A small east-end Toronto park was renamed the Bruce Mackey Park yesterday, in honour of an avid supporter of the early Degrassi Kids TV series.
Mr. Mackey, who died of cancer in 1997, was a Toronto-born, local public-school teacher who opened his home -- 98 Degrassi St. -- to the show's filmmakers, Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood, more than 20 years ago. This low-budget production became the pilot for the now famous series and helped to make the residental street known throughout the world.
The park, formerly Wardell parkette, is located on Wardell Avenue.