John Lynn
Toronto Daily Star, May 17 1927
The editorial page of the Toronto Daily Star used to include a section titled A Little Of Everything. This section always started off with a poem. Here's the poem that appeared in the May 17 1927 edition:
Like James MacGregor, Mr. Lynn was clearly of Scottish heritage.
Since the paper published his address, I looked him up in the Toronto city directories. He is listed in the 1927 directory at 423 Crawford and as a clerk at Art Metropole, a firm that sold supplies for engineers, architects, and artists. Some other family members lived there, as there were listings for Dorothy, Mary, and Mina Lynn. The 1928 directory listed all of them plus a new member, John Jr.
Subsequent directories indicate that the family moved around a lot:
- The 1929 directory only listed some of the Lynns at various locations, which suggests that they were moving at the time that the city directory was being compiled.
- The 1930 directory lists Dorothy, John, John Jr., Mary, and Mina at 86 Concord Avenue. John Senior had no listed occupation.
- 1931 lists Dorothy, John, John Jr., and Mina at 162 Indian Grove. John Jr. was now listed as John S. Lynn. There is no listing for Mary; presumably, she got married.
- By 1932, the family had moved to 106 Chelsea Avenue, but there were listings for Dorothy, John S., and Mina only.
- In 1933, Dorothy, John, and Mina were listed at 221A Roncesvalles Avenue.
- In 1934, Dorothy was the only one that I could find; she was back at 86 Concord Avenue. In 1935, she was at 1994 Queen West; I didn't trace her after that.
"John Lynn" is a common name, so I don't know for sure what happened to the author of this poem. But the fact that John and John S. were listed in 1931 and only John S. was listed in 1932 suggests, sadly, that John Sr. had left the land where the maples grow green - unless he travelled to Loch Lomond to find his childhood sweetheart.
Created September 20, 2025.