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| 52. TADDLE CREEK |
| O, gentle Taddle! wadering by thy side, I watch thy merry waters glide, and her the murmur of thy limpid tide, Taddle. Of undergraduates full many a race Here by thy banks have dewelt a little space, and known and loved this mem’ry place, Taddle. And often have thy banks and bosky glades Resounded to the laugh of youths and maids As careless, happy, free, they sported near thy shades, Taddle. Here many a deed of blood and derring-do Has bearded Senior or relentless Soph put through, And stained with Freshman green thy waters blue, Taddle. But sentimental fancies, deeds of gore, Shall twinearound thy sacred name no more. Thy days are ended, and thy glories o’er, Taddle. The City Council would they stream immure, And shut thee up with bricks and lime secure, And make thee - Ichabod! - a common sewer, Taddle. Let’s soothe thy parting spirit with a Freshman’s blood, And while there’s time, imbed him deep in mud, and sail hin tenderly down thy flood, Taddle, O, Taddle. -Anonymous, The Varsity, October 6, 1883. In the early days of Toronto, a body of water called Taddle Creek passed through town. It was one of the many creek systems which influenced the initial laying-out of the town’s settlement. Surveyors seeking to design easy geometric shaped lots were hindered by the meanderings of the creeks, particularly Taddle. The creeks also tended to be in a constant state of flux, swelling during the fall and spring, then virtually drying out in the summer. They were diverted, damned and run through culverts at various stages in the development of Toronto. By the 1880s many of the creeks had been channeled underground to become part of the city’s underground sewage system due to the growing problem of pollution. The Taddle began somewhere around present day Wychwood Park, then flowed east crossing Bloor St., between Bedford and Queen’s Park. It then turned south through the area occupied by the Royal Ontario Museum, through the grounds of the University of Toronto, to cross University Avenue at Elm Street. The Taddle flowed south to Queen Street, crossing the Moss Park property. There it joined another creek and together they entered the region of 1837 Toronto. It crossed the old town, until it formed a sweeping curve and emptied into Lake Ontario from Parliament Street. Interestingly, this was the area where the first eight blocks of York were surveyed by Simcoe(1). There are several theories as to the naming of Taddle Creek. One theory was that it was named for the Tattle family of Toronto, however their estate was not near to the creek(2). Another theory was that it was named for the tadpoles that filled the creek(3). Finally, there is the onomatopoeic proposal. As pointed out by W.G. Cooke, “tattle” is an English northcountry dialect variant of “toddle”, which meant “to move with a gentle sound, as a stream or river”(4). Whichever theory is correct, it is interesting to note that the creek was officially called University Creek, and was nicknamed Taddle only on campus(5). Taddle creek was a special place for those first students to the University of Toronto. There are accounts of students fishing in the pond which formed by present day Hart House, or skating and tobogganing down the slopes of the creek(6). One student even hid the College lawnmower beneath the surface of the water, only to be discovered years later when the creek was drained(7). However Taddle creek was also the site for freshmen initiations, which in the fall could turn into very cold, wet afternoons for some young men(8). Generally Taddle Creek has become a part of the history of student life at the University, and a source of poetic inspiration and imagination. |
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