It was 1933 in the midst of the Great Depression. Montrealers, like their counterparts in other countries, were inundated with financial burdens. Uppermost in most parents minds was the task of supporting their families. Dance lessons, music lessons, drama lessons were considered in many quarters as frills. This pervasive mood did not daunt two young women, Dorothy Davis and Violet Walters, from initiating their mission. Instead, it spurred them on. Difficult times , they believed, were all the more reason to inspire children through the love of the arts, in this case drama and theatre Muriel Gold tells the story of these two dynamic women through innumerable anecdotes, often hilarious, sometimes moving, but always a compelling and fascinating read. A former student and teacher at the School she recreates the magic of past childrens theatre productions, cites the monologues, the poems, the voice exercises vividly recalled by the children they nurtured over a period of close to 60 years. They brought me out of my shell. Hana Gartner, well-known national broadcaster The joy and the laughter, the tears and the catharsis and the love that these two women gave to all of us, is something that lives on. Judy Siblin, journalist My first meeting with Dorothy and Violet when I was eight years old, was one of fascination. Having just returned from three years in England. I thought these two charming ladies must be related to the Queen - their English was so polished. Clare Shapiro, artistic director, Imago Theatre. The Montreal Childrens Theatre probably had a bigger influence on my life than any educational facility...I was madly in love with Violet Walters...She bore a striking resemblance... to some of the silent-screen stars. William Shatner, Hollywood star

Advance praise for Memories of the Beach: "Lorraine O'Donnell Williams has given us a charming and evocative memoir of the Beach district six or seven decades ago, when it was a separate world in the southeast corner of Toronto. Everyone who knew the Beach that was, and everyone who knows the Beach of today, will enjoy her account of growing up in that special place." – Robert Fulford, author of Accidental City: The Transformation of Toronto "In this richly rendered memoir of a Catholic girl growing up in Toronto's Beach community in the 1930s and 1940s, Lorraine Williams not only vividly captures the feeling of a more innocent age, but at the same time touches on a universal truth – that the place in which we are nurtured forms an integral part of the person we become. Simply wonderful." – Michael Bedard, author of the Governor General Award-winning Redwork In this rare combination of history and memoir, Lorraine O'Donnell Williams details life within Toronto's Beach community in the 1930s and '40s from the vantage point of her front verandah, which abutted the boardwalk. Her extensive research has uncovered numerous hidden facets of the heritage of this exceptional neighbourhood, including the stories of what was in its time one of North America's most remarkable amusement parks, the popular dance hall, and how the area was transformed from cottage to urban living.