HOTEL AND RESTAURANT HERITAGE FROM PALOMINO LODGE TO THE CAFÉ ROUGE $10 Quebec

HeritageVOL 6, NO. 2 SUMMER 2011 News

Steaming up the Lake Memphremagog’s Tour Boat Tradition Continues Boys of Summer Bill Young on the Integration of Baseball in Quebec Montreal’s Visual Artists above and below the Hill Louis Muhlstock, Emily Coonan and W. S. Leney QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

Quebec CONTENTS HeritageNews Editor’s Desk 3 EDITOR Counting the Peas Rod MacLeod RODERICK MACLEOD PRODUCTION Letters 4 DAN PINESE Memories of Marianna O’Gallagher Claudette Ledet Harmonious History John Morrissey PUBLISHER THE QUEBEC ANGLOPHONE Timelines 5 HERITAGE NETWORK The Sisters of Saint Anne 150 Years on Marjorie Deschamps 400-257 QUEEN STREET QAHN Honours Heritage Achievement 2011 Sandra Stock SHERBROOKE, QUEBEC J1M 1K7 QAHN’s AGM at the Morrin Centre Matthew Farfan PHONE Creating the Verdun Memories Website Celia Ste Croix 1-877-964-0409 Memphremagog Tour Boat Tradition Matthew Farfan (819) 564-9595 FAX Hitting the Heights 12 (819) 564-6872 Summertime in the Laurentians Sandra Stock CORRESPONDENCE Kaufmann’s Horses 14 [email protected] The Appeal of Palomino Lodge, Ste. Agathe Joseph Graham WEBSITES Quebec and the Integration of Baseball 16 WWW.QAHN.ORG Part I: Jackie Robinson in Montreal Bill Young WWW.QUEBECHERITAGEWEB.COM The Man Behind the Bistro 20

PRESIDENT Montreal’s Own Robin Hood Renee Giblin KEVIN O’DONNELL The Point’s Beaver Hall Artist 22

INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & Emily Coonan, 1885-1971 Fergus Keyes WEBMAGAZINES EDITOR Witnesses of Their Time 24 MATTHEW FARFAN Visual Arts in Quebec’s English-speaking Community Lori Callaghan

OFFICE MANAGER Discovered by Descendants 26 KATHY TEASDALE William Satchwell Leney Susan McGuire Hatley’s Educational Jewel 28 Quebec Heritage News is produced four times yearly by the Quebec Anglophone The Founding of Charleston Academy Phyllis Emery Skeats Heritage Network (QAHN) with the support of the Department of Canadian Heritage and Quebec’s Ministère de la Culture et Hindsight 30 des Communications. QAHN is a Rooms with a View Rohinton Ghandhi non-profit and non-partisan umbrella organization whose mission is to help advance knowledge of the history and culture of the English-speaking communities PUBLISHER’S NOTE : of Quebec. Readers will notice that with this issue of Quebec Heritage News the subscription Annual Subscription Rates: rate has increased to $30 per year (individuals) and $40 per year (organizations). Individual: $30.00 Organization: $40.00 This is a reflection of increased costs related to printing and mailing this magazine. Canada Post Publication Mail The good news is that henceforth our covers will be in full colour. We look forward Agreement Number 405610004. to making other improvements in upcoming issues. As always, your comments are ISSN 17707-2670 welcome.

Cover: The Lady of the Lake, Perkins Landing, Lake Memphremagog, c.1910. Photo: Matthew Farfan Collection.

2 SUMMER 2011

EDITOR’S DESK Counting the peas by Rod MacLeod

“Schwartz’s is not a historic monument, lived the bulk of its clientele, which is out soup for my mother, who was by but remove Schwartz’s and a whole saying something. My memory of Mur- then in very poor health. Not long after, piece of Montreal falls into the river.” ray’s from my youth, an image that I that Murray’s closed and another, infi- doubt differed much from that of previ- nitely more lucrative chain whose name hese wise words uttered by ous decades, was of genteel elderly I need not mention though it began with Dinu Bumbaru at QAHN’s ladies in hats, their fur-trimmed coats the same letter as Murray’s, moved into Ways of Memory conference peeled back over their chairs and their that choicest of locations. Sic transit, Tlast March came back to me a purses hanging from the hooks just un- etc. month later as I opened an envelope on der the table, conversing over sliced Murray’s was not always genteel, the morning of my birthday to find tick- turkey with mashed potatoes and peas – or not all of them. One branch down- ets to Schwartz’s: The Musical at the plus either rolls or muffins, greased town that my Mother “took from” ap- Centaur Theatre. It was a great gift, with those pats of butter that came sand- pealed to the late 1940s office crowd even though I’d been skeptical that a wiched between tiny squares of paper. seeking lunch and was often so busy at musical about a deli could work, espe- You ate with heavy, solid flatware and lunchtime patrons had to share tables. cially after hearing the experiences of a were served by women in light blue Normally my mother sat with friends friend who had (unsuccessfully) audi- dresses with enormous white bib-fronts and they liberally sampled each other’s tioned for the part of a pickle. The show who moved at great speed carrying huge fries while they gabbed, but on one in- did work; it’s fun – although you leave and often groaning round pewter trays. famous occasion she went in alone and the theatre not so much humming the The menu never changed, the portions was seated at a small table across from tunes as, well, hungry. Of course we were identical. My older cousin, for an unfamiliar gent whose open Gazette went to Schwartz’s for the birthday sup- whom lunch at Murray’s with Grandma gave her some privacy. Her mind on per, which says something for product was a much-dreaded occasion for in- something else, my mother suddenly re- placement. struction in ladylike behaviour, main- alized that, force of habit, she had But I thought of Bumbaru’s com- tained that the staff counted every pea reached out and seized one of this gent’s ment mostly because I realized how on your plate before serving it. fries – and was immediately so horror- small a role Schwartz’s has played in I have good memories of Murray’s stricken that she froze in mid-seize. my life – even though I call myself a – really, I do. Grandma lived across the Luck being what it was, the gent chose Montrealer. Our family patronized street from the flagship Montreal restau- that moment to lower his Gazette and Ben’s – or rather “took from” Ben’s, to rant in Westmount, and it was a nice peer down at her outstretched hand. use one of my father’s idioms. (He place to take her for lunch; by that time Their eyes met briefly, hers agape. would also say they “took from” the she was in her nineties and was beyond “Help yourself,” the gent said, and re- United Church.) In their courting days, instructing in ladylike behaviour – sumed reading. She did – and beat a he and my mother saw Ben’s as a great though I suspect my 1970s long hair of- hasty retreat back to work. No, nothing late-night food stop, its downtown loca- ten tempted her to try – but she still romantic came from that encounter, but tion perfect for after theatre or clubs. I flipped her coat backwards over the it proves that even Murray’s had the po- know there are plenty of things, good chair and kept her hat on while she ate. tential for danger. and bad, to say about Ben’s, one of I liked these occasions, mostly because Research reveals that the interior of which is that there will surely never be I could usually order pancakes – al- each Murray’s restaurant was designed a Ben’s: The Musical, and another is though my mother always insisted I to match a uniform, vaguely Art Deco that its recent removal did not result in a have them with sausages, “for my model designed by architect C Davis whole piece of Montreal sliding into the health.” Years later, when my parents Goodman, who was also responsible for river – but I mourn its passing and re- had moved into that same building, we the Laurentian Hotel and, curiously, flect that no popular food spot deserves would cross the street to Murray’s with Ben’s. On those grounds alone, one the long and ugly death that Ben’s en- my young son, and he would charm the might have made a strong case for the dured. waitresses with his placemat drawings. Heritage merits of Murray’s, as many If Ben’s did not go gently into that During the Ice Storm, we stayed a few did for Ben’s. No matter now – Mur- good restaurant night, another Montreal days with my parents even after they ray’s, too, is gone, fallen into that river institution did: Murray’s. To be honest, lost power; luckily, Murray’s across the from which no restaurant returns, every when I heard not too long ago that the street was an island of warmth, and al- last pea of it. last Murray’s had closed, I was sur- though it was packed with storm prised it had lasted so long. It had out- refugees I would go down to buy take-

3 QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS Letters Memories of Marianna O’Gallagher

On February 26, 2005, she gave a con- cise yet very informative overview of the historical context of the presence of the Irish in Quebec City. Those who knew her can imagine that she regaled us with a few gems of personal reminis- cences as well. After this much-appreci- ated contribution to our afternoon, she asked to borrow our notes since our archives often mention the county of origin of the sisters. When she returned our notes, she included two pages of ad- ditional information on the families of fifteen sisters -- a touching proof of her desire to share her many years of re- search. We will fondly remember her n 2004, in an effort to further document the influ- sprightly wit and unassuming erudition. ence and legacy of our sisters of Irish descent, we An Irish blessing on all who honour her memory and at Musée Bon-Pasteur consulted the annals and strive to further her scholarly research on the presence Iobituaries of our Congregation. and contribution of the Irish in Quebec! We then proceeded to organize a presentation of this research, open to the public. In the course of the Claudette Ledet project, it was suggested that we contact Ms. Marianna Director, Musée Bon-Pasteur O’Gallagher as a resource person. Not only was she Quebec, QC generous with her time and expertise, she also very graciously accepted to be our guest speaker.

Harmonious History veteran of the Boer War. There is a Boer War memorial in Quebec City, just inside the gates on Grande-Allée. Both my English-born maternal grandfather and his read about the February 11 conference on the brother learned French and became senior officers in place of Anglophones in Quebec History (“A new the Montreal Fire Department. look at Quebec’s English-speaking history,” My family and the Anglophones that I knew never ISpring 2011) with great interest. In my view, it is viewed the victory of the English army over the French sad if the role of Anglophones in Quebec is ignored in army in 1759 as being of much importance. It was a history courses. fact of history. One European country defeated another I grew up in Montreal in the 1950s and 1960s, at- in a battle long ago. France and England settled that tended PSBGM schools and graduated from McGill in war with a treaty. France could have recovered Que- 1968. I left Quebec to attend graduate school and, for bec, but instead chose some islands in the Caribbean. one reason or other, never returned to Quebec. Francophones should never have felt "humiliation" at Despite my departure, my family has a long histo- the loss of a battle by a European nation back in 1759. ry in Quebec. The Morrisseys came to Montreal from History, at least as taught by the PSBGM schools Ireland via New Brunswick in about 1850. My moth- that I attended, had a very strong Quebec and Canadian er's family arrived from England in about 1912 follow- component. Although now forgotten, we learned about ing a stint in the Bronx in New York City. We never Jacques Cartier, Champlain, Brébeuf, the Lachine mas- lived in Westmount. We never oppressed anyone. We sacre, and the 1837-1838 Rebellions. I spent a few were not wealthy by any means. We got on well with summers in St. Eustache and recall the marks on the Francophones. walls of a church made by cannon balls fired by the My mother-in-law was a Francophone from Que- British army. bec City. My father-in-law was a completely bilingual Anglophone from Ancienne Lorette, near Quebec City. John Morrissey My wife's maternal grandfather (Hubert Duchene) was Toronto, Ontario born in Baie Ste-Catherine near Tadoussac. He was a

Marianna O'Gallagher and Musée Bon-Pasteur staff members Photo: courtesy of Musée Bon-Pasteur Natalie Perron and Claudette Ledet, February 26, 2005. 4 SUMMER 2011

TIMELINES Vocation: Teaching The Sisters of Saint Anne 150 Years on by Marjorie Deschamps he Sisters of Saint Anne His- chine. This project has toric Centre presents a new received financial support temporary exhibition, Vocation: from the Québec Min- TTeaching. The exhibition gives istère de la Culture et des a picture of the dedicated Sisters who, Communications and the over the course of 150 years, taught in Ville de Montréal as part no fewer than 14 schools in Lachine. of the Entente sur le By telling the story of daily life for développement culturel the boarding school students and their de Montréal 2008-2011. teachers, the exhibition approaches La- The Sisters of Saint chine’s educational heritage from a vari- Anne Historic Centre is ety of perspectives. It features personal located in a beautiful set- accounts, photos, books, documents, ting on the edge of the artefacts and teaching materials once Lachine Canal, inside a used by the Sisters. nineteenth-century build- Visitors will relive the opening of ing. Its various exhibi- Villa Anna in 1861, the only girls’ school tions tell the story of the at the time in Lachine, which in 1960 Sisters of Saint Anne would become Collège Sainte-Anne. since their foundation, They will learn that the Sisters had to through the places and cope with very difficult conditions: after personalities associated teaching six to eight hours a day, they with them. then had to help out with maintenance The exhibitions work in order to keep expenses down. recreate the authentic at- When they were not in the classroom, mosphere of a convent the Sisters were painting ceilings and and describe the unique reservations are required only for groups of laying carpet. After their hard day’s destiny of Blessed Marie-Anne Blondin, eight or more. Admission to the museum, lo- work, the Sisters slept on corn husk mat- a woman ahead of her time, and the reli- cated at 1280 Saint-Joseph Boulevard in La- tresses. gious order she founded 160 years ago. chine, is free for everyone. For information: Vocation: Teaching is an invitation 514-637-4616 ext. 212, [email protected]. to meet a group of women who helped During the summer the museum is open www.ssa cong.org/musee, www.facebook provide a well-rounded education to a Wednesday to Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 12 .com/CHSSA. large proportion of the population of La- noon, and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Advance

MILLS I would love to hear from anyone with information on old mills in Quebec (sawmills, windmills, etc). Please contact me:

Claude Arsenault Société sauvegarde du patrimoine de Pointe-Claire (514) 693-9114

Vocation: Teaching exhibition. 5 Photos: courtesy of Sisters of Saint Anne Historic Centre. Pensionnaires, College Sainte-Anne, c.1940. QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

QAHN Honours Heritage Achievement, 2011 by Sandra Stock

This year, the Award goes to the Miner Her- itage Farm / La Ferme Héritage Miner of Gran- by. This ambitious project hopes to preserve the agricultural history of the Granby area with an em- phasis on heritage plants and animals. It will be a completely organic, sustainable working farm that will protect and showcase the natural, cultural and historic heritage of the area and be an example of urban agriculture for educational and conservation purposes. Also, the original remaining farm build- ings are being restored. When complete, this will be a working farm and exhibition site that will cele- brate and promote the many unique species once found on Quebec farms, such as the Canadien horse, the Canadienne cow, the Chantecler chicken, and the Montreal and Oka melons. Also, the farm will illustrate the way of life of the Townships pio- neers. The Miner family was important to the industri- al history of Granby as well as for running this large farm for many generations. Rather than have he Marion Phelps Award is given each the property sold for development, a group of Gran- year by QAHN to an individual who has by citizens came together to form the Heritage Farm been nominated as an outstanding volun- project. T teer in the heritage field. This year, we are very pleased to announce that the winner is Carol For information, contact Caroline Gosselin, Gener- Martin of the Gatineau Valley Historical Society. al Manager, Miner Heritage Farm, 100 rue Moun- Carol has been the editor of Up the Gatineau, tain, Granby, QC – J2G 6S1, telephone (450) 991- the GVHS’s annual local history journal, for the 3330. The website is www. fermeheritageminer.ca. past twenty-one volumes since 1991. She has also been a member of the society’s executive in various capacities since 1976, a longtime volunteer archivist at the Chelsea Library and the person re- sponsible for assisting inquiries from the public with a variety of topics related to local genealogy, cemeteries and census records. She has volunteered with the annual GVHS antiques and collectibles auction and served as a citizen member representa- tive on the Heritage and Culture Committee of the Municipality of Chelsea. Carol has shown exceptional organizational skills and contributed much towards the preserva- tion of, and publication about, the history of both Chelsea in particular and the Outaouais district in general. Her enormous contributions to heritage were acknowledged by her fellow historians of the Gatineau Valley Historical Society and the Fairbairn House Heritage Centre as well as the Municipality of Chelsea, all of whom nominated Carol for this award. The Richard Evans Award, now in its second year, is offered to a group of volunteers who have, as a collective effort, contributed towards their community history, with an inclusion of some as- pect of Quebec Anglophone heritage.

Top: Carol Martin and GVHS President, Marc Cockburn 6 Photos: Matthew Farfan Bottom: Caroline Gosselin and Richard Evans. SUMMER 2011

The Jailhouse Rocks! QAHN’s AGM at the Morrin Centre by Matthew Farfan

elegates from all over the province descend- learning affiliated with McGill University. At that ed on Quebec City on June 18 for QAHN’s same time, the Literary and Historical Society of Que- 11th Annual General Meeting. Representa- bec also moved into the former prison. The “Lit & Dtives from several dozen QAHN member Hist,” as the Society is often called, was founded in organizations came to North America’s only walled capital city from around Quebec, in- cluding the Gaspé, the Outaouais, the East- ern Townships, the Laurentians, Montreal and Quebec City itself. The host for this year’s gathering was the Morrin Centre in the old city. This sto- ried institution, a national historic site, dates

1824, and was the first learned society in Canada. A century and a half later, the Lit & Hist still oc- cupies the Morrin Centre, as the building is now known. The Society operates a library on the second floor. Found here are some wonderful artefacts from Quebec’s past, including a statue of General Wolfe that was once stolen and transported to England. There’s a desk that once belonged to Sir George-Éti- enne Cartier and now serves as a library work station. Overlooking the main floor of the library is a wrap- around gallery, accessed by a carved spiral staircase. The walls on both levels are lined with books. In the other wing of the Morrin Centre, the old college hall has been converted into a spacious confer- ence room. Here again, a gallery similar to the one in the library overlooks the room. This wing of the build- ing proved ideal for QAHN’s AGM. The business part of the AGM took place in the morning, with about forty-five delegates and individ- ual members in attendance. Following the presentation of the financial statements by Treasurer Richard Evans, President Kevin O’Donnell reported that QAHN had enjoyed one of its busiest years to date – particularly in light of the big-budget HOMEI and SHOMI projects, which he called QAHN’s "outstand- from between 1808 and 1813. Its first vocation was as ing achievements of the year." O’Donnell also called the city prison. In 1868, the prison was converted into attention to QAHN’s two Ways of Memory confer- Morrin College, a Presbyterian-run school of higher ences, held in Orford and Montreal, and to the organi-

Left: Morrin Centre on Chausée des Ecossais, Quebec City. 7 Right: Lit & Hist library, Morrin Centre. QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS zation’s 2011 Student Heritage Essay Contest, which ecutive was presented to the delegates, the attendees received a record 153 entries this year. divided into two groups. Interim Executive Director Matthew Farfan then Participants soon discovered that the Morrin Cen- tre is a wonderful place to explore, with highly entertaining tours offered by cos- tumed guides. On the ground floor some of the 200- year-old jail cells have been retained in their original state. There are thick stone walls, oak floors, and heavy iron bolts in the floor of each cell. These same bolts were once used to keep the prison’s miser- able occupants chained up when they were not off working on a chain gang. A gloomy common room still contains the table where prisoners would gather for their evening meals of gruel. In one entire cell block, the cells have no windows. But just a few winding pas- sages away, in another part of the prison, reported on HOMEI and SHOMI, underlining the con- the cells are actually well-lit with natural light. Clearly tributions of these projects to the presentation of her- this was the cell block to be in! Here, the cells and itage in digital format and over the Web. He empha- common area have been converted to a beautiful exhi- sized how these projects have "successfully enabled bition space. AGM participants saw an array of ob- local heritage groups to jects dating to the days of better promote them- the prison. A collection of selves through a variety pipes, displayed in one of multimedia tools." cell, testifies to the com- Members then voted mon prison pastimes of on a resolution relating to pipe carving and smok- Bill 82, Quebec’s pro- ing. posed new heritage law, In the common room which is aimed at widen- is a formidable ball and ing the definition of what chain – a common sight constitutes heritage in the in prisons of that era. In province. This bill, noted another corner, a leather- Kevin O’Donnell in his bound register reveals the report, "somewhat worry- names of prisoners and ingly passes on the re- the offences that got them sponsibility of protecting heritage to municipalities, locked up. Occasionally, an X indicates a prisoner that without necessarily giving them the wherewithal to met his fate at the end of a hangman’s rope. (Prisoners carry out their new responsibilities." QAHN members were sometimes hanged from an upper-floor balcony voted unanimously to support the request made in at this jail). March by QAHN to the National Assembly’s "consultation générale" on Bill 82, that "at least one member of the proposed Conseil du patrimoine culturel du Québec be selected from the English-speaking population of Quebec so that the views of this population may be reflected in Council deliberations and policy proposals to the government." The election of delegates to the QAHN board was followed by a pause to allow the new board to retire to a secluded corner of the library to elect an executive. Kevin O’- Donnell was re-elected president for another term, as were Vice-Presidents Sandra Stock and Simon Jacobs, Treasurer Richard Evans, and Secretary Rick Smith. After the new ex-

Top: The AGM is underway. Bottom: QAHN board, L-R: S. Jacobs, A. Montgomery, M. Boundy, Centre: Rod MacLeod does not want to take back command! 8 S. Chirke, S. Stock, R. Evans, B. McCullough, D. Hopkins, J. Oberg- Müller, R. Smith, D. Lindsay, K. O’Donnell. SUMMER 2011

After their tour, delegates re- turned to the conference hall for an excellent buffet. Historian Louisa Blair presented an overview of the history of the Literary and Histori- cal Society of Quebec and the Mor- rin Centre. There then followed what is generally the highlight of every QAHN AGM – the awards ceremo- ny. First up was the Marion Phelps Award. Following introductions by QAHN Vice-President Sandra Stock and Marc Cockburn of the Gatineau Valley Historical Society (GVHS), the 2011 Phelps was pre-

sented to Carol Martin, who has served for years as an archivist, editor and member of the board of the GVHS. Martin said that she was honoured to be cho- sen. "I love finding out something interesting about something old," she said, "and history is nurtured by fresh ideas and new ways of doing things." This year’s recipient of the Richard Evans Award was the Miner Heritage Farm. Accepting the award on behalf of the Miner Farm was Caroline Gosselin, who has worked tirelessly to save this historic farm property on the outskirts of Granby. When completed, the project will showcase the agricultural heritage of the region, with an emphasis on heritage plants and animals. Gosselin said she was touched by the award. When she heard about it, she said: “We were in a low spot, so this award gave us a big boost." Following a slide presentation on the Miner Farm, Gosselin told the audience that they should "never doubt that a small group of thoughtful citizens can change the world." Excellent words for any heritage activist to live by.

Top: Michael Cooper and Kevin O’Donnell display graphics from Bottom: Interned Executive Director Matthew Farfan hopes he will Wakefield’s SHOMI project. Centre: Delegates tour the cells. 9 get out soon on good behaviour. Photos: Matthew Farfan; M. Cooper. QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

Beyond Shuffleboard Creating the Verdun Memories website by Celia Ste Croix More coverage from QAHN’s Ways of Memory Confer- do something that was more cultural, more intellectu- ence held in Montreal at Concordia University on ally stimulating. I created a series of workshops that March 26, 2011. were put out to the community. The first activity I did with them was to get them to draw a map of their street. And from there people really started to tell stories. It was miraculous how much their memo- ries overlapped. From that activity I decided to do collages because a lot of the people had stuff they wanted to bring in. That inspired them to want to do a quilt. And that whole process was filmed and made into a little movie. CSC: When the Centre stopped hosting the workshops, you created the website. On it there are recordings of people’s childhood memories. Are you going to continue focusing on the oral history aspect? KH: For now, yes. In terms of the website, it’s really about trying to collect as many stories as I can about growing up in Verdun, or about Verdun cul- “Verdun Memories started from the Dawson Com- ture. My initial idea was that school-aged children munity Centre,” Katherine Harvey told the people as- would have access to this, that there would be an ex- sembled for the workshop entitled “A History & Her- change between the older and the younger people. itage Group in Your District: Make It Happen – Move CSC: Are there other ways you would like to ex- It Forward.” pand the project? “They got some money from the Quebec govern- KH: Part of the other project that I want to do in ment and they looked for someone to put the project in conjunction with the website is teach digital recording motion. They ended up hiring me.” skills to the seniors themselves, so they can actually But when the Centre’s interest in the project even- collect each others’ stories. I had a phone call today tually waned, Harvey and a core group of a dozen sen- from a man who grew up in Verdun and he had stories iors did not want it to fade away. he wanted to record and he hasn’t really known where Armed with a doctorate in history from McGill to start. I actually think there are a lot of people out University, Harvey had answered a vaguely worded there like that. I think Verdun Memories is about job notice at the Dawson Community Centre in 2007. building a community, sustaining a community. It in- She had no idea the kind of journey she was embark- creases pride in the community. Everybody has a story ing on. The project eventually turned into a website to tell, given the opportunity to tell it. called Verdun Memories, a site that celebrates, pre- Visit the website at www.verdunmemories.org. serves and shares the history of a quickly disap- pearing and often forgotten Anglophone communi- ty. After the conference I spoke with Katherine Harvey about how the project came to be and where she hopes it will go. CSC: How did you become involved in the original project? KH: Dawson Community Centre had been aware that the Anglophone population in Verdun of a certain generation was aging. These people were moving on and there had been no attempt to write any kind of history of their experience. The project was also intended as a way to change their daily program a little bit. They had cards, darts and shuffleboard, sort of standard things that you might find in a senior program, but they wanted to Top: Swimming at the Verdun waterfront. Photos: Courtesy of Verdun Memories Bottom: Verdun Tourist Camp. 10 SUMMER 2011

Tour Boat Tradition Continues on Memphremagog Le Grand Cru launched in Magog by Matthew Farfan ake Memphremagog’s colourful century-and- ported by rail to Sherbrooke, and by team from Sherbrooke to a-half tradition of commercial steamers and Magog, where they were finally assembled at the lake. tour boats continues on a grand scale this The Lady, which was launched in Magog amid much Lsummer with the launch by Magog promoter pomp in 1867, the year of Confederation, was the property of André L’Espérance of his much-awaited Grand Cru, a Canadian shipping tycoon Sir Hugh Allan, whose estate, 41-metre, 10 million dollar catamaran that can carry Belmere, was one of the finest on the lake, and who himself 170 passengers in total luxury on excursions up and owned a private steamer called The Orford. Measuring 51 me- down the Eastern Townships’ most storied lake. The tres, the Lady of the Lake sailed twice daily, stopping at vil- launch of this latest boat, amid great fanfare, recalls lages and landings up and down the lake. The steamer could similar events around the lake dating back to 1850. pack several hundred passengers onto its decks at a time; a li- Several steamers have operated on Lake Memphremagog cense dated 1914 permitted up to 666 passengers. over the course of its history. This 44-km international lake, In 1868, Sir Hugh Allan hired George Washington Fogg, whose southern quarter lies in the state of Vermont, is the who would captain the Lady until 1884 when she was pur- longest stretch of navigable water in the Eastern Townships. chased by the Connecticut and Passumpsic Railroad to provide Newport lies at the south end of the lake; Magog at the north. excursions to railroad passengers staying at the Mem- Between these towns, with stops along the way, several boats phremagog House, a hotel in Newport. have plied – boats with names like the Memphremagog, the Eventually, the Lady of the Lake was purchased by the Stars and Stripes, and the Canadian Pacific Railway. Its Yiocco. The best known of schedule was synchronized all the steamers were the first with train arrivals and depar- (the Mountain Maid), the tures in Newport and Magog, largest (the Lady of the Lake, at opposite ends of the lake. pictured on the cover of this Parties arriving from Montre- magazine), and the last (the al by train could “always be Anthemis). There have been sure of getting warm meals,” others before and since, but and “no pains were spared to none as famous as these have everything first-class.” three. In service until 1915, the Lady was scrapped two years The Mountain Maid was built and launched in later. The decline of train travel, big hotels, excursion tours, and Georgeville in 1850. At 32 metres, the steamer could carry car- the rise of the automobile, ensured that a large steamer like the go and up to 250 passengers. Sailing daily from Magog to Lady would not remain profitable on a lake the size of Mem- Newport, with stops at Georgeville, Owl’s Head Mountain phremagog. House, Knowlton Landing, and other docks on the lake, the The last of the old-style commercial steamers on Lake steamer was piloted (and for a time co-owned) by Captain Memphremagog was the Anthemis. Launched in 1909, the George Washington Fogg, who had previously run a horse-fer- Anthemis was much smaller than the Lady of the Lake. The ry between Georgeville and Knowlton Landing, on opposite 30-metre steamer was propeller- (as opposed to paddle wheel-) sides of the lake. driven, and could carry up to 300 passengers. She operated un- The Mountain Maid operated until 1870, when she was til the 1950s. hauled out of the water near Knowlton Landing and con- For a few years, both the Anthemis and the Lady of the demned. In 1878, Fogg, who was by then captain of another Lake ran between Magog and Newport. Unlike the Lady, how- steamer, the Lady of the Lake, salvaged the old Mountain ever, the Anthemis stopped on demand at some of the larger Maid and had her hull, paddle wheel, floor plan and engine private wharfs – according to the instructions of owner E. G. completely re-built. The refurbished steamer, which looked sig- Penny, of Georgeville. At first, the Anthemis carried passengers nificantly different from the original, operated until 1892. as well as cargo. But with improvements to local roads and the Succeeding the Mountain Maid was the much grander increasing use of automobiles and trucks, the need for boat Lady of the Lake. Built at enormous expense and with consid- transportation diminished. Towards the end of her career, the erable trouble, the Lady has come to symbolize the heyday of Anthemis operated increasingly as a tourist excursion boat. steam navigation on Lake Memphremagog. In fact, the steam- A number of tour boats have operated on Lake Mem- er serves as the logo of the City of Newport, Vermont. phremagog since the demise of the Anthemis, all of them gas- Construction of the Lady of the Lake took place on two powered. Names include the Diana, the Aventure I and II, and continents. Her engine and two boilers were built in Montreal. several short-lived boats operating out of Newport, Vermont. Her hull was manufactured in Scotland and shipped in sections None, however, has ever come close to the old steamers in ei- across the Atlantic. Upon arrival, these sections were trans- ther style or scale – none, that is, until now.

Le Grand Cru was launched this summer in Magog. 11 Photo: courtesy of Escapades Memphremagog QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

HITTING THE HEIGHTS Summertime in the Laurentians by Sandra Stock hen the railway first other side of the river where another lage name was changed in 1911, as pushed northward into the road led to Echo Lake and eventually to “Flats” certainly didn't sound too pretty Laurentians in the late St. Sauveur or Mille Isles. This road was or rustic.) The Irish-origin locals, who Wnineteenth century, its ini- still gravel and narrow in the 1950s and were friendly and loved a good party, tial purpose was to take out raw materi- not kept open all the way in the winter. saw opportunities for fun along with the als like lumber, building stone and min- Accommodation was easily found. hard work of taking in the boarders. erals for the growing industries of Mon- Several sprawling farmhouses, many of The borders would, of course, have sto- treal. However, like so many best-laid- which at that time abutted the village ries to tell, and perhaps musical talents plans, this was not how things happened, street, suddenly were “open for busi- themselves to contribute to the then still- and although there was a substantial ness.” Most of them hurriedly built large frequent dances with traditional Irish movement of goods, especially wood block-like additions – at first summer music played by local musicians. This products, on the train, aspect of Morin its true calling was Heights was also part bringing tourists in. of its attraction for The Laurentians outsiders. had been settled by At this time, and both French- and Eng- well into the mid- lish-speaking pioneers twentieth century, the for almost a century attraction for the city before rail access dweller to areas like linked them to the Morin Heights was wider world. Roads partly health-related were seasonal and and partly moral. never very good – There was a prevalent muddy tracks at best, belief at that time that forest trails at worst. the city was evil and The train ended isola- corrupting, but that tion for this then agri- rural life was pure. cultural countryside This was reflected in and brought contact religious and aesthetic with people from ur- pronouncements that ban society. We'll look at how this influx only, not insulated – for the city board- still held with the ideas of Rousseau’s affected one small place – the tiny town ers. Carts, buggies and later sleighs from “noble savage” in wild nature and with of Morin Flats with its surrounding each farm boarding house met the trains the English Romantic movement that farms in the Township of Morin. and transported people back and forth. glorified a simple life among innocent In 1895 the tracks reached Morin It is interesting to note that the rural people. This inaccurate and unreal- Flats and soon the people came. Where management of nearly all this early istic belief persisted. Even in the 1930s, were these visitors from the city to stay? boarding farmhouse accommodation a tourist agency in Montreal was pro- There were no hotels or rental properties was female. Once advertising started for moting Morin Heights as a “hay fever available at that time in Morin Flats – the various spots, it was invariably a free area, 1200 feet in elevation” with which in 1900 had two saw mills, three woman's name that appeared as the bracing waters and so on. We can sup- churches, a post office in a private “boss.” These were functioning farms pose the present Spa Weekend trend is a home, a small cheese factory on the Si- and, long before the word “multitask- descendant of all this. mon River, a school, a blacksmith shop, ing” was coined, these ladies knew how However, the boarding house period an Orange Hall and Seale's General to delegate chores (to the men), be super was the beginning of more complex eco- Store. Nearly all these buildings were on cooks, do household daily work (often nomic development for places like the higher side of the one main street, with one or two young maid-helpers if Morin Heights. This growing tourist which was first called Front Street (as it they were lucky), and also entertain and trade, which soon expanded into winter looked over a sharp drop down to the socialize with their city guests. visiting for skiing as well, offered em- river) and then just Main Street. The Morin Heights certainly seemed to ployment beyond the farms and lumber railway station was down the hill on the take to the hospitality trade. (The vil- camps for local people and encouraged

12 The Rock Cliff Hotel, Morin Heights. SUMMER 2011 the improvement of utilities and trans- portation. The late Albert Ward’s family kept a boarding house in Mille Isles, close to Morin Heights, in the 1930s, and he told about it in an interview in the Morin Heights Historical Association magazine The Porcupine #2 (1998). In regard to modern technology, the Laurentians was just starting to have what Montreal had had available for at least fifty years. “We had a phone at our farm...and it was only one of just two in Mille Isles,” Al- bert said. “Half the time the line was down as the wires were just tied to trees. In a big storm, the trees would bend over and pull the wires too tight... We had ten miles of phone line to keep up ourselves to connect with the outside world... However, we needed a phone at the farm hotel welcomed quite a sophisticated stove on which my aunt made all the as we had a boarding house.” clientele, such as the Bowes-Lyons fam- meals... On the second floor and third In Morin Heights, Elsie Seale Mac- ily (relatives of Elizabeth, the Queen floor were the bedrooms. There were Dowell (now 100 years of age) recount- Mother) and Norma Shearer, the famous several larger suites for families and ed her experiences in an interview in actress. Elsie describes the hotel as fol- smaller rooms for two... There was also The Porcupine #5 (2002). She described lows: “I remember the Rock Cliff Hotel another unfinished cottage that acted as what it was like working for her aunt, consisted of three floors. On the main overflow space. During the summer we Mrs. Annie Graves, who ran the Rock floor there was a large dining room with would have as many as sixty-five Cliff Hotel in the late 1920s. This was an attached lounge that contained a pi- guests.” the period when boarding houses started ano. After meals, guests could go there From 1925 to 1928, there were to have competition from small hotels, for entertainment. There of course was three trains from Montreal to Morin which had no farm attached but still op- no television or even radio at that time, Heights on Saturday mornings. Rail erated in the same manner. The Rock so people entertained themselves by transport was very good and Morin Cliff was very close to the railway sta- meeting others and spending the Heights was a popular holiday destina- tion and had three floors, vast veran- evenings socializing. Also, on this floor tion. The cost of a round-trip was one dahs, and an artificial lake. This was ex- was the large kitchen with its wood dollar and five cents. Saturday and Sun- tremely “high end” for the time and the day at the Rock Cliff cost five dollars per person, including meals. Ironically, the growth of the tourist trade led to the demise of the boarding houses, the small family-run hotels and the boarding house farms. By 1960, when everyone had a car and the roads from Montreal improved, the train fiz- zled out and long stays were no longer necessary. Also, so many people from Montreal loved the Laurentians so much they chose to build themselves second homes there and no longer required ac- commodations elsewhere.

Sandra Stock is the current vice-presi- dent of QAHN and its former director for the Laurentians region; she is past- president of the Morin Heights Histori- cal Association.

Top: Laurentian Rest, Main Street, Morin Heights. 13 Photos: Morin Heights Historical Association Bottom: Bellevue House (later Bellevue Hotel), Morin Heights. QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

KAUFMANN’S HORSES The Appeal of Palomino Lodge, Ste. Agathe by Joseph Graham alomino Road runs between Ryan had no reason to believe that and had to start over. Route 329 and Route 117, join- the land would ever be farmed viably. His father-in-law received him at ing Lac Brûlé to Lac Manitou in With open, stony fields rising from the the farm and assigned him the challenge PSte. Agathe. It is a long gravel shore of the tiny lake to the treed hill- of using his carpentry skills to build a road fenced for some distance, and a tops, the farm had never been able to log house. He disappeared into the bush lovely old farmhouse sits at one of its provide enough to sell, and sometimes and built one. Ryan was probably think- curves. There is no official information barely enough to eat. The frost-free sea- ing they could sell the house and Kauf- on the origin of the road’s name avail- son is short, only reliable for about 80 mann could build another. They were able from Quebec’s Toponymie depart- days, and the evenings are generally trying to figure out some way to create a ment, but many people remember the cool. Ryan bought the property just to livelihood on the barren farm that Palomino Lodge. For 40 years it was a have a country retreat, a gentleman's Giroux had abandoned. All they had busy hotel offer- used it for until ing, along with the then was riding standard fare, the horses. But the De- opportunity to ride pression was not a its magnificent good time for real horses. estate. Instead, The property Kaufmann built a had once belonged lodge, and he and to Melasippe Ryan arranged Giroux, one farmer with the Rabiners among the many of Montreal to run who eked out a liv- it for them. ing in the hills be- In those days, tween the two big Montrealers who lakes, Brûlé and came to small Manitou. His farm lodges in the coun- encompassed half try for their holi- of a smaller lake days had the that bears his name today. When the rail- farm. Over the next 20 years, he sold off choice of many hotels and inns, each way first came to Ste. Agathe, it brought and bought back pieces, wanting to with a special feature. The ones on the Montrealers who saw the subsistence share his discovery but not quite sure shores of large lakes could offer boating, farms with their bleak, rock-strewn hill- how to do it. Little could he foresee the canoeing and swimming. Lac Giroux side fields and muddy shorelines as bu- day his son-in-law Henry would come was not really big enough to do much colic homesteads on rolling green pas- looking for a new start in life on this boating, but the Ryans had horses and tures dropping gracefully to the shore of run-down rocky farm. miles of trails. calm, clean lakes. Henry Kaufmann was a driven man The Rabiners eventually left to set Through no fault of their own the who worked his way to a tidy fortune up their own hotel but Kaufmann, un- farmers had no money. Selling ice, cut during his 20s and early 30s. One of daunted, built an even larger lodge and a from the lake in winter and stored, cov- nine children, he would not apply him- huge stable. He depended upon dedicat- ered with sawdust, in sheds or pits, was self academically and was apprenticed to ed employees, and drove them hard. One one of the few ways they could earn learn carpentry. Having received pay- who stood by him for many years was some. When the Montrealers began to ment in shares for a job, he soon discov- Arnold Brown, a World War I British offer a few thousand dollars for their ered that trading the shares could be cavalryman. Arnold looked after the farms, it set off a real estate boom that much more lucrative than carpentry, and horses, and guests who met him did not saw almost every farm in Ste. Agathe he took to this new career with the deter- soon forget him. He knew his horses and change hands over a twenty-year period. mination of a skilled labourer. Despite he loved his Dalmatians, which he raised The Giroux family hung on until 1908, his hard work, he was not prepared for on his own, with no more than the de- but eventually sold to Morris Ryan, the what happened on that fateful Friday in tached interest a farmer might take in his owner of a Montreal dry cleaning busi- October 1929 when his wealth simply farm dogs. Decades after he was gone, ness. ceased to exist. Henry was 34 years old people still prized descendants of his

14 Palomino horses, Laurentians. Photo: Joseph Graham SUMMER 2011 original Dalmatians. as Henry's nephew had married the In the early part of the century, riding daughter of the new owner. Henry, PROVINCE-WIDE was a major recreational activity in the though, went back to the stock market. EXPOSURE Laurentians. Arnold's stables had over a He and Berenice moved back to Montre- AT A GREAT PRICE!! dozen horses and the trails to go with al, where they were involved in many SPECIAL ADVERTISING RATES charities, and left their 2011-2012 estate to a foundation established in their Purchase two or more ads of the same size, and receive names. 40% off each ad! Palomino Lodge became a retreat for Steinberg's employees SIZES until the 1980s, at which time it was ac- FULL-PAGE quired by the Apostles 10 inches (25.5 cm) high of Infinite Love. The 7.5 inches (19 cm) wide new owners let the property run down, and $400.00 (Special: $240.00) over the years the fields and roads were re- HALF-PAGE them. Kaufmann had a particular love of claimed by a new young forest. The 5 inches (12.5 cm) high palominos and so he named the hotel building achieved some notoriety again in 6.5 inches (16.5 cm) wide Palomino Lodge. Palomino horses are not the 1990s when kids accidentally set fire a breed, but simply a distinct golden to the old lodge. With the road gone, lo- $235.00 (Special: $141.00) colour. Breeding two palominos will give cal residents watched as water bombers you a white horse; a palomino and a sor- skimmed the surface of nearby Lac Brûlé THIRD-PAGE rel will produce the palomino colt with and doused the flames. (COLUMN ONLY) the 14-carat gold colouring and the white The property has changed hands sev- 10 inches (25.5 cm) high mane and tail. eral more times since the lodge burned. The Lodge hosted many distin- With the buildings gone and the farm and 2.25 inches (5.75 cm) wide guished guests, including Lorne Greene, horses only fading memories, the sole $200.00 (Special: $120.00) who later became famous as the father in vestige of the riding resort is the name of the television series Bonanza, and the gravel road that runs between two QUARTER-PAGE Princess Elisabeth's retinue in the early highways, connecting two larger lakes. 5 inches (12.5 cm) high '50s when she visited Canada prior to her coronation. Joseph Graham has written extensively 3.25 inches (8.5 cm) wide Henry Kaufmann and his wife, the about Quebec places and how their $125.00 (Special: $75.00) former Berenice Ryan, ran the lodge until names were chosen. This article is from 1956 when they sold it to one of their his book ‘Naming the Laurentians’ and BUSINESS CARD regular guests, Sam Steinberg, the appeared in a modified form in the Lau- 2.5 inches (6.5 cm) high founder of the famous grocery chain. rentian newspaper Main Street. He can While the Kaufmanns never had children, be reached at [email protected] 3.5 inches (9 cm) wide in a sense the Lodge stayed in the family, $75.00 (Special: $45.00)

FREQUENCY, DEADLINES AND SPECIFICATIONS 4 issues annually Deadlines: Winter (early December 2011); Summer (early June 2011); Spring (early April 2011); Fall (early September 2011) Resolution required: Minimum 300 DPI in black and white By email at [email protected] or [email protected]

Top: Palomino Lodge. 15 Photos: Patty Brown Postcard Collection Bottom: Lobby, Palomino Lodge. QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

QUEBEC AND THE INTEGRATION OF BASEBALL Part I: Jackie Robinson in Montreal by Bill Young

“It is ironical that America, supposedly now considered one of the important aseball has been a summer the cradle of democracy, is forced to driving forces behind the massive social preoccupation in these parts send the first two Negroes in baseball to change that shaped the latter half of the for more than 150 years, Canada in order for them to be ac- twentieth century. Without a Jackie Bnotwithstanding those self- cepted.” Robinson, someone has said, there could styled experts to the south who might -Chicago Defender editorial, April 13, 19461 not have been a Martin Luther King, Jr. claim otherwise. What gives this story relevance in Across that span of time the sport Quebec is that in its first stages the pen- served as a social agent, bringing towns anny McIntyre, a and villages closer together in black athlete who friendly competition, often ri- excelled at both valling hockey as the measure of Mbaseball and hockey one’s sporting supremacy over a and was prominent in Quebec neighbour. Picnics, church out- sporting circles during the 1940s, ings, social events and holidays al- passed away on June 13, 2011. ways featured some variation of His death came almost 60 years to baseball as a centrepiece. Baseball the day when he first stepped onto was an ever-present recreational the playing field at Sherbrooke’s activity in early school yards. At Stade du Parc as a member of the the professional and semi-profes- Sherbrooke Canadiens, a baseball sional levels, Montreal (which team in the newly formed Class C won its first International League Border League, and became one championship in 1898) and the of the first half-dozen black play- larger cities and towns were al- ers, and the first Canadian, to tra- ways well-represented by local verse Organized Baseball’s de- teams and local leagues. Summer monic colour barrier. 2 Regardless newspapers overflowed with sto- of his other accomplishments, and ries of baseball. The Royals of the they were many, McIntyre will al- 1940s and 1950s and the Montreal ways be remembered as a coura- Expos were in fact just the latest geous baseball pioneer who suc- manifestations of a tradition that cessfully cracked through an im- has long honed much of our sport- penetrable, albeit invisible, barrier, ing and social heritage – and es- one so hostile it had prevented tablished for Quebec a prominent men of colour from playing base- place in the overall history of the ball at the organized level ever game. since the game’s early development. etration of the colour barrier occurred A case in point would be the role Indeed, the year 2011 marks the right here, in our own cities and towns. Quebec played in 1946 during the early 60th anniversary of the integration of This series, “Quebec and the Integration stages of what became known in the professional baseball in America. When of Baseball,” will look at those early United States as professional baseball’s Jackie Robinson, the first black man to days from a Quebec point of view. Part I “great experiment” – when the colour play a regular game on an otherwise all- describes pace-setter Robinson’s break- barrier, an ill-defined, unwritten, unholy white diamond, entered his first game through year in Montreal. Part Two will tenet limiting playing fields to white wearing a Montreal Royal’s uniform in look at the career of Manny McIntyre players only, was irrevocably breached. April of 1946, he established a precedent and two other black ball players who al- That moment was so transcendent that it and opened a door that could never so played professionally within the reached beyond the game to touch the again be closed. The integration of base- province that same year, and Part Three soul of a nation and stimulate monumen- ball had begun. will conclude with an overview of the tal social change in the years ahead. Although modest in its beginnings, period following, when Quebec gained By the end of World War II it had this initial entry into an exclusively recognition as a haven for non-white become clear that baseball’s archaic Jim white domain presaged a major shift in players seeking opportunities in integrat- Crow approach was no longer tenable. attitude toward race generally and is ed baseball. The legions of young Americans of all

16 Jackie Robinson, 1946. SUMMER 2011 races who had given their best fighting and dying beside each other were not prepared to accept that the freedom they had defended with their lives still did not extend to even such simple pleasures as playing baseball with one another in their own country. Something had to change. And change it did. The catalyst was Branch Rickey, general-manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers of the National League. Convinced that baseball, indeed all of society, could no longer justifiably exclude blacks from participating, he took it upon himself personally to throw a spanner in the works. When Rickey sensed the time was ripe to make his bold move and intro- racism in Canada,” he presumed this McIntyre lined up with the Trois-Riv- duce black players to the game, he dis- meant less chance of open conflict be- ières entry in the Provincial League, a tween the races, and a more welcoming year before his own historic entry into patched scouts to seek out that special 3 individual who would become the first environment for the novice Robinson. organized baseball. Most of all, Rickey to cross the line. Because no one could Rickey would also have looked into the was touched by the passion Montreal anticipate how crowds and the press long history of black ball players who fans held for their Royals. He was con- would react to Rickey’s noble plan, he had already participated at amateur and vinced, and rightly so, that given Robin- semi-pro levels in the province, even as son’s aggressive style of play – at the needed to be certain the player selected 4 would possess the intelligence, tal- early as 1924. Chappie Johnson, a leg- plate, on the bases and in the field – they ent, guts and stamina needed to would be quick warm to him. stay the course. Failure was an un- Perhaps this is the place to acceptable option. His search took note that while Robinson was the some time, but in due course Rick- groundbreaker and nexus for the ey finally found his man. His integration of baseball, he was not name was Jackie Robinson. the only black to enter the profes- The college-educated Robin- sional ranks in 1946. In fact, son was born in the South of a shortly after Robinson had been poor black family that later moved signed, Rickey added pitcher John to California. He was a four-letter Wright, another veteran of the athlete at UCLA and most recently Negro Leagues, to the Royals’ had suited up with the Negro roster. Although expected to carry Leagues’ Kansas City Monarchs. his weight, Wright was also there In October 1945 Rickey signed as a companion and roommate to him to a minor league contract Robinson. When he found the with the Montreal Royals of the task too nerve-wracking he was International League, setting in dispatched to the Trois-Rivières motion a chain of events that Royals of the Canadian-American would have him, a black man, un- League. Another former Negro dertaking the inconceivable – Leagues pitcher, Roy Partlow, playing professional baseball for took his place. He too ended up in the all-white Royals in an all- Trois-Rivières before the season white league. Rickey had thrown ended, leaving Robinson to fend down the gauntlet; those who so for himself. (More about them in dared were invited to pick it up. Part II of this series.) But why Montreal? The sim- The historic, ground-break- ple answer is that the Royals were ing International League season the premier farm team of the began on April 18 in Jersey City Dodgers and thus well suited to provide endary figure in black baseball, spon- when Jackie Robinson, sporting the grey the training required to prepare an ath- sored an all-black team in the city in the flannel ‘away’ uniform of the Montreal lete for the major leagues. As well, be- late 1920s. The 1935 Independent Royals, first stepped precariously onto cause the general manager recognized Provincial league listed three black play- the diamond before a capacity crowd in “there was no deep tradition of white ers, including Manny McIntyre, the sub- excess of 25,000 and shattered the ject of Part II in this series. In 1945, game’s cursed colour barrier once and

Top: The 20,000-seat Delormier Stadium was home to the Montreal Royals Bottom: Montreal Royals teammates Jackie Robinson and from 1928 to 1960. 17 Johnny Wright. QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS for all. It didn’t hurt any that Robinson for the rest of their days they retained sons called home over the summer. opened this new chapter with a career warm memories of their time in Montre- The Robinsons lived in a duplex at day. He had four hits in five plate ap- al. As Rachel noted years later, “Montre- 8232 de Gaspé Avenue in an over- pearances, including a three-run home al was the perfect place for [Jack] to get whelmingly French-speaking part of run, batted in four runs, scored four runs his start. We never had a threatening or Montreal, not far from Delormier Stadi- and stole two bases in a 14-1 Montreal unpleasant experience there. The people um. Their daughter, in a recent visit to victory. Following the game, according were so welcoming and saw Jack as a the city, offered this comment about her to the Montreal Gazette, he was sur- player and as a man.” 8 parents’ Montreal home: “My mother rounded by spectators who “almost Robinson readily conceded there and father had such positive memories pulled the shirt off Robinson’s back…as were times during the season, especially about their time in Montreal,” she said. the young second baseman was kept Their residence on de Gaspé Avenue busy for several minutes shaking became “a place they could come hands and signing score cards.” And home to after being on the road in the this in Jersey City! Later, Robinson south where there was so much ha- declared: “The one thing that I cared tred expressed …and have the love about was the way my teammates and respect of a community. This was backed me up all the way… They very important to them.” 10 have been swell.” 5 By the end of the season, Jackie Robinson’s season had its share Robinson had lived up to, and ex- of up and downs, and included more ceeded, all the hype and promise that harassment from opponents than most had attended his arrival. The Royals players could bear, but he persevered. captured the league pennant handily Married just days before the begin- and then walked over the opposition ning of spring training, Robinson was in the playoffs to claim the Gover- bolstered immeasurably by his wife nor’s Cup. Their next challenge was Rachel, a woman of great dignity and the Little World Series, where they strength in her own right. His team- would be facing the Louisville mates were equally supportive, both Colonels, champions of the American on field and in the club house. Win- Association. The prize was absolute ning certainly helped. The Montreal supremacy over the world of minor Royals of 1946 are still considered league baseball. one of the greatest minor league The first three games of the best teams of all time. But for all of that, four-out-of-seven series were slated the pressure on Robinson to succeed for Louisville, a city nestled deep in was immense. “There were the stress- the heart of Jim Crow country. Locals es of just knowing that you were there did not take too kindly to the pulling a big weight,” recalled Rachel throughout the dog days of August after presence of a black Jackie Robinson Robinson. “I think Jackie really felt, and both Wright and Partlow had been sent cavorting on their ball field, and made I agreed, that there would be serious to Trois-Rivières, when he felt “terribly their views loudly and often obscenely consequences if he didn’t succeed, and downhearted, times when I might have known. The deafening abuse that greet- that one of them would be that nobody wanted to quit had there not been so ed him every time he came to bat was so would try again for a long time.” 6 much at stake.” It was then the fans be- unsettling that he only managed to ham- Robinson admitted as much in an came especially important to him. mer out one little hit over the three interview with Sam Lacy, a reporter for “Throughout the whole time I have been games played in Kentucky, and the the Afro-American newspaper, who had with the Royal team from Florida to team’s play suffered accordingly. When followed Robinson closely throughout Montreal and back again to Baltimore,” the clubs returned to Montreal, the year. “I have tried so hard and been he told Lacy. (Florida and Baltimore Louisville led in the series, two games to so careful about my every act,” said were both deeply racist and especially one. Jackie. “I made the promise to myself hostile whenever he appeared.) “There However, the crowds at Delormier and all my friends that I would never let has been the constant reminder that out Stadium came prepared for a different them down. The small amount of suc- there in the stands I have many friends tale and lustily roared their approval at cess I’ve enjoyed has been due as much of both races,” an observation that came every possible opportunity. Inspired by to their magnificent support as to my as something of a revelation to him. “I their gusto, the Royals squeaked out a 6- own efforts.” 7 have learned during my short Interna- 5 victory in Game Four, thanks to Robinson also drew great strength tional League,” he said, “that all of my Robinson’s game-winning hit in the bot- from the attention, admiration, affection well-wishers are not necessarily mem- tom of the tenth inning. Having regained – call it love – that the Montreal fans bers of my own people.” 9 And these his special touch, he then carried his showered down on him. It was some- would have included his Montreal heroics over to next day, almost single- thing he and Rachel never forgot, and neighbours and the quartier the Robin- handedly leading the Royals to another

18 Jackie and Rachel Robinson in front of their de Gaspé Street duplex, 1946. SUMMER 2011 win, this time 5-3. And then in Game his place at the forefront of the game’s Bill Young, a former school teacher and Six, with over 19,000 spectators packed history and tradition and paving the principal, is a founding director of the into Delormier and expecting more of route for scores of black Americans and Greenwood Centre for Living History in same, Robinson once more delivered, other minorities along the way. Hudson; he is also a historian of base- contributing two hits and starting two This past February, in celebration of ball and a columnist for the West Island double plays, including a ninth-inning Black History month, even as a late-win- Gazette. gem with the potential tying runs on ter snow storm swirled overhead, the base. This time the Royals won, 2-0. United States Consul General in Montre- They were now indeed, as wrote an ar- al, Lee McClenny, and other dignitaries, Footnotes: dent Gazette reporter, “champions of all including Sharon Robinson, Jackie’s they survey…in the world of baseball daughter, gathered on the front porch of 11 1.Quoted in Jules Tygiel, Baseball’s underneath the major leagues.” the Robinsons’ former dwelling on de Great Experiment: Jackie Robinson and As the post-game victory celebra- Gaspé Avenue to unveil a commemora- His Legacy, New York, 1983, 143 tions began unfolding, joyful fans tive plaque in recognition of Jackie 2. The term “organized baseball” is poured onto the field, crowding around Robinson’s status as a “baseball legend used specifically to describe baseball’s the players, raising the favourites to their and civil rights leader.” Inscribed is the major leagues and their associated mi- shoulders and parading around the dia- following: nor leagues, grouped collectively as the mond. When they approached Robinson, National Association of Professional he withdrew somewhat, unsure of what Hall of Fame baseball legend and civil Baseball leagues. It does not include the hullabaloo all meant. Montreal-based rights leader, Jack Roosevelt “Jackie” amateur leagues, most professional in- sportswriter Sam Maltin, who along Robinson and his wife, Rachel, lived in ternational leagues, the former Negro with his wife Belle had become close this house when he played with the Mon- Leagues, and independent leagues. friends of the Robinsons, watched the treal Royals in the Class AAA Interna- (en.wiktionary.org/wiki/organized_baseb scene unfold and later recreated the mo- tional League in 1946. The first black all) ment in words that have taken on almost major league player in the modern era, 3. Lee Lowenfish, Branch Rickey: iconic significance. “It was probably the Robinson became a powerful symbol of Baseball’s Ferocious Gentleman, Lin- only day in history,” he wrote, “that a hope and an inspiration to millions with coln, NB, 2007, 380. black man ran from a white mob with his grace, dignity and determination. 4. Christian Trudeau, “Integration in 12 love, instead of lynching, on its mind.” Quebec: More than Jackie,” in Jane In 1947 Jackie Robinson went on to The last word of the day was left to Finnan Dorward (ed.), Dominionball: the Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the Montreal mayor Gerald Tremblay. He Baseball above the 49th, Official Sou- first African-American to play major placed the Consul General’s gesture in far venir Publication of SABR 35, Toronto, league baseball in the twentieth century. greater context when he asked rhetorical- 2005. He immediately earned the Rookie of ly, and then answered, “Why are we so 5. “Jackie Excited… Almost Loses the Year Award and then went on to proud today? Because it was here, in Shirt to JC Crowd,” in Montreal build a Hall of Fame career carving out Montreal, that we wrote history.” Gazette, April 19, 1946. 6. Tygiel, 138-139. 7. Interview: Jackie Robinson with Sam Lacy, in The Afro-American, August 10, 1946. 8. Canadian Black History Month Part Two: Jackie Robinson, Bill Young, seamheads.com. 9. Interview: Jackie Robinson with Sam Lacy, in The Afro-American, August 10, 1946. 10. Canadian Black History Month Part Two: Jackie Robinson, Bill Young, seamheads.com. 11.Dink Carroll, “Royals Win Little World Series for First Time in Their History,” Montreal Gazette, October 5, 1946. 12. Tygiel, 143.

Lee McClenny, Sharon Robinson and Gerald Tremblay at the unveiling of 19 Photos: courtesy of Bill Young the plaque placed on the Robinsons’ Montreal home, February 2011. QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

THE MAN BEHIND THE BISTRO Montreal’s Own Robin Hood by Renee Giblin

Joe Beef of Montreal, the Son of the People, facelift. New condos now litter the neighborhood and He cares not for the Pope, Priest, chic eateries have popped up on every block. It is a far Parson or King William of the Boyne; cry from the Griffintown of a century and a half ago when All Joe wants is the Coin. Joe Beef ran his infamous tavern. Sailors, thieves, dock- -quoted in Montreal Yesterdays

he menu is chalked on a blackboard. A buffa- lo head is mounted in the bathroom. An ex- tensive wine list is offered. A wooden bear Tgreets you at the entrance and candles illumi- nate the tables. It’s a mélange of rustic regalia and posh finishing. As visitors dine at the new, trendy Joe Beef restau- rant on Notre Dame Street in Little Burgundy, they can’t help noticing the mixed collection of artifacts from the original nineteenth-century Montreal Tavern and modern local art on the walls. “It’s Old World meets new modern world,” says restaurant manager Vanya Filipovie. “We want to pay homage to the legend of Joe Beef while serving classic meals.” That’s the twist that at first glance can be missed. On workers and the working poor populated the area and, ac- the outside, a passerby may think it’s just another yuppie cording to local musician Scott Macloed, Charles McK- hot spot where the up-and-coming professionals hang out. iernan (aka Joe Beef) stuck up for this voiceless group It’s not. There are only twenty-eight table spots, making while still maintaining a notorious reputation. “I felt that his story was unique in that he was an atheist and non-discriminatory about language or ethnici- ty,” Macloed said. In a time where religion was revered and the poor unheard, Joe Beef was different. He stored monkeys, buf- falos, wild cats and dogs in the basement of his tavern. He entertained clients with cockfights, dogfights and drink- ing. Bears roamed the floor with the crowd. He spouted political poems in rhyming couplets condemning reli- gious and political institutions. And, according to Peter DeLottinville’s article “Joe Beef of Montreal,” not only was the canteen a place to let go of inhibitions, but it was an important gathering place for the working class to unite, look for jobs and share ideas. DeLottinville describes how there were no parks or recreational activities for the poor beyond church groups or the occasional national celebration. Times were tough and taverns were the popular choice for men working in the industries along the water. Filipovie says they named their restaurant after the the place intimate – and for history buffs it’s fascinating to great man because they loved the story of a canteen where see images of an ancient local hero woven into the decor. wild things happened. The new restaurant may not have “I think the spirit of the man is in our establishment,” the unruly parties of the past, but it does appeal to the av- Filipovie declares. erage hardworking Montrealer. It’s a neighborhood hang- In the past decade, the area has undergone a major out, where people can enjoy a meal and relax for the

20 Joe Beef Restaurant, 2491 Notre-Dame Street West, Montreal. SUMMER 2011

night. for all to see. “It’s an honest place, with honest food and honest “If you think of all the people our streets, parks and people,” Filipovie says. schools are named after,” Macloed said, “how many had a Macloed, the lead singer and guitarist for the Montre- funeral as widely attended as Joe Beef’s?” al band East End Radicals, thinks it’s great to have a Macloed was so impressed at how a whole city restaurant that commemorates the man. As a member of a turned up for the funeral of a tavern owner that it inspired punk rock group he wants people to wake up to the histo- ry and the world around them. In his McGill history class- es, he says he often hears about great political leaders but not enough about the life of the workers, women and chil- dren. McKiernan’s story awed him and underlined the fact that people need to recall their history. “He made a point of sticking up for all the working poor and ne’er-do-wells of Montreal,” Macloed said. According to DeLottinville, McKiernan fought for better health service and medical assistance for people in the area. He fought for higher wages and, at the height of union conflict in 1877 between the workers and the facto- ry owners, McKiernan fed the strikers. He donated 300 loaves of bread, thirty-six gallons of tea and soup and he took in hundreds to sleep at night. Coming from a mili- tary background, he made sure to feed the soldiers on du- ty, which helped ease the tension between the groups. “To me it says a lot about the kind of person he was,” Macloed added,” considering that attempts to unionize workers were often put down brutally by the police.” McKiernan fought till his death for the underdog. When a patron drank too much, he gave him a place to sleep. When someone wanted food, he fed him. For his funeral procession, the whole city shut down. The rich mingled with the poor and marched from the narrow streets of Montreal to the top of the mountain, where he was buried in Mount Royal Cemetery. To this day, his tombstone stands proudly in the memorial park him to compose a song for his band about Joe Beef’s death. “The funeral was an interesting image to me because it can be seen as a measure of what people thought of you,” Macloed said. Today’s Joe Beef restaurant may not have the same impact on society as the first canteen, but Filipovie notes that the chefs are boisterous, the servers are warm and the place is friendly. The bar is lined with wine bottle and jars. Framed images, articles and photos of McKiernan decorate the walls. Silverware, miscellaneous parapherna- lia and the oak toilet door are the originals. Stuffed and wooden animals greet the diners and low-key funky mu- sic plays in the background. The food is pricier then that of an Irish Pub, but the place is unique – just like the man. So, for a special occasion when you want to spend a little more than average for a meal, this is a great place to visit. And there’s no longer the need to worry that the livestock will maul you.

Sources: Edgar Andrew Collard, Montreal Yesterdays, Toronto, 1962. Peter DeLottinville, “Joe Beef of Montreal,” in Labour, 1981.

Above: Charles McKiernan’s tomb at Mount Royal Cemetery. J. H. Walker, 21 “Joe Beef’s famous jump, Sunday, June 15, 1879.” McCord Museum M931.39.3. Photos: Renee Giblin QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

THE POINT’S BEAVER HALL ARTIST Emily Coonan, 1885-1971 by Fergus Keyes

he Société d'histoire de Pointe-Saint-Charles Group of Painters, and the Canadian Art Society. and the PSC Community Theatre have an- The Beaver Hall Group in Montreal consciously al- nounced that this year they will honour Emily lied themselves with the Group of Seven in Toronto. A.Y. TCoonan at their annual Joe Beef Market event Jackson, a native Montrealer, was voted President of the scheduled for September 10, 2011. Beaver Hall Group and maintained contact between the Although not well-known outside of “art circles,” two cities, supporting and stimulating the Montreal artists Coonan is considered one of Canada’s best artists, with through regular visits and correspondence. He also invited her work displayed in many galleries across the country, Beaver Hall Group members to exhibit with the Group of including the National Art Seven. Gallery of Canada. However, while The Group She was born in Point St. of Seven, as men, were seen as Charles in 1885, and lived most serious artists, the women of the of her life on Farm Street in the Beaver Hall Group had to strug- neighbourhood. For the last two gle to be accepted in an age that years of her life, she lived with a saw them as little more than niece in Côte St. Luc, where she ladies indulging in a hobby. Be- died in 1971. Her father was longing to this group helped William Coonan who worked as them secure a much-needed sta- a machinist for the Grand Trunk tus as serious members of the Railway, and her mother was mainstream world of profession- Mary Ann Fullerton. And, al- al art. The final nine other mem- though her respectable Irish bers of the group were Nora Col- Catholic family was not lyer, Prudence Heward, Mabel wealthy, her parents, who en- Lockerby, Mabel May, Kathleen couraged all of their children, Morris, Lilias Torrance Newton, nurtured her artistic talent. (Her Sarah Robertson, Anne Savage brother, Thomas Coonan, be- and Ethel Seath. It is an interest- came a Minister without portfo- ing side note that the majority of lio in Quebec’s Union National them never married – including government, led by Maurice Emily Coonan. Duplessis from 1936 to 1939.) In other respects Emily Emily Coonan started her Coonan was somewhat different formal art training at about 13 from the majority of her fellow years old, when she attended the Conseil des Arts et Man- members of the Beaver Hall Group. In general, these ufactures. In 1905, Emily enrolled at the Art Association women were considered “WASPs” – that is, from well-off of Montreal where she studied under William Brymner families, mostly Protestant, and living in the wealthier for four years. In 1907, she won first prize at the Associa- districts of Montreal. They could generally pursue their tion’s annual exhibition. painting without consideration of the need to make a liv- In time she became a member of the Beaver Hall ing. Emily, however, was from a working class, Irish Group, about thirty Montreal artists (the number varied Catholic background from Point St. Charles. But even from time to time) who exhibited together in the early with some handicaps in her background, and in view of 1920s. The group was named after their studio space, lo- the times when she painted, she still managed to gain cated at 305 Beaver Hall Hill. Although membership in- recognition and a number of awards for her work. cluded Anglophone and Francophone men and women, Coonan traveled to Europe in 1912 with fellow the Beaver Hall Group is generally remembered as an as- Beaver Hall Group member Mabel May. In Paris, they sociation of English-speaking female artists. Most were spent their time sketching and visiting numerous exhibi- former students of William Brymner. Four or five exhibi- tions and museums. From there they travelled with sever- tions were organized before the dissolution of the group al other artists to Northern France, Belgium and Holland. around 1923. Many of the women continued to paint, and From ther sojourn in Europe, May, and likely Coonan, later participated in the avant-garde Atelier, the Canadian came under the spell of the Impressionists, particularly

. 22 Emily Coonan, “The Green Balloon,” 1919, National Gallery of Canada SUMMER 2011

the work of Monet, Renoir and Matisse. The trip seems to have honed the aesthetic acumen of both women. Coonan was then awarded the very first National Gallery of Canada traveling scholarship in 1914. Howev- er, because of the war, she had to wait until 1920 to enjoy her second trip, a full year of painting in Europe. Although she continued to paint all her life, Emily Coonan appears to have formally exhibited for the last time in 1933. The reason why she decided to retire from public exhibitions at the height of her career is a mystery. Her fellow painter, Torrance Newton, once described Emily as “a very odd, shy, strange person – a real loner.” As one authority puts it: “Given her stature among the country’s most innovative women artists of the early twentieth century, her early retirement from active partici- pation in the Montreal painting scene, can only be regard- Gisele ed as a significant loss within the context of the history of Turgeon-Barry Canadian art.” (Karen Antaki, Klinkhoff.com.) If you would like any additional information about by Fergus Keyes our annual Joe Beef Market and/or have any details about the life and times of Emily Coonan to share, please visit our newly updated Point St. Charles History Society web site at: www.shpsc.org

t is with great sadness that I learned that Fergus Keyes is a member of the board of the Point St. Gisele Turgeon-Barry passed away on April Charles Historical Society and a member of the PSC 4, 2011, at the Verdun General Hospital after Community Theatre. Ia battle with cancer that has lasted about a year or more. Gisele was likely better known among the French-speaking residents of The Point, but as the president of the Point St. Charles Historical Society she cared deeply about the preservation Blanchard AD of all of the history of our community. And everyone owes her a debt of gratitude for her many efforts in protecting and recording the unique history of the neighbourhood. She was very inclusive, always being sure that publications (including the recent update of the History Society web page) reflected the overall nature and story of our community— English and French, as well as Ukrainian, Pol- ish, and other languages and cultures that have contributed to the history of The Point over many decades. Gisele was the driving force behind the Joe Beef market, and worked endless hours over the last three years to make each market a little bet- ter than the year before. In the beginning, when the first market was only a vague idea, it was certainly her gentle “force of will” that got the borough to allow us to use the Joe Beef Park and supply other municipal services. It would be difficult to list all of her efforts for The Point, so just let me say that Gisele was a terrific lady, a great “Pointer,” and that I will miss her very much…

Top: William Notman, “The Art Association Building, Bottom: Point-St-Charles Historical Society Phillips Square,” c.1900. McCord Museum: V-2543.A 23 QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

WITNESSES OF THEIR TIME The Visual Arts in Quebec's English-speaking Community by Lori Callaghan

As part of its Recognizing Artists: Enfin teenth-century schools of French im- gain a voice in Ontario and Québécois Visible! project, the English Language pressionism and post-impressionism. nationalism redefined its history to culti- Arts Network commissioned short histo- Collectively, this Montreal school vate a stronger sense of French heritage, ries of English-language Arts and Cul- of painters developed a multi-faceted that the importance of the Montreal ture in Quebec from the early twentieth portrait of the city. Painting “the streets school of the ‘30s and ‘40s began to century to the present day. Excerpts of their neighbourhood and the rooftops fade out of the narrative. from these histories will be published in of the surrounding houses, the harbour A recent exhibition at the McCord future issues of Quebec Heritage News. area and building sites, or the backyards Museum (see Review, QHN March- The full essays are available on-line at seen from a studio window was a way of April 2010) highlighted the ways in http://www.quebec-elan.org/histories. visually appropriating the spaces of their which the Jewish and Eastern-European own lives,” Trépanier writes in her book, artists articulated their relationship to ne of the first Montreal throughout the De- modernist move- pression and World War II. ments in Quebec Among the more prominent Obegan with a gen- figures in the Montreal eration of Montreal painters school was Louis Muhlstock, who delivered their most im- who had immigrated to portant works between 1930 Canada with his family in and 1948. Many of these fig- 1911, at the age of seven. He ures were either Jewish or started taking evening art European immigrants, and classes while attending Mon- since the ‘90s their stories treal High School and later and artworks have been studied in France at the stu- steadily reintroduced to the dio of Louis-François Biloul Canadian public by the (1874-1947). Muhlstock re- prominent Québécois art his- turned to Montreal in 1931, torian and current general di- during the Great Depression, rector of the Musée national and is probably best known des beaux-arts du Québec, for the work he produced in Esther Trépanier. this era. His drawings of des- Trépanier has published perate and morose individu- numerous books and collab- als, like the unemployed who orated on many exhibitions would sleep on the grass in in which she documented the Fletcher’s Field, are deeply significant contributions of sympathetic and full of char- early twentieth-century acter. His paintings of desert- painters, including Polish- ed neighbourhoods are vi- born immigrants such as brant and express a hollow Jack Beder (1910-1987) and silence. Not untouched by the Louis Muhlstock (1904-2001), and other Jewish Painters of Montreal: Witnesses Depression, Muhlstock would draw on East Europeans like Alexander Bercov- of their Time 1930-1948. They also trav- Kraft paper and use bleached sugar bags itch (1892-1951), Sam Borenstein eled beyond the city limits to capture the as canvases when times were particular- (1908-1969), Eric Goldberg (1890- mountainsides, rivers, farms and valleys ly tough. 1969), Herman Heimlich (1904-1986), of Quebec’s rural regions. In conjuring a In 1939, Muhlstock became one of Harry Mayerovitch (1910-2004), and visual definition of what it meant to be the first members of the Contemporary Ernst Neumann (1907-1956). Converg- Québécois at the time, Muhlstock and Arts Society, which sought to promote ing on the Montreal arts scene from Eu- company were as culturally significant public awareness of modern art in Mon- ropean enclaves or Jewish-European as the Group of Seven were in defining treal. Founded by painter and art critic roots, many of these artists brought with the Canadian landscape. It was only later John Lyman (who wrote an arts column them a deep appreciation of the nine- on, once Canadian nationalism began to for The Montrealer from 1936 to 1940),

24 Cover of Esther Trépannier’s Jewish Painters of Montreal. SUMMER 2011 membership was open to any artist of governance. Infighting and disagreement porary Art. Of Dutch origins and often “non-academic tendencies.” The original about the Society’s direction divided the compared stylistically to Willem de 25 members included the likes of Paul- group and eventually led to its dissolu- Kooning, Klunder immigrated to Canada Émile Borduas, Stanley Cosgrove and tion in 1948. in 1952. He earned himself quite a bit of Goodridge Roberts, and later would These days, thanks to the efforts of notoriety within the Canadian scene, count influential Francophone painters Esther Trépanier and other curators, ma- though that wasn’t felt in Québécois cir- such as Fernand Leduc, Marcel Barbeau jor exhibitions of their works are held cles until quite some time after he had and Jean Paul Riopelle among its mem- not only at the Montreal Museum of settled in the province. “A few years lat- bers. The large size of the group made it Fine Arts, McCord Museum, and the er,” says LeBlanc, “after he'd been in easier for them to negotiate Montreal for a while, you with the conservative Art As- couldn't get in the door [to one sociation of Montreal (now the of his lectures].” Montreal Museum of Fine If the rest of Canada had Arts). Their numbers also little idea of the talent coming made it less difficult to obtain out of Quebec’s Anglophone exhibition space elsewhere. visual arts community by mid- Representing a dynamic group century, it was likely because of French-influenced post-im- the notion of an “Anglophone” pressionist and abstract hadn’t entered into the public painters, this organization re- lexicon until the notion of a ceived little recognition out- “Francophone” culture began side the city and no support to take hold in the 1960s. As from the National Gallery of this distinction entered the Canada. public discourse and language The National Gallery’s di- politics started to polarize re- rector at the time, Eric Brown, gional issues, Quebec’s artistic was a big supporter of the communities grew more insu- Group of Seven, who repre- lar. sented themselves as Canada’s If language politics national school of painting. weren’t part of the outward Brown's open preference drew presentation of Québécois art, criticism from a number of a different story was brewing people in Canada’s arts com- behind the scenes. Victoria munity, including some mem- LeBlanc recalls the significant bers of the Royal Canadian changes the Montreal Museum Academy of Arts, and prompt- of Fine Arts underwent in the ed artists to organize them- ‘70s. From 1968 to 1978, selves. One such example was when Dr. Sean Murphy (a pre- Montreal painter Efa Prudence eminent ophthalmologist and Heward (1896-1947), an ac- son of the Montreal-born artist tive member of the Contemporary Arts Leonard and Bina Ellen Gallery at Con- Cecil Buller) was the president of the Society alongside Muhlstock and Ly- cordia University, but also in museums museum, the board of directors changed man. Heward was best known for her across the country. from being exclusively Anglophone to portraits of women, but she had a fond- Victoria LeBlanc, who is currently mostly Francophone. “He realized it was ness for painting Quebec’s Eastern Executive Director of the Visual Arts all run by the English,” says LeBlanc, Townships, and also took many sketch- Centre in Westmount, recalls something “and there had to be a change if [the mu- ing trips along the St. Lawrence River of that isolation when she first got in- seum] was going to survive, if it was go- near Brockville and to the Laurentians. volved in the Montreal visual arts com- ing to have the support of the Quebec In 1933, she was a founding member of munity in the 1960s. “When Harold government at a time when separatism the Canadian Group of Painters, which Klunder (1943-) first came here from was very, very much the agenda.” grew to include a number of important Ontario, everybody in the rest of Canada artists from across the country. They all knew who he was. Very few people Lori Callaghan is a freelance art critic. joined together in response to the grow- knew who he was here,” says LeBlanc, Her work has been featured in the Mon- ing concern that the National Gallery’s noting that hardly anybody came to his treal Gazette and The Rover, and she fondness for the Group of Seven would first show and that only a handful of has written about graphic novels for the lead to the exclusion of other artists people attended his first lecture. Primari- Montreal Review of Books. from the collection. The large size of the ly a painter and a printmaker, Klunder’s Contemporary Arts Society gave it lob- works are part of the permanent collec- bying power, but also led to problems of tion at Montreal’s Museum of Contem-

Toronto Daily Star, October 22, 1945. 25 QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

DISCOVERED BY DESCENDANTS William Satchwell Leney, 1769-1831 by Susan McGuire

n 1829, when London-trained en- Ogilvie family, he achieved success in bert’s brother John Henry Garth, who graver and Montreal farmer the milling business. Michael Ogilvie was an MIM board member in 1920. He William Satchwell Leney donated a mentioned that young A. W. Ogilvie, learned that Albert’s grandfather George Icopper engraving for the member- while working on the family’s Saint- Garth, who came to Montreal from Eng- ship cards of the Montreal Mechanics’ Michel farm in the early 1850s, had land in 1826 and started what was to be- Institution (MMI), he probably didn’t wooed and later married Sarah Leney, come a successful plumbing, heating envision that his gift would result in a whose family had a farm in nearby and ventilation company, had joined the dozen or so Canadian descendants get- Longue Pointe. He didn’t know if there MMI just two years after his arrival— ting together 180 the same year as the years later in the East- Leney donation. ern Townships to pool Cooper also learned photos and informa- that others besides tion on him and his himself were search- family. ing out the Leney What brought the family. Montreal family into Peter Leney had focus are the minutes been looking into the of the Montreal Me- family for some chanics’ Institution, years. Back in 1978, 1828-34. (The organ- he had located the ization is now known general area where as the Atwater Li- the family farm had brary). been at Longue In 2009, a short Pointe and later article about W. S. searched out the W. Leney in the West- S. Leney gravestone. mount Independent He has a couple of struck a chord with cherished items that, Cynthia Graham, according to family whose husband, lore, were from the British-born Paul original Leney home. Marriott, is a current Who was W. S. board member of the Atwater Library. were any Leney descendants still in the Leney, whose descendants are still thriv- Reading the article strengthened the Montreal area. ing in the Montreal area? His story is family association with the Library; Gra- Thus, neither the Grahames nor told in some detail by Donald C. hame and her brother Peter suddenly re- Ogilvie knew about another distant O’Brien in the Spring 2006 issue of Im- alized that a Montreal scene that had al- cousin, Bedford resident and journalist print, a publication of the American His- ways hung in their family home had in Peter Leney, who answered “yes” to a torical Print Collectors Society. fact been engraved by their ancestor, W. telephone inquiry if he were a descen- Leney was born in London in 1769, S. Leney. dant of W. S. Leney. Or about engineer and at an early age was apprenticed to Tracking the Leney family because Gordon Cooper, descended from W. S. prominent engraver Peltro William of the Atwater Library archives started Leney through Rosemere farmer Albert Tomkins, who had studied under the even before that. In 2008, the author of Garth and his wife Sarah Leney Morris. renowned Francesco Bartolozzi. this article interviewed Michael Ogilvie, (The substantial Albert Garth family Leney learned stipple and line en- a resident of Hatley, about his great- home is now the mairie of the town of graving. Both involve incising a design, great uncle Alexander Walker Ogilvie. Lorraine.) in reverse – sometimes with the help of A. W. Ogilvie was on the executive of Cooper was looking for information a mirror – on a hard surface such as cop- the Mechanics’ Institute of Montreal at the Atwater Library about Albert’s fa- per. Stipple engraving requires tools to (MIM, successor to the MMI) in the ther Charles Garth, who was president of make dots and flecks; line engraving re- mid-1850s. With other members of the the Mechanics’ Institute in 1855, and Al- quires tools that cut lines of varying

26 Newly-acquainted Leney descendants compare notes in Knowlton. Photo: Susan McGuire SUMMER 2011

widths and depths. Both result in ink-re- About 1810, he went into business taining hollows in a copper plate, which with William Rollinson, an English-born was used in the printing process of the engraver and silversmith in the United time for artistic printmaking, commer- States who had invented a new machine cial reproductions, and illustrations for for printing banknotes that were touted books and magazines. as less subject to counterfeiting than oth- Leney enjoyed considerable artistic er banknotes of the time. Among their and financial success in his London ca- customers was the Montreal Bank, reer. Six large plates (after Fuseli and founded in 1817 (It became Bank of others) for John Boydell’s famous edi- Montreal in 1822.) This was the first tion of Shakespeare, and “The Descent “sound” currency printed in Canada, ac- from the Cross,” after Rubens, are cording to historian Robert Prévost among his important works during that (Montreal: A History, 1991). period. From a painting by R. A. Sproule, In 1805, Leney and his wife Sarah Leney engraved a scene of Saint James White left England for New York with Street, Montreal, in which the Montreal two small children; they eventually had Bank building appears prominently. An seven more. He quickly established original Leney copperplate of John himself in the new land, with portrait Gray, the well-connected first president last major work was the well-known se- and landscape works. He engraved five (1817-1820) of the Montreal Bank, is lo- ries of six Montreal scenes from water- cated in the Warren Cady Crane Collec- colours by Robert Auchmuty Sproule, tion at Harvard’s Houghton Library – published in 1830. obtained from Jessie L. Strachan, a W. S. Leney lived on the family Leney descendant. farm until he died in 1831, and his wife Starting about 1812, Leney trav- died three years later during a cholera elled to various parts of eastern Canada. epidemic. Both were buried on the farm, The Toronto Public Library has a Leney although in 1911 their remains, along engraving of York on Lake Ontario, with those of some other family mem- 1812, originally printed by S. F. Brad- bers, were removed to Mount Royal ford of Philadelphia. Joseph Samson’s Cemetery. The farm was sold, and some Sketches of Lower Canada, 1817, has a of the engraving tools Leney brought Leney engraving entitled “Taken from with him to Canada are now at the Mc- memory, Quebec From the Plains of Cord Museum. Abraham.” In about 1820, at the age of 50 and Susan McGuire is historian for the At- in comfortable circumstances, Leney de- water Library of the Mechanics’ Institute cided to retire and move his family from of Montreal. New York to a 400-acre farm in the fer- tile area of Longue Pointe, now part of plates for the Collins Quatro Bible, Montreal’s east-end industrial and resi- which prompted New York’s Academy dential Hochelaga-Maisonneuve bor- of Fine Arts to declare him the city’s ough. His eldest son William, who had best engraver. tried engraving but didn’t enjoy it, ran According to O’Brien, “William the farm. Satchwell Leney must have caused a W. S. Leney continued to pursue his sensation when he arrived in New York engraving work in semi-retirement. He City. In his profession, he simply had engraved two frontispieces for the short- no peers in America.” lived Canadian Magazine and Literary Among his many commissions in Repository, 1823-25, one of which is in the United States, for which he received the Thomas Fisher Rare Books Library anywhere from $15 to $125 each, were at University of Toronto; the second en- 26 of the line engravings in the 1811 graving for this publication, “Montreal American edition of John Bell’s The from Longueuil,” is reproduced in de Anatomy of the Human Body. For Volpi and Winkworth’s Montreal: A Pic- Philadelphia writer Joseph Delaplaine he torial Record. The name “Leney” ap- engraved five plates for the Repository pears on the engraving of a Schroeder of the Lives of Distinguished Americans, portrait of fur trader Daniel Williams including George Washington and Harmon in the 2006 re-publication of Robert Fulton. the 1800-1819 Harmon journal. Leney’s

Above: W. S. Leney, Portrait of fur trader D. W. Hamon, c.1825. 27 Bottom right: Mary Galloway Leney, grand-daughter of W. S. Leney, who Top right: W. S. Leney, “Falstaff,” from Boydell’s Shakespeare, c.1800. married David Morris, seigneur of Ste. Therese. Photo courtesty of S. McGuire QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

HATLEY’S EDUCATIONAL JEWELL The Founding of Charleston Academy by Phyllis Emery Skeats

eligion and education were small school was built in front of the leyans, Baptists and Anglicans. There two of the primary necessities Common in 1816. Another, known as was also a debate on whether the institu- for immigrants, mostly from the Corner School House, was erected at tion would be an academy for boys, as RNew England, who settled in the fork in the road at the southern end Stanstead was for girls. It was decided the Hatley region following the opening of the village. This would have been an to make each co-educational. of the Eastern Townships in 1792. In the inconvenient site for families situated on Construction of the new academy late 1790s, several families settled about the Old North Road and surrounding ar- finally began in 1830. The building was a mile or so north of the present village eas, especially during the winter months. paid for by donations throughout the of Hatley; amongst these was the family The need for a larger, more progressive province, a grant of $800 from the gov- of Deacon Bond Little. Others came be- village school was evident and in 1829 ernment, and a generous amount from tween 1800 and 1810, including the changes began…in a big way! Bishop Stewart. The academy was Flanders, Emerys, Rowells, Bacons, and In that year, a meeting was held in opened to pupils in 1832 with Reverend Leavitts. the home of William Grannis to discuss Balfour as head of the male department These early pioneers were very de- the founding of an academy in the vil- and Miss E. D. Fields as principal for vout and would gather the female department. in each other’s cabins A regular college on Sundays to wor- course was taught in- ship. Later, travelling cluding higher mathe- preachers of various matics, astronomy, phi- denominations from losophy, chemistry, all the United States regular English sub- would stop by to lead jects as well as French, a gathering in one of German, Greek, Latin, the largest cabins. This music, painting and method of worship drawing. changed in 1817-18 Originally, the when the Old North stairs to the second Church was built by floor of the academy Reverend Charles went up the outside of Stewart in the early the south wall and the settlement on the second storey was di- North Road. Two new vided into rooms for churches soon fol- lady teachers and older lowed: one Methodist girls. Later the parti- (now Hatley United) in 1836 and the lage. The committee members were Dr. tions were removed and the room was other Anglican (St. James) in 1829. John Weston, John Grannis, Luther Hall used as a community center. Both are still functioning today. and William Ritchie, N. P., who acted as Among the many fine teachers who Education was more complicated secretary-treasurer. A board of trustees taught at the school were a number who for the homesteaders, who lived great was appointed consisting of Charles were or would become prominent in distances from each other. It began with James Stewart (now Anglican Bishop of public affairs, including Vermont pub- home schooling, with very few books. Quebec) along with several prominent lisher and editor Zadock Thompson and When the children could gather together, men in the Eastern Townships including future postmaster-general L. S. Hunting- a well-educated parent would teach Deacon Taylor Little, John and William ton. Another interesting teacher was them. However, in 1816, the Governor Weston, John Jones and Robert Vincent Alexander Twilight, the first African- of Lower Canada gave permission for a from Hatley. The plans were sent to American to graduate from an American school to be erected in Charleston – now Bishop Stewart in Quebec City. The college. His biography states that he had Hatley. (The village was originally trustees chosen to further the plan were “a tenure as a teacher in rural Quebec.” called Charleston in honour of Reverend Bishop Stewart, the Honorable Louis- Twilight was principal at Charleston Charles James Stewart for his contribu- Joseph Papineau and several govern- Academy during 1851. tions during his stay there.) The first ment men who were Catholics, Wes- In 1884, the Corner School House

Hatley Anglican Church and the academy. 28 Photo: courtesy of Phyllis Emery Skeats SUMMER 2011

Alexander Twilight's Hatley a dormitory for students living further Connection away, he undertook to construct one on his own; neither the state, nor the coun- harleston Academy has stood ty, nor the town contributed money to for more than 175 years in the his enterprise. He temporarily resigned village of Hatley. The life of as minister of the church in 1834 and be- this academy-turned-school is gan construction. Using hand tools, in- C genuity and perseverance, he fashioned well described in The Story of Hatley, written in the late 1940s by Maude Gage granite blocks 10 inches wide and 12 Pellerin. The book includes a list of inches long. He used an iron bar and an teachers over the years at Charleston ox with a wooden yoke to move the Academy. Many of these would be fa- stones. Legend says that a platform and miliar to an Eastern Townshipper, but a bull wheel were used to hoist the one might not be easily recognized: Mr. stones into place; when the walls were Alexander Twilight. finished the ox was stranded 41 feet Twilight is an icon of Vermont, be- above the ground and when Twilight ing not only the first African-American tried to lead the ox down a staircase the to graduate from an American college animal was terrified and no amount of but also the first to serve in the state leg- coaxing worked. Sadly, he had to islature – and did so fifty years before slaughter the ox on the platform. rented a room in the academy and the the second African-American would fol- Named Athenian Hall by Twilight (it is two schools shared the same building. low in his political footsteps. also known as the Old Stone House), In 1888, the commissioners took over Twilight was born in humble sur- this dormitory still stands. the whole school under one manage- roundings on a farm in Corinth, Ver- By the mid-1850s, Twilight decided ment. As other high schools opened in mont, on September 23, 1795. His fa- to relocate across the border to the East- surrounding towns, the number of stu- ther was described as a mulatto (a per- ern Townships of what was then Canada dents diminished and for a time only two son of black and white background) who East. He settled in the area of Shipton, rooms were active. However, in 1910, had served in the Revolutionary War. where it appears he conducted the Twi- another room on the second storey was Alexander’s parents struggled to give light Academy in Richmond for at least opened and, in 1942, it became a consol- him and his four siblings the necessities two years. He then left to teach at idated school, later known as Hatley In- of life. At the age of eight he began Charleston Academy in the village of termediate. Commencing in 1964, the working daily for a neighbouring farmer. Hatley. At Charleston Academy, he was first four grades were conveyed to North At the age of 20, Alexander enrolled principal for at least one year (1851), ac- Hatley School and in the mid-1960s the in grammar school to prepare for col- cording to the list of teachers published beloved school was closed. lege; he graduated in 1821. When he in Pellerin’s history of Hatley Village. The author remembers many fine was 26 years of age, he entered Middle- By all accounts, Twilight’s tenure at teachers, mostly graduates from the bury College as a third-year student. It Charleston Academy was a successful teacher training school at Macdonald is possible that the college was unaware one. College. One favourite was Mrs. Muriel of his racial background, as on an earlier McClary; because of her encourage- occasion a black man had been denied Phyllis Emery Skeats is a local historian ment, many young people went on to admission. Alexander graduated in 1823, and winner of QAHN’s 2010 Marion have interesting and profitable lives. and accepted a job teaching in Peru, Phelps Award. Today, Charleston Academy is al- New York. There, he also studied for the most 180 years old and still stands in the ministry and was ordained. village of Hatley. However, it is in need He also met the lady who of restoration which would help the would become his wife in building stay alive for many more years, 1826. After a few years of if for nothing more than the historical teaching, he was offered the value alone. It could be a museum show- positions of principal of the ing the history of Hatley Township, or a Orleans County Grammar well-equipped community centre – to re- School in Brownington, Ver- place the Foresters’ Hall, which was tak- mont, as well as Congrega- en down in 1998 – with a library on the tional minister there. In upper level. Hatley would be well served 1829, the young couple this way! moved to Brownington. Twilight was determined to make Orleans County Grammar School the best in the area. Feeling the need for

Top: Alexander Twilight. 29 Bottom: Athenian Hall, Orleans County Grammar School, Brownington, VT. Photos: courtesy of Old Stone House Museum. QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

HINDSIGHT

OUR LOCAL WINDOWS Rooms with a View by Rohinton Ghandhi

he waitress placed a cup of inside, you were led down one long aisle floor was dotted with “roundabout” coffee and a huge chunk of ap- to the à-la-carte food counter or offered stools running along the length of the ple pie onto your green check- a route to take a seat and order. The pop- main grill counter, where we could Tered paper placemat, and asked ular spots had a view of the main aisle watch the cook in action. Behind us if that was all. Looking out across the and were like an all-season version of were two rows of padded booths (each floor, it was difficult to believe that you today’s sidewalk cafés. The view was with its own coat rack), including three were dining, high and above a busy de- different here, as shoppers, employees, or four which had a reserved view of the partment store. The restaurant at the rear and people walking through the store all street, which added a new perspective to of the old Miracle Mart in LaSalle not merged together at this central point to our experience, as the weather now only gave you a 180-degree bird’s eye provide us with a constant flow of enter- played a role. Divided only by a single view, it also gave you your own personal tainment. The Cavalier Mall itself held pane of glass, the scenes outside showed window to watch the action below. many of our local shopping favorites, upturned umbrellas, loose hats hovering While climbing up the curved staircase, like the Dominion Store, the barber by, dogs taking kids for a walk, and dur- you felt yourself leaving the hustle ing snowstorms, packs of travelling and bustle of the shopping level snowmen fighting the northern behind, as you entered and raced winds to get home, all while we for the prized tables which over- took in the warmth of that wonder- looked the entire store. If you were ful place. lucky enough, you would find one. At a time when architects were Minutes could easily turn into designing these once beautiful hours, while you sipped and wit- restaurants as simple company nessed the dramas unfold, literally lunch counters, they could not have right beneath your feet. A imagined that their attention to de- shoplifter’s chase, a falling tower tail, their eye for style, and their of toilet paper, kids playing foot- ideas of comfort, would later be- ball throughout the store, were just come some of our most well-re- some of the “reality” shows we membered places. Places that we saw. once used as our own compasses to At one time, there were many shop, a Radio Shack, and the LaSalle point out where we came from, and to places in LaSalle and Verdun that of- Driving School, but it was the lure of the give us a bearing on where we were go- fered us “a piece of the action” and that Woolco department store which kept us ing. became a distinct part of the history of coming. The people you would meet Today, our treasured memories of our local communities. Wonderful there had their own stories, and usually these sites are only filled with great places designed for people to meet other by the time you left, you had a new one fondness and a deep sense of loss at people, places that are no more. of your own. their disappearance. Of the people that Just as Miracle Mart offered this Not so long ago, Wellington Street worked in them, of the people we met in unique view, across from Place LaSalle, held one of these jewels, where we them, and of the lasting friendships we Woolco’s “Café Rouge” in the “Cava- could sit back and enjoy our surround- formed in them. lier” Mall (now gone) offered us a simi- ings. The Greenberg’s store (now Each of these restaurants had its lar local experience. The restaurant was Pharmaprix) on the corner of Gordon own specialty food, unique to a local designed like a ‘50s diner, with each Avenue had an “in-store” restaurant, part of town. Watching each of them booth adorned with shiny polished which offered one half of its storefront vanish was like losing a flavour, a taste mouldings and red leatherette seats. The window to its restaurant’s sidewalk from our own Southwest Corner. Café Rouge had its own feel to it, as it view. Greenberg’s was very “modern” was in the rear of a major department for its time, as it had a set of “magic Rohinton Ghandhi is a Verdun historian store; yet the main aisle of the mall lead stairs” (escalators) right in the center of and writer; his column “The Southwest people to its entrance. We could always it. Turning left upon entering the store, Corner” appears frequently in The Sub- tell when the place was busy by having we would be led into their open-air style urban. to walk through a gauntlet of “parked” restaurant area, which still had that shopping carts around its doorway. Once lunch counter feel to it. The linoleum

30 Woolworth’s luncheonette sign. Photo: courtesy of ww.pbs.org. BROME COUNTY MUSEUM & ARCHIVES

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