A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF MIKE FILEY

Mike Filey was born in Toronto in 1941. Educated at North Toronto Collegiate Institute and from 1962-65 at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute where he received a diploma in Chemical Technology.

Following a nine-year stint with the Ontario Water Resources Commission (renamed the Ontario Ministry of the Environment), Mike decided to pursue employment in the fields of event planning and public relations with the Canadian National Exhibition (from 1974-79) and at Canada's Wonderland (from 1979-1982).

Over the past few years he has turned his interests to researching and recording the fascinating history of his hometown. He has written more than nearly two dozen books on various facets of Toronto's past and for 20 years has contributed a popular column, titled "The Way We Were", to the Toronto Sunday Sun newspaper. He can also be heard daily (9:30am) on AM740 Radio. As both a public speaker and tour guide on the subject of Toronto history, Mike is much in demand by local organizations and groups visiting his city.

One of his most popular books is “The TTC Story, the First 75 Years”. Mike came by his desire to record the history of the Toronto Transit Commission honestly, having first relied on the Commission's streetcars to get him to and from the Bathurst and St. Clair Branch of the public library from his home at 758 Bathurst Street (top floor flat over the bicycle store) when he was just 8 years old - "and if you get lost, tell the policeman your phone number is Melrose 2154".

He remembers a horse trough at the Bathurst/Bloor comer, some guy named Mirvish running a store just along the street, seeing the Wizard of Oz over and over again at the late, lamented Alhambra Theatre (and being forcibly removed from the theatre by his father) and, especially, the nearby Downyflake donut shop where he learned his first piece of poetry:

"As you go through life brother, whatever be your goal, Keep your eye upon the donut and not upon the hole."

The Fileys, Mike and his wife Yarmila, live, cut grass, shovel snow and pay taxes in the Willowdale area of Toronto. You can reach Mike c/o The Toronto Sunday Sun, 333 King Street East, Toronto, ON M5A 3X5 or email at mike.filey@sympatico.ca