Paul
& Zorka Bassil
PAUL
BASSIL (TUPURKOVSKI)
Paul Bassil (Tupurkovski) was born
in the village of Oshchima, Agean Macedonia, in 1908. His father
Vasil was killed by the Turks at a young age and his mother, Sultana
had to raise his brother, Spero, his baby brother Micho and sisters
Velia, Sandra, Elena and Ilinka all alone. His mother was killed
by the Germans during the second world war.
Wedding in Oshchima round the 1920's
Paul Bassil (centre), cousin Petre (L) & Oshchima
country man Tane (R)
Paul came to Canada to join his
older brother Spero in 1930 at the age of 20.
A cousin gave him a job in his restaurant and he embarked on a career
as a Restaurateur by borrowing $500 - $10.00 here and $10.00 there
from relatives and friends and that same year he started his own
restaurant. He opened Bassil's Restaurant at Bloor and Bathurst
Street in 1937 and ran it for fifteen years together with partners,
his brother Spero and cousin Peter Argyres.
When the Canadian National Exhibition
re-opened after the second world war, for ten years he operated
a large restaurant opposite the Grand Stand serving 5,000 people
daily.
CNE Restaurant opened after WWII
He was the sole concessionaire at
the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and its various outlets for
ten years.
CBC Cafe
CBC Staff
He established Paul's Ranch House
at Bloor and Sherbourne in 1952, which he operated 24 hours a day.
When the neighbouring premises were gutted by fire, he established
the Old Spain Tavern in 1965 and eventually sold out to retire.
403 Bloor Street East
Daughter Tanya at the Ranch House Restaurant
Oldn Tavern 401 Bloor Street East
Retirement just did not sit well
with Paul and Zorka. In 1982 he encouraged his wife to open Baba's
Deli at Kennedy Road and Ellesmere in Scarborough so they could
keep busy and prepare and sell Burek to Canadians at large.
Paul was a founding member of the
Canadian Restaurant Association and was its delegate to the Toronto
Emergency Measures Association in 1965; a founding member of St.
Alban's Boys Club, a member of the Masonic Order a founder of St.
Clement of Ohrid Macedonian Orthodox Cathedral and the first Vice-President
of our church. The Government of Macedonia recognized his services
to the Canadian Macedonian community with a gold medallion.
In 1991 Paul passed away leaving
to grieve: his wife Zorka of 49 years, daughters, Starr and Tanya,
son Mark and five grandchildren, Carlos, Arthur, Tamara, Jessica
and Kara, his sister-in-law, Dota Tupurkovska and many nieces and
nephews. ZORKA BASSIL ( Pogontcheff)
ZORKA BASSIL (Yankoff Pogontcheff)
Zorka Bassil (Yankoff Pogontcheff)
was born on December 5, 1921 in Sofia, Bulgaria of parents Yanko
and Sultana Pogontcheff of the Village of Zagorichani in Agean,
Macedonia. Her father Yanko together with his father, Constantin
and brother Sterio owned and operated a general store in Istanbul,
Turkey, As a result of the Balkan Wars they were expelled from Turkey
and fled to Bulgaria, They resided in Sofia, Bulgaria where Zorka
and her younger brother Bob were born, Her older brother, Metody
was born in Zagorichani.
In 1919 to escape the turmoil in
the Balkans, her father Yanko immigrated to Canada to seek a better
life, In 1924 he sent for his family and they settled in Niagara
Falls,Ontario, Life was hard for the immigrant family, both financially
and culturally but they perservered. Zorka attended school and completed
a five-year academic program and went on to complete a special one-year
business program.
At that time she accomplished a
level of education, which was not very prevalent amongst immigrant
women, At school she excelled in languages, English, French and
Latin, She was a member of the Girls' Basketball Team which won
the Central Ontario Championship three years in a row.
In her graduating year of her academic
studies she was secretary of the student council and was voted outstanding
all-round girl of the year by the students from a list of names
submitted by the teachers. After completing her intensive year of
business studies, she worked for the Guaranty Trust Company and
was the first female with a foreign name to be hired in a bank.
Most children of immigrants had to anglicize their names to get
work.
In 1942 she married her husband
Paul, whom she met in Toronto at a friend's wedding, They settled
in Toronto and from the very beginning of their marriage they worked
side by side as a team, They started out with a small restaurant
called Bassil's Restaurant at Bloor & Bathurst with his brother
Spero and cousin Peter Argyris as partners.
They went out on their own to establish
Paul's Ranch House and Old Spain Restaurants at Bloor & Sherbourne,
For a few years together with her brother Bob, they operated a large
and a medium sized concession at the Canadian National Exhibition
when it first reopened after the war.
For a few years, Paul and Zorka
ran the eating concessions at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporations
on Jarvis Street and affiliates. Zorka served a secretary to the
founding fathers and priests of St. Clements on a voluntary basis
during the early stages of the church formation. She was a member
of both the church board and the ladies auxiliary committee. When
Bingo was first held in the church hall as a fundraiser she was
a regular volunteer together with her daughter, Tanya for the weekly
Bingo. She was also involved with the Caravan festival for several
years.
She served as Treasurer for both
the Flood Relief Committee and the Skopje Earthquake Committee.
Together with her husband Paul, she has received recognition from
Macedonia on several occasions for their contributions to our community.
Zorka served on the Canadian Multicultural
Consultative Council at its inception in the 1970’s for three
years. She was also a member of the Folk Arts Council of Metropolitan
Toronto and of the Liberal Women’s Commission for a number
of years.
For 15 years she held a booth at
the St. Lawrence Market where she sold burek, home baked cookies
and cakes. She was also instrumental in helping with the Canadian
Macedonian Historical Society since its inception in 1991 to the
present.
St. Lawrence Market
She has three children, daughters,
Starr and Tanya, son Mark and five grandchildren, Carlos, Arthur,
Tamara, Jessica and Kara.
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