Islanders lament loss of clubhouse
Community hopes to replace nearly 90-year-old structure destroyed in fire on Ward’s Island
When Alison Rogers thinks of the Ward’s Island Association Clubhouse, she recalls the countless dances, weddings and birthday parties held there over the years.
But one of her most enduring memories after living on the island for more than 40 years is from her childhood.
“I remember when the café switched from regular ice cream to soft, I was devastated,” she said.
Now Rogers, chair of the Toronto Islands Residential Community Trust Corporation, is devastated at the loss of the nearly 90-year-old structure, after it burned down in the early morning hours on Sunday.
It’s clear the building’s destruction has taken a toll on her eightyear-old daughter as well, after she visited its charred remains and met the city’s fire chief and mayor.
“She burst into the principal’s office this morning to insist that he call the fire department and have firefighters come down and explain to the kids what happened,” said Rogers, her voice hoarse Monday after a long 36 hours.
Rogers is still processing the loss of the historic clubhouse, which locals hope to replace, but said she’s grateful to the firefighters who contained the fire and prevented further destruction.
The clubhouse evolved over the years, having served as a tennis and sporting club, a venue for various events and most recently as the home of the popular Island Café.
Local community members have described it as a “huge loss” and island’s centrepiece, known for its galas and dances, but also more sombre events such as memorials and funerals.
Warren Hoselton, the island’s park supervisor for nearly 25 years, remembers working 12-hour days during record floods that shut down many of the island’s businesses and amenities in 2017 and 2019.
“The community kind of flipped the building into a soup kitchen to feed the workers,” he recalled. “That was one less thing we had to worry about.”
Hoselton didn’t live on the islands but said the times he spent at the clubhouse are some of his most cherished memories.
“It was like a rite of passage that will bind or connect anybody that’s experienced it,” he said.
The clubhouse served as the community centre for island dwellers, said Leida Englar, a resident of about 50 years, as well as a place of celebration.
“I decorated the building a lot, whether it was for a wedding or a wake. I danced my brain out many, many Halloweens,” she said.
While it provided a meeting place for locals, it was also “a place of respite and relief for all the tourists and visitors that we get to the island,” especially during the colder months.
Rabbi Denise Handlarski, who has officiated many weddings at the clubhouse, remembers taking photos on her wedding day near the Island Café and its unique benches and art pieces. They used a bicycle that was at the café for their “Just Married” sign, with cans and ribbons trailing.
“It was a perfect backdrop to a romantic day,” she said in an email to the Star while travelling abroad.
Now she and her husband Charlie go to the café every year to celebrate their anniversary, and their kids knew the café as their “happy place.”
“They climb trees and play in the sandbox as we sip cocktails and eat kale salads grown right there,” she recalled.
The cause of the fire that razed the building is unknown.
A spokesperson for Toronto Fire said firefighters were still on scene as of Monday morning, clearing the rubble so investigators could get in.
The spokesperson added that the investigation “will probably be ongoing for quite some time.”
Rogers said she didn’t have an exact dollar amount for how much it will cost to rebuild. But she’s grateful the memories she and her family made there will live on.
“It’s got a replacement value of close to a million dollars,” she said. “But you know, that just doesn’t reflect its value at all.”