June Rose Callwood, (June 2, 1924 – April 14, 2007) was a Canadian journalist, author and social activist. She wrote articles and columns written for national newspapers and magazines, including Maclean's and Chatelaine. She also founded a number of charities.
Childhood
Callwood was born in Chatham, Ontario, and grew up in nearby Belle River, with her younger sister Jane. Her mother was the daughter of a Métis bootlegger and her father was the son of a magistrate. Her parents' marriage was deeply troubled, and while she was shown affection by her grandparents, her family was desperately poor, moving at night from one house to another. Her father left the family and she was forced to drop out of high school to earn an income.
Career
Callwood began her journalism career at her high school, Brantford Collegiate Institute, where she was editor of the school paper. She later worked for the Brantford Expositor Frayne and Callwood also hosted the CBC Television talk show The Fraynes in the 1954-55 television season.
Callwood later entered television journalism, hosting the series In Touch on CBC Television from 1975 to 1978.
Activism
Callwood's career was marked by a strong concern for social justice, especially on issues affecting children and women. She became one of Canada's most famous social justice activists, founding or co-founding over 50 Canadian social action organizations including youth and women's hostels. She founded Casey House (a Toronto hospice for people with AIDS), Jessie's (now called Jessie's: The June Callwood Centre for Young Women), PEN Canada, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, and Feminists Against Censorship. In 1988, she was awarded the Order of Ontario. She was inducted into the Etobicoke Hall of Fame in 1992.
In 2004, the City of Toronto announced that it would name a street in Callwood's honour. Callwood requested that an existing street not be renamed for her, and specified that it be a new or currently unnamed street near a school or a playground. June Callwood Way is in the neighbourhood of Queen Street East and Broadview Avenue.
June Callwood was named Toronto Humanist of the Year 2004 by The Humanist Association of Toronto.
In July 2005, a Toronto park was named after Callwood. A professorship in social justice was also established at Victoria College, University of Toronto in her honour. In 2008, Premier Dalton McGuinty declared June 2 of every year to be June Callwood Day.
In 2011, June Rose Callwood Public School, located at 84 Edward Street in St. Thomas, Ontario, was named in her honour.
Personal life
Callwood and Frayne had two daughters and two sons. The daughters are authors Jesse and Jill Frayne, and the elder son is Brant Frayne. on Highway 401 as he returned home from Queen's University. This incited her neighbour John Bates to start a campaign against drunk driving, which resulted in the founding of Citizens Against Impaired Driving (CAID) which is now MADD Canada, the Canadian branch of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
Callwood withdrew from the public due to the allegations of racism, and during this period, at age 70 The archival reference number is R5274, former archival reference number MG31-K24. It covers the date ranges 1916 to 2003. The fonds contains 14.6 meters of textual records and a variety of other media.