TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE
The turkey’s cooking in the oven and the cranberries are simmering on the stove. The fall harvest is upon us and, with it, a Thanksgiving-themed quiz from
1. Which Toronto mayor is associated with the term “gravy train”?
a) David Crombie b) Rob Ford c) Allan Lamport d) John Sewell
2. Thousands of migrants arrived in Toronto in 1847 to escape the impact of the Irish Potato Famine. What illness were many afflicted with by the time they reached the city?
a) Cholera b) Scarlet fever c) Smallpox d) Typhus
3. In which neighbourhood did bakery tycoon George Weston operate his first bread factory in the early 1890s?
a) The Annex b) Grange Park c) Parkdale d) The Ward
4. In 1953, Toronto vocal quartet the Four Lads had a Top 10 hit with which Turkey-related tune?
a) “And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda” b) “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” c) “Pachalafaka” d) “Turkey Lurkey Time”
5. St. Lawrence Market has long been a source for Thanksgiving meal ingredients. Which business claims to be the oldest at the market, serving customers since 1895?
a) Brown Brothers Meats b) Carousel Bakery c) Marvin’s Produce d) Scheffler’s Delicatessen & Cheese
6. In which suburb will you find the Applewood neighbourhood, named because it had contained many apple orchards prior to its development in the 1950s?
a) Brampton b) Markham c) Mississauga d) Vaughan
7. Prior to Parliament officially establishing Thanksgiving as a national holiday on the second Monday in October in 1957, it floated around the calendar. In 1872, why was it held in April?
a) To avoid coinciding with a federal election b) To celebrate the Prince of Wales’s recovery from typhoid fever c) To hold special church services to pray for a better crop season than 1871 d) To mark it in tandem with Easter
8. Which of the following items is not considered to be among the “Three Sisters” that were the main crops of Indigenous peoples such as the Haudenosaunee?
a) Beans b) Corn c) Potatoes d) Squash
9. One of the first pieeating contests in North America occurred in Toronto in January 1878, where contestants devoured fruit pies while their hands were tied behind their backs. What prize did the winner receive?
a) A book b) A set of face cloths c) A week’s worth of streetcar tickets d) A year’s supply of free pies from St. Lawrence Market 10.
During its first major Thanksgiving food drive in 1986, what did the Daily Bread Food Bank insert into copies of the Toronto Star? a) A box for children to collect cash donations b) A comic book drawing attention to food insecurity c) A food donation bag to fill and drop off at a fire hall d) An instruction sheet for building a little free pantry