Yellow Ford Truck commune 1969

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In June 1968 Philip Mullins moved out of the John Street hostel and into the home of Noami Wall just north of Bloor Street near the University of Toronto. A friend from Pensacola, Florida Jean Staples, came to join him. Jean was pregnant and wanted to go to California where the climate was similar to that of Pensacola. Philip had not yet been formally charged by the US Attorney for draft evasion but he knew that an indictment was in the pipeline. He refused to consider a move to back to the United States. He and Jean could not reach an agreement. Jean stayed in Toronto for about a month. She was admitted to Toronto General Hospital with a bladder infection and then left for Pensacola where her mother lived. Jean put her and Philip’s baby up for adoption. Jean married and continues to live in Pensacola. The baby was adopted by a couple in the area and she and Jean stay in contact with each other.

While Philip and Jean Staples were living at Noami Wall’s house, Mrs. Wall convinced Philip to take a job at the J&J Brooks Company on Yorkville Avenue. She had sent a deserter to fill a job as a delivery driver but the man had failed the driver’s test. She needed someone reliable to fill the slot immediately so she prevailed on Philip, who had been looking for a professional position for three months, to apply. After Jean Toronto left Philip moved into an apartment with Ross Ashley and Jessie Dean on Avenue Road. In October he joined a group from the John Street hostel to rent the house on 224 McCaul Street. He lived there until the Ragnarokr leather shop commune occupied the house behind the storefront on 11 Baldwin Street in the spring of 1969.

While Philip lived on McCaul Street he regularly wrote to his brother in Florida and New York. A few of the letters are copied below. The letters describe conditions in the house at 224 McCaul, the growth of the Yellow Ford Truck store, the Baldwin Street community and the founding of Ragnarokr Leather Shop.

Philip Mullins’ letters from 224 McCaul Street, Toronto to George Mullins on Staten Island, October 1968 to April 1969

Philip Mullins

224 McCaul Street

Toronto 2B, Ontario

October 1, 1968


George Mullins III

50 Grant Street St. George, Staten Island

New York 10301


Brother George,

I am interested in your friend’s medallions. If he is continuing to make them, let me know. I’d like to try to sell them in the Yellow Ford Truck store. Tell me how many he has, how much each one costs and what kind of metal he used. The cost is very important. We’ll be selling them in the store and we’ll have to pay custom duties.

I gave your address to some friends in Montreal. They might be asking you for information about wholesale buying for a head shop. There are other things I want to ask you about too but I forget what they are. Anyway I’m more interested in getting my handwriting analyzed then anything else.

Also, dig, the store is coming along. I’m paying my debts. The draft thing still isn’t doing shit. I’m still working on Yorkville Avenue. Mom and dad have sent me lots of clothes and things and they said they would do the same for you if you let them know what’s what.

So do good and play it cool. I’ll let you know when I remember why I’m writing. But get onto the medallion thing and we’ll try to sell some if the price and the customs duties are right.

Peace and Freedom, Phil


Philip Mullins

224 McCaul Street

Toronto 2B, Ontario

October 28, 1968


George Mullins III

50 Grant Street

Staten Island, New York 10301


Brother, I received your letter and objects. When I import jewelry I have to pay Canadian Federal Sales Tax (12% of value) and import duties (which are computed from the cost plus 12% FST). The import duties on jewelry are high. The point is that it is a good idea if the ‘official’ price of the medallions is as low as possible. I suggest that when you send the things that you state on your invoice a wholesale price of $1.00 each. If Customs does not buy that they will let us know. If you quote the real price of $4.00 they will end up costing me more than $5 (which is not good). I’ll speak to someone tomorrow and then will be able to tell you how many I want.

I will take five of both yours and Dave’s immediately. I’ll pay $2 each medallion in advance and the remaining $2 when they arrive or when they sell (depending upon how uptight you are for bread). I’ll send a money order for $20 along with a list of procedures to follow and the documents required. Don’t send the medallions until you receive the money order. If I can’t make a profit at that price I’ll let you know and we can haggle.

I’ve been indicted on three counts by the Feds in Pensacola, two for draft card violations and one for failing to show for induction. Dad has talked to the police so if you don’t know then you are the last to find out. The Canadians are not approving applications for landed immigrant status for men who were active in the movement in the States so I’ve yet to get my application approved. At the moment, I can’t sponsor you. I’m not worried about not getting landed myself but it’s only that I can’t help you out now.

There was a big demonstration here October 26. There were two separate actions. The Trots led one and a mixed group of Canadians and draft-dodgers led a big one in front of the US Consulate. One of the guys in the house was busted for hitting a cop’s horse. I missed the whole thing because I had to work.

I paid $100 or so toward your school debts but they sent back one of my cheques. They said that they wanted US funds. I haven’t heard from them since. You and I were the only signer on that loan. I don’t give a damn and if you don’t either, then fuck those bastards. I’m still waiting to hear from them about the question of US funds.

We are trying to rent a new house to expand the commune. I’ll write you soon with money and procedures.

Amen, Phil


Philip Mullins

224 McCaul Street

Toronto 2B, Ontario

November 11, 1968

George Mullins III

50 Grant Street

Staten Island, New York 10301

George,

I received your note dated Election Day regarding your impending journey to Canada and news about dope and the draft.

I have very little bread at the moment but if you bring some or if I later get some cash I’ll send you money for $10, $15 or $20 worth of acid. We can get plenty of hashish at reasonable prices. Grass is illegal in Canada. Possession of acid is not.

The quicker you can send the medallions the better. If you bring them yourself you will have to say that they are gifts for x-number of named people or hide them. Otherwise you will have to pay duty. Everyone else who comes for a visit smuggles something so there is no reason you can not.

You and yours are welcome to stay for a week or a month or as long as you like although the cold weather may drive you back to NYC in a hurry. We will all be glad to see you again. When you arrive, call 924-7849 for directions to the house.

As far as the fascist draft, fuck it in everyway possible.

I run into people from Tallahassee all the time.

Up with anarchy, Phil


Philip Mullins

224 McCaul Street

Toronto 2B, Ontario

Saturday, December 21, 1968

The Yellow Ford Truck Liberation Tribal commune


George Mullins III

50 Grant Street

Staten Island, New York 10301

Hello there,

I received your note of December 16 and am glad to hear that something seems to have gone well at the induction center. There are always bureaucrats to hassle with. The immigration people here have yet to finalize my application for landed status but I’m not worried. There is always Cuba.

Things have changed here since I last wrote. For about a month we had 14 people living in the house (with five bedrooms) and things were hairy all over. We’ve since rented a second house and things have settled down. Unfortunately a lot of ill will developed over differences in life styles, attitudes toward the community, treatment of animals, financial responsibility, etc. These are small things that become important when there is no unifying factor to put them into prospective. The trouble developed, as far as I’m concerned, with a gang of ass-holes from Kansas City who would rather buy a photograph record than pay their share of the rent or food bills. Anyway they are in another house now and there are only seven of us in this house now. A lady and her son from Atlanta, Georgia, a girl whose husband we kicked out of the house when he began to dismantle the place (he has since gone to California after about two months of psychiatric care in Toronto), a leather craftsman from Boston, myself and Jim and Pat Wilson.

The store is doing well. During the Christmas season (which supposedly lasts two weeks but begins in early November) the store sold at least $50 worth of merchandize every day. Some days the sales were $100. We had a tough time stocking the store. We sold about half of your medallions. I’m sending you the parent’s money order for $25 which will pay you for the first batch of things you sent and will be five dollars extra which you can regard as a down payment on another order of medallions. Let me know if you are still making the same ones and I’ll let you know how many I want. Also if you know anyone who makes things, we can probably sell them.

Right now we have two leatherworkers working full time for the store, three girls who sew dresses, a woman who makes capes for $16 each, a couple who makes sand-cast candles and a few people making jewelry. I haven’t been doing much myself although I’ve gotten started making flags featuring the Nuclear Disarmament symbol on a plain bright-colored background.

I still work at the same job on Yorkville Avenue. I am hoping to one day finish paying my debts and get into something interesting like silk-screen printing. I would appropriate a few good designs for silk-screen printing. I used a design you suggested for burlap shopping bags. I’ve made about 75 for sale in the store.

I got a card from Madelyn. Say hello to her and give her a little loving for me. Also, what is Marty Bunyan’s address?

Peace, Phil


Philip Mullins

224 McCaul Street

Toronto 2B, Ontario

January 17, 1969


George Mullins III

50 Grant Street

Staten Island, New York 10301

Dear George,

Please locate some sources of glass beads (unstrung) for the store. They are difficult to find here. Let me know what is available and the cost.

Also do you have any medallions left? We’ve sold half of those you sent last December at $5 each.

Brother Phil, 224 McCaul St., Toronto 2B


Philip Mullins

224 McCaul Street

Toronto 2B, Ontario

April 16, 1969


George Mullins III

c/o Julie

83251/2 N. Nebraska Ave.

Tampa, Florida 33612 Yesterday we opened our new shop. This time it is a leather shop. The Yellow Ford Truck has developed into a clothing and jewelry store with a number of head items like pipes, newspapers, wall hangings and knickknacks. It is doing fairly well now and it is able to support one full-time guy and his wife with surplus cash left over for investment in other things.

We took $75 from the Yellow Ford Truck to start this new shop which is located on the same street. Right now we have one fellow working full-time making leather sandals, purses, belts, etc. Within a month (or sooner if business is good) we will have another full-time leather worker. I am supposed to be an apprentice myself but I’ve been kept busy building the shop interior and washing windows for the last week or so. Several of us invested $50 cash and started a window washing operation. We go out to the suburbs of Toronto every day and wash windows for $8 or $10 a day. I do that every other day and should be working in leather every second day if things work out. In addition I have a part-time job as the caretaker of a school down the road.

Things are looking alright for the hip community as a whole. The small group that we have assembled into the three ‘communes’ are doing really good things. We have two stores, a warehouse/art factory kind of affair and several related enterprises. There is the possibility that this street will add a coffee house/art gallery this summer, three or four co-operatively run two-story houses with about seven to ten people in each and, most of all, a real sense of community that is just being to produce heavy results. This area of Toronto has really good possibilities of becoming some kind of hip community if we don’t get too many Canadians fucking things up or too many Chinese. The Chinese are rapidly moving into the area as the old Chinatown is being demolished for ‘urban renewal’.

I don’t know if I’ll make it to NYC this year. We are thinking about going to the East Coast this summer to Halifax, Nova Scotia. Some of us want to build or buy a boat and sail to Europe and all over the world. We figure that is would be easier doing it in eastern Canada than in Toronto. We were thinking about establishing a business there, maybe fishing or catching lobsters, to use as a base. Anyway we were thinking about going there and looking around.

This business way of making a living kind of requires sticking around. I’d like to do the window washing thing all summer. That can be dropped for a week or so anytime. The store, however, might keep me here most of the time. By July we will know how things are going to go.

Three of us are thinking about going to teacher’s college next year. I wanted to get certified so we could set up our own school if and when we moved to the country but even that is uncertain. The Canadian winter makes a country thing not so hunky-dory, if you can dig it.

The name of the new shop is Ragnarokr Cordwainery. The Burdicks, Steve and Mary, of FSU fame, Greek language fame and, mainly, friends of Madelyn also live here. They are good people, both big dope freaks. They have the same address as me.

The parents are coming up in July. Get in touch with them.

Dig it, Phil


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