When a boy from the Toronto suburbs grows up to write A Mile of Make-Believe: A History of the Eaton’s Santa Claus Parade (University of Toronto Press), one might expect the book to be filled with rosy-hued recollections of floats, marching bands, upside-down clowns, and Saint Nick himself. But, when that boy – Steve Penfold – also happens to have grown up to be a University of Toronto history professor with a particular interest in consumer culture, his view of the parade is anything but nostalgic.
CITY OF TORONTO ARCHIVES