on June 23rd. We had over 35 volunteers come out to help us clean up Shamrock and Corktown Parks and plant new material in the flower beds.
We would like to thank all of our sponsors for this event. Tim Horton’s supplied our morning coffee and Timbits and bottled water. After a long, hot day of work we were rewarded with pizza supplied by Carmen’s Banquet and Convention Centre and all we needed for wonderful barbeque was supplied by Adam’s Marketplace. The City of Hamilton along with Alex Moroz supported our initiative by supplying us with bark chips and a new Community Clean Trailer. This trailer was filled with all of the tools we needed to get the job done and we were particularly fortunate to be the first neighbourhood group to have access to the trailer. A great THANKS to all of our sponsors!
We had such an ambitious agenda that we actually ran out of bark chips so we rounded up some more volunteers for an evening to dig and place bark chips around all of the trees. We would like to thank Jamie at Gallagher’s Pub who sponsored this event and provided all of the volunteers with nachos and pizza.
If you haven’t been by, check it out. Shamrock Park looks the best it has in years and that’s because your friends and neighbours along with the Committee have cared enough to make a difference in our community. Congratulations and thanks to all of the volunteers who have spent their time to help!
The Third Annual Shamrock Awards are coming your way again soon. So get out there and prune, paint and plant! Who knows? Maybe this year you’ll take home the coveted Golden Shamrock!
It’s unfortunate that we have to mention that someone has stolen plants from the park and surrounding residential gardens. This is particularly disheartening as this is a theft from your friends and neighbours who are working so hard to beautify YOUR neighbourhood. If you see anyone removing plant material from the parks or from your neighbours’ gardens, call the police.
Finally, we would like you all to know that we would love to have you join us for our community initiatives. Contact the Crier and let us know you’d like to help out on our next event. Even if you’re hard pressed to find the time, remember… it’s not how much time you spend… it’s that you spent the time.
Message from our Ward 2 Councillor
Residents have been asked to participate in a survey of attitudes toward our Downtown. Response has been excellent, and although there is much more work to be done, as expected many people have expressed negative attitudes toward the core area of Hamilton’s Downtown. There is no question that the north side of King Street between James and Catherine is not anything to be proud of, and that many people avoid it because of perceptions about its cleanliness and safety. A lot of work has gone into bringing back the heart of our City to the level of comfort, enjoyment and beauty that many of us knew 30 and 40 years ago. This is why the proposed McMaster Medical educational facility and clinic to be located on the Board of Education site was so important to our Downtown Renewal group, since it would have provided a major stimulus to the rejuvenation of Downtown Hamilton.
The good news is that our Downtown Transit Terminal projectis moving along, with the outcome next year of moving the buses off the Gore to a newly constructed terminal along MacNab between King and Main. This will include certain bus routes moving to the GO Station on Hunter for better connections with the GO buses and trains. The required work was funded by GO who were completely supportive of working with the City to achieve these improved connections.
You will notice at the GO station the many bicycles parked by the increasing number of commuters getting to the service using their bikes. This is a revelation to many people who aren’t aware that the bicycle is rapidly becoming an important transportation vehicle for residents beyond simple recreational use. This of course also underlines the importance of our “Shifting Gears” Cycling Master Plan, just approved by Council.
You may also notice if you walk to the GO station, much less pigeon mess. After a lengthy process, City staff have finally begun to install pigeon “spikes” along the overhead girders of the James and John Street railway bridges at Hunter. The mess has been appalling, and very simply solved by making it impossible for the birds to roost by use of the spikes. In places where the spikes are not quite covering the roosting areas, the birds insist on wedging themselves in. However it should be very obvious how much cleaner the sidewalks have become since the work was started. There’s still some areas that need covering, but eventually significant savings in time and effort will be seen by not having to send in clean-up crews over and over again.
A constant source of complaint from residents is the situation regarding alleyways. The issues are the dumping of garbage, right of access, ownership, etc. There is an operational review of alleyways currently underway, calling for public input, which hopefully will provide solutions to what can be a very divisive and unpleasant situation for affected residents. For more information, please contact the Ward 2 office at bbratina@hamilton.ca, or 905 546 2711.