A HERITAGE S UCCESS S TORY: THE P OWERSCOURT B RIDGE $10 Quebec

HeritageVOL 6, NO. 4 WINTER 2011 News

The Future of Our Heritage Interview with Heritage Montreal’s Dinu Bumbaru Rivers and Islands Defending Canada after 1812 The Jackie Robinson Paradox Black Athletes and La Grande Noirceur QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

Quebec CONTENTS HeritageNews

EDITOR Editor’s Desk 3 RODERICK MACLEOD 11/11/11/11/11/11 Rod MacLeod PRODUCTION DAN PINESE Letters 4 Jersey memories Daniel Parkinson PUBLISHER THE QUEBEC ANGLOPHONE Mystery Photo 4 HERITAGE NETWORK Missisquoi Museum 400-257 QUEEN STREET SHERBROOKE, QUEBEC J1M 1K7 Timelines 5 FSHQ Congrès 2012 in Sherbrooke Ann Montgomery PHONE INHERIT: closer links between schools and communities Dwane Wilkin 1-877-964-0409 Spanning river and time: the Powerscourt covered bridge Kevin O’Donnell (819) 564-9595 FAX Interview: Dinu Bumbaru 10 (819) 564-6872 Heritage: Part of our meaningful future Matthew Farfan CORRESPONDENCE [email protected] Stepping Out 12 WEBSITES The birth of Montreal’s music industry Dimitri Nasrallah WWW.QAHN.ORG 1812 14 WWW.QUEBECHERITAGEWEB.COM A war of islands and rivers Sandra Stock Wright’s Rafts 18 PRESIDENT The lumber baron of Hull Joseph Graham KEVIN O’DONNELL Tentative tolerance 21

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & Quebec’s Jackie Robinson paradox Bill Young WEBMAGAZINES EDITOR Tarzan makes a splash 26 MATTHEW FARFAN Dipping into the history of Verdun’s Natatorium Rohinton Ghandhi

OFFICE MANAGER Reviews 29 KATHY TEASDALE Esther: The Remarkable True Story of Esther Wheelwright Sandra Stock

Quebec Heritage News is produced four by Julie Wheelright times yearly by the Quebec Anglophone Edited by Barbara Verity and Gilles Péloquin 30 Heritage Network (QAHN) with the support Overlooked adventures: Even the Owl is Not Heard Brenda Hartwell of the Department of Canadian Heritage and Quebec’s Ministère de la Culture et des Communications. QAHN is a non-profit and non-partisan umbrella organization whose mission is to help advance knowl- edge of the history and culture of the English-speaking communities of Quebec. Annual Subscription Rates: Individual: $30.00; Organization: $40.00 Cover image: The Percy Bridge over the Châteauguay River at Powerscourt, Quebec. Canada Post Publication Mail Agreement Number 405610004. Early hand-tinted photograph, signed by Paul Grover, no date. Photo - Matthew Farfan ISSN 17707-2670 Collection. PRINTED IN CANADA

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EDITOR’S DESK 11/11/11/11/11/11 by Rod MacLeod

ou are reading this in the early days of birthday some years back, and Quebec’s 400th 2012 with the madness of the holiday sea- more recently – but I can’t work up too much en- son behind you, but for me, as I write, the thusiasm for my city’s 375th other than as good Y new year is still over a month away and I an excuse as any for a party. For much of this am thinking back over Remembrance Day. Not so year, McGill University has been festooning its much the ceremonies themselves and the perennially grounds with signs saying “190” – a reference to affecting minute of silence, but rather the moment the 190th anniversary of McGill’s 1821 charter. shortly afterwards when I sat huddled with a loved one 190th? Is there even an official substance for staring at a digital clock. that (ie, gold, diamond, pewter, etc)? The kicker The moment came. It was the eleventh sec- is, as anyone who has looked into it will tell you, ond of the eleventh minute of the eleventh hour McGill University wasn’t doing a whole lot back of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of the in 1821. A body known as the Royal Institution eleventh year. Click. Never to be repeated. for the Advancement of Learning had been be- What set it apart from the millions of other queathed a farm on the side of Mount Royal clicks that make up our lives if we only focus on where they were supposed to build a college them as they pass? Nothing, of course – except within ten years or give the land back; realizing symbolism, and that counts for a great deal. Why that the ten years were almost up with nothing to else would we celebrate birthdays and anniver- show for it, these guys madly applied for a char- saries and (in the recent past for you, in the near ter and got it just under the wire, which was ap- future for me) New Year’s Eve? As far as nature parently good enough. There was no building on is concerned, one day is like any other, but we the site until 1839, actual teaching didn’t start humans stake our lives out with symbolic points until 1843, and it wasn’t until the 1860s when of reference. the place took off. But hang on a minute – “the Some of this is practical. I know there is a ten years were almost up”? Yes, James McGill’s date in December by which I have to put my win- will granting his farm to the Royal Institution ter tires on or get fined. I know there is a date was made in 1811, two years before his death. by which I must get all my gift shopping done or The university could now be celebrating that – else face the wrath of people around me (I think with signs saying “200” and getting far more it’s December 24th). bang for their buck – but for that they would Some of this is emotional. Every year on my have to actually know their history. Oh well – birthday I stand outside by myself and stare up at again, any excuse for a party. the sky and marvel a little that I have made it Except that, unfortunately, no one is much in through another whole year of this bizarre jour- the mood for parties at McGill these days. What- ney I am on. I don’t do this other days – much to ever your take might be on the rights of non-aca- the relief of my neighbours, I’m sure – although demic staff, it isn’t pleasant to have services cut, it may well be the time will come when I will labs and libraries barely functioning, repairs not feel this sense of wonder (I hope) every morning. taking place. Like all strikes, there is also a hu- There are other days, of course, that make me man cost: anger, bitterness, even tightening of stop and sigh – or light a candle or do some oth- belts. Far worse, of course, is having the riot po- er ritual; I won’t say what or it would inevitably lice called out to clobber people, even by- make the symbolism sound silly. This time of standers. I heard about that nasty incident the year I also find myself thinking of the friends day after it happened, on November 11th. Sigh. and family of the 22 women killed on December Ah well, enough with the serious stuff. It’s 6, 22 years ago, as it happens. I doubt any of time to start thinking of buying gifts and baking them will find their grief any less than it was on birthday cakes and finding those noisemakers. the previous 21. And lighting candles. Some of this symbolism is also just plain Click. crass. It was fun celebrating Montreal’s 350th

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the high performance of the cows. My Letter father and uncles purchased bulls at Attention Writers! Pinetree in 1955 and 1956. I attended the dispersal sale, in 1961, and bought a The Quebec Heritage News is looking Jersey Memories young cow. Unfortunately, she died of for articles dealing with local heritage milk fever on calving but did produce a conservation projects, both successes and failures – we can learn from both! t was interesting to read (“QAHN heifer calf, so my investment was not a Recently the QHN has covered such honours Heritage Achievement,” complete loss. topics as the Fairbairn house in Wake- Summer 2011) about the Achieve- I also remember attending a Quebec field, the Redpath mansion on Mount ment Award presented to the Miner Jersey Club picnic at Pinetree. The barn I was painted white with green trim, in Royal, and the Empress Theatre in Heritage Farm and that it will promote NDG. In this issue you will read about species unique to Quebec farms. those days, and tucked back from the the restoration of the Powerscourt Your readers may like to know that road behind huge pines. Even in the bridge in the Chateauguay Valley. W.H. Miner was a noted Jersey breeder 1950s, to my recollection, the farm was There are hundreds more! for about 40 years. He specialized in im- right in the city of Granby. ported breeding and developed bulls One hopes that space will be made Look around your communities and see that were used in early A.I. units in at the Miner Farm for a Jersey or two. I what old buildings are thriving and Canada. The Pinetree Jersey herd was am sure there are close genetic links to what is at risk. Send us the saga of the noted for its high butterfat, with many the Canadienne. heritage project nearest you! We hope cows testing over 6% and as high as to publish them in the next issue of the 7%. Most of the time, the herdsman was Daniel Parkinson QHN. Walter Wright who was responsible for Toronto

PRINTER’S AD

Mystery Photo! ? Can you identify this photo? Where are these gentlemen from? What are they doing? Where is the train heading? Send your answers to: [email protected].

4 Image courtesy of the Missisquoi Historical Society WINTER 2011

TIMELINES Townships on Display FSHQ Congrès 2012 in Sherbrooke by Ann Montgomery he City of Sherbrooke will be the scene of the both in the mail and on-line. You can also find infor- 47th annual meeting of the Fédération des so- mation on the FHQ website: www.histoirequebec ciétés d’histoire du Québec (FHQ), from May .qc.ca. T25-27, 2012. Hosted by the Société d’histoire de Sherbrooke, with the collaboration of the Quebec Anglophone Heritage Network (QAHN), the confer- ence will have as its theme:

Les Cantons de l’Est The Eastern Townships - lieu de passage - Land of Passage - terre d’acceuil - Place of Settlement - espace d’intégration - Home of Communties

At its main session on Saturday, May 26, at the Delta Hotel, conference presentations will explore the history and current composition of the Eastern Town- ships, from the first Abenaki peoples who travelled through the region to the present day urban and rural communities. An organizing committee has been iden- tifying speakers and resource people to provide dele- gates with an in-depth, wide-ranging and informative look at how the Townships came to be as we find them today. On Friday, May 25, following the annual meeting of the Fédération, all delegates will be invited to the Sherbrooke Historical Society for cocktails, and then to the Granada Theatre, one of the rare theme theatres remaining in Québec, for a dinner of regional cuisine and the formal opening of the conference – with histor- ical animation. A full schedule of historical and cultur- al activities is being planned for Sunday, May 27, to give delegates a taste of what the region has to offer. Though the annual meeting and some of the ses- sions will be in French, it is the intent of the organizers that at least one presentation in each section of the con- ference shall be given in English, to properly reflect the diverse population of the Townships. The commit- tee is actively recruiting volunteers, both English and French, who would be willing to help with the practi- cal organization of the conference, as well as services to the delegates during the meeting. If you are interest- ed, please contact either Matthew Farfan of QAHN ([email protected]), or Ann Montgomery of the If you have a “Mystery Photo” you Stanstead Historical Society (ann.montgomery @sym- think would be challenging to iden- patico.ca). All members of the Fédération and of QAHN are tify (see the one on the opposite encouraged to participate in this annual meeting and page), send it to us–or, if you are conference, which promises to be an interesting and re- near the Lennoxville QAHN office, warding experience for everyone involved. Member groups will receive detailed information about program bring it in to show us. and registration early in 2012, so please watch for it

The Sherbrooke Historical Society. Photo: Matthew Farfan 5 QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS INHERIT Heritage program seeks closer links between schools and communities by Dwane Wilkin

lame it on their overstuffed curricula. In the school system, however, standardised curricula, media- crowded agenda of a typical school year, saturated recreational activities and career-driven fami- with its centrally-directed, government-pre- ly relocations conspire to give young people only a su- Bscribed pedagogy, where will today’s teach- perficial understanding of their local milieu. ers ever find room to fit in a talk on local history or What’s more, neglecting learning resources that exist heritage? If it’s not on the exam, why require students locally implies that the neighbourhoods and home- to consider the lay of the land, to acquaint themselves towns where young people live have no past and can with nearby streams, rivers and seaways, or to contem- offer nothing of value in the future – not much of a plate the reasons why different groups of people at dif- sales-pitch to the next generation of entrepreneurs and ferent times in the past chose these places for their community leaders. homes. What could anyone possibly learn? The Quebec Anglophone Heritage Network Outside Montreal and Quebec City, few students (QAHN) recently launched a pilot program called In- across the province will graduate next June having spiring Heritage Renewal and Identity Together (In- ever read a single word Herit) that aims to about the places they counter these trends by come from. Unless helping to strengthen they involve a major links between schools battle or a powerful and community volun- public figure, or – teers who would like more rarely – skilful to be more active in lo- local historians have cal history and her- managed to bring them itage. With funding to light, most of the from the Department stories that situate of Canadian Heritage, hometowns and neigh- the plan is to work bourhoods in history’s with teachers, heritage official grand narra- workers and young tives go unheard. This people from communi- is the paradox of stan- ties around Quebec to dardised education. Events acquire their meaning spark fresh thinking about ways youth can learn from through the telling and retelling, but local knowledge, and contribute to their neighbourhoods and home- squeezed from the pedagogical mainstream, is regard- towns. Part of the funding will be used to support lo- ed as insignificant because it isn’t taught. Is it any cal partnerships between schools and community wonder that students find history boring? groups – eligible projects selected for financial support In a world awash in the chatter of smart phones could receive up to $2,000 in development costs. and social media, it may be naïve to hope that Canadi- The program, which runs until June 2012, is at- ans know something about the history and heritage in tracting interest and support from many within Que- their local communities. We live in an age of hyperson- bec’s English school sector who are also looking to re- ic digital communications, after all. In a world remade vitalise what are often considered to be the only insti- into the global village, who cares what country great- tutions left in the province with a clear mandate to grandpa’s family came from? serve English-speaking communities. The InHerit pro- We all should, according to proponents of an ap- gram seems a perfect fit with the current Community proach to pedagogy known as “place-based education,” Learning Centre (CLC) initiative, in particular. In- which presupposes that real-world settings beyond the spired by similar institutions in Europe and supported classroom can also provide valuable learning opportu- by the Ministry of Education with a funding from the nities. Department of Canadian Heritage, the CLC program in Educators have long recognized that the communi- Quebec is based on the idea that schools can and ties in which people grow up and live exercise a mean- should be centres of lifelong learning for the whole ingful influence on the construction of their identities. community. Since 2006, nearly 40 English schools Local heritage, culture, landscapes and of course, peo- around the province have worked with volunteers to ple, do constitute a ready-made foundation for the develop a wide array of grassroots projects that tap into study of language, arts, mathematics, social studies, local curiosity and expertise, many with an intergener- science, and many other subjects. Under the current ational flavour. One of the more intriguing and suc- Elementary students touring the Missisquoi Museum. Photo 6 courtesy of the Missisquoi Museum WINTER 2011 cessful projects last year involved students from Even class trips to the local museum rarely occur, in Princess Elizabeth Elementary School in Magog who part because so few keep regular hours and generally came together with older volunteers to research, de- do so only in the summer months. Ironically, most vol- sign, assemble and sell a series of wooden “bat hous- unteer groups would benefit enormously from the in- es” meant to supply additional local habitat for terests and talents that youth possess in abundance, in- colonies of this beneficial, insect-eating species. cluding their ease with digital communications tech- Local heritage workers who believe that schools nology. So, how should schools and volunteers go have no interest in the work may be surprised to learn about engaging young people in ways that are enrich- that CLC coordinators are, in fact, eager to partner ing for the whole community? with community groups on InHerit-style projects, too. Addressing this question is the main object of a Proposals known to be in development as of mid-De- series of workshops that QAHN is planning to organise cember include creating an historical shipbuilding ex- over the coming months in collaboration with commu- hibit on the Gaspé Coast, recording oral histories of a nity learning centres, in which participating teachers North Shore town’s industrial origin and evolution, and volunteers will be invited to learn, share and brain- making a documentary video about an Eastern Town- storm ideas for getting youth involved in local history ships community’s agricultural roots, and putting to- and heritage activities. During a recent presentation at gether an online exhibit featuring a teenage Loyalist the annual convention of the Quebec Provincial Teach- from southern Quebec who partook in the capture of ers Association in Montreal, QAHN also announced two American warships during the War of 1812. Many that, starting in 2012, its volunteer recognition program more proposals are expected. Students who help create will include a community service award for young the most outstanding local history and heritage projects Quebecers age 13 to 24. Members of the heritage net- in 2012 will be invited by QAHN to present their work work and the public at large are invited to submit nom- at the Young Heritage Leaders fair to be held by inations; the awards will be presented during QAHN’s QAHN in St. Lambert on May 12. annual general meeting and banquet on May 12, 2012 What remains to be seen is whether these emerg- at Champlain College, St. Lambert. ing partnerships will be short-lived or sustainable. A 2009 survey of QAHN-member historical societies, Individuals, youth groups, or student teams who have small museums and heritage conservation groups exhibited dedication and commitment carrying out ac- found that traditional, volunteer-run community groups tivities that support the work of community heritage in the heritage sector have failed, by and large, to con- volunteers, may be nominated for an InHerit Award. nect with younger generations. It turns out that very Complete details and a nomination form may be found few of QAHN’s core groups have any ties to schools or on the QAHN website, www.qahn.org. Nominations teachers in their communities, and a very few would be deadline is March 30, 2012. able to offer any type of structured learning activities.

HOMETOWN HERITAGE ESSAY 1ST ANNUAL CONTEST HERITAGE PHOTO CONTEST! 2012 2012 Open to students in grades 4, 5 and 6 across Quebec! Open to High School Students across Quebec! Cash prizes! Great publishing opportunity! Cash prizes! Great publishing opportunity! Deadline: April 30, 2012 Deadline: April 30, 2012 For contest details, contact QAHN at: For contest details, contact QAHN at: [email protected] [email protected] Tel: (819) 564-9595 Tel: (819) 564-9595 Toll free at: 1 (877) 964-0409 Toll free at: 1 (877) 964-0409

7 QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS Spanning river and time The Powerscourt/Percy covered bridge by Kevin O’Donnell

aturday, October 15 was a cool, showery day. functioning bridge today, but also serves as a symbol But the weather didn’t dampen the spirits of of the harmonious relations between “two universes – approximately 200 people who had gathered two languages, two cultures.” Snear a wooden bridge spanning the Chateau- During his turn at the podium, Jean-Pierre Proulx, guay River close to the Valley towns of Elgin and the former mayor of Elgin and a major figure in the Hinchinbrooke. The crowd had assembled to celebrate restoration saga, noted that Powerscourt /Percy can the 150th anniversary of the erection of the Power- claim to be the oldest covered bridge surviving in scourt Covered Bridge. It is also known as Percy Canada as well as the last example anywhere of a Mc- Bridge, this name possibly surviving from earlier Callum inflexible arched truss bridge. McCallum truss bridges of that name that had washed away. bridges were once common in mid-nineteenth century Fittingly for a road bridge – though built accord- United States and Canada; they solved swaying and ing to “McCallum load-bearing prob- inflexible arched lems encountered truss” plans con- when ever-heavier ceived for the more freight trains rum- rigorous require- bled over wooden ments of a railway bridges of inferior bridge – a parade of design. But by the antique cars figured 1870s railway iron- in the festivities. So truss bridges ren- did a large white dered the wooden tent set up in local McCallums obso- farmer James lete, and they fell Ross’s nearby field, victim to upgrades, its inside walls vandalism and fire. lined with tables The Powerscourt featuring local an- /Percy Bridge re- tiques, crafts and food offerings as well as displays by mains as the last of its kind in existence. organizations involved in the anniversary festivities. Proulx paid tribute to the heritage activism of a lo- Heirloom Timber Frames, a local company, was cal citizen, Alain Guilbault, who also addressed the on hand to explain how they had carried out much of crowd. Guilbault recalled that in the 1970s, while in the restoration work on the elderly and much patched- Montreal’s Central Station, he had come across a book up wooden structure. Along with other publications, on Canada’s covered bridges and discovered the pride the Chateauguay Valley Historical Society sold copies of place wooden bridge aficionados gave to this local of the 1989 issue of their Journal, which featured histo- structure. But he knew that the Powerscourt/Percy rian Robert Passfield’s article on the construction and Bridge was in a serious state of disrepair. historic significance of the bridge. He began lobbying the Elgin town council and The front of the tent was reserved for speeches and concerned citizens about the need to take steps to save special presentations. The MRC du Haut Saint-Lau- the bridge. Former mayor Peter Partridge was sympa- rent, which had coordinated planning committee activi- thetic to the cause, but repair costs were too heavy for ties, had invited a brace of officials from all levels of a small municipality to bear. (Even today fewer than government, as well as Quebec lieutenant-governor 500 people live in Elgin; larger Hinchinbrooke is home Pierre Duchesne and Andrew Parker, the Consul-Gen- to only about 2,400.) eral of the United States in Montreal. Retired judge In 1983 came the grim news that the Quebec Min- John Gomery served as master of ceremonies. istry of Transport would no longer repair the old struc- To give celebrants a historical perspective, Duch- ture, and would even replace it with a concrete bridge. esne noted that the1861 construction project took place The administrations of Elgin and Hinchinbrooke and in the same year that Abraham Lincoln was sworn in as MRC officials began lobbying federal and provincial president of the United States and that the Civil War ministries for heritage designations and financial sup- erupted. For a Canadian context, he noted that 1861 port. Their efforts paid off: the bridge was declared a was the year Sir Charles Stanley, fourth Viscount Mon- historic monument by both government levels in the ck, became governor-general of British North America. ‘80s. Unfortunately heritage designations do not come He went on to say that Powerscourt is not only a fully- with repair funds attached. More years of tugging at Photos: Kevin O'Donnell 8 WINTER 2011

the sleeves of Quebec cultural and transport ministries ensued, but by 2007 the $900,000 neces- sary funding had been put together. Work was completed in 2009. Saeed Mirza, an emeritus professor of civ- il engineering at McGill University and now fa- mous in Montreal for his critiques of the city’s crumbling infrastructure, also addressed the group. lieutenant-governor as he unveiled a plaque marking Professor Mirza had nothing but praise for the original the 150th anniversary. Led by the Elgin District Pipe construction and renovation efforts, noting the prob- and Drum Band, whose haunting bagpipe wails rever- lems that the Powerscourt /Percy builders faced – berated through the structure, the celebrants walked to strong spring floods and eroding banks in particular. the other side of the river through the bridge, which Renovations involved raising the bridge to replace rot- was closed to traffic for the occasion. ten beams and changing the entries to the structure. A simple ceremony – a cloth curtain removed, the Mirza showed pictures of famous covered bridges plaque read, applause, pictures taken – and the event around the world – including early photographs of was over. But people lingered, chatting with neigh- Montreal’s Victoria Tubular Bridge, called the Eighth bours and with the notables from “away” who had Wonder of the World in the 1860s. (The tubular struc- joined them in this tribute to a bridge spanning a river ture was replaced in the 1890s). and time. Although truss designer Daniel Craig McCallum Wooden covered bridges, obsolete for more than a was not directly involved in the building of Power- century, are one of the most popular heritage struc- scourt Bridge, Mirza described the remarkable career tures. But maintaining them can be costly, and, as the of this important figure. With only a limited education, 1983 Ministry of Transport demolition proposal shows, this Scottish-American carpenter-by- trade became a “practical” solutions can threaten to override heritage bridge architect, a pioneer management theorist, a Civ- appeal. The Powerscourt/Percy Bridge was saved be- il War major-general in the Union army – and a pub- cause committed individuals joined with local munici- lished poet. palities and regional administrative organizations in a Mirza also noted that covered bridges not only collaborative effort to obtain the necessary legal pro- protected wooden trusses from the weather, but made it tection and financial resources. Like other heritage tri- easier for skittish horses to cross over rivers. He added umphs such as Wakefield La Pêche’s Fairbairn House that covered bridges acquired reputations with sweet- Heritage Centre, Powerscourt Bridge is a monument to hearts as “kissing bridges”! the tenacity, political skills and hard work of those who Following the speeches, Judge Gomery invited rallied to save it. participants, some dressed in period garb, to join the

Top: Original technical drawing from the Châteauguay Valley His- torical Society Annual Journal, vol. 22, 1989. Below right: Daniel 9 Craig McCallum. QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

HERITAGE: PART OF OUR MEANINGFUL FUTURE Interview with Dinu Bumbaru of Heritage Montreal by Matthew Farfan

As a new feature of the Quebec Heritage News, we will sites or landscapes by growing numbers of people. be asking various experts in the field of heritage their Institutionally, more qualified staff are now in- views on the state of conservation and public policy re- volved in some form of cultural or historical heritage garding heritage in Quebec. activity in municipalities, MRCs or boroughs, as well as in ministries or tourism organizations than ever be- Dinu Bumbaru is a graduate in Architecture from fore. Regulations and similar tools have also evolved. the Université de Montréal and in Conservation Stud- That said, we might be nearing the return of the ies from the University of York in England. Since pendulum as many decision-makers tend to limit the 1982, he has served as impact of heritage ac- Policy Director for tions to regulating good Héritage Montréal, a or bad taste as they shift private not-for-profit or- to economical or green ganization founded to priorities, forgetting encourage the protec- that conserving, enjoy- tion and revitalization ing and looking after of the architectural, one's heritage is a landscape and neighbor- source of sustainable hood heritage of Mon- development. treal. In 2008, Bumbaru was awarded the Order Q: What would of Canada for his con- you say is Quebec’s tributions to the promo- greatest achievement tion and preservation of in heritage terms in heritage, both in Canada and abroad. the last decade?

Q: In your opinion what is the main challenge A: The inclusion of the protection of cultural her- facing heritage preservationists in Quebec today? itage as one of the fundamental principles in the Que- bec Sustainable Development Act presented by A: Their main challenge would be to reinvent and Thomas Mulcair in 2005 or 2006. This is unique, pos- maintain the foundation of their relevance as essential sibly in the world, as sustainable development is the contributors to the future of lively communities, neigh- empire of the green guys. In Quebec, the duty of care bourhoods, towns or regions. Somehow, our job is to for human legacy is part of sustainable development, advocate for a better appreciation of heritage but also stressing the heritage link and the need to acknowledge for the creative process which adds on to it a layer of our valuable accomplishment and the sites, buildings meaningful structures or memorable acts or creations. or landscapes that bear witness. Just like the roots belong to and feed the tree, heritage is not part of the past as much as of the meaningful fu- Q: Locally? ture. Making this our message is quite a challenge. A: Locally, I would say the designation of Mount Q: Have things improved since you first be- Royal as an historic and natural district. Even though it came involved in heritage preservation? If so, in took us 19 years to get this, and even though the what way? boundaries of the district are more founded on political accommodation than on the heritage reality of the A: I started in 1980 and 1981 with studios on mountain (why isn't Westmount more part if it?), it's a restoration and urban architecture, then joined Heritage great achievement to have convinced the whole gov- Montreal in 1982. Sure! Things have greatly improved ernment to proclaim for itself, its institutions (McGill, in Montreal and elsewhere – if anything as a result of Université de Montréal, the McGill University Health greater awareness and enjoyment of heritage buildings, Centre...), and everyone else a duty to do on Mount

10 Photo: Matthew Farfan WINTER 2011

Royal, which is to respect the mountain as a liv- ing heritage landscape at the heart of the metrop- olis. It should inspire others to stop seeing her- itage only as either natural or antiquated and to see the fun and sense of identity that comes from it.

Q: What is your opinion of Quebec’s pro- posed new Cultural Heritage Act, Bill 82? Would this legislation be practical? What are its strengths and/or weaknesses?

A: The process of reflections, learning from our particular history of caring for heritage and it's current situation here, the research on experi- ences and works abroad, and the consultation Minister [Christine] St-Pierre carried out person- ally across Quebec on the Livre vert in 2008 were a remarkable exercise and quite a promising one, following with dignity and aspiration the past at- tempts at giving Quebec a heritage policy starting with Lise Bacon (1987), Agnes Maltais (1999) and Lyne Beauchamp (2006). Yet, the new Cultural Heritage Act, which was adopted unanimously on October 19, 2011, after a very uncertain and slow negotiation between the parties, falls a bit short. It looks more like a cleaning up of the engine with some retooling and an oil change than the reform that would enable us to face major challenges such as we have with religious heritage buildings or the protec- tion of iconic landscapes or builtscapes from banal and demeaning development. There are good ideas in there, but I fear from the lack of connectedness between the ministry and civil society. The more firm duties towards heritage and its protection are duties of the state. We may be headed for some foggy seasons.

Q: What would you say is the most effective way for local heritage groups to get involved in her- itage preservation and promotion?

A: Walk around and talk about it. Know your role and possible contribution and don't try nor pretend to play the roles of others (for example, the authorities). Never stop discovering the many dimensions of what is the normal reality for so many people and share this.

Q: What would you say was your greatest personal heritage success story and/or (if ap- plicable) defeat?

A: Well, I never stop discovering new stuff about what I thought I knew of Montreal and that's already something. Otherwise, I helped to create a concern in the community for these buildings and places of many shapes, origins or ages, and a sense of enjoyment to feel them around and to see the next one built up to the task of making an interesting addition.

11 QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

STEPPING OUT The Birth of Montreal’s Music Industry by Dimitri Nasrallah

The English Language Arts Network (ELAN), as part Light District, and attracted more of a French-speaking of its Recognizing Artists: Enfin Visible! project, com- audience. In the Red Light District venues like the Mon- missioned short histories of English-language Arts and ument National, Chinese Paradise and the Stadium Ball- Culture in Quebec from the dawn of the 20th century room, it became trendy at times for whites and blacks to up to the present day. Excerpts from these histories co-mingle in the same venues. will be published in future issues of Quebec Heritage However, the downtown clubs along St. Antoine News. The full essays are available on-line at Street presented a much different atmosphere. Of closer http://www.que bec-elan.org/histories and they were proximity to the black community, clubs such as Café St- published in September 2011 in the Guernica Essay Se- Michel and Rockhead’s Paradise became legendary for ries with an Introduction by Guy Rodgers. their showmanship, in large part due to their lax race rules. Here, black and white musicians could perform, s archivist Nancy Marrelli notes in her book dance, and drink together freely. The after-hours nature of Stepping Out: The Golden Age of Montreal a lot of these downtown venues meant that many of the Nightclubs, “From the 1920s until the early city’s black and white musicians would work at well-pay- A1950s Montreal had an international reputa- ing gigs uptown or, in the east end earlier in the evening, tion as a glamorous wide open city with a lively collect their pay, and then head down to St. Antoine Street nightlife.” Fueling the growth of the city’s music in- to improvise, jam, and experiment. As such, the birth of dustry was the advent of radio. The first English-lan- Montreal’s jazz scene – as it came to be distinguished guage commercial broadcaster in Canada was Montre- from the more commercial swing and big band of uptown al’s XWA, which would become CFCF in 1920. For clubs – evolved in these boozy and druggy enclaves un- want of entertainment content, CFCF broadcasts often der a mantra of “anything goes.” It was here that, as jazz aired live from Montreal’s hotels and clubs. With the historian John Gilmore notes, “for half a century, more rapid proliferation of radio stations across the continent jazz was made in Montreal than anywhere else in Cana- came affiliation and licensing deals, and these arrange- da.” ments transmitted Montreal’s ample music scene “In Little Burgundy,” internationally renowned jazz across the continent. As a result, Montreal singers and pianist Oliver Jones recalls, “there was the St. Michel, the musicians such as The Melody Kings, Louis Metcalf’s Black Bottom, Rockhead’s and the Latin Quarters. They International Band, and Vera Guilaroff rose to interna- were all in that area. So a lot of white musicians from tional attention. what we considered uptown would come down to listen to the wonderful music played by some tremendous black Montreal’s Jazz & the Working Musician musicians. There were trumpet players like Allan Well- There was lots of work to be had for Montreal musi- man, Ralph Metcalf, and of course Oscar Peterson, Steep cians of the era, and many used the swing and big band Wade, a wonderful family of saxophonists and piano stages as a means to a living. But, as Marrelli describes it, players, the Sealy Family. They unfortunately were in a “the Montreal club scene was one of complex race, class, era that there wasn’t any recording of them to speak of, and language relations, as well as territorial boundaries.” The ‘uptown’ clubs – which were almost exclusively English-speaking – were in what is now considered downtown Montreal, on or close to Ste. Catherine Street West. Even though the black community was at the heart of Montreal’s swing and big-band talent pool of instru- mentalists, they weren’t welcome in all venues and the musicians’ unions set up for white musicians actively dis- criminated against them. In uptown clubs and hotels such as the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Chez Maurice, and the Kit Kat Club, black musicians were welcomed on stage but not in the audiences. The “east-end” clubs were clustered around St. Lau- rent Boulevard and Ste. Catherine Street, Montreal’s Red

12 Calypso singer Lord Caresser at downstairs bar of Rockhead's Paradise Photo by Louis Jaques, © Library and Archives Canada WINTER 2011 and we really missed out on that. Other than Oscar Peter- and was taught to play guitar by Penny Lang. He began son, who was able to bypass all of that and went on to be- publishing volumes of poetry in 1956 and novels in 1963, come our greatest jazz artist throughout the world.” works that earned him considerable success within Cana- In the eyes of many jazz musicians, the career of Os- dian literary circles. In 1967, Cohen moved the United car Peterson was viewed as an exception to the rule. The States and, shortly thereafter, he began recording his early son of Canadian Pacific Railways porter, Peterson was folk songs, which would quickly overshadow his more born in Little Burgundy in 1925, at the height of Montre- literary work while simultaneously bringing the critical al’s swing era and his neigbourhood’s creative heyday. A elements of poetry to folk music in a way that broke with regular of the Montreal club and ballroom circuit of the the more traditional veins of the genre. Though much of 40s, his talents were discovered one day as part of a radio his recording career would develop outside Canada, Co- broadcast, as Verve label impresario Norman Granz was hen’s subject matter was often seen as quintessentially being driven to the Montreal airport. By 1949, the Mon- Montréalais. His brand of folk music elevated his home treal pianist was performing at Carnegie Hall. city’s artistic ambitions to mythical levels. Another Montreal jazz musician to find audiences The folk scene that developed around the universi- during the 50s was Paul Bley, a Montrealer born in 1932 ties in Montreal was inestimably influential on a genera- whose parents came from Eastern-European Jewish roots tion of musicians and music fans. The circuit developed and who had stakes in the city’s thriving textiles industry. around venues in the McGill Ghetto such as the Yellow An important figure in the pioneering of the free and out- Door, the Rainbow, the New Penelope Club, and Café jazz schools of performance, Bley first became active in André. In the early- to mid-60s, folk singers were per- the Montreal jazz scene in the early 50s and founded the forming in numerous coffeehouses throughout the Jazz Workshop in Montreal. Maynard Ferguson was an- McGill Ghetto and other neighbourhoods as well. other major jazz performer to emerge from that era. Born Raised in Saint-Saveur-des-Monts, the McGarrigle in Verdun in 1928, by age thirteen he was considered a sisters had first been taught to play piano by nuns and, child prodigy as a horn player and frequently performed like many others, arrived to Montreal in the early 60s in with the CBC orchestra. pursuit of university degrees. With perfectly bilingual Like all good things, however, Montreal’s jazz hey- days would not last, at least not in their original form. Ar- riving in Montreal in 1952, the television era drastically reduced the numbers of people who went out to see live performances. In October of 1954, Jean Drapeau was elected mayor of Montreal, and shortly thereafter the city underwent a major crackdown on vice and corruption, which included closing many of the jazz clubs along St.Antoine Street. By the end of the crackdown, the Ville Marie Expressway cut along St-Antoine’s north side, di- viding the city in half.

The Post-War Years and Montreal’s Folk Scene Certainly no single artist came to define Montreal’s blend of folk music, poetry, and contemporary romanti- roots, the sisters pulled in influences from both the cism more than Leonard Cohen. Like Oscar Peterson, British and American folk scenes, as well as the French Cohen would outgrow the local scene from which he chanson culture of Edith Piaf. In the mid-60s they often emerged and become an industry unto himself. Born in performed as part of the Mountain City Four. Westmount in 1934 to a middle-class Jewish family, by Though the McGarrigles’ musical activities didn’t the early 50s Cohen was enrolled at McGill University produce international success in the 60s – their first of their ten original albums was released in 1975 – by the early 70s they were already hotly tipped contributors to a growing North American folk scene. Kate McGar- rigle married American singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III, and they produced two children togeth- er, Rufus Wainwright and Martha Wainwright, both of whom are active on the Montreal and international mu- sic scenes today.

Dimitri Nasrallah is a Montreal-based novelist and critic. In November 2011, his book Niko won the Que- bec Drama Federation’s Hugh MacLennan Prize for fiction.

Leonard Cohen - performance at salle Wilfrid Pelletier, Dec. 1970 13 The McGarrigle sisters, Kate and Anna Photo: Peter Brosseau, Library and Archives Canada/PA-170176 QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

1812 Part I: A War of Islands and Rivers by Sandra Stock

Lower Canada Before the War Revolutions had not received any effec- tants of Canada were referred to then) tive support in the colony of Canada. along with the all-important religious n the early nineteenth century most The American invasion of Canada, even differences that counted much more than of Canada was unexplored bush, with the brief occupation of Montreal language or government organization at mostly pristine wild nature, only considered, had been a dismal failure. that time. There had already been on- traversed by some thinly scattered The French-speaking population did not and-off warfare along the Lake Cham- I sympathize with the Americans, even plain-Richelieu River corridor for two aboriginal tribes and even fewer Euro- pean fur traders and explorers. In what though American politicians had expect- hundred years, involving colonists, regu- later became the province of Quebec, ed them to do so. There had always been lar soldiers and various native allies. settlement was only along the major riv- extreme animosity between New France The colony of Canada had also re- er valleys of the St. ceived an influx of Lawrence and the Loyalists from the Richelieu. The only American Thirteen, towns of any size now the United were Quebec, Mon- States. These long- treal and Trois Riv- time North Ameri- ières, plus some cans of mainly Eng- much smaller mili- lish origin (with a tary outposts like significant Dutch and Sorel and Chambly. German percentage The seigneurial sys- as well) were settled tem still determined mostly in what is social and economic now Ontario and the life for the majority Maritime Provinces, of people with a tiny but many, from New professional and York, Vermont and merchant class resi- New Hampshire, dent in the towns and came to Quebec. everyone ruled by They were given the British colonial regime that had, and New England since the beginning of land grants in what became the Eastern merely fifty years previously, replaced settlement in the seventeenth century, Townships, a then unoccupied area the French colonial regime. plus the republican and democratic ideas south-east and south-west of the long However, in the United States and of the American revolutionaries were narrow seigneuries of the St. Lawrence in Europe the world had been changing alien to the cultural milieu of the “Cana- and the Richelieu. radically. The American and French diens” (as the French-speaking inhabi- By 1810, Britain was involved in the war with Napoleon and, although Britain was probably the strongest Euro- At the time of the War of 1812 to 1814, “Canada” meant the Colony of the Two pean power of the time, this was a com- Canadas: the present provinces of Ontario (called Upper Canada) and Quebec plex and almost worldwide war unlike (called Lower Canada). “Quebec” then referred to only Quebec City, as the whole anything experienced previously. territory was not called Quebec again until after Confederation in 1867. The mar- Napoleon had, in a sense, highjacked the itime provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and New- ideals of the French Revolution and set foundland were all quite separate colonies. This whole entity was referred to as up a despotic reign throughout continen- British North America, which also had briefly included the thirteen American tal Europe. The progress of his Grande colonies before the revolution of 1776.The north of everywhere belonged to the Armée was not checked until (like many Northwest Company or the Hudson's Bay Company or was unexplored. Vancouver mistaken others before and after him) he Island and a bit of the British Columbia coast had just recently been explored and decided to invade Russia in 1812. He claimed for Britain but things were rather vague out there. The vast middle, be- was defeated by a vast alien geography yond Lake Superior and out into the Rockies was still unknown for the most part. and the northern winter. Millions died. However, before this, in 1810, 14 Illarion Pryanishnikov, “In the Year of 1812” (Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow.) WINTER 2011

Napoleon had even invaded Egypt and who were ultimately pushed off their the defenses of their very vast North parts of the Middle East – unheard of for territories by an expanding United American territories. Although Quebec any European power since the Crusades. States. was the administrative and cultural capi- This was a very serious threat and Yet for Canada, especially Lower tol, Montreal was the leading economic Britain's main offensive against Canada, the War of 1812 proved to be focus for the entire colony of Canada. Napoleon was through sea power and a the seminal event that established us as The fur trade still dominated as in the naval blockade of any ships trying to an individual nation, rather than a French regime. Also, Montreal was a trade with France. This blockade led to colony, and certainly distinct from the market for agricultural products and was hostilities with the United States, which, United States. beginning to increase the production of fairly enough, resented having its trade industrial goods. and ships interfered with or captured, Montreal was also the obvious and its many seamen taken prisoner. Re- The River and Island Forts transportation hub for almost all the con- lations were not good anyway and, in tinent as all major travel was by water. 1812, the United States declared war on alf a century earlier, still in There were only two roads – the old Britain. living memory of a large seg- Chemin du Roi along the north shore Compared to Napoleon's grandiose ment of the population, Mon- from Montreal to Quebec and the military campaigns into Egypt and Rus- treal had twice been seized Chemin Chambly (as it was later called) sia, the major naval victories of Admiral H on the south shore that linked Longueuil, and occupied by invaders. In 1760, un- Nelson at the Nile and at Trafalgar, and like Quebec, which had held out against Chambly and Laprairie. It took four days the final later defeat of Napoleon at Wa- a lengthy siege and then fought valiantly by coach to travel to Quebec from Mon- terloo, the frontier battles along Canadi- on the Plains of Abraham, Montreal just treal: although a sturdy canoe could ply an rivers don't seem to stand out histori- seemed to roll over and let the British the river route to Quebec in two. Water cally. Also, our part in this war seems army in through its unpopular and dete- was preferable as it was faster and usual- small and inconsequential to British, riorating walls. In 1775, the Americans ly a whole lot more comfortable. French and American historians, and has also just seemed to wander in and take How to defend Montreal, by restor- not captured much of the media atten- over without much opposition. However, ing and beefing up what remained of tion with regard to any 200th anniver- unlike the British, who seemed to do earlier French-regime fortifications, was sary celebrations. The main reason for their best to not completely alienate the the colonial administration’s chief objec- this lack of attention is probably that the local French-speaking and Roman tive. Also, the threat from both British were (and are) more interested in Catholic population, the Americans, Napoleon and, more likely, the expan- Europe and a “big picture” view; their notwithstanding Ben Franklin and sionist new United States, was increas- colonial past is also now considered a bit Fleury Mesplet, wore out any welcome ing. politically incorrect. The French ulti- they might have hoped for within a year. mately lost the war, although many of After the resounding defeat of Mont- Fort Chambly the better ideas of the French Revolution gomery's army at Quebec – like were spread throughout Europe. The Napoleon with Moscow, he took on a ort Chambly, on the Richelieu Americans, with the exception of a bat- fortified city in winter – the Americans River, has been a fortification of tle at New Orleans, lost miserably and went home. some sort for three hundred and had some shockingly inept military lead- After the settlement of the Ameri- fifty years. Early French ers, best forgotten. The 1812-14 conflict can Revolution, the British authorities F colonists noted the natural and strategic was also a disaster for the native peoples began a more serious policy in regard to advantages of the Chambly Basin: locat- Fort de Chambly, engraving, 1814 - McCord Museum MP- 0000.1002.6 15 QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

Charles-Michel de Sal- St-Bruno (the Boucher family), and at aberry, the hero of Longueuil (the LeMoyne d'Iberville Chateauguay, owed family) prospered as established, and for much of his advance- the time and place, wealthy, developed ment in his many areas. spheres of endeavor to In 1760, Chambly surrendered to a his very fortunate mar- large British force as the very small unit riage to Marie Anne of French defenders did not have provi- Julie de Hertel de Rou- sions to withstand a siege. After fifteen ville, a distant connec- years of British occupation, the Ameri- tion of his mother's fam- cans invaded Canada and reached ily. Chambly in 1775. There was a very in- Fort St. Louis, as it ept defense from the British, and the fort was called, at Chambly, was surrendered to the Americans, along was finally rebuilt in with all its supplies. However, as things stone in 1710. The mili- went badly for the Americans elsewhere, tary engineer and map they burnt the fort in June 1776 and left. maker Gédéon de Cata- The walls still stood, but the interior logne insisted that wooden buildings were destroyed. The Chambly be reinforced following year, Governor Sir Guy Car- to withstand current leton had repairs done and installed a means of warfare – gun- garrison. The fort was used to house powder and cannons. By American prisoners of war. After a few the autumn of 1711, the years of peace, the War of 1812 began, ed on the Richelieu, but not too far from new fort was thirty-five feet high at its and Chambly was again the base for the Montreal part of the St. Lawrence by four bastions (towers) and had curtain troop movements and materiel. Over land, it was a portage point just below walls thirty feet high. It was renamed forty more buildings, mostly small, were the rapids and a logical spot for boat Fort Pontchartrain for the minister of added to the defensive complex east of building and stationing sailors. In 1665, Marine and Colonies. The next year a the fort at this time. These housed in- “Captain Jacques de Chambly built a permanent garrison was established. By fantry, cavalry and artillery along with second outpost and a few miles above 1748 Chambly had become a warehouse medical and administrative buildings. As Colonel de Salières saw to the construc- as more forts had been built further many as 6,000 soldiers were resident tion of a third. To link the Richelieu with south, well into the area around Lake here. Montreal, Governor de Courcelle cut Champlain – which was part of New After a bit of furor in the 1837 Re- through the wilderness from Laprairie to France and was divided into seigneuries bellion and again during the Fenian Chambly a strategic highway – the first even though there was not much actual Raids, the fort was deserted and started important road in Canada.” (Angus) settlement or development. This region falling into ruin. Also the greater mili- The first fort had been built at Saurel remained a military outpost and was the tary development upstream at St-Jean re- (now Sorel), at the mouth of the Riche- scene of ongoing skirmishes with New sulted in Chambly loosing importance lieu, by Maisonneuve in 1642, but this England. However, the region around and it was dismantled in 1869. was quite far downstream from Montreal Chambly, St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, St- However, all was not over for Fort and far upstream from Quebec. Mathias, and the good agricultural lands Chambly. In the 1880s, a local citizen, These were wooden forts built near the Monteregian hills of Ste-Hilaire M. Joseph-Octave Dion, started lobby- mainly to protect the nascent colony of (under the Hertel de Rouville family), ing the government about the condition New France from the Iroquois. With more settlement on the land, especially along the two rivers, warfare with the native groups abated but the threat from the New England colonies increased. The area was organized for development at the end of the seventeenth century. In 1672 Jacques de Chambly became the first seigneur. The next year he was sent to Acadia and this huge domain passed to his brother-in-law, François Hertel, who managed it until Chambly's death, then inherited it. The Hertel family were to play an important role in the colony well into the nineteenth century.

16 Top: Plan of Fort Chambly, 1718 - National Archives of Canada, C15885 Bottom: Fort Chambly, 1863 - McCord Museum, I-8139 WINTER 2011 of this now very historic site, and in 1882 the federal government carried out restorations. M. Dion personally re- paired much of the fort himself. From 1965 to 1985 a major archeological dig was conducted at Fort Chambly, and the site was restored (as much as this is pos- sible) to the period of 1718-20. It is now a national historical site of Canada under the direction of Parks Canada.

Ile aux Noix: Fort Lennox

his low-lying island in the Richelieu, named for its walnut trees, is some kilometres south Tfrom Chambly, and was a per- fect strategic location. There was a French-regime fort there, which saw the last battle of the Seven Years War in 1760. The site was briefly occupied, like Chambly, by the Americans in 1775-76. In 1778, the British built a second fort and modified it during the War of 1812 to 1814. This was the first part of the star-shaped fortifications, complete with moat, that we see today. There was also a shipyard on the island, and, perhaps surprisingly to us, there was a major naval action – the Battle of Ile aux Noix the time. bellion, and then became a reform – in 1813, in which two American Unlike the abandoned Fort Cham- school from 1858 to 1862. The military sloops, the Eagle and the Growler (won- bly, Fort Lennox remained a British mil- presence remained however, especially derful names!) were captured. This new itary garrison until 1870. In 1819 to thought important during the Fenian stone fort was called Fort Lennox in 1829, the elaborate stone works which Raids of the 1860s. In World War II, honor of Charles Lennox, Duke of Rich- remain were constructed. The fort was Fort Lennox was used as a safe haven mond, the colonial governor general at used as a temporary jail in the 1837 Re- for Jewish refugees from Europe. Ile aux Noix is now a national historic site of Canada and an important component of the heritage activities of the Lower Richelieu region.

Part Two of “1812: A War of Islands and Rivers” will feature the Battles of Lacolle and Chateauguay and the career of Charles-Michel de Salaberry.

Sources

Several very informative and accurate Parks Canada websites Alexander D. Angus, Old Quebec in the Days Before Our Day, L.Carrier, 1955 Edgar A. Collard, Canadian Yesterdays, Longmans Canada Ltd., 1955 Raymonde Gauthier, Les manoirs du Québec, Fides, 1976 Pierre-Georges Roy, Old Manors, Old Houses, Kings Printer, 1927

Top: Main gate, Fort Lennox, Ile aux Noix, about 1890 - McCord Museum, 17 MP-0000.1022.12. Bottom: Officer's quarters, Fort Lennox, Isle aux Noix, 1892 - McCord Museum, MP-0000.411.29 QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

WRIGHT’S RAFTS The Lumber Baron of Hull by Joseph Graham

hilemon Wright, the founder of the town that fraction of his original dream. His settlement would would become Hull, came north for a business comprise 37 men, 5 women and 21 children, virtually opportunity around the same time as Jedediah all sponsored by him, who agreed to repay his sponsor- PLane acquired the land that would become ship by returning to him the major portions of the land Lachute. He differed in some significant ways from they were granted. In that way, of the 13,200 acres they Lane. Wright was a farmer from Woburn, Massachu- acquired for their settlement, Wright recovered all but setts, and believed in agriculture as the key to the suc- 1,000 acres. The whole process took ten years, from cess of any new settlement. Lane was more of a specu- 1796 to 1806. lator looking to make money through a real-estate At the same time, he accepted to pay a lease to the scheme. Wright tried to find settlers from the newly- Algonquin Indians who had been promised the land in minted province of Lower Canada, but when they did the Proclamation of 1763, not all that long before. not respond, he They welcomed sought people him by visiting from back home, one of his early looking for farm- worksites with ing experience. gifts of maple Lane looked for syrup, and sought people back in an interpreter who Jericho, Vermont, could translate for a rugged mountain them. Why, they area with limited wanted to know, agricultural was he cutting knowledge. His down the very people came for trees that provided the trees. this wonderful Another dif- syrup. The Algo- ference between nquin, descen- the two men was dents of a large, that, while they powerful people both came out in who had blocked the 1790s, Lane Samuel de Cham- acquired a parcel plain from travel- of land in a seigneury and Wright thought he was buy- ling freely on the Ottawa River and had lived and trad- ing four townships: Harrington, Namur, Grandisson ed for thousands of years in the valley, were a small and half of Hull. In Lane’s case, the title was fairly barely functional remnant of their once great nations. clear, even though he did not seem to understand the Struggling to recover from the many new European seigneurial system. Wright’s case was completely dif- diseases that had destroyed their communities and their ferent. Having contracted to pay Jonathan Fassett of culture, they had become refugees in their own forests. Bennington, Vermont, six hundred pounds sterling for They lacked both the numbers and the pride of their his land grant, Wright experienced his first setback. ancestors. They could not resist any kind of incursions Fassett’s grant had been revoked. from colonists. Wright, treating them as one would Another man may have gone after the seller and treat children, suggested that they should have more spent angry years recriminating, but not Wright. He confidence in the wisdom of their father, the King. had become hooked on the Algonquin forests and Eventually, even the charade of a lease was abandoned rivers. He saw good agricultural prospects. Wright had and the Algonquin moved further north to avoid starva- to demonstrate to the government of Lower Canada tion. They lost the great wealth their ancestors had that he was part of a large group wishing to establish a stewarded for thousands of years, an injustice that has community – a colony. Without abandoning his ambi- never been publicly recognized. Even today, some of tion to own a large parcel of land, he focussed on ac- their descendants are treated as squatters on their own quiring the half-lot of the projected township of Hull, a land, unrecognised by our provincial and federal gov- 18 Timber booms, Ottawa River, 1872 - McCord Museum, I-78914.2 WINTER 2011 ernments. featured a white pine. He may have recognized the Lane and his settlers, having had no delays like white pine along the shore when he first sailed up the those that Wright experienced, proceeded to exploit the Ottawa to take possession of his new settlement. Still, new-found wealth in a difficult market period. The de- he saw himself first and foremost as a farmer. mand for logs and the costs of transporting them meant In the early decades of the nineteenth century, that it was more worthwhile to burn the trees and sell wheat was vying with furs as Lower Canada’s major by-products, such as potash and lye that they could export. The lumber market was growing, and would make from the ashes. They saw the forests as a quickly surpass the other two, but Wright saw wheat as the harvestable cash crop, but because they lacked farming backbone of the economy in his small settlement. By experience, they became dependent upon others for 1810, he had erected mills, and he was producing pota- food. By 1810, those who had made cash could leave, toes, oats, corn, hemp and wheat. His wheat crop alone but the remaining community succumbed to famine rose from 3,000 bushels in 1813 to over 35,000 in and collapsed. It was Thomas Barron and a group of 1820 and 76,000 three years later. He also maintained fellow Scots with a strong farming background who prize herds of cattle. By 1817, of the 135 labourers rescued the agricultural land and set Lachute on its hired in the township, 120 worked directly for him. path to prosperity. Meanwhile, Wright thought himself From 1819, as land agent for the Crown he was a farmer from the outset. accused of corruption and unfair practices, and while it Wright’s determination to farm meant that his is clear his powers were equivalent to those of a des- small community gave priority to producing the food pot, his behaviour would have to be judged as desper- needed to sustain it, and this, coupled with his 10-year ate, given the huge debt he was acquiring to maintain delay in starting, his operations. Noth- meant that the Algo- ing would interfere nquin forests in Hull with his vision of a Township were still healthy agricultural standing when community, even the Napoleon effectively absence of money. An blocked British access ambitious optimist, he to the Russian port of teetered on the verge Riga and its supply of of bankruptcy, and as pine. his sons grew, they The British Em- learned to play a bal- pire boasted the largest ancing act to keep his navy under sail in the empire safe. history of the world. In spite of his pri- Aside from countless orities, market forces merchant ships, there drove his operations, were hundreds of bat- and lumber was the tle ships patrolling the most ready source of ports and seas, all in cash. He floated rafts constant need of repair or replacement. A ship of the of wood down the Ottawa to the mighty St. Lawrence line could be 170 feet long, its hull and solid wood su- and on to Quebec City right from the beginning of the perstructure built to withstand the forces, not just of lumber boom, acquiring most of the lumber from other the sea, but also of the 74 cannons mounted on its two landowners. In so doing, he no doubt helped them es- decks. The mainmast itself was made from a single tablish prosperous farms, but in time, as their wood ran timber 11 storeys high, with a base diameter of three out, he began to harvest his own vast holdings. He al- feet and little tapering to the crown. One boat required so owned and controlled industries including brick- over twenty masts and spars, each a unique timber, and works, cement manufacture and even a mining compa- the forests of the British Isles had long been exhausted. ny. He built chutes along the river and eventually he As well as size, masts and spars had to be able to partnered in the building of a steamship, the Union of flex under sail. The perfectly tapering pines of Norfolk Ottawa, to control his huge lumber rafts. Island off the coast of Australia would “snap like a car- Lumber was tied into cribs of 20 logs, round in the rot” under load, according to Robert Hughes, author of early days, but eventually squared, and the cribs were The Fatal Shore, the story of the British colonization of then assembled into rafts that could join as many as Australia. seventy cribs. Their crew could be 35 to 60 men, de- Philemon Wright had fought in the Battle of pending on the size of the raft, and included cabins, Bunker Hill during the American War of Independ- cookhouses, sails and steering oars. When arriving at ence, and in that war the British had lost access to the the rapids, the cribs would be separated and run down huge pine forests of New England. He may have individually over rapids or, once they were built, known that the first American flag of independence through the chutes. They were reassembled below. Liv-

Henry DuVernet, "A View of the Mill and Tavern of Philemon 19 Wright at the Chaudière Falls, Hull on the Ottawa River, Lower Canada," 1828 QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS ing on a raft became a way of life, as it floated slowly some delivery technique. under the power of the currents to Quebec City. Sails Philemon preached the stability of agriculture and the steering oars could only serve to urge or cajole whenever his finances threatened to topple his empire. the large, floating islands this way or that and with He had offered £600 for three-and-a-half townships in enough planning, it was usually possible to tie up to 1796 but he was paying £2,000 a year for supplies by the shore or to the long docks that would be built for 1819. By 1826, he had committed to a mortgage of them. £12,000 just to secure a part of his debt. The bucolic Ruggles and Tiberius, Philemon’s two sons, were life of the farmer carried great appeal to Wright and his early captains of these large, unwieldy craft, but Phile- sons, and they did maintain their farming operations, mon himself captained the very first one, dubbed the even introducing Hereford cattle from England, but Columbo, in 1806. It consisted of 700 logs and 9000 their debts grew faster than their crops. boards along with thousands of staves, those oak Their adventures were compounded and compli- planks that would eventually be curved into shape for cated with the arrival of Colonel John By across the shipbuilding. His were white oak and he set them on river, and they lost good employees to the interloper. the cribs of logs. Trying to float them would have been They learned that By was a tough taskmaster when difficult, since they were not buoyant and may have they contracted to build diversion dams and a bridge dragged too deeply in the water. The staves were his for his Rideau Canal project. Having a new presence guaranteed cash product, and he had negotiated a good across the river in Upper Canada also caused jurisdic- price should he be able to deliver before the end of Ju- tional problems, and in 1825 the deputy sheriff of ly of that year. Bathurst district seized a raft that Tiberius was captain- He set off on June 11, floating 20 cribs, each about ing. To pull off the seizure, fearing that the Lower 24 feet wide, and a crew of five that included his son Canadians would resist with canon and other arms, Tiberius – the first logging raft to attempt the Ottawa. they rounded up 50 ‘ruffians’ and armed them with They broke the cribs apart at Long Sault and again at every gun on the By side of the river, including two the Carillon, losing one crib in the process of floating them Wrights had left there for safe-keeping. The raft was through the rapids. The cribs had to be reassembled af- confiscated, but, while the records refer to bloodshed, terwards, and Wright’s judgement was that the missing Wright and his crew never resorted to their cannon as crib would have to be replaced. Historians don’t know had been feared. They were never compensated for the whether this was a sign of Wright’s extravagant pride raft either. or whether it was really necessary for the stability of Wright was elected to the Assembly and held the raft, but it caused delays. Next, he chose Rivière every other important position; he secured the first des Prairies to avoid the Lachine rapids and, once he school in Hull, built roads and even captained the Ar- won his way into the St. Lawrence, he discovered that genteuil militia, but he never succeeded in achieving his craft could not withstand the strong currents, caus- financial stability, and his empire was on bankruptcy’s ing further delays and hardships. doorstep at the time of his death in 1839. He built He failed to respect the contract, arriving on Au- Wrightstown, and it was named for him, but he is cred- gust 12, and it took him until the end of November to ited with encouraging the town to adopt its official sell his lumber to new buyers. After that, he took the name from the township of Hull. long journey home through the early winter country- side. Joseph Graham is writing a book on the history of the Years later, a large raft Ruggles captained – there Ottawa Valley, of which this is an excerpt. were up to 8 a year – just about took out the British Merchant Marine stationed at Quebec as it caught an Principal references: outgoing tide, hurling past the port. It turned around on the incoming tide and had a second run at the fleet, the John W. Hughson, Hurtling Down the Pine whole incident caricaturing the chaotic management of G.R. Rigby, The History of Lachute the Wright family as they pioneered this new, cumber- “Philemon Wright,” Dictionary of Canadian Biography

20 WINTER 2011

TENTATIVE TOLERANCE Quebec’s Jackie Robinson paradox by Bill Young

This is the third part of Bill Young’s the field and in life Robinson had re- the average American urban centre. Quebec and the Integration of Baseball vealed himself to be the epitome of The bemused Petit Journal called the series, with reflections on the nature of courage and grace under fire. signing a plus for Montreal, and offered racism for Black History Month. As might be expected, Rickey’s de- assurances that the city would welcome cision was greeted with all combinations Robinson with open arms. Indeed, when hortly before Branch Rickey, of shock, praise and derision – “a base- the Robinsons looked for lodgings in general manager of the Brook- ball bomb,” le Petit Journal called it. Montreal, they moved into a completely lyn Dodgers, undertook his The Commissioner of Minor League French-speaking area: it never occurred S“Great Experiment” aimed at Baseball, Judge William Bramham, por- to them to restrict their selection to a shattering baseball’s colour barrier and trayed Rickey as a carpetbagger: black neighbourhood. And, not surpris- signed Jackie Robinson to a Montreal “Whenever I hear a white man, be he ingly, when called upon, the city did in- Royals contract, he outlined the plan to from the North, East, South or West, deed emerge as a welcoming and gener- his friend Lowell Thomas. Visibly broadcasting what a Moses he is to the ous host: “From the first, the French- shocked, the nationally respected Ameri- Negro race, right then I know the Negro Canadian fans had taken to Robinson.”5 can broadcaster cautioned: “Branch, all needs a bodyguard!” The great Satchel This warming spirit went a long way to- hell will break loose!” A confi- ward ensuring that his transition dent Rickey replied: “No, Low- into untested waters would be ell. All heaven will rejoice.”1 smooth as possible. Throughout his long career However, Rickey would in baseball, Rickey had always have also been sufficiently as- considered the game’s institu- tute to recognize that the city tionalized segregation not only and the province were not with- anathema to the sport but an af- out their own share of racial is- front to his sense of social jus- sues. After all, this was still the tice. When he finally saw an op- era when the upscale Ritz Car- portunity to do something about leton Hotel rashly sought to ban it in the waning days of World Montreal-born jazz pianist Os- War II he took action. Recog- car Peterson from playing its nizing that his intervention ballroom; and when the equally would have a major impact on posh Chateau Frontenac in Que- the evolution of civil rights no bec City would not register matter what the result, he chose blacks who showed up without carefully – both the man who reservations, and actively dis- would first cross the invisible line and Paige was encouraging: “they could not couraged them from eating in its main the community that would receive him. have picked a better man.” Fire-balling dining room; and when the permanent The result was “a truly major accom- pitcher Bob Feller was guarded: “I hope black community in the province was plishment in both baseball and the larger he makes it good. But frankly, I don’t pretty well isolated within the Little American society.”2 Robinson acknowl- think he will.” The St Louis-based Burgundy section of Montreal and de- edged as much toward the end of his ca- Sporting News, baseball’s bible, was pended on the railroads for much of its reer in a series of articles that appeared cool and unimpressed: “Robinson has survival.6 in Look Magazine in 1955. “Most peo- not been signed by the Dodgers,” it Dorothy Williams, a historian who ple probably don’t realize how much huffed, “and insofar as has been dis- specializes in Black Canadian history, racial prejudice has been broken down cerned, will never play for the Brooklyn believes that racism was in fact a major, by Mr. Rickey’s determination to put club at the National League level.”4 if not obvious, source of social tension Negroes into major-league baseball,” he Rickey decided to centre his experi- in Montreal at the time. Contrary to the offered. “During the last eight years, ment in Montreal, which of all the com- beneficent declarations made at the when Negroes became identified with munities with Dodger farm clubs Jackie Robinson signing, “the perceived baseball, a lot of other Americans began seemed the least divided along colour climate of [racial] tolerance in Montreal to look upon them in a new light.”3 On lines, and was certainly far less so than was a myth.” She underscores the stark

Jackie Robinson signs his contract with the Brooklyn 21 Dodgers as Branch Rickey looks on QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS disconnect that separated the perception the integration of professional baseball – agreement with the Aces, had called of broad acceptance enjoyed by the and, for that matter, football and hockey O’Ree up for a two-game trial. Coinci- black athlete from the real hardships en- – took place in Montreal, and Quebec, dentally, during this interval, his room- dured by Montreal’s permanent black even as the province’s black community mate was Fleming MacKell, a Montreal community: “From the beginning, Jackie lay pinioned beneath a stifling form of native. O’Ree deeply appreciated the Robinson was well received on and off racism that left it isolated and bereft of significance of the moment. “On the the field. He became a lasting source of opportunity? There is no ready answer night of January 18, 1958, I became the pride for the city, proof that Montreal except to acknowledge that somewhere first black man to play in the NHL. had a high degree of racial tolerance. within the ever-changing ebb and flow Nothing was made of it in the papers or But racial tolerance was not so evident between the ready acceptance of black on the radio and TV. Nobody called me to Blacks living in Montreal. They expe- sports figures and the attenuated intoler- the ‘Jackie Robinson of Hockey’ then, rienced severe discrimination in jobs, in ance of Montreal’s white populace, but that’s how I felt… I was in a place housing and in the city’s social life.”7 some measure of accommodation found where no black man had ever been.”12 Jazz musician Oliver Jones made a the light of day. O’Ree did get one more chance similar observation in a brief comment 1940s’ sports fans in Quebec loved with the Bruins, during the 1960 season about the brilliant Oscar Peterson. Both their heroes, and if these happened to be when he garnered 14 points in 43 games. men were raised in the black community black, even more so, because of the He remained in the game for an extend- described by Williams. “Back then, there verve and exoticism they brought to ed period, mostly in the Western Hockey was not a great amount of opportunity their sport. Throughout the decade, League where he once again teamed up for young black musicians,” Jones hockey fans thronged to watch three with friend and teammate Stan Maxwell wrote, “other than finishing high school black players – Manny McIntyre (also a and his former roommate MacKell. and going to work on the railway. Men baseball pioneer) and his line-mates Montreal was also home to the inte- who came from different parts of the Herbie and Ossie Carnegie of Toronto – gration of football in Canada. In 1946, globe had degrees, but were stuck shin- wield their magic on ice rinks across the the newly-formed Montreal Alouettes, ing shoes and having to work on the rail- province. Often called the “Dark De- anxious to capitalized on the popularity road because of their colour.”8 stroyers,” they had come together as a Jackie Robinson enjoyed in the city, re- Clearly, Montreal was not a city line in 1940 playing for the Buffalo cruited Herb Trawick, a highly regarded free from racism when Jackie Robinson Ankerite mining company’s hockey African-American graduate of the “all- came to town. The lot of Montreal’s team in Timmons, Ontario. coloured institute of learning,” Kentucky black community was not made better In 1944, the three signed on with State University 13. “He was a revelation by his presence, nor did attitudes or op- the Shawinigan Cataracts of the Quebec almost from the opening whistle” wrote portunities noticeably improve upon his Provincial League, presaging the star- Montreal Gazette columnist Dink Car- arrival. Throughout this period, the dom that was to follow for the next sev- roll.14 Trawick enjoyed a stellar 12-year white community continued to embrace eral years. One year later, the trio career in Montreal and was elected to its own form of racism – different per- moved to Sherbrooke, where they con- the CFL Hall of Fame in 1975. During haps, more subtle, from what one found tinued to display their skill and draw his Alouette years Trawick took up pro- in the United States, but in its own way, fans wherever they went. When the line fessional wrestling and became a great just as pernicious. Up here, because the disbanded following the 1949 season, fan favourite, always in the role of the black population was miniscule, “white Herbie took his formidable talent to good guy. Trawick remained in Montreal Canadians could afford to be indifferent Quebec City, joining superstar Jean Be- following retirement. He died in 1885, at to their fellow blacks, and for the most liveau on the hometown Aces. age 64. part they were.”9 And that perhaps was The fourth black hockey player to Trawick was not only the first black the unkindest blow of all. make it to the professional ranks, once player in the Canadian game, but also Nevertheless, Rickey was con- again in Quebec, was Stan Maxwell, in one of the first professional African- vinced “there was no deep tradition of 1955. After playing junior hockey in American footballers anywhere. The Quebec, the Truro, Nova Scotia native racism in Canada.”10 And, at least when rigidly white National Football League put in four solid years with the Aces, un- applied to spectator sports in Quebec, had been forced to bend in 1946 when til the league disbanded in 1959. He this generalization seemed valid, for the Los Angeles Rams signed first Ken- went on to enjoy a long career in the over the years Quebec had shown itself ny Washington and then Woody Strode, Western and International Hockey receptive toward sports figures of two black back-fielders from UCLA. Leagues. colour. Dink Carroll of the Montreal Perhaps not surprisingly, Jackie Robin- In 1956, Willie O’Ree, also from Gazette ascribed this acceptance to “the son had been a UCLA teammate of both the Maritimes, joined Maxwell in Que- absence here of an anti-Negro sentiment men. Robinson was the only UCLA ath- bec. A year later he made hockey history among sports fans,” adding that it “was lete ever to letter in four sports – foot- when he became the first black player to what Mr. Rickey doubtless had in mind ball, basketball, track, and baseball. participate in a regularly scheduled Na- when he chose Montreal as the locale of In 1946, the Cleveland Browns of tional Hockey League game, fittingly his history-making experiment.”11 the up-start All-American Football Con- against the Canadiens in Montreal. The And therein lies what one might call ference (AAFC) signed two African- Boston Bruins, which enjoyed a working the Jackie Robinson Paradox: how is it American players, Bill Willis and Mari-

22 WINTER 2011 on Motley. Willis had been head coach phies, and both had similar reactions to not really welcome at the local Satur- and athletic director at Kentucky State, the treatment they received from the day-night dance, or not bothering to visit Trawick’s alma mater, and was consider- fans on and off the ice. Speaking of his a new housing development because you ing the Montreal Alouettes when the time with the Quebec Aces, O’Ree have learned that your offer to purchase Browns opened the door. 15 wrote: “[Stan Maxwell] and I were the will be courteously, but firmly, turned All this to say that by the end of only two black guys in the Quebec down. 1946, the seminal year in the history of League, and we were treated like royalty Perhaps most hurtful was integration of sports in America, a total in Quebec City. The problems happened Carnegie’s inability to break into the of 13 black athletes played on profes- when we were on the road… Every time NHL. It had been his life-long dream, sional teams in the United States and I played in Chicoutimi I had problems… and he knew he possessed the skill. His Canada. Six were engaged in baseball, As soon as I hit the ice I could hear the one chance came at the start of the 1948 five in football and three hockey players. chants and name calling. ‘Maudit nègre’ season when the New York Rangers in- (Note: Manny McIntyre played both was the most common one.”18 vited him to attend their pre-season baseball and hockey). Of those, eight Carnegie made a similar observa- training camp. He was ready: “On a dai- plied their trade in Quebec. Two others, tion in his autobiography A Fly in a Pail ly basis for ten years, I had been prepar- Roy Campanella and Don Newcombe, of Milk.19 “The out-of-town crowds ing myself both mentally and physical- would later spend time in Montreal be- demonstrated a mixed reaction. On the ly.” He was certain he would make the fore establishing themselves with the one hand, they would applaud us polite- team, until manager Franck Boucher in- Dodgers. ly. On the other, they hurled epithets at formed him he was being sent to the Clearly, when it came to the ques- us. Most often we heard ‘Maudit noir’ or Rangers’ American Hockey League farm tion of racism and spectator sports in ‘Maudit nègre’…Opposing players, club in New Haven. “I just want to be Quebec in the period immediately fol- however, never resorted to such demon- sure,” said Boucher. lowing World War II, Dink Carroll was strations of verbal ignorance… Our on- “I just want to be sure.” Carnegie right. What he called could interpret racist “the absence here of an code as well as the anti-Negro sentiment next person. Devastat- among sports fans” ed, he turned his back was already opening on the offer and re- doors for minority-ath- turned to Sherbrooke, letes, doors that else- where he knew he where remained firmly could make more closed.16 money – and be better appreciated. n 1946, early in “I was certain that spring training, I had the talent, the the Montreal skill and the attitude to Royals were play in the NHL. The I only thing I lacked, to scheduled to play an exhibition game the everlasting shame against the Jersey City of the NHL, was white Giants in Jacksonville, Florida. At the ice successes and our colour brought us skin.” It now seemed to him that a re- last minute it was cancelled by city au- the lion’s share of media and fan atten- mark made some years ago by Conn thorities solely because of the presence tion,” he wrote. “There were times when Smythe, the owner of the Toronto Maple of Jackie Robinson and his black team- we won applause in the opposition’s are- Leafs and a major force in hockey cir- mate John Wright. “It is part of the rules na. Given the highly partisan nature of cles who saw Carnegie perform, had cut and regulations of the Recreational De- fans, we considered it as the ultimate a very broad swath. “I’ll give $10,000” partment,” said a municipal representa- compliment.” Smyth reportedly said, “to the man who tive, “that Negroes and whites cannot But such observations were separate can turn Herbie Carnegie white.” In compete against each other on a city- from the reality of daily living, where, other words, as a black man Carnegie owned playground.”17 no matter how vigilant, one could be had no value; as a white man, he was While conditions in Quebec were blindsided by unforeseen systemic acts priceless. diametrically contrary to those decreed of racism. These were almost harder to To Carnegie, the dream that he in Jacksonville, it was a fact that, no bear than an opposing fan’s ugly taunts. would play in the NHL, that one day matter how popular black players were “When [my wife Audrey and I] were Foster Hewitt would “announce my playing in front of home fans, they could confronted by racist attitudes, action and name to hockey fans from coast to never really escape the incipient racism behaviour, naturally our feelings were coast,” was so real that when it went un- that was the bane of their existence. hurt,” noted Carnegie. He gave exam- fulfilled it generated a lifetime of hurt. Both Carnegie and O’Ree spoke fre- ples: entering a restaurant wondering if “The pain has never left me,” he wrote. quently of racism in their autobiogra- you will be served, sensing that you are It was a hard lesson. Despite accept-

Cartoon published in a St. Jean weekly in 1949 when the club was on a win- 23 ning streak. It is not difficult to determine which of the players are African- American QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS ance on the field of play, once away der, I was sitting up front. I was home We had found an apartment which was from it, the black athlete was still sub- and knew more than ever the truth of my the most important thing, in a support- ject to segregation’s bitter slings and ar- life. I was going to be a hockey play- ive, friendly neighbourhood.” She was rows. That fact remained a disturbing er.”21 surprised and delighted that the Québe- constant far longer than it took profes- It was experiences like those coise who greeted her spoke some Eng- sional sport to become fully integrated. brooked by O’Ree – or, to be more pre- lish. “She received me so pleasantly,” Sometimes racism can best be coun- cise, their absence – that attracted black Rachel said. “Then she poured tea for tered through humour. Stan Maxwell ball players to Quebec. They understood me and agreed to rent the apartment to provided a wonderful example with the they were stepping into a white man’s me furnished and she insisted I use her perfect off-the-cuff response to a re- world in a foreign land, but they also things – like her linens and her china. It porter’s awkward question about him knew that at the very least they would be was an extraordinary welcome to Cana- and Willie O’Ree when the tandem was welcomed and given the chance to play. da.” teammates with Los Angeles in the In a recent letter to the Montreal More than six decades later, given Western Hockey League. During a post- Gazette, Quebec historian Sam Allison the current widespread belief that racism game interview, the host asked “how had this response to an Op-ed piece on is a problem in Montreal, it is easy to ro- come the two of you are such fast racism in Quebec: “In ‘colonial Canada’ manticize – or, worse, trivialize – the skaters?” Maxwell never hesitated. “If from 1783 onward…both native peoples importance of the Robinsons’ home life you were one of only two black men out and African-Americans realized that that summer. “What was nourished there there playing on that ice,” he said, “and Canada was no paradise.” Nevertheless, in that house…had widespread influence all those white guys were chasing after both groups were quite pragmatic in rec- in our society,” Rachel Robinson told you, I am sure you could skate fast ognizing that this so-called “colonial sta- the Canadian Press in 2011.25 “It’s too.”20 tus” was still “infinitely better than the where the experiment started and the ex- Some years earlier O’Ree had run alternative to the south.”22 periment went on to be a national suc- into a level of virulent racism that truly The African-American and dark- cess, so it led to something.” shocked him. Although hockey was the skinned Hispanic ball players who had Montreal’s French Canadian fans cornerstone of his career, he was also a been excluded from the integrated game had taken to Robinson from the begin- pretty good ball player, and in 1954 he before Jackie Robinson, and who now ning: the hospitality the couple experi- was offered a minor-league try-out with turned toward Quebec in large numbers, enced on de Gaspé Street “was, in part, the Milwaukee Braves. He was given an would have agreed with Allison. The an extension of the adulation at De- airplane ticket and flown to the club’s majority came via the Negro Leagues, a lormier Downs.”26 There is a story that, training facility in Waycross, Georgia, venerable institution that had kept base- one day Jackie was walking down the on the edge of the Okefenokee Swamp. ball alive and well within black America street and a neighbour driving by He was a black Canadian man about to since the late nineteenth century. Negro stopped to offer him a lift. The driver be dropped into the heartland of the baseball was losing its lustre, however, vaguely recognized Jackie as being from Deep South. It was a revelation. and as players kept hearing that Quebec the vicinity, but other than that had no What with the “Whites Only” and had a lot to offer, the province quickly idea who he might be. When Robinson “Colored Only” washrooms in the At- became a destination of choice. indicated he was headed to the ball park, lanta airport, the all-black hotel “recom- One of the drawing cards was the the neighbour replied that he was only mended” to him by a cab driver, and cordial greeting proffered by the Fran- going part way but could take him at “the Waycross dorm with eight to ten cophone population in their host com- least him that far. In recounting the sto- other ballplayers… black guys like me,” munities. Jackie’s Robinson’s wife ry years later, the neighbour said that, he “got the picture all too well.” Rachel has often commented on this had he realized just how famous his pas- The final affront occurred when he nar- generosity, especially when she and senger would become, he would have rowly avoided a nasty confrontation at a Jackie first moved into their modest driven him right to the stadium!”27 Waycross drug store on a Sunday fol- lower duplex on de Gaspé Street, a very One of the reasons French Canadi- lowing church “with a group of white Francophone area – and how deeply it ans warmed to Robinson and black guys sitting at the soda fountain… Sure affected the rest of their lives. Neigh- ballplayers in general might simply be a enough they started in with racial re- bours “were friendly, they were protec- reflection of just how seldom they had marks and name calling… We got out of tive, they were supportive,” she said. “It reason to interact with people of colour, there before there was real trouble.” was not something that I’d have expect- almost regarding them as ‘exotics’ alien By the end of his second week at ed.”23 to the natural landscape.28 Consequent- camp, O’Ree was ready to call it quits. Rachel had selected the flat, more ly, according to Bill Brown, author of This time there was no plane ticket; he or less at random, from a list of possible Baseball’s Fabulous Montreal Royals, had to take the bus home. “The trip was lodgings around Delormier Stadium. while Montreal “like other places, had five days long, so that meant I was at the Somewhat amazed, she told biographer its own sources of social tension…they back of the bus for nearly three days. I Jules Tygiel: “The first apartment I said weren’t the same as those in the United was only allowed out to use the wash- I wanted I got… That alone was very States.” In these parts, social cleavages room or grab a sandwich at a rest stop… exciting.”24 Much later she elaborated: were more likely to be based on linguis- By the time we got to the Canadian bor- “We were not looking for black people. tic and religious matters than skin

24 WINTER 2011 colour.29 leader Pierre Vallières published a high- ley, Hockey’s Black Pioneer: The Auto- However, this did not mean that the ly controversial jeremiad called Nègres biography of Willie O’Ree (Som- Francophone population was free of blancs d’Amérique (White Niggers of merville House Publishing, 2000), 59 racist tendencies. In fact, racial stereo- America), in which he compared the sor- 13. Montreal Gazette, August 26, 1946 types in casual conversation were com- ry circumstances of what he considered 14. Dink Carroll, “Trawick Helped Als mon – for example, swarthy Quebec a colonized French Canadadian society Get Off On Right Foot,” Montreal men were often referred to, in jocular with the civil rights struggles consuming Gazette, September 20, 1985 fashion, as ‘p‘tit nègre’ – while within America at this same time. Le Devoir 15 Wikipedia, “Bill Willis” the popular media offensive cartoons called his somewhat autobiographical 16. http://quebec.sabr.org/1940.htm and jokes appeared frequently. work “le meilleur document québécois 17. Tygiel, “Il a gagné ses épaulets” in During the era often referred to as sur le bouillonnement de ces années-là.” Tygiel, Jackie Robinson Reader, 107 La grande noirceur, Quebec was very 31 18. O’Ree, 50 different from the dynamic pacesetter it Thus it was that the visage present- 19. Herb Carnegie, with Robert Payne, is today. Ham-strung by the ultraconser- ed to black baseballers migrating into A Fly in a Pail of Milk: The Herb vative politics of Premier Maurice Dup- French-speaking Quebec appeared any- Carnegie Story (Mosaic Press, 1997), lessis’ Union National government and thing but intimidating. Rather, to them, 103 the over-arching authority of the Ro- weary from the uncertain travails of the 20. “Sports Accomplishments of Truro’s man-Catholic Church, French-Canadi- Negro Leagues and searching out new Maxwells”, prepared by the Maxwell ans, especially those living in the hinter- hope, it was almost inviting. family for the Truro Sport Heritage So- land, found themselves offered few op- For to a man, they recognized that ciety: portunities and little hope – unlike their as a consequence of Jackie Robinson’s http://www.colchestercountysporthalloff English-speaking counterparts. In a time courage, and the willingness of Quebe- ame.com/documents/pastEvent/Maxwell of limited pleasures, playing or cheering cers to give him a chance, their universe Book.pdf on the home team in baseball or hockey was about to open onto untold potential. 21. O’Ree, 42-43 became a source of great joy – and, in a To them, Jackie Robinson was no 22. Sam Allison, Letter to the Editor, winning season, pride. Any player who myth, his legacy no flight of fancy. They Montreal Gazette, September 30, 2011. could help make that happen was all knew. They were living it. The Op-ed piece was: Charmaine Nel- right in their books. son, “Racism is alive and well in Cana- History has shown that the societal Footnotes da,” Montreal Gazette, September 18, frustrations borne by Francophones of 1. Lee Lowenfish, Branch Rickey: 2011 this era ultimately spawned the seeds of Baseball’s Ferocious Gentleman (Uni- 23. Sidhartha Banerjee, “Montreal was discontent that gave rise to the Quiet versity of Nebraska Press, 2007), 379 honeymoon for Jackie Robinson and Revolution of the 1960s and the up- 2. Lowenfish, 384 wife,” CIReport.ca, Canadian Press, heavals that followed. As Montreal Po- 3. Milton Cross, “Now I Know Why February 27, 2011 litical Scientist Herbert F. Quinn wrote They Boo Me,” in Jules Tygiel, The 24. Jules Tygiel, Baseball’s Great Ex- in 1963, French Canadians “strongly re- Jackie Robinson Reader (Plume Books, periment: Jackie Robinson and his sented the fact that the ownership and 1998), 200 Legacy (Oxford University Press, control of their province’s wealth and 4. Bill Young, “Jackie Robinson and the 1993), 124. natural resources were in the hands of 1946 Montreal Royals,” 25. Banerjee, CIReport.Ca February 27, foreigner capitalists, [particularly Eng- http://quebec.sabr.org/1940.htm 2011 lish and American] while the French 5. Jules Tygiel, “Il a gagné ses épaulets” 26. Tygiel, Baseball’s Great Experiment, Canadians had become, to use the ex- in Tygiel, Jackie Robinson Reader, 116 124 pression popular at the time, ‘hewers of 6. John Gilmore, Swinging in Paradise: 27. Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay wood’ and ‘drawers of water.’” Indeed, The Story of Jazz in Montreal (Véhicule told this story speaking at the unveiling French Canadians commonly saw them- Press, 1988), 103. Oliver Jones quoted of a commemorative plaque at the home selves as the underclass of Quebec soci- in Bernard Peruse, “Dropping the needle the Robinson’s occupied in 1946, 26 ety, not unlike their perception of on a Lifetime,” Montreal Gazette, Octo- February, 2011. African-Americans in the U.S., and in ber 29, 2011 28. Tygiel, Baseball’s Great Experiment, some ways this unconscious connection 7. Dorothy W. Williams, “The Jackie 124 brought them closer to their baseball- Robinson Myth: Social Mobility and 29. Quoted in Banerjee, CIReport.Ca playing guests. Much like American Race in Montreal, 1920-1960,” MA February 27, 2011 blacks, their nemesis was “the man.” Thesis, Concordia, 1999, iii-iv. 30. Herbert F. Quinn, The Union Na- To Quebecers, “the man” was English 8. Quoted in Peruse tional: A study in Quebec Nationalism and rich, the boss in a crippling world of 9. Robin Winks, The Black in Canada: (University of Toronto Press, 1963) big business beyond their ken.30 A History (McGill-Queens University 31. Louis Hamelin, ‘Il y a quarante ans, This identification with black Amer- Press, 1971), 36 Nègres blancs d’Amérique,’ Le Devoir, ica was sufficiently vivid that in 1968, 10. Lowenfish, 380 26 April, 2008 as the first flames of the Quebec sepa- 11. http://quebec.sabr.org/1940.htm ratist movement began to crackle, FLQ 12. Willie O’Ree with Michael McKin-

25 QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

TARZAN MAKES A SPLASH Dipping into the History of Verdun’s Natatorium by Rohinton Ghandhi

t was a dark, wet Wednesday after- On June 14th, 1940, a month before 2,000 spectators paid the 50-cent admis- noon: March 2nd, 1938. Reporters the pool’s opening, Verdun’s city council sion (25 cents for children) and filled the stood silently in the drizzling rain reversed its decision to award Mr. pool area, gathering tightly on the roof. Iat the Los Angeles Pet Cemetery, Minicucci, of Italian descent, the right to The scene was almost surreal against the keeping their flashbulbs dry under their lease the restaurant atop the new Natato- night sky, as the smell of fresh paint still overcoats. At any minute, Hollywood rium, stating that “the entry of Italy into lingered in the air. The two pools were stars, including Dorothy Lamour, Ray illuminated by 22 underwater “subma- Milland, and Bing Crosby, were about to rine” lights, allowing a clear view of arrive to pay their last respects to “the their bottom floors. The lamp posts actor with a face of a monkey and the overhead and atop the pool house lit up heart of a gentleman.” Born in ’29, the the deck areas, which surrounded each year of the crash, in the Belgian Congo, pool with 30 feet of non-skid concrete he had died of pneumonia at the age of laid in contrasting shades. The two “is- nine, only days before. land fountains” of the larger pool had The news was out: “Jiggs” was coloured lights below them and jetted dead. water into the air through their extended At times, he had earned as much as spouts, while the deeper pool looked $110 a day, and, like a true gentleman, more official with its five Olympic-regu- he kissed the hand of every actress he lation-sized diving boards. The brick met. As a trained movie chimpanzee, posts of our 3-mile boardwalk dotted the “Jiggs” had headlined with many of riverfront, as a reminder of where we all greatest stars of the 1930s, including had swum before. These early moments Buster Crabbe in the 12-part series would not last, as the Verdun Natatorium Tarzan the Fearless, which had enjoyed was about to be launched into history, as a great weekly run in 1933 at Verdun’s host of the 1940 Dominion Swimming Park Theater. and Diving Championships! Just like the reporters at the At 8 o’clock, the MP for Verdun, gravesite, we were unaware that Jiggs Mr. Leo-J Comeau, officially inaugurat- would continue leading us into deeper ed the new Verdun Natatorium and jungles. As we swung through the vines opened the championship, earning wild and cleared a pathway within our own the war on the side of the Nazis caused applause from the crowds. Within the local canopy, our lost Tarzan connec- the change.” On June 28th, without any fanfare, our Mayor, Edward Wilson, tions slowly bubbled to the surface, at further reasoning, the council awarded Chief Engineer Henry Hadley, and many the deep-end of the Verdun Natatorium. the space to Mr. W. Gunhouse under the of our city councillors stood alongside, As Jiggs was being lowered, on the same terms. In these times, a foreign proudly smiling at their achievement. opposite corner of the continent, Verdun country’s alliance with the Nazis gave us They had not only put Verdun on the lo- engineers Henry Hadley and chief de- the name “Gunny’s” for the rooftop cal stage, but by inviting swimmers from signer H.C. Sturgess were preparing to restaurant, after its new owner, while the the “Atlantic to the Pacific” they had put build the greatest outdoor public pool in Minicucci name sadly became an indi- our town in the spotlight across the Do- the country. In 1938-39, Verdun was still rect casualty of war. minion of Canada. The competitions in the midst of the Great Depression, It was opening night: Friday, July were planned that way, with events held with a large number of its residents hired 12th, 1940, 7:00pm. Crowds of people exclusively for Verdun residents amidst as city “relief” workers for various mu- excitedly rushed across Bannantyne Av- the national trials. For those few days, nicipal projects. The Natatorium idea enue and LaSalle Boulevard, eager to news of the winners headlined across the would provide another opportunity for see the Natatorium open its doors for the country, with the Natatorium front and work and would showcase the ingenuity first time. With lights shining on its dou- centre, quickly gaining its reputation as of our city planners, some of whom are ble castle-like front turrets and Union “the finest pool in Canada.” still named on a plaque at the pool’s en- Jacks waving above them, the building Our city councillors ensured that the trance. Yet not all names would be re- took on an amusement-park feel, like at Natatorium would keep us financially membered. the gates of Belmont Park. More than safe as well. By first floating a loan for 26 Images all courtesy of Rohinton Ghandhi and are all from the Verdun Guardian WINTER 2011

$200,000, they decided to keep admis- as patrolmen walked the interior. All (Cheeta) was no longer at his side. He sion prices as low as possible, just went silent, as a lone silhouette exited would visit the Natatorium many times enough to cover operating costs and to the men’s dressing room and headed for in the following years, not only to prac- keep paying back the loan. As annual at- the diving pool. The well-muscled man tice, but to sell Victory Bonds in support tendance grew, the pool paid back dropped his towel, climbed the steps, of Canada’s war effort. $9,500 each year from 1941 to 1945, and walked into the sunlight at the tip of Buster Crabbe was twice a US about $11,000 each year from 1946 to the 3-metre high board. Onlookers burst Olympic swimming champion, winning 1951, and was on target to return a prof- out in excitement when realizing that bronze for his 1,500m freestyle at the it by 1961. Planned within the hardest of they were in the presence of Tarzan him- 1928 Amsterdam games, and gold for economic times, the Natatorium never self, as Hollywood star Buster Crabbe his quick 400m freestyle at the 1932 Los lost money. To this day, it remains a true completed his first dive into our Natato- Angeles games. His lead role in the example of responsible public-spending. rium’s history. The spectators cheered 1933 Tarzan the Fearless series success- Before the Natatorium, many Ver- after every dive, as Buster waved back fully launched his acting career and al- dun residents fell ill from swimming in to them. He was practicing as a star of lowed him to star in over one hundred the increasingly contaminated St. the 1941 Water Follies, being held over films, including his famous Flash Gor- Lawrence waters. The new pool was the next four nights (June 5 -8) at the don series of 1936. clearly designed with public safety in Montreal Forum. Many felt fortunate to In 1941, he decided to entertain us mind. Its three large automatically-con- get his autograph that day as Buster off-screen as well, by showing us his trolled pressure filters could produce “Tarzan” Crabbe, even though Jiggs amazing swimming skills, as the main 1,250 chlorinated gallons per attraction of the travelling “Water minute, when required. The main Follies” show, which required a tem- building housed a first-aid room, a porary natatorium to be built at each “tote-box” room for your belong- of its 34-city stops. Montreal Forum ings, and the men’s and women’s staff would work for 48-hours dressing rooms each with 16 hot- straight, to install a 325-ton pool water showers. A shower and a foot structure that would hold 80,000 gal- bath were mandatory before enter- lons of water, for the performances ing the pool. “Gunny’s” restaurant of over 100 aquatic stars. The events would provide a hot snack-bar menu included thrilling feats of diving and to hungry swimmers on the ground speed, from our own Buster Crabbe, floor and on the roof. Verdun police- Betty Wilson (NYC’s best swim- man were stationed at the pool as mer), and famous trick-diver Joe Pe- lifeguards, security guards, and as terson of Panama. The comedy acts swimming instructors to the public. included Charlie Diehl, the “235- With numerous ladders within the pound marvel of the springboard,” pools and elevated lifeguard chairs with Clayton Mains and Frank Fos- around them, the Natatorium gave ter as some of the many “funny men us a safer way to cool off in the hu- in bathing suits.” The “Aquabelles,” mid days, before central air. twenty synchronized mermaids, A year later, in early June 1941, highlighted each show with their in- people were turned away from their tricate water ballets, beautifully set morning swim and curiously began to orchestrated music. The Forum gathering at the pool’s outer fence, was decorated like a Miami Beach

27 QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

Sources: PROVINCE-WIDE Verdun GuardianEXPOSURE 1939-1940 GoogleAT Archives A GREAT PRICE!! First-Hand accounts SPECIAL ADVERTISING RATES 2011-2012 Purchase two or more ads of the same size, and receive 40% off each ad!

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FULL-PAGE 10 inches (25.5 cm) high 7.5 inches (19 cm) wide $400.00 (Special: $240.00) Back page, full colour $500.00 (Special: $300.00) HALF-PAGE 5 inches (12.5 cm) high 6.5 inches (16.5 cm) wide $235.00 (Special: $141.00) THIRD-PAGE (COLUMN ONLY) 10 inches (25.5 cm) high 2.25 inches (5.75 cm) wide $200.00 (Special: $120.00) QUARTER-PAGE club, with palm trees, tropical flowers, was once the finest pool in Canada. 5 inches (12.5 cm) high and eel grass waving throughout. After After 71 years, our Natatorium is 3.25 inches (8.5 cm) wide the shows, “The Coquettes,” an all-girl still a wonderful place to swim on a hot $125.00 (Special: $75.00) band, would open the new 3,600-foot summer’s day, although many of us are dance floor to the audience, to swing the unaware of its former glory and of the BUSINESS CARD rest of the night away. We can only great civic pride we all once held for this imagine the beauty and excitement of wonderful place. No longer hosting na- 2.5 inches (6.5 cm) high these shows, with our Tarzan of ’33 div- tional competitions nor welcoming 3.5 inches (9 cm) wide ing at centre ring. celebrities to its doors, the Natatorium $75.00 (Special: $45.00) Today, Gunny’s lights continue to endures as a testament to our early city glow above the pool house, with the up- planners. Sitting quietly at the riverfront FREQUENCY, DEADLINES AND per deck now closed to the public. The awaiting the next perfect day, it has be- SPECIFICATIONS “submarine” lights and the fountain come a proud part of our Verdun identity 4 issues annually lamps remain dark in their receptacles and heritage. Remembering a time when Deadlines: Winter (mid-December 2011); below the waterline, awaiting an oppor- a true-to-life Tarzan and his world-fa- Spring (mid-March 2012); Summer (mid-June 2012); Fall (mid-September 2012) tunity to shine again. The pedestal lines mous chimp had swung their way off the Resolution required: Minimum 300 DPI of the diving boards have long been silver screen to make a splash within the in black and white painted over, hiding the echoes of cham- deepest pools of our Southwest Corner. By email at [email protected] pionships past. The Natatorium once in- vited swimmers to swim into the night, Rohinton Ghandhi is a Verdun historian at times closing at 10pm or later. As we and writer; his column “The Southwest stand by the pools at today’s 8pm clos- Corner” appears frequently in The Sub- ing time, we can still revisit those magi- urban. cal nights by simply closing our eyes and smiling in remembrance of what

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REVIEWS Overlooked adventures Even the Owl Is Not Heard: David Thompson's 1834 Journals in the Eastern Townships of Quebec Edited by Barbara Verity and Gilles Péloquin Townships Cantons Publication, 2011 clothes were shredded; surviving on fish while camped on the lake shore awaiting fresh supplies; all the whole describing what was seen— the rocks, soil, tress, animals, birds, and weather. Every page was fasci- nating.”

As a reader, I was delighted that Verity and Péloquin decided to augment the journal entries with additional mate- rial. David Thompson’s transcribed jour- nals contribute an important new chapter to the historical geography of the region, but the multitude of enlightening side- bars within the book provide historical context, biographical background, and interesting anecdotes gleaned during the research process, enhancing our under- standing of the topic and greatly enrich- ing the reading experience. The book is also replete with capti- vating visuals. Over 100 photographs, ven the Owl Is Not Heard: ships. Their research also informed them drawings, and maps are integrated into David Thompson's 1834 Jour- that historians had mainly overlooked this book, and their inclusion helps to nals in the Eastern Townships Thompson’s adventures in this region. render the historical content more palat- of Quebec, edited by Barbara Indeed, they found no evidence that E able to a general readership. Contempo- Verity and Gilles Péloquin, offers read- these journals had ever been transcribed. rary photographs by Verity and Pélo- ers a wealth of information and new in- Verity and Péloquin took on the ar- quin, archival images, and superb sight into the early history of the Eastern duous task of transcribing Thompson’s sketches by Denis Palmer add yet anoth- Townships. This 102-page, superbly il- Townships journals. They had to learn er layer of interest to this rich volume. lustrated, soft-cover book relates one of the eccentricities of Thompson’s hand- Anyone interested in the early histo- the lesser-known episodes in the career writing and survey notes, as well as the ry of the Eastern Townships, or explorer of world-renowned explorer and map- literary conventions of the day. Micro- David Thompson, should find this a fas- maker David Thompson: his 1834 sur- fiche images were not always clear, cinating read. This book enhances the vey of the Eastern Townships for the compounding the difficulty of their mis- recorded early history of our region, and British American Land Company. sion, but they persevered and prevailed. should prove to be an invaluable refer- On a trip to western Canada in As stated in the book’s prologue: ence resource. 2006, Barbara Verity and Gilles Pélo- quin discovered that the famous explorer “Twenty-six thousand words later, Even the Owl Is Not Heard is avail- David Thompson had spent most of we had transcribed the explorer’s able at bookstores around the Townships 1834 surveying territory in the Eastern entire account of his time in the and online at Townships.ca. Townships of Lower Canada. They ob- Townships—journeying by scow, tained a microfiche of his 1834 journals canoe, and on foot with his assis- Reviewed by Brenda Hartwell from the Archives of Ontario in Toronto, tants up the St. Francis and Salmon and found what they were seeking: rivers, over to Mount Megantic, and Thompson’s handwritten journals, per- on to Lake Megantic; struggling taining to his exploration of the Town- through forests so thick the men’s

29 QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

Esther The Remarkable True Story of Esther Wheelwright Puritan Child, Native Daughter, Mother Superior by Julie Wheelwright Harper Collins Canada Ltd., 2011 ome periods of history are defi- peoples. oped a vocation to become a Roman nitely more interesting and ex- The Abenakis were eventually Catholic nun at the Ursuline Convent in citing than others. The time of pushed out of New England, so Esther, Quebec. Given that her whole older Sthe subject of this meticulously along with them, was moved to an area childhood and adolescence had been researched book, Esther Wheelwright, of New France along the Saint-François spent first among the Abenakis and then was one of them. Also, Esther's own (St. Francis) River and settled some- in French and Catholic New France, this very long life was certainly very unusual where opposite the Trois Rivières vicini- is quite understandable. However, her as well. She was born in 1696 into a still very Puritan family were quite prominent but rather contentious Mas- shocked and never really achieved any sachusetts Puritan family that had depth of acceptance of her choice. been resident in the Boston area since Esther was highly intelligent and 1636. The Puritans were an extreme gifted with good linguistic and organi- denomination – a sort of rigid “no zational skills. She rose to become the frills” version of English Protes- mother superior of the Quebec City tantism. Many left England for North Ursulines. She experienced the siege America where the colonies offered, and capture of Quebec in 1756. The compared to England, greater reli- devastation of buildings and harsh gious freedom. winter following, as well as now hav- There was constant warfare in ing to deal with the British military America at that time, with economic administration, must have tested her and territorial rivalry between the courage. However, once again, Esther New England colonies and New triumphed and eventually became France to the north. Also, this was much admired by the newcomers. The made more complex by the interac- Ursuline Convent offered what was, tions of these European newcomers and what remained, probably the best with the very diverse native tribes available education for girls in much whose lands and lives were being dis- of North America. The Ursuline order rupted, and by distant European wars. was not sequestered, but held their When Esther was seven years old, she mission to be “in the world,” working was stolen from her family, then liv- in society. Their school was open to all ing in Wells, Maine, by the Abenaki denominations and all languages – native tribe and adopted into an abo- quite advanced for the time, although riginal family. This kind of incident the emphasis did appear to be upon was quite prevalent at this time: peo- producing good household manager ple, often children, were taken either as ty. This particular group of Abenakis wives for the local seigneurial class and hostages, to be returned in prisoner ex- were loosely Christianized by the Jesuits their British equivalents. One of the ar- changes or ransomed, or as replacements and, ultimately, Esther was “rescued” eas encouraged was art in all its aspects, for their members who had died in con- through the intervention of the clergy which was also unusual for the period. flicts or of natural causes. Esther was and various government officials in The most interesting theme of this well treated, learned the tribal language, Quebec. book is definitely the contrasts among and became proficient with native crafts. Various circumstances always the three different environments that Es- Even though Esther's distant (seven seemed to prevent her from being re- ther experienced in her life: the New generations) relative, author Julie turned to her New England family, even England Puritans, the Abenaki tribe and Wheelwright, did outstanding research though they certainly continued trying to the French of New France. To able to on Esther's life, it was impossible to have her back. By the time this could portray these three differing milieus so learn the names of, or anything about, have been possible, not only was Esther accurately and at such a distance in time, her adoptive family. This absence of in- completely immersed into the upper ech- is a major achievement. formation is itself an indication of the at- elons of French Canada, both by educa- titudes of the period towards the native tion and social position, but had devel- Reviewed by Sandra Stock

30 WINTER 2011

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