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Who stands on guard for old gun?
http://www.thestar.com/News/article/193809
Mar 20, 2007 04:30 AM
Jack Lakey
Staff Reporter
A rare 19th century cannon that's a High Park landmark has been vandalized once too often, and a history buff has become worried it could disappear.
For decades, the brass cannon has stood guard over the lawn in front of historic Colborne Lodge, near The Queensway and Colborne Lodge Dr., just as it did for Toronto when the city was still called York, says Ron Blaney, a Burlington resident with a passion for military history.
"It's part of Toronto's history from when it was a frontier garrison town," said Blaney. "Its function was to protect the people of York, and there are so few of these cannons left that a nice piece like that one should not be neglected."
Blaney says brass cannon are particularly rare; he knows for sure of only two others in Toronto, in front of the military institute on University Ave., though he says there might be one or two more at Fort York.
The Colborne Lodge cannon has markings that show it was manufactured in 1845, during the reign of Queen Victoria, said Blaney, which only adds to its historic value.
Not long ago, Blaney says he noticed the "button" at the back of the cannon, where soldiers tied a length of rope to pull it from place to place, had been hacked off, reminding him of the value of brass as scrap metal, which has substantially increased over the past two years.
"My concern is that it wouldn't be too hard for somebody to get a pickup truck in there" and steal the whole shooting match.
The wooden block in which the cannon sits has a lot of graffiti carved into it, while the its green-tinged barrel is etched with names and graffiti dating back at least as far as 1954.
Aside from the possibility it could be stolen, Blaney says he fears the cannon could be further defaced. Given its historic value, he'd like to see it moved indoors somewhere, where it can't be tampered with or stolen, or taken to Fort York, where it would be protected within the walls of the garrison.
STATUS: Kevin Bowser, in charge of city parks in that area, said he'd send someone to take a look and see if there's a way to protect the cannon from further defacing and possible theft.
http://www.thestar.com/News/article/193809
Mar 20, 2007 04:30 AM
Jack Lakey
Staff Reporter
A rare 19th century cannon that's a High Park landmark has been vandalized once too often, and a history buff has become worried it could disappear.
For decades, the brass cannon has stood guard over the lawn in front of historic Colborne Lodge, near The Queensway and Colborne Lodge Dr., just as it did for Toronto when the city was still called York, says Ron Blaney, a Burlington resident with a passion for military history.
"It's part of Toronto's history from when it was a frontier garrison town," said Blaney. "Its function was to protect the people of York, and there are so few of these cannons left that a nice piece like that one should not be neglected."
Blaney says brass cannon are particularly rare; he knows for sure of only two others in Toronto, in front of the military institute on University Ave., though he says there might be one or two more at Fort York.
The Colborne Lodge cannon has markings that show it was manufactured in 1845, during the reign of Queen Victoria, said Blaney, which only adds to its historic value.
Not long ago, Blaney says he noticed the "button" at the back of the cannon, where soldiers tied a length of rope to pull it from place to place, had been hacked off, reminding him of the value of brass as scrap metal, which has substantially increased over the past two years.
"My concern is that it wouldn't be too hard for somebody to get a pickup truck in there" and steal the whole shooting match.
The wooden block in which the cannon sits has a lot of graffiti carved into it, while the its green-tinged barrel is etched with names and graffiti dating back at least as far as 1954.
Aside from the possibility it could be stolen, Blaney says he fears the cannon could be further defaced. Given its historic value, he'd like to see it moved indoors somewhere, where it can't be tampered with or stolen, or taken to Fort York, where it would be protected within the walls of the garrison.
STATUS: Kevin Bowser, in charge of city parks in that area, said he'd send someone to take a look and see if there's a way to protect the cannon from further defacing and possible theft.
