Quebec City Honours Former Mayor Jean Pelletier the Mystery of History
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PAGE 4 WEDNESDAY, JULY 9, 2014 C HRONICLE - TELEGRAPH Quebec City honours former mayor Jean Pelletier ADAPTED F ROM A PRESS RELEASE important to recognize Jean rentienne to Dorchester and B Y SHIRLEY NADEAU Pelletier, an important figure La Couronne streets, and the SHIRLEY @Q C TONLINE .C OM in the development of our redesign of Place d’Youville city,” said Labeaume. “With and its skating rink. Thanks he Ville de Québec the completion of the inter- to Pelletier’s efforts, in 1985 recently paid homage modal terminal [the Gare du the Historic District of Old to the late Jean Pelletier, T Palais], it was quite natural Quebec became a UNESCO mayor of the City from 1977 to to name this site for him.” World Heritage Site. A career 1989, by renaming Place de Former Quebec City politician until he retired, la Gare, in front of the train Mayor Gilles Lamontagne Pelletier died in January station on Rue Saint-Paul. A and the Right Honourable 2009. commemorative marker in his Jean Chrétien and were also Place Jean-Pelletier was honour was also unveiled in present at the ceremony. Pel- the site of the first royal the public space, now known letier was Chrétien’s chief of shipyard, then of Saint-Paul as Place Jean-Pelletier. staff from 1991 to 2001. market place, and then the The occasion was the Jean Pelletier originated railway facilities. In 1915 35th anniversary of the the intermodal (train and the Gare du Palais was built. founding of the Association intercity bus) station, which Since 1985, the station has internationale des Maires was inaugurated under his served both as a train station francophones (AIMF), which administration. He also and a bus terminal, becoming was created in Quebec City contributed greatly to the the intermodal terminal we in 1979 on the joint initiative revitalization of the Saint- know today. In the centre is of Pelletier and the mayor Roch and Old Port sectors, the colossal water fountain, of Paris, Jacques Chirac. by encouraging the building Éclatement II, designed by The AIMF now has over 150 of the Gabrielle-Roy public sculptor Charles Daudelin. members in 47 countries in library and the residential de- The commemorative Europe, Africa, the Pacific, In the background of the newly- velopment of these sectors. marker was installed at named Place Jean-Pelletier Southeast Asia, the Carib- Under Pelletier, other the corner of Saint-Nicolas can be seen the Éclatement bean, and Canada. projects took shape, includ- and Saint-Paul streets. The II fountain and the Gare du Hélène Bhérer-Pelletier, ing the enlargement of the brushed-metal structure, over Palais. the widow of the late mayor, coliseum (the Colisée Pepsi), two metres high, was placed and members of his family the transformation of Bassin at the periphery of Place joined with Mayor Régis Louise into a marina, the Jean-Pelletier, where it is Labeaume to announce extension of Autoroute Lau- easily visible to passers-by. the change of name. “It is Photo by Shirley Nadeau D RAWN TO QUEBEC Birds in plain sight (Illustrations by Bethann G. Merkle) BETHANN G. MER K LE bird of prey. Look BETHANN @Q C TONLINE .C OM up, particularly hile the on days when it is Plains sunny and breezy, Wo f and you may spot Abraham are a hawk soaring overrun with overhead. Pay at- Festival d’Été tention to the behaviour of spectators, other birds. Small songbirds, particular, Richard Crossley flocks of local residents along with crows and ravens, provides full-colour full-page have a bird’s-eye view. Take will often “mob” larger birds composite photographs a casual stroll through the in an attempt to drive them showing each species in every Plains – with or without away. Follow raucous bird imaginable pose (perched, binoculars, field guides, and calls, or look for large groups in flight, preening, feeding, notebooks – and you are sure of birds circling or dive- etc.). Online resources spe- to catch a glimpse of some bombing a specific location. cific to Quebec include Mark of them. Common species They may lead you to a hawk, Dennis’s QC Birding Blog, you are likely to see include are looking for the pileated or even a great-horned owl. the www.birdcanada.com chickadees, crows, gulls, woodpecker, with its striking Should you be in the section on Quebec, and www. house finches, and robins. red crest, look for trees that market for a field guide, camacdonald.com/birding/ Equally possible, but not look as though someone has there are many to choose caquebec (provides birding as easy to spot, are the nu- picked them apart – the bird from. This writer prefers The suggestions, rare bird alerts, notes will be a big help when tions to highlight aspects merous woodpecker species excavates large oval cavities Crossley ID Guide to Eastern etc.). you try to identify what you of life in Quebec City. She that make the park their several inches in length and Birds. At 529 pages, it’s not When you do spot birds, have seen. invites your suggestions for home. This writer has re- depth. a book you would take back- take a moment to observe any Editor’s note: This is future columns; you may cently seen hairy, downy, and More challenging, and packing. It is, however, an striking colourings, shapes, the second column in a contact her at bethann@ even the grand pileated wood- more rewarding, are the rare extraordinary reference for and behaviours. Making new, weekly series in which qctonline.com. pecker on the Plains. If you occasions when you spot a birders of all skill levels. In mental, written, or visual Bethann will use illustra- The Mystery of History 2014 summer mystery photo series t is officially summertime, which means the QCT’s annual mystery photo series is back. This year, as a nod to the paper’s 250th anniversary, we will ask you to identify or explain Iintriguing photos from the archives. Even better, there’s no contest this year, for two reasons. There is no pressure on you to have the “best” answer, and for some photos, it is possible our readers will know more about the photo than we do. Send us your guesses and insights; we’ll feature our favourite replies. The deadline for this “non-contest” is Friday, nine days after publication date – giving you a week and a half to figure out each photo. Send us your answers to any of the following questions: When and where was the photo taken? Who is pictured? What was the event or occasion? Send your answers to editor@ Archives qctonline.com or post them on the QCT’s Facebook page. QCT.