Remembering Louise at Guild Park

A group of Louise Miskew's family and friends gathered at Guild Park & Gardens today (Sat. May 3) to celebrate the bench installed to commemorate her and her support for Guild Park and the local community.

Family members welcome the many friends and colleagues of the late Louise Miskew.

More than 30 people attended to remember Louise and her work as chair of the Guild Renaissance Group, long-time supporter of Guildwood Day and sponsor of Guild Park's annual arts festival, Guild Alive with Culture.

The new commemorative bench is located along the park path - the Livingston Trail - where Louise and her family walked countless times during their regular walks at Guild Park.

Three generations attended

Everyone who came out - including three generations of the Miskew family - got to try out the new bench, which was sponsored by the Guild Renaissance Group and installed by the City of Toronto.

Three generations of the Miskew family - along with neighbours and colleagues - came to Guild Park May 3, 2025 to visit the new bench that commemorates park volunteer, community supporter and local realtor, Lousie Miskew.

The bench represents an important part of Guild Park's legacy - the impact that Louise and other volunteers have on the 88-acre site. The bench is located about halfway between Livingston Road and Guild Park's Monument Walk - a 500-metre stretch of unimproved pathway that previously lacked any rest stops.

Volunteers from the Guild Renaissance Group at Louise Miskew's commemorative bench at Guild Park. From left, Janet Heise, Ralph van Putten (standing), Audrea Porter and Jill Watson.

With Louise's bench now in place, visitors can sit facing Lake Ontario amid a Carolinian forest to enjoy the sights and sounds of Guild Park.

This is the first commemorative bench installed at Guild Park in more than a decade.

As a sidebar, the reason for this delay is notable. Friends of Guild Park first contacted City officials to request this commemorative bench in June 2023, shortly after Louise died. Volunteers discovered that the City's list of approved sites for such benches had mistakenly omittted Guild Park for years. It took 10 months for City officials to provide volunteers with the necesssary bench application. After receiving the completed application and required payment, the City required six months to process the funds and install the new bench. The City then required another six months to install the customized commemorative plaque.