QAHN HERITAGE PHOTO AND ESSAY CONTESTS $10 Quebec

HeritageVOL 13, NO. 1 WINTER 2019 News

Contested Ground Controversial Archeology in Gatineau and Montreal Lost by a Hare Chasing the Eastern Townships’ Elusive Witch Letters From Miss Edgar’s Marie Mack Writes Home during WWI QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

CONTENTS Quebec

HeritageNews Editor’s desk 3 Building on Ghosts Rod MacLeod EDITOR RODERICK MACLEOD Hindsight 5 PRODUCTION The Memory of That Place Dorothy Williams DAN PINESE; MATTHEW FARFAN QAHN News 6 PUBLISHER Matthew Farfan QUEBEC ANGLOPHONE HERITAGE NETWORK Heritage in Brief 8 400-257 QUEEN STREET Kenogami Cemetery Margaret Mitchell Bernard SHERBROOKE, QUEBEC J1M 1K7 Donors and Dreamers 9 PHONE The Culture of Gratitude: Donor Stewardship Heather Darch 1-877-964-0409 (819) 564-9595 FAX Digs at Gatineau 10 (819) 564-6872 Roger Fleury (with the CORRESPONDENCE collaboration of Wes Darou) [email protected] Traces of Charity 13 WEBSITES QAHN.ORG St. Bridget’s Refuge Sandra Stock QUEBECHERITAGEWEB.COM 100OBJECTS.QAHN.ORG Beresford Township, St. Agathe 18 Joseph Graham PRESIDENT GRANT MYERS The Witch of New Mexico Road 19 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Irish Folklore in the Eastern Townships Grant Myers MATTHEW FARFAN PROJECT DIRECTORS Letters from 507 Guy Street 22 DWANE WILKIN Ginette Guy HEATHER DARCH RODERICK MACLEOD CHRISTINA ADAMKO 2018 QAHN Heritage Photo Contest Winners 25 BOOKKEEPER MARION GREENLAY 2018 QAHN Heritage Essay Contest Winners 28

Quebec Heritage News is published Review 30 quarterly by QAHN with the support of the Department of Canadian Heritage. Life at the Mill: Through the Mill by Gail Cuthbert Brandt Sandra Stock QAHN is a non-profit and non-partisan organization whose mission is to help advance knowledge of the history and culture of the English-speaking communities of Quebec.

Annual Subscription Rates: Individual: $30.00; Institutional: $40.00; Family: $40.00; Student: $20.00. Cover: “Indians Paying Homage to Spirit of the Chaudière,” Canada Post Publication Mail c.1933, by Charles William Jefferys (1869-1951). Agreement Number 405610004. Watercolour over pencil. Library and Archives Canada.

ISSN 17707-2670 PRINTED IN CANADA

2 WINTER 2019

EDITOR’S DESK Building on Ghosts by Rod MacLeod

ne thing I’ve learned from lying just under the surface. The Protes- the years. But there are certain sites that Hollywood movies is that tant Burying Ground further east was al- just seem to call out for sensitive treat- you should never, ever build so developed as a park (Dufferin ment. Hospitals and jails may well be Oover a graveyard. They don’t Square), even though almost all the bod- appropriate candidates for redevelop- like it, you see, those people buried be- ies were removed before hand – though ment as housing or offices, but surely it low. Sometimes they come up and do a few were discovered when they built should be done with reverence. nasty things to the people foolish Complexe Guy Favreau in the 1970s and I wrote a couple of years ago of the enough to live in whatever is built on the a few more found under the street during importance of respecting the site of the graveyard – I mean really nasty, like recent repairs to René Levesque Boule- Montreal Children’s Hospital (“Remem- yanking little blonde girls through the vard. I must confess that, in all the bering an old children,” QHN Summer television or making T-bone steaks crawl happy hours I have spent in the Guy 2015), arguing that a place of such in- by themselves across the kitchen count- Favreau building, I never saw a ghost – trinsic sadness (and, yes, joy – but that’s er. In any case, it’s just not worth the although the Department of Canadian the other side of the same coin) should risk. Heritage has recently moved from there be preserved regardless of architectural The custodians of Montreal’s old for reasons that may, or may not, have to merit because there is something sacred Protestant and about it. Or at the Catholic cemeter- very least, that its ies did not have spirit should be the benefit of such preserved and re- graphic imagery in spected. Over the the 1860s, yet they last few months I were sensitive to have been moni- popular feeling toring the steady about building demolition of the over cemeteries, old Children’s although in a with a heavy moment of insani- heart. First of all, ty the Fabrique of it’s bloody sad. Notre-Dame did Waiting for a bus get architect Henri on the other side Maurice Perrault of Tupper Street, to design a plan I’ve watched the for the subdivision cranes claw of the St. Antoine doggedly through burial ground into the soft brown building lots, but brick of the soon came to their senses. (No one do with increased sightings of crawling Children’s, the gaping void spreading wants to live over a cemetery, the former steaks. from the former Emergency entrance on head of the Cartothèque at the Archives It is possible that the presence or my left all the way to Atwater Avenue Nationales told me many years ago absence of bodies makes a difference if on my right – and, of course, extending when showing me this plan, a “duh!” one is contemplating building over a several fathoms down into the earth. clearly implied.) Instead, they turned the cemetery. Yet we are also sensitive to the There is now nothing left of the hospital space into a park, to be known as idea of living where people died, or even but the original annex from 1912, Dominion Square since Confederation where they experienced pain; certainly supposedly slated for preservation in was in the works. Monuments have been many ghost stories involve revenants whatever new structure emerges. built on this ground, along with benches who haunt such places. Now, from a Yeah, maybe. The odds of anything and a Vespasian, but nothing you would building developer’s point of view, it of the old Children’s surviving are slim really live in. That is possibly why there may be impractical to take every bit of a – and even if the annex doesn’t succumb aren’t many ghost stories connected with site’s history into consideration; there to developmental greed, the spirit will be the square (now “Place du Canada”) are surely few urban spaces that have gone. People have been pointing out the despite the reputedly 40,000 bodies still not witnessed some sort of trauma over need for community facilities in this Baffling billboards. Photo: Rod MacLeod. 3 QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS socially problematic neighbourhood: affordable housing would be ideal, or a community centre, or even a drop-in centre. Hey, maybe a school. But the ar- chitects’ renditions show three or four sleek glass skyscrapers, obviously in- tended for high-end condos. All very nice in their slick way, but just not appropriate. What’s worse is the sales pitch. I might have preferred total ignorance, marketing the condos using a nice- sounding if meaningless name – like Victoria on the Park, an actual condo de- velopment that advertises widely and confidently despite being neither on idyllic situation one might experience Victoria Square nor on a Park. But the living there: “le rouge profond d’un Bor- marketers of the Children’s site have deaux en 5 à 7” (a deep red Bordeaux opted to exploit its former name, albeit during happy hour) or “le noir d’un tat- by throwing logic, and reverence, too plein de souvenirs” (a black tattoo enthusiastically to the wind. filled with memories). I was a bit dis- This project is officially called turbed by the “s’illuminer devant les “Square Children’s” – meaning that’s its joues roses de sa petite-fille” (light up at name in French. I made fun before of the the sight of your little girl’s pink former hospital for calling itself “Le cheeks), which seemed to be an oddly Children,” but this goes one worse, in- contrived reference to a child, in igno- volving two English words that make no rance of the thousands of hospitalized sense in English. Where to begin? To children whose cheeks were likely not point out that most children are not all that rosy – or far too rosy to be square (in either in geometrical or the healthy. More disturbing was the slogan 1950s hipster sense) would be pedantic. that appeared to explain the theme: “re- were originally calling for. I don’t think To say that four glass towers cannot be a donnons des couleurs à notre quartier” it is too late to incorporate some low- square (unlike Cabot Square, a real (let’s bring colours back to our neigh- cost housing into the plans or even a space, which would lie in front of the bourhood). Oh, I see: having a children’s service centre at ground level. But sim- condo like a cathedral parvis) would hospital around kind of sucked the life ply throwing around the word “children” probably be wasting breath, since these out of the neighbourhood, and it’s now in the marketing campaign to score lame days words mean just what marketers up to the yuppies to rejuvenate the place. historical points is just wrong. Building choose them to mean. And don’t get me Divorced of context, these images and over other people’s sadness should be started on that apostrophe! Idiocy slogans are just corny; given the sacred done with extreme reverence. notwithstanding, the name Square Chil- nature of this space they are offensive. Or it could come back to haunt you. dren’s might have worked well if ap- I hope this project manages to in- plied to a school or community centre, clude as many community service com- suggesting that young people would be ponents as the community advocates welcome. Applied to condos the term is inappropriate at best; at worst, it is men- acing and downright creepy. This fact entirely escaped the mar- keters, however. For much of the sum- mer the site (eventually, the gaping hole) was surrounded by a series of brightly- coloured billboards featuring stylized (but clearly adult) figures sveltely ca- vorting about rooftop pools and side- walk cafés, framed by references to “Square Children’s” or “squarechil- drens.ca.” Each billboard was of a dif- ferent colour, and that colour was re- flected in the panel’s bizarre slogans. Each slogan seemingly referred to some

4 Top: Baffling billboards. Photo: Rod MacLeod. Middle: Architect’s Rendition. Photo: Squarechildrens.ca. Bottom: The view from Tupper Street. Photo: Elena Cerrolaza. WINTER 2019

HINDSIGHT THE MEMORY OF THAT PLACE by Dorothy Williams

The memory of that place. place I learned how to cook, right in the meant: Let’s take a stand HERE! The smell of that place. downstairs kitchen. That same kitchen, Those special moments too always The sounds of that place. managed by a host of volunteers, fed us reminded me that NCC meant solidarity. When I think of the Negro Commu- day after day every lunch hour rain, Here, we rallied for the African Libera- nity Centre I think of a building, I think shine or snowstorm. tion marches. Its rooms welcomed anti- of the concept, of an idea that took shape The boys in my class spent hours in apartheid networks and the red and in a financially, economically impover- woodworking and carpentry, mentored black posters encouraged pan-African ished community. Yet the building that by able-bodied, thoughtful men on the solidarity. On its walls, I caught we call the NCC stood tall and firm third floor. I am reminded too, of the top glimpses of my roots. It was at the NCC through my entire life until my late floor where athletically minded youth where I first heard about Haile Selassie twenties. This old community building, played their hearts out while represent- and every day I passed by the Budweiser with its three layers of grey stone and ing the NCC in basketball and other posters of African Queens and Kings. I plaster, was filled with “community” for team competitions. There was always a am sure it was there, not in school, that I many, many decades even before the strong cheerleading group in the upper learned that Egypt was in Africa… NCC inhabited it. That building, too, served Built as a church in the wan- as a meeting place for the Con- ing years of the nineteenth centu- gress of Black Women and for ry, it served its religious function many other nationally-focused until the 1920s, when it gave way gatherings. Through the NCC, to local community needs. The the entirety of Montreal’s Black Iverley Settlement House community sat at national tables claimed it for several decades, as local delegates car-pooled or where the voices of the neigh- hopped the train to attend the bourhood’s poor English-speak- next National meeting convened ing Catholic community bounced in Ottawa or Toronto. In a world off its walls. Then, in the mid- without Facebook, Skype or fifties, when the NCC joined Meet-up, the NCC and its affili- forces with the Iverley Settlement ate groups could not miss the House, the building began to journey. Our presence signalled shake to different rhythms as the to the rest of the country that Black community made it home. the Black community of Mon- And, once again, for several treal mattered too. decades, the building stood as a Thank you, NCC. beacon for one of bleachers, when visiting teams from Montreal’s underserved, underrepresent- across the city or from another province ed communities. or even from the US came to rival our Yet, the reality is for many of the dominance. people, the Black people in Montreal And yes, its walls heard too our Dorothy Williams is the author of and Quebec, the NCC is surely that – a loud debates as teens are wont to argue Blacks in Montreal: 1628-1986 An Ur- memory. their ideas with radical fervor, or, as ban Demography and The Road to Now: I didn’t know it then but as a young- adults, challenged the current mayor, a A History of Blacks in Montreal. She ster I was part of that first generation local councillor or school board official is the founder of Blacbiblio.com Inc., that climbed the stairs on Saturday to get to consider the specific needs of their which has produced an educational kit ready for my ballet class. My parents Black constituents. for teaching Black history, ABC’s of had not played in that building the way There were times the building was Canadian Black History. She is also a my friends and my siblings did. The tap the rallying point of a city-wide demon- director of the Quebec Anglophone dance classes later in the day followed stration of anger, of social injustice and Heritage Network. by the piano lessons downstairs rounded the oft-time lethal outcome of racial pro- out my weekend education in that build- filing. “Come to the NCC!!” on a poster, ing. And the lessons there continued. or on a flyer, signaled that the NCC was During the after-school, here was the urgently calling a community to arms. It

Conrad Poirier, Negro Community Centre. 5 Photo: BAnQ, 06M, P48,S1,P17797. QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

QAHN News by Matthew Farfan 2nd Annual Eastern Townships Heritage Fair, Melbourne of the St. Francis," as it is called, features a series of thematic banners on the heritage of the St. Francis River and its tributaries. QAHN's 2nd Annual Eastern Townships Heritage Fair took place Researched by QAHN's own Dwane Wilkin, with graphic design on Saturday, October 20, at the historic Melbourne Township by Sherbrooke's Museum of Nature and Science, it is now avail- Hall overlooking the St. Francis River. What an appropriate set- able to museums that wish to borrow it. ting, given the theme of this year's event, "Nature's Waterways and the Web of History," with an accent on the St. Francis River Several speakers gave conferences during the fair on subjects re- watershed, which covers a vast portion of the Townships, and lated to the St. Francis. These included Dwane Wilkin (the fate of which had such a profound impact on the region's development. the once-thriving local ocean-going salmon population); Julie Grenier of the Conseil de gouvernance de l'eau des bassins ver- This year's fair featured displays by over a dozen heritage organi- sants de la rivière Saint-François (watershed conservation); and zations, including Copp's Ferry Museum, the Georgeville Histori- John Husk of the City of Drummondville (waterway restoration). cal Society, the Eastern Townships Resource Centre, Uplands Cultural and Heritage Centre, the Lennoxville-Ascott Historical A special guest this year was the Hon. Marie-Claude Bibeau, and Museum Society, the Brome County Museum, the Colby- Member of Parliament for Compton-Stanstead and Minister of Curtis Museum, the Missisquoi Museum, Townshippers' Associa- International Development, who was on hand to announce tion, Townshippers' Foundation, the Sherbrooke Snowshoe Club, $248,500 in funding from Canadian Heritage for two major QAHN, and Richmond County Museum, which provided logisti- QAHN initiatives: "Diversity and Achievement in Anglophone cal support (and an open house at the nearby museum) through- Quebec" and "Heritage, Culture and Communication: Balancing out the day. Traditional and Digital Media in a Changing World." These proj- ects, the minister announced, will take place over two fiscal A new traveling exhibition was launched at the fair. "Waterways years.

Scenes from the 2nd annual Eastern Townships Heritage Fair, Melbourne. 6 Photos: Renee Arshinoff, Matthew Farfan and Ro Ghandhi. WINTER 2019

Launch Event, Quebec Heritage News, Fall 2018 Edition, Concordia University

The official launch of the Fall 2018 edition of Quebec Heritage News took place on November 6, in connection with the Annual General Meeting of the Centre for Oral History and Digital Story- telling at Concordia University. This issue of the magazine was produced in collaboration with history students at Concordia, and featured contributions by 19 students as well as by Prof. Steven High who is a co-director of the Centre for Oral History and Dig- ital Storytelling (COHDS). 2019 Heritage Talks Lecture Series QAHN's 2nd annual Heritage Talks lecture series will get under way in early 2019. Overseen by project director Christina Adamko, this new series will include a range of fascinating talks at historic and cultural venues around Montreal and in the regions. Check out QAHN.org for programming details in the coming weeks.

High praised the Cen- tre's partnership with QAHN and called the launch a wonderful event, sentiments echoed by many of the students who participated, including Tanya Steinberg who wrote that she was "so proud" of "the 6th Annual Montreal Wine & Cheese, Atwater Library: amazing work" that Mark Your Calendars! went into the publica- QAHN's ever-popular annual Montreal wine and cheese will take tion, "as we all are at place at the historic Atwater Library in Westmount, on Thursday, COHDS." April 25, 2019, from 5 to 7 p.m. This event, which has become a tradition on Montreal's heritage calendar, is an excellent occasion for heritage enthusiasts, both English- and French-speaking, from all across the Island of Montreal, to meet and mingle in an infor- mal setting. Check QAHN.org for more details in the weeks to come. And by all means, mark your calendars!

Left: Quebec Heritage News launch event at Concordia. Right: Atwater Library. Photo: courtesy. Photos: M. Farfan (top left) and courtesy (bottom left). 7 QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

Heritage in Brief

Kenogami Cemetery Zealand War Graves Project and was by Margaret Mitchell Bernard traveling the world locating and taking pictures of the fallen New Zealanders of Another year has rolled around and World War II. He was even able to lo- more work has been completed on the cate the stone he was looking for exactly Kenogami Cemetery. by a GPS device that was attached to his Some really interesting things hap- camera. Later, Mr. Morel sent me a pened over the summer months. One day handout that he was given by this indi- while Roger Morel was working in the vidual. I will keep in touch with this per- cemetery, a man by the name of Derek son as he tries to locate any living Bunn arrived with some very sophisti- descendants of the New Zealand pilot. cated camera equipment. He was look- This is only one example of the ex- ing for the grave of a New Zealand pilot traordinary things that have happened that had been killed during training exer- during the summer as the cemetery con- cises over Lake St. John during World tinues to attract visitors from many War II. Mr. Bunn belonged to the New different walks of life.

Photo: www.tracesofwar.com. 8 WINTER 2019

DONORS & DREAMERS THE CULTURE OF GRATITUDE Donor Stewardship by Heather Darch

This is the fourth in a series of articles by Heather Darch donate, how much they give and if they have been thanked. You addressing the perennial question of fundraising. It was inspired can even keep track of personal notes and reminders. by her work on the QAHN project, DREAM. Perfecting and personalizing your thank-you message is crucial. The rule of thumb for thank-you letters is 10 days, used to receive thank-you hand-written and personalized. letters from the charities The message should be simple and non-profit organiza- but clearly express gratitude and Itions I support that had recognize the impact of the dona- that “production line” look to tion. Explaining how their gift them. They said all the right will be used to move your mis- things but they were pretty sion forward is an element not to generic with formal greetings be glossed over in the letter. and pre-printed signatures. It Don’t include their donation his- was easy to walk away from tory in a thank-you letter or ask some of them; some I only gave for more money; that’s a separate to once. There was something letter. Thank-you letters are just about those letters that left me a that – to say thank you. little cold. You may have noticed in the Even though the notion of past few years a change in thank- thanking those who donate for Good stewardship means that donors have a sense of belonging and an at- you letters from charities. Formal your organization may seem tachment to what you do and why you do it. salutations are crossed off and obvious, not doing so, or not first names are written in pen. doing it effectively, is a big One of my non-profits always has mistake. Even if you think you are thanking your donors suffi- a small personalized note to me written by the executive direc- ciently, it’s a good idea to consider the thanks from their per- tor next to his hand-written signature. That’s commitment. I rec- spective. As Juniper Belshaw of the Centre for Community Or- ognize his effort and the organization’s appreciation of my con- ganizations says, “at the heart of all fundraising, is donor stew- tribution. I keep donating. We have developed a culture of grati- ardship and the progressive building of relationships.” tude. Engaging a donor is important, but keeping a donor is vital. Our donors should be part of a recognition program or Stewardship is an integral component of success. At the QAHN strategy. If you don’t have a stewardship plan, make one. It DREAM conference in Morin Heights, we heard Juniper say: should outline specifically what you will do to acknowledge all “What your organization does to retain your donors and how it of your donors. According to Juniper Belshaw, “recurring works toward building a long-term relationship with those donors, or those who donate on a monthly basis for example, al- donors, speaks to the process and methodology of stewardship.” so require acknowledgement beyond the end-of-year thank-you Having accountability and due diligence in the care of your letter and tax receipt.” Consider a mid-year phone call to thank donors goes a long way. Part of the stewardship process in- them or a special recognition of monthly donors in your com- cludes administration procedures – meaning you have to be able munications. Major gift donors to your organization should be to receive money in a professional manner. Donors will be recognized with certificates, wall plaques or forms of public watching for accountability and how donations are raised, in- recognition – with their permission, of course. An overall recog- vested and spent. Stewardship extends in two directions: back to nition program, using press releases, websites, social media or the care of the current donors, and forward to those who are other organizational materials, should be adopted to reflect your considering your non-profit for their next gift. donors’ generous support. There are great tools for tracking and thanking your donors Good stewardship means that donors have a sense of be- in downloadable applications from many companies on the web longing and an attachment to what you do and why you do it. and for varying fees. For those of us on tight budgets, though, a Through proactive ongoing recognition and by organized ac- simple Excel spread sheet can help us keep track of who donat- tions to help us keep track of our donors, we can all build better ed and when, their specific interests in our organization, their fundraising results for our organizations. preferences for donating (i.e. monthly or annually), why they

Photo: Matthew Farfan. 9 QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

DIGS AT GATINEAU by Roger Fleury (with the collaboration of Wes Darou)

n the spring of 2014, the City of In our efforts to defend our right of location for First Nations. It was the Gatineau began redevelopment access to the river, John Savage told me crossroads of three rivers. The Rideau work on Jacques-Cartier Street, that there was an archaeological dig go- River gave access to the south and what Iwork budgeted at $43 million, in- ing on near St-François-de-Sales is now known as Perth, Ontario. Rev- cluding $16 million from the National Church. I went to investigate and dis- erend William Bell described groups of Capital Commission. While burying covered the archaeologists at work. First Nations people from Oka passing some hydro lines, city workers came up- Right off, one of them handed me a by on the Rideau River in 1824 (Shaw, on First Nations artefacts. The city hired stone ax. He told me that it was about 22). The Gatineau River gave access a private archeology company, 3,500 years old. Because I am a history north to the Saint Maurice River and to Archéotec, to conduct excavations that teacher and Anishinaabe, I was moved to today’s Trois-Rivières. The Ottawa were to last three weeks. The ar- River gave access to the east, chaeological digs, designated Montreal, the Iroquois coun- BiFw-172, began at the corner of tries and the Atlantic. To the Jacques Cartier and Saint-Antoine west it gave access to James Streets. Archaeologists eventually Bay and Lake Superior. discovered 110,000 objects, in- Archeology confirms this cluding arrowheads, axes and a notion. Official maps show that copper spear. The City of Gatineau the tiny BiFw-172 site on first declared that these objects Jacques Cartier Street is a were insignificant and without small fraction of a large ar- spiritual value or even of great im- chaeological site north of the portance. This perspective would Ottawa River between the change dramatically over the next Macdonald-Cartier Bridge and three years. the mouth of the Gatineau Riv- be holding in my hand something that er. Indeed, archaeologist Daniel Chevri- The discovery came from my so-distant ancestors. er, president of Achéotec, found that the In early May 2014, John Savage, a From there, a few Aboriginal site is part of a “very old archaeological Métis living on Jacques Cartier Street, friends and I went to the City of mega-site.” asked me in my capacity as Chief for Gatineau offices, and then to a city The city gave a $168,753-contract help in protecting our ancestral boating council meeting. We explained that we for the excavations to Archéotec. rights, specifically regarding his little wanted to be involved, and to work with Between May and June 2014, the com- wharf that accessed the Ottawa River. the city, the archives and the archaeolo- pany collected about 25,000 items. But local city councillor Myriam gists – nothing more complicated than Archéotec submitted the results to the Nadeau and Mayor Maxime Pedneaud- that. city and received another contract on Jobin insisted on the destruction of this The situation was about to August 22, 2014. These new excavations small Métis wharf. degenerate. collected another 85,000 items. On June 3, 2014, we organized a On July 10, John Savage informed At this point, Daniel Chevrier an- press conference on the site. Journalist me that the city was filling the archaeo- nounced that the site was “unique but Denis Gratton of Le Droit noted that it logical site with sand and that a bulldoz- without spiritual dimension.” I describe was the first time in his life that he had er was stationed on site. this random approach to funding as “TV done an interview in a teepee! (Gratton, We hurried to the site. To prevent dinner archeology.” What does spiritual 8) A key aspect of this meeting was to them from burying the artefacts, we in- dimension mean exactly? In our lan- emphasize the importance of all peoples stalled two teepees. We also lit a sacred guage, nouns have either an animate or working together: the Kitigan Zipi Algo- fire, of great importance for the protec- an inanimate designation. A rock is a liv- nquins, the off-reserve Anishinaabegs tion of the site. So began a 42-day occu- ing being. If an elder does a ceremony and the Non-Native residents. pation. around a rock, it becomes a spiritual ob- Pierre Plouffe from TVA asked me, ject. It's essentially the same thing for “Chief Fleury, how far are you willing to The site holy water. It is nothing but tap water up go to defend your rights?” My answer: History shows that the Gatineau to the point that it is blessed by a priest! “Our rights are non-negotiable.” River delta has long been an important I do not believe that professional archae-

The site with bulldozer, 2014. Photo: Roger Fleury. 10 WINTER 2019

Our sacred duty was to draw to people’s attention that a sacrilege was committed at the expense of many sacred artefacts unnecessarily destroyed. Thus began a four-year legal battle, both criminal and civil. On September 10, in an effort to end the sit-in, the city obtained an in- junction demanding that we leave the site, arguing in court that it was impera- tive that they finish the construction im- mediately because it could not be done in the winter. But we photographed them doing the work all winter long. On September 17, 2014, the city de- cided to move the case from civil to criminal. We view this decision as an in- tentional act meant to intimidate us. I'm not easily intimidated! If the city had taken the civil option, it would have been conducted by a bailiff and not by the police. The city would not have had ologists are able to say which objects - Store the artefacts in a safe place; to embarrassingly withdraw all criminal are, or are not, spiritual. -Hire an archaeologist according to charges a year later. Civil procedures Among the 110,000 objects invento- the state of the art; would have made our lives easier and ried were sacred artefacts, ceremonious- -Include a First Nations observer saved the public a lot of money. ly buried by our ancestors: arrowheads, during new searches; Six people were arrested: Robert axes, a copper spear from Lake Superior, -Assure that First Nations will be Marois, Alain Lafortune, Albert Bouras- a peduncle of a material found in the informed of future archaeological proj- sa, André Lambert (four citizens of the extreme south of Ontario, a fragment of ects. sector), Audrey Redman and myself. Af- a scraper from Mistassini Lake in north- At present, we have no indication that ter spending one night in jail (longer in ern Quebec and an arrowhead made of any of our demands have been, or will my case), we were offered release if we New England rhyolite. The archaeolo- be, met. complied with certain conditions: that gists found fireplaces containing char- we not disturb public order and exhibit coal that allowed for carbon dating. The The sit-in good behavior, that we live at our cur- objects were found to date from 3,500 to Our occupation of the site began on rent address at all times, that we not be 6,000 years ago (Tulloch, 12). August 8, 2014 with our two teepees and within 100 metres of the site, that we be It is important to note that in our in our residences between 10 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. every night, and that we re- frain from being in the presence of other accused. The last two conditions were dropped on October 9, 2014, although for four years the City of Gatineau Police Service, the Sureté du Québec, the RCMP and Canada Customs contin- ued to go after us, claiming that they were unaware that these conditions had been removed. The other five who were arrested were released the following day, having accepted these conditions. I did not, and was charged with “mischief.” I was re- leased from jail on September 22 under the same conditions offered earlier. protests we never requested possession sacred fire. Audrey Redman of Standing Following the sit-in and the arrests, of these artefacts. We only wanted to be Buffalo Dakota First Nation and myself we went to court a number of times and assured that they would be protected and were the two permanent protesters, in front of five different judges. that the excavations could continue to helped by about a hundred proud people On April 7, 2017, the City of the end. We requested that the city: who came to support us. Gatineau Police Service announced that -Produce a video of the excavations; Top: Site, corner of Jacques Cartier and Saint-Antoine streets, Bottom: Audrey Redman at the site, September 2014. Gatineau, 2014. Source: Archéotec. 11 Photo: Robin Levinson-King, Postmedia. QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS the city's charges would not be upheld and that the case was closed. The city had spent a fortune attack- ing the fundamental rights of citizens who were simply doing their duty to de- fend an important part of their heritage. This process could have cost us a lot of money. A SLAPP (Strategic Law- suit Against Public Participation) is a “lawsuit aimed at hindering political the west coast, and many others. Chief Roger Fleury was born near participation and activism... and aimed The city could have easily moved Maniwaki in 1942 and raised in at intimidating the defendant or exhaust- the installation of the pipes ten metres to Chapeau, Quebec. He studied at St. ing it financially in order to silence it.” a place where they would normally be Mary’s Teacher’s College, the University As I said, I am not easily intimidated. installed. But instead, they diverted the of Ottawa, and Syracuse University. However, in order not to exhaust myself pipes over the archaeological site. In the Roger was a trapper and tourist guide, a financially, I chose to represent myself spirit of the Truth and Reconciliation history teacher and a provincial-level legally. Commission, the city has built a nice lit- union representative. In 2011, he was At a court hearing on July 13, 2018, tle park on the site of the excavations, elected Chief of the Quebec Fort Cou- the city withdrew all charges against me. named Place Abinan. According to the longe Off-reserve Algonquins. Roger’s It remains to be seen what will hap- explanatory panels, the name was “pro- political actions, beyond protecting the pen to the artefacts. To my great sur- posed by the Kitigan Zipi community,” a archeological site, include supporting prise, in 2018 the City of Gatineau community located 150 km from the rights of the intellectually challenged claimed to own the artefacts. This posi- Gatineau. But the park was not approved and disputing Ontario’s sovereignty of tion goes squarely against federal law by Band Council, and the decision to Calumet and Allumette Islands. C-391, the Repatriation of Indigenous build was hardly made in collaboration Cultural Property Act. The city’s claim with the local Aboriginal community. Sources: is essentially an act of neocolonialism. It The city seems to believe that spending Ron W. Shaw, Influence and Ambition: The has shown no signs of respect for Abo- a few thousand dollars on a pretty little First Persons of Perth, Carleton Place, riginal history related to regional her- park gives it permission to destroy an Ontario, 2016. itage. This is shameful in the National ancient site and bury thousands of Capital Region. artefacts. Matthieu Bélanger, “Un site unique sans Governments, the city, and the It is also obvious to me that an at- dimension spirituelle,” in Le Droit, National Capital Commission must stop tempt was made to divide First Peoples, September 16, 2014. stealing our heritage objects. orchestrated by the City of Gatineau. Spiritual or not, the site and the They tried to play one group against an- David Tulloch, “Gatineau construction site artefacts have great historical and ar- other by denigrating off-reserve Aborigi- angers aboriginal groups,” in The Equity, chaeological value. They deserve to be nals and pitting us against Status October 8, 2014. protected, as have been the objects Indians. Anthony DaSilva-Casimiro, “Les six exi- gences des Algonquins hors-réserve Fort- Coulonge,” in La revue de Gatineau, September 10, 2014.

Denis Gratton, “Un tipi sur Jacques-Cartier,” in Le Droit, June 4, 2014.

Letter from Lt. Sylvie Courville, Service de police de la Ville de Gatineau, to Roger Fleury, April 7, 2017.

City of Gatineau, Executive Committee min- utes, June 28, 2017. found at the Pointe-à-Callières Museum You can – in fact, you must – fight https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_ in Montreal, on the HMS Erebus and city hall. Otherwise, governments will lawsuit_against_public_participation. Con- HMS Terror, the L’Anse aux Meadows continue this behavior. sulted: June 21, 2018. site with its Viking remains, the wrecks of the Basque whalers at Red Bay, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Neocolonial- Labrador, the submerged Haida sites on ism. Consulted: August 15, 2017.

Top: Google street view, October 2015. 12 Bottom: Place Abinan. Photo: Roger Fleury. WINTER 2019

TRACES OF CHARITY St. Bridget’s Refuge by Sandra Stock

he central area of downtown just below St. Patrick’s Basilica on de la been a terrific view of the harbour and Montreal, especially the part Gauchetière Street. St. Patrick’s Orphan- river – now totally obscured by high ris- that abuts Old Montreal, is a age, on the same location beside the es. Tmulti-layered heritage site al- church, was also demolished. This prime real estate was the site most in its entirety. The sector between St. Bridget’s was among the first of a mansion built in 1819 by Pierre de Sherbrooke Street to the north and large long-term care residences in Mon- Rastel de Rocheblave, a wealthy former Notre-Dame to the south is rich North West Company fur mer- in historic architecture, both do- chant who had gone on to in- mestic and institutional, and fea- crease his fortunes by investing tures several important public in railroads and real estate be- and commercial sites. fore entering politics. Surround- However, many buildings, ing the mansion was a large par- very important in the past, have cel of land, on which fruit trees disappeared in this district. This flourished – a very different is the natural progression of ur- Montreal from today! In 1843, ban development from the early the Sulpicians purchased this industrial growth of the first part property from Rocheblave’s of the nineteenth century through widow, and it became the site of to the later movement of Montre- St. Patrick’s Church. The large al’s financial and shopping cen- mansion became the first loca- tre from St. James Street (Saint- tion for St. Bridget’s Home and Jacques) up the slope to Refuge. In 1869, St. Bridget’s Dorchester (René Lévesque) and was moved to a new building a St. Catherine streets. As Montreal ex- treal, initially caring for poor, ill and so- short distance away. The Rocheblave panded, what were formerly mainly resi- cially isolated survivors – mostly house was beyond repair, and was de- dential and institutional areas became women – of the tragic Great Famine and molished around 1900. By this time, the the downtown we see today. This led to ensuing typhus epidemic of the 1840s in area was mainly commercial. many buildings either being repurposed which 6,000 people died in Montreal. It As time went on, most of the rem- or disappearing altogether. was an important institution for nants of both of the two St. Bridget’s Often the institution itself survived Montreal’s Irish community in its time, buildings and of St. Patrick’s Orphanage but in a different location: for example, when funding and support for those in disappeared under the soil of the green the Father Dowd Home, St. Margaret’s need had to come from religious denom- spaces and parking areas around the Home, the Montreal General Hospital, inations and private citizens. Father church. The site’s upper sector, where the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue Dowd raised the funds and built both St. the church sits, has become an attractive and some other less known facilities, Bridget’s and St. Patrick’s Orphanage. outdoor resting and stopping off place; usually tied to religious denominations In Saint Patrick’s of Montreal: The the church provides picnic tables for or health care. The practical reason for Biography of a Basilica (1998) by Alan downtown workers and local residents. these moves was to be close to their Hustak, Dowd is described as a “good The lower green space – down quite a population bases, who had moved to and decent man of superior intelligence” steep slope edging de la Gauchetière newer residential areas. Many old build- who travelled from Ireland to the United Street – was, and is, an unofficial neigh- ings were left behind and many were Canadas in 1848 to minister to the Irish bourhood park with large and very old demolished. community of Montreal. He had excel- trees, many of them maples and elms. One of these buildings was St. Brid- lent promotional and fundraising abili- This is where many large pieces of the get’s Refuge – later called St. Bridget’s ties and promoted the building of St. St. Bridget’s foundations are visible. The Home, and then called the first Father Patrick’s on what was then a fine loca- old cement steps leading up from de la Dowd Home until the building was tion up on an escarpment – called a ter- Gauchetière Street towards the site of razed in the 1970s and most of its rem- race – just outside the then limits of the former buildings are still evident. nants disappeared under a parking lot Montreal. This site had what must have This past summer we became aware St. Bridget excavations. Photo: Sandra Stock. 13 QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS of the redevelopment of the southwest corner of the St. Patrick’s property by the Université de Montréal’s Hautes Études Commerciales. St. Patrick’s has sold this part of its land to finance the church and ensure its survival as a func- tioning urban parish. The church itself is an important heritage site and still an ac- tive institution for Montreal’s (especially Irish) English-speaking Roman Catholic community. Although the decision to sell this land is understandable, we have serious concerns about the fate of both the preservation of the St. Bridget’s rem- nants and whether suitable information on the history of the site will be promi- nently displayed. In an area with almost no green spaces – a real downtown “heat island” in summer – local residents and the wider Montreal community would like to be assured that as many of the large trees as possible are preserved and as much lawn as possible continue to be publicly available. This issue is particu- traces will eventually be covered by the larly important to the residents of adja- new building and its surrounding land- cent Chinatown – a sector of great his- scaping is still uncertain. What the na- torical importance itself – which has re- ture of any exterior or interior historic cently received many threats from inap- information plaques and / or actual propriate development suggestions of incorporated remnants might be is also various kinds. still uncertain. An archeological survey of the site An article in the Montreal Gazette carried out by the HEC revealed many (July 5, 2018) by Andy Riga quoted a traces of both St. Bridget’s Refuge and HEC spokesperson as saying “the school St. Patrick’s Orphanage. Whether these plans to commemorate the site’s history by outlining the location of St. Bridget’s in its new building and will use the foundation stones to build part of a hall.” Fergus Keyes, a prominent Irish community leader, responded to this statement by saying that “HEC should leave the foundations where they are and a large green space should be preserved. A green space gives you a sense of a me- morial space where you can sit and re- member the importance of the area.” Phil Chu, who lives two blocks from this site and recently led local com- munity opposition to the removal of the YMCA from the Guy Favreau Centre, says that the HEC project should go forward but also wants the foundations and most of the green space preserved. It will be interesting to see how this project unfolds, especially in regard to its relations with the surrounding com- munity and to its dealings with those concerned about the preservation of her- itage. Given the precipitous decline of most traditional religious institutions, so

Top and Middle: St Bridget excavations. Photos: S. Stock. Bottom: St. Bridget’s 14 Refuge, c.1896. Photo: Notman & Sons, McCord Museum, VIEW-2969. WINTER 2019 many of which are sitting on extremely valuable properties, the progress of the HEC / St. Patrick’s situation is important in that we may see what the priorities are for both developers and communities.

Sandra Stock, who is a director of the Quebec Anglophone Heritage Network, has written exten- sively on heritage issues, with a special focus on urban archeology and Montreal’s Irish heritage.

Sources: Alan Hustak, Saint Patrick’s of Montreal: The Biography of a Basilica, Montreal, 1998.

John Kalbfleisch, “From the Archives: St. Patrick’s Basilica property once home to Rocheblave mansion,” in Montreal Gazette, May 21, 2011.

Andy Riga, “A city that forgets its history has no soul,” in Montreal Gazette, July 5, 2018.

Top right: St Bridget excavations. Photo: Sandra Stock Bottom left: Henry W. Hopkins’ Atlas of the City and Island of Montreal, 1879. 15 CommunicationCommunication MattersMatters 2019 workshops series

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QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

BERESFORD TOWNSHIP, ST. AGATHE by Joseph Graham

eresford Township, originally having seen the ill-fated forest. The ille- Maior from the King of Portugal for his settled by peaceful French- gitimate son of Lord George De La Poer services and was an intimate of Sir Canadian farmers, was named Beresford, First Marquess of Waterford, Arthur Wellesley, the future Viscount Bfor a British war hero, a major in Ireland, and of an unrecorded woman, Wellington. He is also credited with re- general who throughout his career William joined the British Army at 17 training the Portuguese army while in fought Napoleon and never set foot in years of age. Lord George fathered two Wellington’s service. the Canadas. Encompassing St. Agathe, children by different women prior to Despite Beresford’s vital contribu- it sits on a high plateau south of the St. marrying and fathering seven legitimate tions to the defeat of Napoleon, the early Narcisse Moraine and includes a part of children. It was customary for less ad- bureaucrats of the Canadas who chose the headwaters of the North River. vantaged members of titled families to his name may have had a different rea- Although the Weskarinis Algonquin be given a commission in the army, son to commemorate this great general, left evidence of their presence, conven- where they were basically on their own. a reason that would seem to tie him tional history in the area describes it as These commissions were not merit- more closely to the township. Beresford most likely an unsettled territory from based, but were is best remembered for the work that he the last ice age until Augustin-Norbert purchased by began during his retirement. On his Morin’s first pioneers began arriving in those who could property called Bedgebury in Goudhurst, the 1850s. Coupled with the lack of nav- afford them, and Kent, England, he began a conservatory igable rivers and the very thin layer of it is possible that of pine tree species that has grown into soil that remained after the passage of it was the Mar- the largest coniferous preserve in the the glaciers, it has a higher elevation quess who paid world with “over 10,000 tree specimens than its neighbours north of the moraine, for William growing in 320 acres, including rare, and the frost-free season is much shorter Carr’s commis- historically important and endangered than areas north, west and south. The sion. The evi- trees and is home to some 91 vulnerable first settlers found an undisturbed forest dence for this is that William Carr’s eld- or critically endangered species….” rich in pine and maple and discovered er half-brother, born in the same circum- (from The Friends of Bedgebury Pine- clean, clear lakes teeming with trout. stances, also obtained a title in his life- tum web site). They brought with them a farming cul- time after having proven himself as an Our ancient woodlands were lost ture that was ill-suited to the thin soil officer in the navy. Beresford first during 150 years of peaceful history, but and short seasons. However, they showed his capabilities in a battle in we can celebrate the legacy of General doggedly perceived themselves as farm- Toulon in 1793, a battle that saw Beresford while witnessing the occa- ers and stripped the forest away, burning Napoleon rise from captain to general in sional crown of a white pine breaking it and selling the residue as potash for a his victory over the British. As Napoleon through the canopy of our young sec- few cents a hundredweight until all that rose to power, the British sought ever ond-growth forest. Had our earliest was left was the barren soil and the fish- further afield for the trees that would farmers known him, perhaps they could ing season. maintain their navy, beginning the long have set aside a small portion of our vir- Since these hardy, independent peo- process that would eventually contribute gin pine forest in his honour. Perhaps we ple were Catholics, their own name for to the demise of the forests of Beresford can still do something. The residents of their settlement owed more to the parish Township. Lac Brûlé in St. Agathe have been pro- and the priests than to the bureaucratic Beresford was among those deter- tecting their forest for over 100 years, authority that had called it Beresford, mined career soldiers who, despite in- and the white pines are now standing and it became known as the Paroisse de juries (he had lost an eye) and setbacks, head-and-shoulders over the forest Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts. Rarely would would dog Napoleon to the end of his canopy. they have thought of the man for whom career. He served in Nova Scotia, India, the township had been named, or of his Egypt, and Cape Town, South Africa. He legacy, even as the fields were aban- rose to the rank of general, captured Joseph Graham, author of Naming the doned and the forests began their slow Buenos Aires, was forced to surrender it, Laurentians, is writing a book that re-ex- return. escaped from prison there and returned amines much of our early history, the Major General William Carr of to England. His major military contribu- elements that drove European society, Beresford was 84 years old when Beres- tion was during the Peninsular War and the extraordinary damage these ford Township was named in his honour against Napoleon, in Spain and Portugal. ideas inflicted on North America. in 1852. He died two years later, never He earned the title of Marquis de Campo William Dallimore, custodian of Bedgebury, UK. 18 Photo: https://bedgeburypinetum.org.uk. WINTER 2019

THE WITCH OF NEW MEXICO ROAD Irish Folklore in the Eastern Townships by Grant Myers he graveyard was a quiet and notched in the same way as the captured geographical reference to Old Mexico forlorn place. As I entered hare. This confirmed suspicions that all Road anywhere in the Eastern through a rusty gate, a cold was not as it seemed. Following the Townships. Twind blew in from the empty death and burial of the old woman, the I turned for help to Stanstead histo- field to the west, robbing the early farmers expected that their cows would rian Matthew Farfan. Matthew had spring sun of what little warmth it had to start producing. However, this was not recently undertaken an assessment of “at offer. The patches of snow that remained the case. Only after they returned to the risk” cemeteries in the Eastern Town- on the ground somehow emphasized the cemetery and walled in Peggy Green’s ships for QAHN and informed me that decay of time and neglect and suggested grave did things return to normal and the the graveyard I was searching for was that those buried in the old cemetery most likely the Thompson Ceme- were forgotten, or would soon be for- tery. It was located just outside gotten, in the memories of the living. Island Brook on “New” (not “Old”) This had to be the right place. Mexico Road. The Eastern Townships are The hamlet of New Mexico, haunted by old tales and legends of Quebec, is today little more than a times past that lurk incomplete or on- quiet corner at the intersection of ly half-remembered in the collective two country roads. In the 1880s, it imaginations of families that have was a busy agricultural settlement lived here for generations. Stories told made up of mostly Irish and by parents, grandparents, aunts or un- French-Canadian Catholics. New cles compete for attention with the Mexico is still listed and recognized complex trappings of contemporary by the Quebec Toponomy Commis- life, and more often than not they are sion. According to the Commission, lost to memory. But sometimes, if on- the community’s first settlers were ly by chance, an old tale is recorded from Mexico, Maine, a farming or written down and survives in a town at the confluence of the published book or manuscript, taunt- Androscoggin and Swift rivers at ing us by its paucity of detail to the western end of the state. They unwrap the riddles of its narrative. came to Quebec to take advantage Such is the legend of Peggy Green, of cheap land and abundant forests, the witch of New Mexico Road. and it seems they brought the name I first read the story of Peggy of their community with them. Green in John Robert Colombo’s The Thompson Cemetery was Ghost Stories of Canada (Dundurn the Catholic burying ground for the Press, 2000). According to Colombo, New Mexico settlement. Thirty- sometime during the 1880s, farmers three existing and legible head- living in the vicinity of “the Old Mex- stones, with dates ranging from ico Road” just a couple of miles east 1873 to 1994, were recorded during of Island Brook, Quebec, were a survey conducted in 2005. With- dismayed to discover that their cows cows again begin to yield milk. out exception, all the recorded stones were no longer giving milk. Suspecting The legend rattled around in my displayed names of either Irish or that someone or something was stealing head for a good five years before I took French-Canadian origin. Peggy Green the milk, a few of the farmers set a trap the first tentative steps toward further was not among them. If her grave was in and, during the night, caught a large exploration. After some deliberation, I the Thompson Cemetery it was unlikely white hare suckling on their cows. Ap- decided that a good place to start would that the headstone was extant. But it was parently suspecting that supernatural be to find Peggy Green’s final resting possible that some evidence of the forces were at play, the farmers released place. Colombo had reported that the walled-in burial was visible. I would the animal, but not before notching its grave could still be seen. To find it I have to visit the cemetery and see ears. A short time later, an old woman would have to locate Old Mexico Road for myself. named Peggy Green died and it was ob- and the cemetery referenced in the story. Perhaps the name Peggy Green it- served at her funeral that her ears were The problem was that I could not find a self held clues to the mystery. The sur- Johannes Gehrts, “Ostara.” Felix Dahn et al, Walhall: 19 Germanische Götter-und Heldensagen, 1901. QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS name struck me as English rather than legend are well rooted in the folkloric Irish. Had Peggy Green been an English traditions of the British Isles. In the Protestant in this predominantly twelfth century, Giraldus Cambrensis Catholic New Mexico community? If so, (Topographia Hiberniae, 1188) reported as an outsider, had she been the target of that in Ireland, Wales and Scotland it rumours and accusations? Throughout was believed that certain “old hags” history, people accused of all manner of would steal milk by turning themselves misdeeds have often been marginalized into hares and suckling on the teats of by religion or language. It was a tempt- cows. He suggested that this belief was ing, but highly speculative, theory. ancient. Green or Greene is a very common The story of a shape-shifting hare is English surname and is associated just one of the ancient traditions related strongly with Northampton in the East to the “milk magic” of Celtic peoples. Midlands. The name in Ireland, while Identified by folklorists as the “Witch as certainly not as widespread as it is in Hare” motif, the tale conforms to a more England, is still well known. Like most or less constant formula, with only of the Irish surnames preserved on the minor variations. It has been told in headstones of the Thompson Cemetery, prose, poetry and music for millennia: a it can be traced back to one or more farmer is concerned because his cows Gaelic antecedents. Irish family names are producing little or no milk. A large such as O'Huaithnin, McGlashan, Fahy, hare is caught suckling the cows, and Mac Grianna have been variously identified as the cause of the poor yield, anglicized as Green or Greene. the Port of Quebec between 1829 and and is maimed or injured in its attempt In the matter of religion, if Peggy 1867 were from Ireland. Not all stayed to escape. A short time later an old dying Green was buried in the Thompson in Quebec, but many did. woman is observed to have the same Cemetery she must have almost certain- While these newcomers shared the injury as the hare and thus discovered as ly been Catholic. Protestants would have Catholic religion with their Francophone the thief. been granted Catholic funerals and buri- neighbours, they brought with them a In Folk-Lore and Folk-Stories of als on only the rarest of circumstances distinct culture and unique folkloric Wales, Marie Trevelyan (1909) recounts and then, as now, only with the approval tradition. Legends and tales from “the the following tale: of the local Bishop. Then again, there old sod” were quite literally uprooted must have been cases where the necessi- and replanted in a new land. While the In a lonely part of South Glamorgan ties and circumstance of life in isolated setting was different, the characters and a certain hare baffled the hounds rural communities would have precluded main elements of narrative remained for many years. The animal’s head absolute adherence to religious tradition. the same. was described as being quite grey But perhaps I was looking in the wrong The elements of the Peggy Green with age, and it was stated that she direction. Maybe the key to under- had lost all her teeth. She was seen standing the story of Peggy Green frequently in the early morning was to be found not in the pages of running among the cows in the history but in the realm of folklore. meadows, and the farmers knew The story of the Irish community that she was a witch because the in Quebec is long and complex and yield of milk was always less when began during the French colonial she was about. After years of period. Some historians have argued chasing, both by hounds and hunts- that, in the mid-eighteenth century, men, she was slain. Because the the origins of as much of 5% of the people thought that the hare was a population of New France could be woman transformed into animal traced to Ireland. Irish immigration to shape, they gave the body a ‘decent this province peaked in the first half burial’; and it was asserted that of the nineteenth century. Some came from the moment the hare was killed during the Great Famine of 1845 to the witch disappeared and was 1852, but most arrived earlier in the never again seen in the district. century as part of a British plan to resettle the Irish poor in their North The origins of these old stories American colonies. According to are rooted broadly in Indo-European statistics provided by the Grosse-Ile mythology. Many of the deities of an- and Irish Memorial National Historic cient Europe were reputed to have Site, over 25% of the approximately shape-shifting powers, and supernat- 1,940,000 immigrants that landed at ural references to a variety of ani-

Top: Scrub Hare. Photo: Bernard Dupont. 20 Bottom: Legend of the White Hare. www.thefield.co.uk/country-house. WINTER 2019 mals, among them the hare, were numer- “in Celtic Ireland dealings with the un- ous. The Norse goddess Freyja was said seen were not regarded with such abhor- PROVINCE-WIDE to have employed hares as her train-bear- rence, and indeed had the sanction of cus- EXPOSURE ers. The Anglo-Saxon fertility goddess tom and antiquity.” While the inhabitants AT A GREAT PRICE!! Ostara, her veneration sometimes identi- of the otherworld such as fairies, ghosts SPECIAL ADVERTISING RATES fied as a pagan precursor to the Christian and witches were often mischievous, 2019 celebration of Easter, was often depicted sometimes malevolent, and rarely danger- with hare’s ears. Cupid, the Roman god ous, they were nevertheless considered Purchase two or more ads of of love, was sometimes depicted in the part of the natural order. It was this world the same size, and receive company of hares. view, a thick stew of Catholic faith and 40% off each ad! In the first century BCE, Julius Cae- pre-Christian belief, that Irish immigrants Purchase a full year and receive an sar noted in his Commentarii de Bello brought with them to the New World. additional 10% off! Gallico that the Celtic inhabitants of I did not find Peggy Green in Britain were forbidden, along with geese Thompson Cemetery on that cold early FULL-PAGE and chickens, to eat hare. This reference, spring day. But I do think I unwrapped 10 inches (25.5 cm) high supported by iconographical and archaeo- the riddle of her legend. I believe that, far 7.5 inches (19 cm) wide logical evidence, has suggested to some from being merely a character in $400.00 (Special: $240.00) scholars that the animal was somehow an obscure rural folktale, Peggy Green Back cover or inside page, colour sacred or connected to religious practice can be seen for what she truly is: a and ritual in pre-roman Britain. remnant of an oral tradition and cosmolo- $500.00 (Special: $300.00) With the advent of Christianity, the gy that has spanned two continents and old gods of pagan Europe became the innumerable centuries to become part of HALF-PAGE subject of folklore and fairy tales: the cultural legacy of the Eastern 5 inches (12.5 cm) high compelling, yet incomplete vestiges of Townships. 6.5 inches (16.5 cm) wide another time. Among the rural people in $235.00 (Special: $141.00) parts of the British Isles and elsewhere, Colour $300.00 (Special: $180.00) creatures of myth lived on as harbingers of the otherworld: a world of spirits and Grant Myers is the president of the THIRD-PAGE magic that, although largely unseen, Quebec Anglophone Heritage Network. A (COLUMN ONLY) played an important role in defining the resident of Austin, Quebec, he holds fortunes of the living. degrees in Social Anthropology 10 inches (25.5 cm) high The panicked fears of black magic (Carleton) and Anthropological Archae- 2.25 inches (5.75 cm) wide and Satan worship that gripped most of ology (UBC). Grant has had a lifelong $200.00 (Special: $120.00) Europe during the Protestant Reforma- passion for history and material culture, tion, leading to the witch-hunts of the and he usually knows which witch QUARTER-PAGE early modern era, stood in stark contrast is which. 5 inches (12.5 cm) high to the world view of the Celtic peoples 3.25 inches (8.5 cm) wide living on the rural margins of the conti- nent. As John D. Seymour points out in $125.00 (Special: $75.00) Irish Witchcraft and Demonology (1913), BUSINESS CARD 2.5 inches (6.5 cm) high 3.5 inches (9 cm) wide $75.00 (Special: $45.00)

FREQUENCY, DEADLINES AND SPECIFICATIONS 4 issues annually Deadlines: Spring (early March 2019); Summer (early June 2019); Fall (early Septem- ber 2019); Winter (early December 2019) Resolution required: Minimum 300 DPI By email to: [email protected]

Thompson Cemetery, Compton County. Photo: Leslie Nutbrown, 21 www.interment.net. QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

LETTERS FROM 507 GUY STREET by Ginette Guy

hile researching material boarders. The family chose to send Mary her parents when she was between 15 for a biography of Mary to the new school known as Miss and 19 years old, she comes across as a Mack, first female alder- Edgar’s and Miss Cramp’s, at 507 Guy typical teenager from any decade. Her Wman of Cornwall, On- Street. mind seems to be on everything but her tario, I noted a series of letters she wrote The school's founders, Maud Edgar studies. She comments on the food, the to her parents from her Montreal board- and Mary Cramp, were progressive rules, weekend plans, shopping and ing school. Those letters provide a teachers who strived to equip their going out with friends. The letters high- glimpse into her life as a board- light the close relationship with er, and also of events happen- her parents, and provide a ing in Montreal between 1914 glimpse into the world of the and 1918, her time at the privileged, and of Montreal, school. Through the eyes of a during this historically charged teenager, in simple terms, and period. within the context of her own All her letters start with the priorities at the time, she relates heading “507 Guy Street, Mon- events that are now part of his- treal.” tory. Mary Agnes Mack (1899- Dear Mother, 1978) was born in Cornwall, a bustling industrial town in East- Doris came in yesterday and be- ern Ontario. Her grandfathers fore lunch, and we went to were businessmen and politi- Childs and had a delicious cians, and she could trace her lunch; chicken pie, French fried ancestry back to the first set- potatoes, raisin pie and coffee. It tlers in the area: Loyalists and only cost 55 cents, Doris took a Scots. Through hard work and salad, bran muffins and lemon perseverance, the families had pie and coffee and hers only built a comfortable living. As cost 35 cents. the only child of William R. Mack and Mary Isabella After lunch I took my watch to Snetsinger, Mary was first Birks for repairs. I looked at schooled at home, with a pri- Fairweathers for coats, all their vate tutor. To complete her edu- English coats run around fifty cation, the choice was made to dollars, there was a perfect send her to a private school in beauty the same make as mine, Montreal. steel grey, woolly cloth, with Montreal was the logical choice; students with knowledge of literature, black leather buttons and awfully Mary’s aunts had been educated in Mon- language, and fine arts, as well as sci- stylish, but it was fifty dollars. treal, and her mother had attended Bute ence, mathematics, and ethics. Maud House on Sherbrooke Street at the cor- Edgar was the daughter of Matilda Rid- When I looked at Hendersons for ner of McGill College Avenue. Both the out Edgar, a historian and feminist from my coat they had a stylish, light- Macks and the Snetsingers had ties to the early days of the suffragette move- weight coat in sort of a covert cloth Quebec; the Macks came from Hunting- ment in Canada. Based on this influence, for $32.50. It was an English coat, it don, and the Snetsingers had a villa in the curriculum supported liberal arts, was Mandalbury make. Cacouna, used by the family for nearly a focusing on leadership and philanthropy. hundred years. Mary had cousins in In its beginning, the school had seventy Love Mary Lachine and her half-brother Harold was students; fifteen were boarders. a medical student at McGill. The city Mary Mack spent the war years On weekends when she was not go- was easily accessible by train – the (1914-1918) at the school, and she found ing home to Cornwall, Mary typically Mocassin made regular runs to and from the life of a boarder, away from home, spent her Saturdays out with her brother Cornwall – but the children had to be difficult at first. In letters written to both Harold or her cousins Doris and Violet Mary Mack, c.1914. Photo: Douglas Cornwall. 22 WINTER 2019 for shopping at Morgan’s, tea at the Windsor, or lunch at the Corona. Amidst the social life of Montreal – the plays, operas, and shows – one could not com- pletely shut out the reality of the times. In 1916, the Infantile Paralysis (polio) epidemic changed the way the young boarders lived their lives:

Dear Daddy,

You will have got Miss Edgars let- ter about the Infantile Paralysis. We are not allowed to go to the theatres, churches, on street cars or in shops or crowded places.

We have to gargle with Listerine or Peroxide and snuff it up our noses. political and social events of the day. as long as I could but it was not We will not be allowed to go out ex- Mary led a drive for leather gloves, very pleasant thinking you may be cept to some private house or driv- repurposed for the war effort overseas, landed on any minute. Anyway, the ing on the mountain. They say that and she reminded her mother about two war does not stop on Sundays, and fresh fruit is dangerous but as my meatless days a week and about using you can get nearly a whole sock oranges were from Robertson they brown bread. The girls were taken to the knitted while during the week one gave me one. None of the day girls Liberty Loan parade, and they made gets no time for it at all hardly. can attend except the over fifteen gifts and knitting for the less fortunate. who do not come on street cars. Mary also learned about priorities versus Love, Mary The little Cowans boy, Mrs. Andrew the family rules of her strict Anglican Allen’s grandson has it, and his upbringing: Cornwall's population back in 1917 cousin has it also. was around 7,000. Mary was aware of Dear Mother, the sacrifice that many had made in the With love, war. Receiving the Cornwall papers, she Mary I do not suppose you will like it, but writes to her brother, “there has been we have to knit socks on Sundays. quite a few killed, and wounded from There was a duality of realities for That is to say that if Miss Cramp near Cornwall, I hope the ones we the privileged students, and the school sees you not knitting during read- know have come through alright.” Mrs. encouraged their charges to help when- ing, she may tell you to get your De Sola, the wife of the Belgian consul, ever they could and to participate in knitting and not to be so lazy. I went asked if the girls would be godmothers to some of the Belgian soldiers and write to those who had not heard from family since the beginning of the war. Mary thought the idea exciting and an excel- lent way to improve her French. Her correspondent was Emile Houssin. On May 14, 1917, Montreal rolled out the red carpet for the visit of Mar- shal Joseph Joffre, French hero of the Battle of Marne. The excitement was high, and Montrealers took to the street with French flags to see the parade. Marshal Joffre inspected the troops and opened the new library. It was a short visit, but Mary Mack was front and cen- tre and wrote with great excitement about her encounter:

Dear Mother,

We did not go to church this morn- ing but we had all been invited to go Bottom: Letter, Mary Mack to her mother, April 1917. Miss Edgar’s Top: School photo, c.1918, Mary Mack is second from the left on and Miss Cramp’s School Archives. 23 back row. Miss Edgar’s and Miss Cramp’s School Archives. QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

and see Joffre from the balcony at At the time, the the Royal Victoria College so we visits of Joffre and had a splendid view. He was awful- Balfour were seen as ly well guarded there were detec- an opportunity to tives and secret service men stand- boost support for the ing facing the crowd on the foot- war and to fight the board of his motorcar and more po- anti-conscription licemen on the side of the road. I movement in Quebec. think they had the Dominion police Riots and civil distur- down from Ottawa. With our danc- bances were common ing display Friday night and having in Montreal in 1917. the Old Girl (alumni) back and The young ladies at dance last night and seeing Joffre Miss Edgar’s and Miss this morning I have had quite an ex- Cramp’s School would citing weekend. feel the tensions in the city. They were not al- On May 30, 1917, Mary was once lowed on St. Catherine again at the Royal Victoria College, but Street near Morgan’s this time to see Arthur Balfour, Foreign because of the strikes, Secretary, former Prime Minister of the and a Scotch Battalion United Kingdom, and author of the was drilling on the Balfour Declaration in support of a na- campus of McGill. tional home for the Jewish people. He They were there to had just been to a luncheon at the Wind- keep order in case sor and had given a speech to a full there was trouble with house from the Canadian Club. At the the anti-conscription- R.V.C., heads of McGill University con- ists. Because of her ferred degrees on Mr. Balfour, Sir Cecil upbringing, Mary was Spring-Rice, Rear-Admiral Sir Dudley politically “aware” at a de Chair, and General G. T. M. Bridges. young age, and her The hall was packed, and Mary wrote: roots were loyalist and monarchist. Her It is hard to determine the impact of the Dear Mother, grandfathers had been an MP and an years spent at Miss Edgar’s and Miss MLA, both Liberals, while other family Cramp’s School (marked 1687 on the You asked if we saw Balfour, I did. members had been involved in munici- map) and the historical events of the We were all, or nearly all of us were pal affairs. Even as a teenager, Mary had day, but Mary was more than just a taken to the Assembly Hall R.V.C., strong views and supported the war ef- spectator, she had an awareness that and we saw him receive his degree. fort. She did not sympathize with the served her well in later life. He spoke afterward, and I think he rioting and striking. had a very good reception. Mary Mack graduated in 1918 and remained in Montreal through the 1920s. Sources: We came out afterwards to find an She studied art at the Art Institute of Mary Mack, Letters to her parents 1914- aisle of soldiers, a policeman con- Montreal and in Paris. From the mid- 1917. Miss Edgars’s and Miss Cramp’s ducted us down and we had just got 1920s, she was part of the vibrant artis- School Archives, Montreal. to his carriage when he came out of tic community in the city, herself a land- the College, of course the crowd scape painter, favoring the lower St. Ginette Guy, Unforgotten Mary Mack. pressed forward, and we squashed Lawrence and the Cacouna area for her SD&G Historical Society, Cornwall, in just beside his carriage, we got paintings. She returned home to Ontario, 2017. squashed against the horses and the Cornwall in 1930 and dedicated her life press was heavy but they were fairly to helping others. A social advocate, she quiet and we got a good view, he was influential in no less than twenty or- Ginette Guy, author of Unforgotten passed within five feet of me. He ganizations, most of them put in place Mary Mack, is a volunteer with had such a nice smile. He smiled all through her leadership. Mary was historical societies and community over his face and seemed very Cornwall’s first female alderman and heritage organizations in Eastern pleased with his reception. kept her seat on the town council for ten Ontario and Quebec. She enjoys re- years, chairing the industrial develop- searching and writing about the most With love, ment committee. She never married but interesting lives of ordinary people. Mary had an active social life, attending functions in Ottawa, Paris, and London.

24 Charles E. Goad, Atlas of the City of Montreal and Vicinity, 1912. WINTER 2019

2018 QAHN HERITAGE PHOTO CONTEST WINNERS

FIRST PRIZE THIRD PRIZE Kira McGown Cassandra Onichino Grade 8, West Island College Grade 11, Rosemere High School Title: “Spilling the Tea” Title: “Thread”

Just a regular teacup right? Not to me. From my point of view, this Over the years, my grandmother has accumulated piles and piles of single teacup represents my great-grandmother and my family. thread for her sewing machine. Going from a basket next to her Sadly, I never actually got the chance to meet her but I did inherit ironing board to a cabinet full of different threads, the collection this teacup instead. grew. Yellows, blues, reds. Every colour imaginable can be found in My father has always told me stories of his grandmother and that cabinet. This cabinet full of thread is a constant reminder of my how important she was to our family. He told me how she was the grandmother’s passion. My goal is to pass on this passion to my person you were looking forward to talking to at family reunions. children, as she has done to me. I’ve also heard that she was a strong woman that nobody dared to mess with. HONOURABLE MENTION Looking at this antique teacup makes me think about the num- Samantha Black ber of times she has drank her warm tea on Quebec’s cold winter Grade 7, West Island College nights with my great-grandfather by her side. Title: “The Ring” Every time I drink from it, I feel like there’s a piece of her still with me and that powerful feeling warms my heart. This ring has been in my mom’s side of family for generations. It The teacup and saucer underneath are full of stains and scratch- was given to my great-grandmother on April 19, 1933, and has been es but that’s what makes it perfect. All of its flaws represent every carried on in our family ever since then. Not only is this ring special part of my great-grandma. The shiny gold colour represents her to me because it has been around for so long and that it is my great- strength and how kind-hearted she was, and the scratches and stains grandmother’s, but the S symbolizes something very important to represent her tough personality. me and my family. Lastly, tea and family are extremely similar in the sense that On April 19, 1933, the S on the ring symbolized the first letter they both warm the heart. In the future, I hope to tell stories about of my great-grandmother’s name but now it symbolizes all of our my grandparents to my kids as my parents told stories about theirs names. My great grandmother's name was Sheila, my grandmoth- to me. er’s name is Susan, my mom’s name is Sarah and my name is Samantha. SECOND PRIZE I hope that when I have kids I can share this special tradition Simba Pellerin with them and it can go on forever. The ring was passed on to my Grade 7, Joliette High School grandmother and mom and soon it will be given to me to love and Title: “Gloomy Back Alley” cherish.

If you asked me to find this back alley again, I could not. I was HONOURABLE MENTION walking around Old Montreal with my uncle in the middle of Keira Morcos December. The light was perfect and so I clicked. I like the gloomy Grade 8, West Island College atmosphere, it is almost scary. In a way there is nothing special, but Title: “Fate Is Real” it's more about the general feeling. Montreal is a very old city. 375 years old to be precise. In the Do you believe in fate and how the universe directs and guides us? beginning, the streets were cobbled to allow for horse carriages to I never used to until recently. travel through. Some streets in Old Montreal are still cobbled while Since I was two months old, my parents have taken me to a others have been paved over. This back alley seemed interesting to small town called North Conway. It is a picturesque town nestled in me because it was still cobbled while being surrounded by paved the Blue Mountains of New Hampshire. My family has been going streets. The modern meets the old. The city is full of examples like there for many years. It reminds them of their home, Austria. I have that. I find it interesting because I grew up in B.C., where the oldest always had a strong connection to it. buildings are about 100 years old at the most. It has been great to For my first birthday, my uncle Wolf bought me an antique, discover Montreal’s heritage and older architecture. I feel like I am sterling silver tea set. My uncle told me he just could not resist seeing parts of history when I take pictures of old buildings. buying it for me which warmed my heart. Occasionally being polished, but mostly getting tarnished, this

25 QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

was family but a stranger. When my Uncle passed the flea market, the woman said she had finally solved her grandmother’s riddle. In their conversation, my Uncle had mentioned that it was his niece’s birthday. The woman asked what my name was. When he said Keira, this riddle was final- ly solved. For grandmother's name was also Keira and she had the same birthday as me.

HONOURABLE MENTION Matthew Kornfeld Grade 7, West Island College Title: “Time to Breathe”

I’m 12 years old but I already know what I would like to be set has been sitting in a cabinet since. One day I pulled it out and when I grow up. Architecture is took a good look at it. I noticed an engraved marking on the bottom something that has always fascinated me with all the cool photos beside the 925 silver stamp. It was familiar, but I just could not you see on the Internet of pictures of dream homes and ultra modern place it. While visiting my grandparents, I noticed the coat of arms houses. Something that is also fascinating is heritage architectural from our ancestral village on the wall. Finally... I realized it was the buildings that you can see in different areas of Montreal. It is all same marking as my tea set. their unique styles that I find interesting. Apparently, this tea set belonged to the grandmother of the flea This picture that I took of the Montreal Clock Tower, also market owner. She lived in a small village near Innsbruck, Austria. known as the Sailor’s Memorial Clock Tower was built in 1919. It is It was something the woman cherished her whole life. She would almost 100 years old which is probably the oldest structure I’ve seen always say that one day the tea set should belong to someone who in Montreal. I admire its beautiful white stone that has somehow

Top left: First Prize: “Spilling the Tea,” by Kira McGown. Top right: Third Prize: “Thread,” by Cassandra Onichino. Bottom left: Second Prize: “Gloomy Back Alley,” by Simba Pellerin. 26 WINTER 2019

managed to look pristine even with its age. It is impressive to think how it was built when people didn’t have access to modern machinery. Now that I have become aware of this heritage monument, it has made me curious about other heritage architecture in Montreal.

HONOURABLE MENTION Tania Skoulakis Grade 11, Rosemere High School Title: “In the Air”

I took this picture at the 2018 Greek Independence Day Parade which takes place every year on Jean Talon Street in Montreal. Seeing this flag held up in the sky inspired me to take this important shot because the flag represents Greek pride in Canadian air. Although I was born and raised here in Quebec, and have adopted Quebec’s cultures, I have also always kept a close connection to my Greek roots. This image of the Greek flag may seem simple, but it holds strong meaning behind because of the people who for many years risked their lives to protect our land and fight for our freedom. This flag holds strong significance, as each stripe represents “Ελευθερία ή Θάνατος,” which means Freedom or Death. This is why even Greek-Canadians are proud to cele- brate Independence Day, and that is why we go out and march in celebration for this parade while holding our Greek flags with pride!

Top left: Honourable Mention: “The Ring,” by Samantha Black. Middle: Honourable Mention: “Time to Breathe,” by Matthew Kornfeld. Top right: Honourable Mention: “Fate Is Real,” by Keira Morcos. 27 Bottom left: Honourable Mention: “In the Air,” by Tania Tkoulakis. QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

2018 QAHN HERITAGE ESSAY CONTEST WINNERS

FIRST PRIZE “Helen Bachelder: Cat Lover & Teacher” by Ava Jeuris, Grade 5 Hemmingford Elementary School Hemmingford, Quebec

Helen Seller was born on April 5, 1927, at the Catherine Booth Hospital in Montreal. She grew up in Sherrington on a farm with her sister Ruth and her two brothers, Eric and Ivan. Her favorite pastime was playing with her cat. She told me how she used to put her kittens in her doll stroller and push them around the house! At school, Helen used to wrestle in the snow and play softball. At the French school, she made a friend named Milton Whyte, who was Irish. Milton always got into lots of trouble! The teacher used to poke him in the back with a long stick when he misbehaved. I thought that was funny! Her favorite teacher was Miss Benoit, who always took them she was able to help many troubled prisoners. outside to play fun games like tag and hide & go seek. Later on, she realized that she wanted to work with students as As she got older, she started teaching at Shields School, which a counsellor. She moved to Sherbrooke, Quebec, in 1990, and got a was a one-room schoolhouse. She later taught at Hemmingford Ele- job at Bishop's University as the Director of Counselling Service. mentary School, St. Adele School, Granby School, and then got Here she encountered students experiencing depression, panic at- married and stopped teaching. She married Kenneth Bachelder and tacks, and anxiety, some more severe than others. She also created a had three kids: Arthur, Carolyn and Brian. She loved to go camping program for special needs students. with them in the summer. One of her biggest accomplishments was when she participated Nowadays, Helen lives in Hemmingford on the same road she in a local CLSC committee dedicated to the English speaking com- grew up on. She loves knitting hats as well as visiting with her great munity who had serious drug and alcohol problems. grandchildren, Savanna and Madison. She has a cat named Emma, I believe that my aunt impacted the English community in but she does not get pushed around in a stroller! Sherbrooke because she helped students and others with their prob- I think Helen is a great person because she remembers so much lems. There were not many English speaking volunteers at the about when she was young, even at the age of ninety-one! I hope I CLSC in Sherbrooke. Because she helped out, she impacted the will be able to remember as much as her when I'm that old! lives of many students and other people with severe addictions and other issues. SECOND PRIZE “Aunt Rose” by Alessia Morelli Gardenview Elementary School, Grade 6 Saint-Laurent, Quebec

The person I chose to write about for this essay is my aunt Rose Morelli. She was born in Italy, and at the age of 3, immigrated to Canada with my grandparents. My aunt went to school at McGill University in Montreal and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree, and then com- pleted her Masters and PhD at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. After all her years of school, she started working at Bor- deaux Prison, and helped prisoners cope with their issues. There,

Top: Schoolteacher. Photo: courtesy of Ava Jeuris. Bottom: Bordeaux Jail. Photo: www.exp.com. 28 WINTER 2019

THIRD PRIZE “Jack Resnick” by Ryan Werbitt Gardenview Elementary School, Grade 6 Saint-Laurent, Quebec

Hello, my name is Ryan and today I will be talking to you about my great-great grandfather named Jack Resnick. He was born in Lodge, Poland, on May 15, 1898, and lived a happy 84 years. I am named after him since my name in Hebrew (Ya'akov) is Jack in English. Jack is and was a very important person in my family. I admire him because he served as a Private in World War 2. He was responsible for all military ammunitions. Sadly, he lost part of his leg due to a bomb detonating. He lived, however he was never able to walk the same way again. I appreciate everyone who serves and served in the military to protect our country. According to my family, Jack always told stories about the war. He had so many friends that unfortunately did not survive the war. Jack was honored with many medals from the war which very proudly remain in our family. He also saved many children from concentration camps. It's unfortunate that I never got to meet him, since I know how good he was to everyone. I have a pure gold mezuzah that he passed on to my mother who promised to give it to her future children to wear on their bar mitzvah. Luckily... she had me! A mezuzah is a very valuable possession to Jewish people which has writings of the Torah inside. My great-great grandfather was a hero!

Jack Resnick. Photo: Ryan family collection. 29 QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

REVIEW Life at the Mill Through the Mill: Girls and Women in the Quebec Cotton Textile Industry, 1881-1951 by Gail Cuthbert Brandt Baraka Books, 2018

his thoroughly-researched history of the lives of female textile workers from the late nineteenth century until the early 1950s illustrates a vanished Quebec Tfrom before the Quiet Revolution. What makes this book so interesting is the use of interviews with eighty-four former employees – women born between 1895 and 1934. These interviews were done in 1980, long before the final pro- Brandt covers the workers’ eventual success in establishing duction of this book. unions to represent their rights at these mills, and the indiffer- Brandt traces the industrialization of Quebec in the ence of the owners and management to working conditions. The Montreal area and the Eastern Townships and the particular his- low wages and insecurity of employment were conditions that tories of the major mills where these women were employed. would never be tolerated today in Canada. In regard to girls and The main focus is on Dominion Textile in Magog and Montreal women workers, there appeared to be more concern about their Cottons in Valleyfield, although there is also mention of mills morality and often their appearance than with their working along the Lachine Canal and in the Hochelaga district in Mon- conditions and wages. Married women were especially poorly treal, as well as mills outside Quebec City and the Wabasso treated and, until quite recent times, were not welcome as work- Cotton Company in Trois-Rivières. Some of the earliest entre- ers. preneurs were French-speaking Quebecers; even home-based What we have in Through the Mill is an example of the operations from the French colonial period are cited. But the origins of the great economic, social, and political upheavals of core of this study is the period from 1895 to 1951, when these the 1960s and 70s here in Quebec. Due to the lack of access to very large mills – for a while the largest employers in Quebec – good education and opportunities for a large percentage of the were owned and managed by English-speaking Canadians (not French-speaking population, and to the almost total control by a always English-speaking Quebecers) and the work force was backward-thinking clergy (with a few exceptions, to be fair – almost entirely French-speaking. Although there were many for example, Frère Untel), along with a dismissive and prejudi- men employed at these mills, the majority of the labour was by cial attitude from mill owners and upper management, little unskilled women. changed in most workers’ lives. It is surprising the Quiet Until the 1940s, there were also many child labourers, of Revolution was so quiet (except for a small criminal element), both sexes. School beyond basic elementary grades was not and not surprising that many subsequent Quebec laws appear to compulsory in Quebec until 1943 when the leaving age was be over-reactions to this society of our recent past. raised to sixteen. Often entire families – both parents, children, Through the Mill also has many interesting and well repro- cousins, nephews and nieces – worked at the same mill. This duced illustrations, largely from various official archives. Most family-style employment was encouraged by management and of them show machinery and the exteriors of the large mill endorsed by the French Roman Catholic clergy, who had buildings or, in contrast, newspaper coverage – mainly of tremendous influence over all aspects of Quebec life and were strikes. seen as colluding with the mill owners to maintain a “docile and obedient” workforce. –Reviewed by Sandra Stock

Top right: Workers at the Dominion Textile Mill, Magog. Bottom left: Hochelaga Cotton Factory, 1874. Photo: La Société d’histoire de Magog, Fonds George A. W. Abbott. 30 McCord Museum, M979.87.360. WINTER 2019

31 QUEBECQUEBEC STORIESSTORIES ANDAAND HISTORYHISTOORRYY FORFOR ALLALLL

The 20182018 Giller FinalistFinalist SONGSSONGS FORFFOR THE COLDCOLD OFOF HEARTHEART EricEric Dupont ((translatedtranslated byby PPetereter MMcCambridge)cCambridge) “fiercely“fiercely readable”readabble” (TorontoTToorroonto StarStarr) ““masterful…masterful… heheartbreakingeartbreaking andand hilarious”hilarious” (PPublishersublisherrss WWeWeeklyeekly) ““wildlywildly ambitiousambitious in scopescope andand structure…structure… hihighlyghly recommended”recommended” (LLibraryibrraarryy JournalJJoournal)

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A DistinctDistinct Yasmeen Haddad THROUGH THE MILL AAlienlien RRaceace

Loves The Untold Story of Franco-Americans Girls and Women in the Quebec Cotton Textile Industry Joanasi Maqaittik 1881-1951

A NOVEL

INDUSTRIALIZATION, IMMIGRATION, RELIGIOUS STRIFE

CAROLYN MARIE SOUAID GAIL CUTHBERT BRANDT DAVID VERMETTE

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