Local author Dennis Rizzo tells the fascinating and diverse history of Orillia, Ontario. First populated by the Huron, Iroquois and Chippewa Nations, Orillia is now a well-loved, year-round recreation destination. Its history is deeply tied to its water. Situated in the narrows where Lake Simcoe flows into Lake Couchiching, Orillia was a gathering place for centuries before Europeans used it to bring furs to market. Sir John Simcoe, first governor of Upper Canada, fostered permanent settlement of the area. A gateway to the Muskoka region, it has been home to lumber, manufacturing, and artistic endeavours. Today, summer cottagers and winter athletes alike enjoy the Sunshine City and its more than twenty annual festivals. Local author Dennis Rizzo tells the fascinating and diverse history of Orillia, Ontario.

Nestled in southwestern Ontario along the scenic Avon River, Stratford is an industrial centre recognized for its scenic parks and world-famous Shakespearean theatre. The first settlers arrived in 1827, when the Canada Company surveyed the area. Incorporated in 1854 as the village of Stratford, the city today retains a rich heritage preserved in photographs and documents stored at the Stratford-Perth Archives. This compilation of photographs from the Stratford-Perth Archives, historical notes, and anecdotes provides a magnificent anniversary souvenir of the city of Stratford. Stratford includes previously unpublished photographs as well as frequently requested images, including stunning historical views of Queen's Park, the regatta, local
sports teams, the 1933 general strike, and the Perth Regiment. Stratford covers the period from 1864 to 1964, shortly after the Canadian National Railway shops left the area, reveals why downtown has so many buildings with towers, and tells the story of the Shakespeare connection. It will fascinate residents, past residents, and tourists.

On May 16, 1853, the first passenger train steamed out of Toronto from a wooden depot that was located near the site of today's Union Station. Over the next century, the railways had a profound impact on the geography and economic fortunes of Toronto and helped transform it from a provincial town into the commercial centre of Canada. To the dismay of many, the railways also swallowed up prime real estate on Toronto's waterfront and isolated its citizens from Lake Ontario, the city's most scenic asset. The struggle between the promoters of unfettered railway development and crusaders for public access to the waterfront culminated during the 1920s with the building of the waterfront railway viaduct and Union Station. This magnificent Beaux-Arts railway terminal is the busiest transportation hub in Canada and is undergoing a $1.5 billion revitalization. Inside this book are over 200 rare images illustrating 80 years of Toronto's railway history.

Kitchener, Ontario, is a community with two histories. As Berlin, it was a rapidly growing and prosperous town reveling in its Germanic heritage. After dramatic civic upheavals from 1915 to 1919, it emerged, somewhat bruised, as Kitchener. From a twenty-first-century viewpoint, there often appears to be a disconnection between the two. Kitchener
(Berlin): 1880-1960 challenges this perception and bridges the two histories. Using mostly unpublished photographs, many from the Waterloo Historical Society's collection, the author captures the town that was and the city that is. Kitchener (Berlin): 1880-1960 brings to life many long-gone treasures,
such as the classic city hall, the post office, and the sugar factory. William Lyon Mackenzie King, Canada's longest-serving prime minister, is seen during his hometown visits. Famous, as well as less familiar, individuals are captured, including Breithaupt and Bailey, Ahrens and Timm, Schmalz and Peoli, and Euler and Izma. This history also welcomes the reader to explore such questions as who was the father of Canadian soccer, who really turned on the first hydropower in 1910, who were "Big Charlie" and "Pop," and what was the Committee-of-One?

The taste of Ontario garlic is as rich and varied as its history. Used mainly for medicinal purposes in the nineteenth century, people turned up their noses at the aromatic bulb as it became associated with new immigrants. The once acceptable ingredient became undesirable in church and school—kids who smelled of garlic were sent home. Pioneering chefs, farmers and a wave of cultural diversity have brought the zesty allium into the mainstream, making it a gourmand's go-to spice, celebrated at nine festivals across the province. Toronto Garlic Festival founder Peter McClusky serves up garlic's long journey from central Asia to its now-revered place in the hearts and dishes of Ontarians. Growing tips and forty recipes bring Ontario garlic from farm to festival to feast.