1970s toronto

Someone is trying to reunite a Toronto cab license from the 1970s with the driver's family

A cab driver's license from the 1970s was just discovered, and the person who found it is trying to get it back to the family of the original owner.

Umberto Rossi is a caretaker providing extra help to schools who need it, and found the license while doing summer cleanup at a school recently. He posted the find on Facebook where it got lots of engagement and response.

The vintage license says it was issued to Allan Marston Whiteley on Dec. 16, 1970 when he was 44 years old. 

"A blast from the past and possibly a treasured memento for his descendants," Rossi wrote on Facebook. "Can y'all help me get this to his family?"

An obituary was found for someone with the exact same name, and a bunch of people in the comments have theories on relatives and various ways of potentially getting in touch with the family. Many other people commented simply saying they were following the story in hopes of seeing how things turn out.

Rossi found the license last Wednesday wedged in the frame of a table he had turned over in order to clean off gum.

Sadly, he's had no success contacting the family so far. His last lead turned out to be a dead end when he tried contacting a business where he thought Whiteley's son might work, but he no longer worked there.

"It's a neat relic from Toronto's past so that sparked my interest, but it's also possibly a cherished memento of someone's family. Just feels right to at least try," Rossi tells blogTO.

"I asked around the staff if there was ever mention of a student losing it at school and it didn't ring any bells."

He's still hoping to possibly return the license to some sort of rightful owner.

Lead photo by

Umberto Rossi


Latest Videos



Latest Videos


Join the conversation Load comments

Latest in City

Toronto just got a new waterfront park that's been years in the making

Here's why swarms of giant birds are being seen in Ontario skies right now

A parasitic fungus is turning Ontario creepy crawlies into suicidal zombies

Three different Ontario LRT lines are now in major trouble

Shocking hit-and-run video shows Ontario driver try to flee in totalled truck

Canada now has universal pharmacare here's how it will affect you

Alleged drunk driver crashes then tries to flee through Ontario police station

Northern Lights took over Ontario skies in rare show and the photos are out of this world