CANADA’S FINEST MAGICIAN: MAGIC TOM AUBURN $10 Quebec

VOL 8, NO. 4 FALL 2014 HeritageNews

What Did You Do in the War, Mummy? Mildred Allen of the DIL Restoration: Sir John Johnson A Loyalist Returns to His Vault Long and Winding Trails The Career of Laurentian Topographer Paul d’Allmen QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

Quebec CONTENTS HeritageNews EDITOR Editor’s Desk 3 RODERICK MACLEOD Pomp and patrimony Rod MacLeod PRODUCTION DAN PINESE; MATTHEW FARFAN Letter 5 Enforced leisure a blessing for heritage John Fry PUBLISHER THE QUEBEC ANGLOPHONE Jim Caputo’s Mystery Objects Challenge #5 6 HERITAGE NETWORK 400-257 QUEEN STREET SHERBROOKE, QUEBEC J1M 1K7 Heritage news from around the province 7 Jim Caputo PHONE 1-877-964-0409 Remains restored 9 (819) 564-9595 Sir John Johnson is returned to the vault Michel Racicot FAX (819) 564-6872 The Wandering Minstrel revisited 10 CORRESPONDENCE Rod MacLeod [email protected] WEBSITES Why Cry When an Old Building Dies? 11 WWW.QAHN.ORG Linda Buzzell WWW.QUEBECHERITAGEWEB.COM The Lost Trails of Paul d’Allmen 12 PRESIDENT Joseph Graham SIMON JACOBS

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & 2014 QAHN Heritage Photo Contest Winners 16 WEBMAGAZINES EDITOR MATTHEW FARFAN 2014 QAHN/QFHSA Island of Stories Contest Winners 19

OFFICE MANAGER 2014 QAHN Heritage Essay Contest Winners 20 KATHY TEASDALE

Quebec Heritage News is produced four Gone in a Puff of Smoke 22 times yearly by the Quebec Anglophone Magic Tom Auburn Rohinton Ghandhi Heritage Network (QAHN) with the support of the Department of Canadian Heritage and Quebec’s Ministère de la Culture et The Original “Bomb Girl” 28 des Communications. QAHN is a non-profit Hudson’s Mildred Allen Bill Young and and non-partisan organization whose mis- sion is to help advance knowledge of the Ralph Simpson history and culture of the English- speaking communities of Quebec. Annual Subscription Rates: Individual: $30.00; Organization: $40.00 Canada Post Publication Mail Agreement Number 405610004. ISSN 17707-2670 PRINTED IN CANADA Cover photo: Magic Tom and friends on Surprise Party.” Photo: http://www.messagerverdun.com.

2 FALL 2014

EDITOR’S DESK Pomp and patrimony by Rod MacLeod

spent an inordinate amount of time joined, their personalities reflected in the coloured by my attendance a week earli- this past June, on two separate oc- way they interacted with the presenters er at the Villa Maria graduation, where I casions, watching ladies in gowns on stage and their varying levels of suc- knew one girl like the back of my hand, and very high heels parade in front cess navigating in those heels. several more to talk to, and a great many Iof me across a stage. No, I haven’t be- There was one moment of genuine by reputation. gun a career as a fashion designer, and suspense when one slender recipient had During her five years at the school, nor was it high fashion on display. I was to carry down a massive engraved shield my daughter has never stinted in her elo- there for, let’s say, academic reasons. which entirely blocked her view of the quent and often emotional descriptions All these ladies were my daughter’s age. stairs, but thankfully the great weight of everybody’s quirks, to the point One of them was my where I could applaud the daughter. appropriateness of many of Twenty-eight were the the awards, knowing how 2014 graduates of Montre- deserving they were – and al’s Trafalgar School for in one case gasp in horror Girls, that venerable insti- at the inappropriateness, tution on the side of Mount knowing how deeply my Royal whose history the daughter disagreed with QHN outlined on the occa- the recipient on countless sion of its 125th birthday fundamental issues. That (“Spem Successus Alit,” said, Papa Bear spent most Autumn 2012). This time, of his time with bursting QAHN was honouring five buttons, watching his prizewinners of its Her- youngest child collect itage Photo contest (see some well-earned awards – later in this issue). none more so than the I was there to do the Drama prize, which speci- presenting: taking the hand fied achievements in act- of each recipient as she tottered up one countered the natural tendency of young ing, writing and directing. side of the stage, steadying her for a mo- girls in high heels to perpetually lean Compared to the Traf ceremonies, ment (or so I imagined) while handing forward and her gazelle-like feet found however, the Villa event was slow-mov- her a certificate and barking “Congratu- each step. This award had been for the ing and matter-of-fact – though the vale- lations,” and then releasing her to totter house with the highest number of points. dictorian was bubbly and a past grad off the other side. Yes, I thought, in my muggle innocence, from a decade back had some thoughtful Geoff Dowd, Traf’s effervescent they have “houses” at Traf, just like and pertinent advice to pass along. To be headmaster, obligingly read out the win- Hogwarts. And, also like Hogwarts, they fair, a much larger number of gowns had ners’ names, but he had also amiably al- have a dynamic principal; Dowd’s heart- to pass across the Villa stage: 130, no lowed me (as I had put it) 55 seconds to felt opening address and general patter less – and this was just the “English explain the contest and give special while emceeing contributed a great deal side” of this much larger institution. For praise to the teacher, Lori Litvack, to my enjoyment. That, and a valedicto- this reason, the event was held in whose dedication was, as is always the rian who somehow got away with using Thérèse Casgrain Hall, a vast multi-pur- case, the key to motivating students to the word “kegel” in her speech – some- pose room appropriately named after take up the cause of heritage. thing that would not, let’s say, have hap- one of Quebec’s most beloved feminist Somewhat to my surprise, I found pened at my school. icons. the two-hour traffic of Traf’s stage quite Above all, I enjoyed being in an in- “TCH” was built a few years back, entertaining, despite knowing none of stitution with a prestigious history. At part of the school’s spanking new sci- the grads – although by the end of it Traf, heritage is everywhere, but it does- ence-gym-library complex. Having been many of them had become distinct char- n’t overburden the spirits of these mod- involved at the time in an unsuccessful acters, their interests identifiable by the ern and eager young ladies. campaign to convince the Villa ad- prizes they won and the clubs they had All this was understandably ministration to make their proposed

Traf students. L-R: Katie Neudorf-Rotchin, Sabrina Diabo, Gabriella Martucci, Andrea Fabris, Shona Abtahi, QAHN rep Rod MacLeod. Photo: Gail Cornell. 3 QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

daughter eagerly signed up to be a tour guide, so she could take the incoming students (“first years,” as they are known at Hogwarts) through all the creepy corners of the Villa’s over-two- centuries-old “Centre” building and ad- joining wings. She pointed out the ghost’s footprint on one step. She showed them the place on a stairway where numerous teachers and caretakers over the years have heard distant sob- bing when clearly no one was around. She paused in one narrow corridor where there is a glass case containing a small portrait of a student who had died a century earlier, a portrait which, if touched, reputedly brought instant death. auditorium a state-of-the-art theatre (a lacking in having to say goodbye to five In the grounds, she drew their attention story for another day), we felt some re- years at Villa Maria in the school’s to the pond, now covered up, where two gret that our daughter had to graduate in flashy modern wing. History was forgot- little girls had once drowned, and to the this functional space that, though attrac- ten. Entering through glass doors and lonely corner where the writer Hubert tive enough, could have equally accom- descending the stone-and-steel steps and Aquin shot himself. The latter incident modated a trade show. We thought how sitting in pre-fab chairs, we had no sense came not from the school’s official lore nice it would have been for her to have that we were connected to one of Que- but from her mother’s own account of received the Drama prize in the Grand bec’s most distinguished historical prop- the buzz in 1977 when the body was Hall, a former ballroom within the erties. Indeed, while the Villa pays lip found. Less sensationally, she also school’s original building, where she service to this history on its website, it passed onto our daughter the tales of ex- had performed on numerous occasions – makes little of the heritage it bestows on ploring the school after hours and dis- to say nothing of where her mother had its students. There was no sense, for in- covering boxes in the attic (formerly the also appeared, as a student in the 1970s, stance, that the Class of 2014 was part of dormitories) which contained diaries and directed, a decade ago (see QHN, some larger tradition, that the essence of written by nineteenth-century boarders. July 2005). generations of students stood silently be- I’d like to know where that stuff is now. The Grand Hall is a dignified, old- hind them. By contrast, Traf, which has My daughter is also aware of the world space, with huge mullioned win- relatively little surviving architecture Villa’s more public history as the home dows opening to the sprawling grounds, from its early days, lets you know it’s a of James Monk, attorney-general and quirky raised steps on three sides form- place with a pedigree. Traf’s gym is ba- chief justice in Lower Canada, who built ing wrap-around tiers, and a highly-pol- sically just a gym, but the ceremony the mansion he called Monklands in ished hardwood floor. Images from there was suffused with respect for an- 1803. When he died in 1826 he be- Canadian Illustrated News and l’Opin- cient rite. All the pomp and Harry Pot- queathed the home to his niece Eliza, ion publique from the 1870s show the tery paraphernalia served to confirm it. along with a great deal of property governors-general and their consorts re- The irony is that Villa Maria oozes throughout British North America. As viewing the Villa girls as they were pre- history. Much of it is dark and spooky, her uncle’s constant companion in his sented in the Grand Hall. According to the way kids like it. Last year, my waning years, Eliza was well-read, well- the 1872 Journal of Education, the Grand Hall was “hung with leafy fes- toons and wreaths of verdure” to counter the day’s intense heat. The graduates, “standing as they do on the threshold of womanhood,” were twenty in number, two of whom were awarded prizes: one for “good conduct” and the other for “domestic economy.” The girls expected to exchange “the quiet joys and tasks of convent life for the graver cares and du- ties of woman’s lot.” Obvious sea changes notwithstanding, much in that statement remains true today. Without wishing to turn back any clocks, we felt there was something

Top: The Marquis of Lorne and Princess Louise in the Grand Hall, Bottom: The Grand Hall, Villa Maria, 1895. Villa Maria. Canadian Illustrated News, February 8, 1873. 4 Photo: McCord Museum, VIEW-2708. FALL 2014 traveled, and well-versed in her forward, as it does all all the social graces, but she others who take this step into apparently spurned the atten- the future. tions of young men of rank in I wish them all the hu- favour of a poor army officer, mility to let themselves be George William Aubrey. The buoyed by what came before, couple lived in the Montreal even as they stare resolutely, mansion, at least during the blinkered by hope and confi- late 1820s when George sent dence, at what is still ahead. correspondence with “Monk- lands” on the letterhead, but after Eliza’s death in 1843 he began and Quebec City, the capital having looking for a tenant. One immediately moved out of Montreal in disgrace fol- appeared in the form of the British gov- lowing the riots. Monklands was leased ernment, which expanded the original for a few years to hotelier Joseph Com- house as a suitable residence for the pain, who turned the mansion into a 60- Letters governor-general when Montreal be- room hotel, restaurant, “Tea Gardens Enforced leisure a blessing for came the capital of the new Province of and Pleasure Ground.” Even though he Canada in the spring of 1844. After brief provided an omnibus service from town, heritage tenures by the dying Charles Metcalfe Monkland’s Hotel was far from the ac- and the surly Charles Cathcart, Monk- tion and did not prosper during a partic- n your highly complimentary re- lands’ most glamourous resident arrived ularly bleak economy. By 1854, Com- view of my book A Mind at Sea, in January 1847: James Bruce, the 8th pain called it quits. The property was you applauded the title’s double- Earl of Elgin. Still in his mid-thirties, then purchased by the Congrégation de entendre: Henry Fry possessed a with a new young wife (Mary Louisa Notre-Dame, who were looking for a lo- Imasterful knowledge of ships and the Lambton, daughter of Lord Durham, no cation for a girl’s school. sea; then his mercantile career was ter- less), Elgin made his mark in Canadian 160 years later, my daughter minated by mental illness – a mind dif- history by being an autocrat by training climbed the stage of Villa Maria High ferently at sea. and disposition who nevertheless yield- School in her white gown and high Unmentioned in your review is the ed to democracy when he knew it was heels, and came down it with a chapter fact that by 1889 Henry had largely re- right to do so. In April 1849 (according of her life closed behind her. If the spot covered his sanity. He entered into pro- to Villa lore but unsubstantiated by any where she gained her diploma was not ductive activity as an author. He wrote other source I can identify), an angry actually a part of the original historic essays on free trade and protectionism, mob, furious at his decision to pass the Monklands (lying as it does some 200 tariff reciprocity, and troubled Canada- Rebellion Losses Bill and fresh from feet to the north-east), it was probably U.S. relations – papers that a hundred burning down Parliament, stormed up where Eliza Monk and Louisa Lambton years later would find their way into the the grounds of Monklands only to be and Compain’s hotel guests took their University of Toronto’s Thomas Fisher calmed by a brave servant who an- afternoon tea in the shade. It may well Rare Book Library. He wrote an article nounced that Lady Elgin was about to have been a spot beloved by the diary- for Canadian Magazine on Quebec give birth and needed quiet. Victor writing girls, or the two who drowned, shipbuilding. Once Lloyd’s agent for the Bruce, who would become the 9th Earl, or whoever made the footstep and the St. Lawrence River, he wrote an author- was born a couple of weeks later but wail up the stairway. In any case, history itative history of the insurance market. would spend his childhood in Toronto stands behind my own child and propels He wrote The History of North Atlantic Steam Navigation (published in London in 1896), a resource still used by mar- itime historians. And he wrote Reminis- cences of a Retired Shipowner, an ac- count of his years as one of Quebec’s leading merchants, without which A Mind at Sea could not have been writ- ten. The half-dozen final years of Hen- ry’s life unleashed a torrent of writing that, paradoxically, might never have happened if his mental illness had not driven him to what he called “a period of enforced leisure.”

John Fry, Katonah, N.Y.

Top: Monklands, 1844. McCord Museum, 16414. Bottom: Villa Maria graduating class, 2014. 5 Photo: Rod MacLeod. QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

Jim Caputo’s Mystery Objects Challenge #5 ast issue we Here is another instalment in the Mystery ran a photo Objects challenge, a photo of the mystery object submitted by and a clue from Jim: Jim Caputo of LHeritage Gaspé with an Though this is an early form, you probably have seen object for readers to this item in many antique shops - particularly in agri- identify, with the fol- cultural areas. lowing clue: Send your answers to: [email protected]. What does this item represent? Please be specific. It would have been found in Quebec homes post-1840.

The answers we received were not specific enough, un- fortunately. “A cross” it may well have been, but it was the particular rationale behind the cross that we were looking for. And what was the post-1840 context?

The correct answer is: a Temperance Cross. The tem- perance movement took off in Quebec after society set- tled down in the wake of the 1837-38 Rebellion and the Union of Canada. It appealed to both Protestants and Catholics, although Protestants would not have tended to have crosses in their homes.

6 FALL 2014

Heritage news from around the province by Jim Caputo Readers of the Summer 2014 “Heritage News from around the province” by Jim Caputo will be interested in the following updates.

Gaspé

Gaspé: the Birthplace of Canada

My wife, sister and I attended the open house of this event. I enjoyed reading about the early history of Gaspé and meeting the bilingual interpreters, some in cos- tume. Jacques Cartier was my favourite. I was con- vinced that he had just come from France. Pioneer Days The English-speaking community (and I am one of this group) should be proud that the historic English Gaspesians had the opportunity again this summer to Gaspé entrepreneurship is well represented (Bakers meet and greet at Pioneer Days – Fort Haldimand Hotel especially), thanks to the efforts of the organiz- Camp. Along with a wine and cheese evening, there ing committee. We should also be pleased that the cele- were activities for both the old and young, handicrafts brations feature the English, French and Aboriginal and exhibits. Weston White and his volunteers have language groups. Greeters are bilingual and signage is once again made Pioneer Days the success that it was. in both official languages. Bravo to Fabien Sinnett and Homecomings are special events. The primary im- his team! I enjoyed myself and am proud that my wife portance of these activities, as is the case with Pioneer Carolyn and I have taken an active role in this venture. Days, is to bring together people with a Gaspé connec- tion. Even those who have never lived in Gaspé, but whose families lived here in generations past, are re- turning “home.” They get to meet relatives they may have not had the opportunity to meet for many years, or perhaps have never known. These meetings and sharings are what make homecomings special. I always look forward to Pioneer Days and I hope they continue for many years to come.

Douglastown Irish Week

Once again, Douglastown Irish Week was a major suc- cess. Lots of good music and workshops galore. I pre- Generation Sacrificed sented a workshop on Felix O’Hara, an important early settler of Gaspé. It was so nice to be Irish for a week. Tom Eden’s “Generation Sacrificed: The Gaspé Sol- One particular highlight was a cod fish supper fol- diers of the Great War, 1914-1918” focused on Gaspé soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice during World War I. His presentation was well attended and Tom did an extraordinary job in outlining his exhibit to those in attendance. His mastery of the material was extraordi- nary, as he had no need for notes – he just spoke from the heart. After Tom’s presentation, people had the op- portunity to visit the Gaspé Legion’s War Museum, which now will include all the information and pic- tures that Tom presented over the week and has now donated to be part of the Museum’s permanent exhibit. Paul Almond was present for a signing of his latest book, The Gunner.

Top right: Jacques Cartier and friend, Birthplace of Gaspé. Bottom right: Sack race, Pioneer Days, Fort Haldimand Camp. Middle: Tom Eden presenting his “Generation Sacrificed.” 7 Photos: Jim Caputo. QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS lowed by the musical group, The Mussels (Les Moules Marinières), who performed their special kind of folk music, their interpretation of songs of the sea in Eng- lish and French, for a very enthusiastic audience. All indications are that this is one Gaspé event that will endure for a long time. Thanks to Luc Chaput and his helpers for their efforts in keeping this activity alive.

The John Patterson Family Reunion

This summer in Gaspé, I had the opportunity to attend this group’s Symposium at the Gaspé Museum, ani- The Grenville Canal mated by John Patterson of New Brunswick. It was both interesting and informative, and it was a privilege As last reported, the canal, in sections, was in great for me to attend this event since, in genealogical terms, disrepair. On a visit to the canal on August 30, I saw I am the fifth great-grandson of the original John. I was that parts of the canal that were sinking into the water able to meet local descendants of this John residing in were in the same condition as they were earlier this Gaspé, as well as others from afar. year – perhaps in worse shape. During this particular activity, John (the current one), an accomplished genealogist, presented a capti- Montérégie vating talk on his years of research and his attempts to find the origins of his elusive ancestor before his ar- The Sir John Johnson Burial Vault rival in Gaspé in the mid-eighteenth century. Relating his tale of trial and error, John showed that such re- My wife and I had the privilege of being present for search can be an extremely complicated process with the dedication and re-consecration of the Johnson Bur- many twists and turns. Also very interesting was the ial Vault at Mount Saint-Grégoire (formerly Mount talk on DNA testing as a tool of the genealogist. Johnson). The burial vault, which contained the remains of The Magdalen Islands Sir John Johnson, Lady Johnson and other family members, was vandalized some years ago and the Heritage Grosse Ile bones of the family were scattered around the area; some parts were taken by vandals, including all the This group continues its efforts to save their parish hall skulls. from demolition. The property is owned by the Angli- Through the efforts of the United Empire can Diocese of Quebec and it is in their power to de- Loyalists’Association of Canada, the Sir John Johnson molish this building or save it. To date, this heritage Branch of the UELAC, the Société de restauration du group has been very successful in their efforts to solic- patrimoine Johnson, and others, the vault was restored it money to fund their cause. One way that they are and the remains of the Johnson family were enclosed raising funds is to sell memberships to their group in the new vault. ($5.00). If you believe that this building should be The event was well attended, including people saved you can contact the diocese and make your con- from as far away as British Columbia. The Quebec An- cerns known. For further information, please contact Byron glophone Heritage Network was represented by JoAnn Clark at: [email protected]. Oberg-Müller, Vice President of QAHN.

Western Quebec

Scotch Road Cemetery

There was concern that the road leading to the ceme- tery (Scotch Road) would be permanently closed by the municipality. My wife and I attended a council meeting to support the cemetery association on behalf of QAHN, where this issue was discussed. At present, the road is passable, but its future is certainly up in the air. Cecil McPhee and his association continue to do a fine job of preserving the Scottish heritage of this area.

Top: Scotch Road, 2014. Photo: Jim Caputo. Bottom: 3-volley salute by the King’s Royal Yorkers and the 84th 8 Royal Highland Emigrants. Photo: Michel Racicot. FALL 2014

Remains restored Sir John Johnson is returned to the vault by Michel Racicot

n Saturday, August 23, 2014, at Mount his life, he was Provincial Grand Master of Quebec. Johnson (today Mont Saint-Grégoire), in a In November 2009, Sir John Johnson Centennial ceremony attended by more than 125 peo- Branch UELAC proposed that the United Loyalists’ Asso- ple, the remains of Sir John Johnson and ciation of Canada adopt the vault restoration as a 2014 Omembers of his family were buried in the newly-re- Legacy Project. On March 5, 2011, UELAC accepted the stored vault. This vault, accidentally bulldozed 57 proposition and approved a major grant to support the years ago, has now been restored. project. The ceremony was opened by words of welcome by Frederick H. Hayward UE, 2014 UELAC Centennial Michelle Durand, representing CIME Haut-Richelieu Celebration Chair, addressed the audience about the im- (Centre d’interprétation du milieu écologique), an organi- portance of supporting the restoration of the vault. “One of zation dedicated to the preservation of Mont Saint-Gré- the key directives in our mission statement is to preserve, goire. CIME is the owner of the site and without their sup- promote and celebrate the history and traditions of the port and their help the project of restoring the burial vault Loyalist epoch in Canadian history,” he declared. of the Johnson family could not have been done. The restoration of the burial vault of Sir John Johnson The remains of Sir John Johnson and Lady Johnson and of members of his family has been the top priority were brought to the vault by a funeral procession led by project of la Société de restauration du patrimoine John- Josh Lord, a piper from the 78th Fraser Highlanders, fol- son, of la Société d’histoire du Haut-Richelieu, and of Sir lowed by members of King’s Royal Yorkers, the 84th John Johnson Centennial Branch UELAC. The President Royal Highland Emigrants and members of the Masonic of the Société de restauration du patrimoine Johnson, Grand Lodge of Quebec. The funeral urn was carried by Claude Neveu, gave the highlights of the history of the Claude Neveu, President of the Société de restauration du restoration project and presented all the people who, patrimoine Johnson, Bonnie L. Schepers UE, President of through the years, contributed to the project. “The Société The United Empire Loyalists’ Association of Canada de restauration du patrimoine Johnson was created in Sep- (UELAC) and two former UELAC Presidents, Frederick tember 1998, after two years of reflections, at the request H. Hayward UE and Robert C. McBride UE. Closing the of Jean-Paul Lasnier, past mayor of Sainte-Brigide. Las- funeral procession was the Venerable Peter D. Hannen UE nier assembled around him collaborators of great talent, who conducted the Blessing Ceremony. Richard Eldridge, Brian Allen, Charles Harbec, Marie Two speakers were invited to talk about Sir John Deschênes, Nicole Poulin, Michel Daunes, Adelaide Johnson. First, UELAC President Bonnie L. Schepers UE Lanktree, Raymond Ostiguy, Gerald Thomas and myself, spoke of the importance of Sir John as a Loyalist Leader Claude Neveu.” during the American Revolution. Forced to leave his home The speakers were followed by the Blessing Ceremo- in the Province of New York, Sir John came with his fam- ny conducted by the Venerable Peter D. Hannen UE. As ily to Montreal in 1776, whereupon he was commissioned the two urns containing the remains of Sir John Johnson to form the first battalion of the King’s Royal Regiment of and members of his family were put inside the restored New York. At the end of the revolution, Sir John took un- vault, a three-volley salute was fired by the members of der his guardianship hun- the King’s Royal Yorkers dreds of Loyalists in ex- and the 84th Royal High- ile and helped them settle land Emigrants. Finally, the in what is now Eastern door of the vault was closed Ontario. and locked by Claude The second speaker Neveu. The group retired a was the Right Worshipful short distance down the Brother Dr. Jacques G. road to the Érablière Char- Ruelland, Past District bonneau to enjoy a deli- Deputy Grand Master and cious buffet. Past Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Quebec. Michel Racicot is a He gave a very informative member of the Sir John talk about Sir John Johnson Johnson Centennial Branch as a Freemason. For most of UELAC. his adult life, Sir John was a Mason; towards the end of

Michel Racicot speaking at the August 23 ceremony 9 before the restored vault. Photo: Jim Caputo. QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

The Wandering Minstrel revisited by Rod MacLeod e may not be terribly well forts went unrecognized by his employ- The March-April 2010 QHN also known in southern Quebec – ers. Little wonder that Norris opted to contained a letter from Peter Downes or in much of the world, for asking for information on Norris’ possi- that matter – but Harry Nor- ble involvement in the Montreal Junior risH has made a distinct mark on the Symphony Orchestra. Appropriately, a pages of the Quebec Heritage News. In former member of the MJSO, Carol large part that is my fault, having decid- Martin, responded and provided useful ed that writing about the man was a way background on Norris’ involvement in of both exploring a little-known but in- the development of the music curricu- fluential personality and indirectly ad- lum within Montreal’s Protestant school vertising the activities of the Montreal system and his influence on the MJSO’s West Operatic Society (MWOS). director Lewis Elvin, who also immi- My “Harry Norris: Montreal West’s grated to Montreal from England in the Wandering Minstrel” (QHN, March- late 1920s. Norris figures in the article April 2009) is a biographical essay with Carol subsequently wrote about Elvin in an ad for the upcoming production of the Autumn 2012 QHN: “Montreal’s Princess Ida shamelessly plugged into it. leave the company in 1929 and settle in Music Man: Lewis V. Elvin and the Jun- But other writers, with no apparent ulte- Montreal, where he and his wife Doris ior Symphony Orchestra.” rior motives, have made references to Hemingway (herself a D’Oyly Carte Norris influenced singers and musi- Norris within the pages of this maga- alumna) forged second careers as music cians throughout Montreal from the zine, namely Sandra Stock, Carol Martin teachers (private and at McGill) and the 1930s to the 1960s when he and Doris and Janet Allingham. Clearly the man artistic team at the helm of several fledg- retired back to England. His energies ex- had an impact, and is deserving of a ling local opera companies – including tended well beyond the city, however – more careful study. the one in Montreal West that I had writ- notably to Dunham, Quebec, a 60-mile Such a study has finally emerged in ten about. train journey which he took every week the form of a short but well-crafted biog- Indeed, Downes had read my arti- to teach at St. Helen’s School for Girls. raphy by New Zealand music historian cle, and contacted me for information on Sandra Stock, a St. Helen’s alumna, Peter Downes: A Gilbert and Sullivan the cultural scene in 1930s Montreal – recalls particularly the Gilbert and Sulli- Man: The musical life of Harry Norris. which resulted in a footnote reference to van productions that Harry and Doris di- Downes traces the career of Norris from the QHN. He also consulted Margaret rected (he the music, she the staging, as his origins in New Zealand to his arrival Quinlan, the MWOS archivist, and Janet they did for MWOS and the other oper- in England in 1909 and subsequent em- Allingham, daughter of long-time atic societies in the Montreal area), per- ployment as principal violinist and later MWOS performer Hector Chandler. formed every year at the school’s clos- music director for the D’Oyly Carte Having grown up with MWOS, ing ceremonies in June. Opera Company, which had first pro- Janet provided the kind of personal de- These memories feature in Sandra’s duced the works of Gilbert and Sullivan tail that enriches any biography – detail “Traditional Education, Changing and has pretty much continued to pro- she outlined in the March-April 2010 Times: St Helen’s School, 1875-1972” duce them ever since. QHN: “Music, Relationships and Com- (QHN, Summer 2013). Downes emphasizes Norris’ critical munity: A childhood with the Montreal Harry Norris got around. A Gilbert involvement with the company, particu- West Operatic Society.” As a child, Janet and Sullivan Man indicates just how far. larly as the baton behind most of the ear- knew, and was a little in awe of, Harry liest recordings of these operas, while Norris, and took piano lessons from observing how often the director’s ef- Doris.

Please make your donation by cheque payable to the Townshippers’ Founda- tion, marking on the memo line “PH Knowlton House.” Please provide your name, address and email and indi- One of the oldest log dwellings in the East- grounds of the Brome County Historical So- cate if the donation is to be anony- ern Townships, the 1815 Paul Holland ciety Museum (BCHS) for all to enjoy. The mous. Mail to: Townshippers’ Founda- Knowlton house requires your financial help target amount is $120,000 and moving day tion, 100-257 Queen, Sherbrooke, Qc, to be successfully restored and moved to the is October 17, 2014. J1M 1K7.

Harry Norris. Photo: The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, 10 http://diamond.boisestate.edu/gas. FALL 2014

WHY CRY WHEN AN OLD BUILDING DIES? by Linda Buzzell Quiet Revolution of the 1960s that saw the renaissance of French culture and sovereignty in Quebec. Will the stones that have seen it all soon tumble to earth or is it possible to find a way to preserve and per- haps repurpose their sturdy shelter? The previous owner, the Diocese of Montreal, sold the property to the city of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu a decade ago. The province of Quebec has offered to fund half of the restoration costs as part of its efforts to preserve Quebec’s patrimony but the city has still not found money in its coffers to save these ancient members of the community. A small group called Les Amis de l’Eglise Trinity (Friends of Trinity n an era when so much human and animal suffer- Church) is trying to motivate action. In the era of recy- ing calls out for our compassion and action, why cling everything, couldn’t these sturdy survivors of should we care about a few dying historical build- countless Quebec winters and summers become home to ings? Yet this is just what brought me to tears twenty-first century residents or community organiza- Iwhen I casually googled my childhood address in a tions? small village in the Eastern Townships and was devas- How will this story end? I don’t know. But I do tated to see the crimes that have been committed know that my dreams are now haunted by the spectre of against a beautiful grey-stoned home and church erect- my poor home, dark and decrepit with no one caring ed in 1841. Appalled by the degradation, neglect and enough to heal its wounds. And I wonder how many oth- outright vandalism I saw in the photos and video, I was er historical properties all over Quebec also suffer from seized by the need to find out what tragedy had such neglect, and how this affects the feelings of those befallen Trinity Anglican Church and its rectory. who see them (of whatever ethnicity) in person or via the (Video: http://vimeo.com/37679859.) Internet. Those of us who once loved special homeplaces The painting by Canadian landscape artist Randolph that are now abandoned are experiencing heartbreak. Howe that graces my office in Santa Barbara, California, depicts these lovely old buildings in the Iberville section of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu as I remember them: thick ancient stone walls, gabled roof and antique-paned win- dows -- all surrounded by lush grounds and a historic cemetery where many of the English-speaking Victorian inhabitants of the village found their rest. Surely there are good reasons for not only saving the whales and our environment but also the jewels of our human cultural heritage around the world? So many his- torical buildings and monuments are at risk, like these poor orphans. They have important stories to tell to fu- ture generations that will be lost if they crumble away. So what are the tales that Trinity Church and its rec- tory could share with fellow Quebecers, Canadians and others around the planet? These forlorn stone monuments speak to one era of the storied history of the Richelieu Valley as it transitioned from First Peoples to French sov- Small Press, ereignty and then, after the 1759 English Conquest, to Great Britain. French explorer Samuel de Champlain had Tremendous Books! travelled down the nearby river to Lake Champlain. Not too long before these buildings were erected, in 1775 23 rue Ste-Anne American revolutionaries had travelled up the river in ef- Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X 1L1 [email protected] 514.457.5733 forts to conquer Quebec – and again in 1812. And these www.shorelinepress.ca stout stone walls have seen more recent changes: Cana- da’s eventual independence from Great Britain and the

Top: Trinity Rectory, painting by Randolph Howe. Bottom: Trinity Church, Iberville. Photo: courtesy of Linda Buzzell. 11 Photo: http://maculture.ca/batiment/2422. QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

THE LOST TRAILS OF PAUL D’ALLMEN by Joseph Graham

ackrabbit Johannsen has been celebrated for his dedica- their mother, had earned the respect of her British employer and tion to skiing, but he was far from the only person out in could help her children find work, so she could boldly encour- the woods developing trails. Another pioneer, too long age them to leave. She found her daughter Martha a position as unsung, cut, marked and documented many trails in the the nanny for the Holt family of Montreal. Paul went to work JLaurentians, and started before the famous Maple Leaf Trail for his mother's employer, and within a year was hired by the was conceived. His maps survive, but for the most part his trails Drummonds, also of Montreal. have disappeared beneath the developing communities be- Paul von Allmen arrived in Canada in 1910 and became tween Sainte-Anne-des-Lacs and Saint-Sauveur, or have lost the butler at the Drummond home on Sherbrooke Street in their identity, having been absorbed into other trail systems. Montreal. Being only 16 years old, he was soon as much a part Nothing is named in Paul d’Allmen’s memory, yet he was pres- of the family as he was a servant. He must have idolized his ent, not just in skiing, but also when his generation was called employer’s dashing son Guy, who volunteered for service upon to go to war. Most of us have stories of ancestors like when the Great War began in 1914. Guy enlisted in the 5th d’Allmen, stories of people who arrived in Canada like unwant- Royal Highlanders. Today, it is hard to understand the enthusi- ed plants pulled from a garden asm of the young volunteers and thrown to the side but de- for that war, but men went to termined to survive in the new war; they had done so in every soil. Some had easier starts generation. War had simply than others. Paul d’Allmen become industrialized like was one of the others. everything else—except the Elizabeth Schurch von people. Allmen had to carefully ex- When Paul turned twen- amine her options in 1893 af- ty-one he married a co-worker ter the death of her husband in the Drummond household Fritz. Living in Interlaken in named Rhoda Clark and his the canton of Bern in Switzer- life appeared to be taking a land, a region that had not yet turn for the better. Perhaps the discovered its modern voca- Von Allmen family would be tion as a premier tourist desti- able to establish itself in this nation, she lacked the re- new soil and to thrive, bringing sources to properly provide that Swiss determination from for her 10 children. She took Interlaken into this new, young the drastic step of leaving society, the New World. what had been home to the von Allmen family for over six cen- The Old World, though, still governed the New. When the turies and moved her family to Geneva. Even there, she could Canadian armada set sail in October 1914, it was the largest not provide for her family but she discovered that she could military force that had ever crossed the Atlantic. A lot of the sol- emigrate and hopefully send enough resources home to sustain diers, Canadian volunteers, would participate in one of the most the children. Elizabeth accepted a position for herself with a horrific battles in the history of war. By late April 1915, both wealthy family from England and soon departed, leaving her German and Allied forces were locked in conflict in the two- teenage daughter, Emma, in charge of the younger children. dozen kilometres between Ypres and Passchendaele, digging While some of the older kids adapted to their new life in themselves into defensive trenches, churning the ground into a Geneva, others, including Paul, followed their mother. The sea of mud. To break the stalemate, the Germans introduced the Swiss government had a policy of encouraging emigration as a use of poison gas to the battlefield. The first victims, soldiers of means of reducing the human burden on the Swiss infrastruc- the French army, were overwhelmed, and, being unfamiliar ture. The local council offered the equivalent of six month’s with this new weapon, they retreated downwind – and therefore wages for anyone who emigrated, but if an emigrant returned, moved with the gas. They sustained heavy casualties, leaving he would have to pay the money back with interest. It was a the Canadians almost surrounded by numerically superior Ger- cold, hard policy aimed bluntly at reducing the numbers of so- man forces. Incredibly, the concept of defeat or surrender did ciety’s most needy, effectively buying their citizenship. Six not occur to the isolated Canadians. Thanks to the quick think- months’ wages must have seemed like a considerable grubstake ing of the Canadian front-line doctor, A. C. Scrimger, the stub- to someone who could not find any wages at all. Elizabeth, born Canadians adapted to the gas attacks by holding urine-

Map by Paul d’Allmen. Société d’histoire et de généalogie des Pays 12 d’en Haut, courtesy of Fred and Shirley D’Allmen and Paul Dumas. FALL 2014 filled kerchiefs over their faces. They rapidly replaced a series her husband. Three months after their marriage, Paul came to of fallen officers, advanced on the German positions, and re- find her, having secured a place for them to live, and they rec- gained the line. At one point, when a particularly popular leader onciled. When their first child was born in 1927, her adoptive was killed, a cry of anguish could be heard and the soldiers parents forgave her and became more involved in their lives. pushed on, the deaths making them more determined. As ro- Paul’s mobility improved over the course of long walks mantic as it might sound today, these men were trudging with his children, although he still needed crutches. He also through thigh-deep mud and the abandoned corpses of soldiers taught himself nutrition, discovering what he could and could in a garish nightmare world of barbed wire and exploding not eat. He knew his survival was a miracle, and that he had to shells. Most were in a permanent state of shock and death look after himself with great care. Those who knew him mar- dogged their every movement. Captain Guy Drummond was velled at his need to meditate, and knew better than to disturb killed working to help the French re-establish their line. The him when he retreated into a trance-like state in order to pre- worthy and the unworthy fell without distinction. serve his health. When the news of Guy’s death got back to them, Lady Many Montrealers first began to go to the country for the Drummond closed down her home and Paul von Allmen pre- summer because it was cheaper than staying in Montreal. They sented himself for enlistment. To his surprise, Paul learned that would give up their city flats when the children got out of his very name, von Allmen, centuries old and meaning ‘public school and rent very inexpensive lodgings from a farmer. These pastureland’ in the mountains of Switzerland, was too German. summer homes boasted no plumbing, but because they were He had to change it for his own safety. Dropping the prefix situated in farming country, food would be reasonably priced. “von” and adding a “d’,”on May 15, Paul d’Allmen enlisted in The children could run wild, finding new friends or even mak- the 2nd University Company of McGill. ing themselves useful, and being free of the city also meant In November 1915, d’Allmen fell victim to influenza, the cool, quiet nights and clean air. The d’Allmens came north that killer that took the most lives during that war, but he recovered. way, with Paul staying in the city in cheap, simple rooms in He was wounded a year later at the Battle of the Somme, but Verdun, and taking the train up north for the weekends. again returned to active duty. Another year later, he was wound- Like many others, the d’Allmens became attached to the ed in the First Battle of Passchendaele on October 19, but again Laurentians. As they prospered, they found a home in Sainte- returned to the front lines. Finally, he was reported killed on the Anne-des-Lacs, and soon came up north in the winter also. first day of the Second Battle of Passchendaele on October 30, Having grown up in the mountains of Switzerland, and given one of the most vicious battles of the war, and notice was sent his difficulties, Paul cherished the stability of skis, and found to his wife, Rhoda. peace cutting through maple stands or crossing a snow-covered Back home in Montreal, Rhoda had endured her own farmer’s field on the side of a hill. He soon began to map the hardships, losing their two-day-old daughter. It may have been trails he travelled. receiving the news of the death of her husband that finally In 1931, he produced his first map, calling it simply ‘Lau- broke her resistance; she also contracted influenza. Cared for by rentian Ski Map.’ Carefully drawn in India ink on a sheet a bit d’Allmen’s mother, both women suffered the burden of the shy of four square feet, representing about 300 square miles, it loss, but soon it was followed with a message that Paul had sur- shows Sainte-Agathe in the top left corner (northwest limit), vived. Initially, placed with other corpses, he was listed as dead, Mont-Rolland dead centre, and encompasses the area south of but on October 31 someone saw him twitch, and he was res- Lesage in the bottom right (southeast limit). It includes Sainte- cued and sent home. Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson, Sainte-Adele, Saint-Sauveur, A part of d’Allmen’s skull had to be replaced with metal. Morin Heights, Shawbridge, Val-Morin, Val-David, Sainte- When Lady Drummond later offered to pay his tuition at Marguerite-Station and Saint-Hippolyte, complete with the McGill University, he tried to concentrate, but in spite of a solid roads, railways, contours, miles of ski trails with their names, grounding in school in Switzerland, he was unable to. As he and about ten resorts. The names on the map include Lover’s described it, he had forgotten all he had learned. That part of his Leap, Devil’s Jump, Cote du Sac au Dos, and, intriguingly, brain had been irrevocably damaged. While he was recovering Trail of the Fallen Women, a name that seems associated with in the Ste. Anne Military Hospital, his wife Rhoda passed away. nothing more than a couple of amusing spills. Skiers would rec- After the war and his recovery, d’Allmen found a position ognize most of the resort names – Chalet Cochand, Laurentian with Montreal Light Heat and Power Consolidated, a firm in Lodge Club, Bellevue and others. While there is a trail called which the Holts, the employer of his sister Martha, were found- Johansen (sic), and the trails interconnect right across the territo- ing partners. It is a testimonial to the impression that the von ry, there is not yet any trail called the Maple Leaf. It would Allmens made upon their various employers that he was of- come later, as Paul d’Allmen would eventually draw more than fered a job at all. He had been discharged from the military as 40 such maps of the region. His son, Fred, still a resident of unfit, and had to learn to walk again. Rising to the challenge, he Sainte-Anne-des-Lacs, can account for 43, and there are likely became involved in yoga and became an expert canoeist. His others that were lost or destroyed. Some of the maps were hung second wife, also named Rhoda, was eleven years younger in railroad stations to guide skiers, and one was copied and than he was, and they eloped in 1926. He certainly wasn’t a made into a place mat for The Pub in Saint-Sauveur. Many of catch in the eyes of her family. She herself was raised by her the maps are signed Paul d’Allmen, Chairman of the Trails aunt and uncle, and was rejected by her adoptive parents be- Committee of the Laurentian Zone. cause of her decision to marry. But they must have had an influ- D’Allmen used a compass and an altimeter, basing the ence on her as she got cold feet after the wedding and fled from maps on aerial and geodesy information. He walked and skied

13 QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS the trails, marking and cutting, and in the process left us docu- ments of a much different time, when people skied through pristine woodlands and open fields with a specific destination in mind. One of his maps shows Saint-Sauveur with every street and house along with the owners’ names. His maps were not a business venture but a passion, and he did not encourage their commercialization. His son, having inherited a bit of his artistic flare, illustrated some with trains, buses and skiers, and today he and his wife are the custodians of this unique heritage collec- The Gallop Group tion. Paul d’Allmen died on May 3, 1981, having spent Personalized Investment Management decades mapping, marking and skiing trails. Some of his maps have been given to the Laurentian Ski Museum. There are many great names associated with skiing: Émile Cochand, Hermann 'Jackrabbit' Johannsen, the Wurtle sisters, Gault Gille- spie – a familiar list. It is time we add Paul d’Allmen and ac- [email protected] knowledge his contributions to our skiing history. www.3macs.com Joseph Graham ([email protected]) is the author of Naming the Laurentians: A History of Place Names Up North, and a 1-800-567-4465 forthcoming book on the history of the Laurentians.

Sources: Sir Max Aitken, M.P., Canada in Flanders: The Official Story of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, 1916. Member Canadian Armed Forces war records information and personal and ski history generously contributed by Fred and Shirley Membre d’Allmen.

Nick Fonda

HANGING FRED AND A FEW OTHERS Painters of e Eastern Townships Blanchard ad ISBN 978-1-77186-020-8 | $24.95 224 pages

“In his lively,livelyely,, uid style,ststyleyleyle,, Nick FondaFonda brings toto lifelife the charactercharactterer and workwork of well-knownwell-known CanadianCanadian painterpainter FrederickFFrrrederickederick SimpsonSimpson Coburn.Coburn. WovenWWoovvenen intointo the narrativenarrativativee areare also portraitsportraits of severalsevseverereralal other TownshipsTToownships artistsartists and the impactimpact the regionregion hashas on their work.wworkorkork.. … fun and fascinating,ffaascinatingscinating,, the bookbook is an importantimportant addition toto TownshipsTToownships lore.”lore.” BarbaraBarbara Verity,VVeriteriterityyy,, formerformer editoreditor of TheThe Record.Record.

WithWith 14 unpublished photphotosos fromfrom the CoburnCoburn family collection.ollection.

AvailableAvailable SeptemberSeptember 2014 www.barakabooks.comwww.barakabooks.com

14 FALL 2014

©

Are you ready for the next act?

Introducing the Organized Planning & PC, Mac EmergencyResponseAssistant & Linux An easy-to-use application that helps you prepare for emergencies before they happen compatible Don’t Let Your Museum Fall Prey to Disaster Store and retrieve vital information Analyze risks and set priorities to when and where you need it strengthen security in your facility

Build community support around Includes training resources and protecting local heritage tips on basic salvage techniques

Available on DVD for only $15, starting November 2014

Bonus offer

Save when you combine OPERA with this set of 10 conservation Field Guides for the special low price of $25

To order call toll-free 1-877-964-0409 or (local) 819 564-9595. Or email your order to [email protected]

Security for Heritage, Outreach and Workshop Initiative (SHOWI) is sponsored by the Quebec Anglophone Heritage Network, with financial support from the Department of Canadian Heritage.

15 QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

2014 QAHN HERITAGE PHOTO CONTEST

1ST PRIZE together as well. Presently, my aunt and several of my cousins have administrative posts at the company, working together every day to Atlantic Sportswear keep Atlantic running smoothly. Had they each taken separate career by Katie Neudorf-Rotchin, Secondary 4-A paths, our family’s bond might not be as strong as it is now. Should Trafalgar School for Girls, Montreal, Qc. my grandfather retire, I hope that he will be replaced by a family Teacher: Lori Litvack member, so that Atlantic could remain a family-run business. 2ND PRIZE

Editor’s note: the 2nd Prize winner has been disqualified.

3RD PRIZE

The Ax by Amanda Asbil, Secondary 3 Joliette High School, Joliette, Qc. Teacher: Ms. Iachetta

This old, red ax is part of Quebec’s cultural heritage. The wooden handle is smooth and worn. The red paint is chipping off the head of the ax and the steel has scars from its past. This ax has chopped so many pieces of wood and it is more reliable than a piece of machin- ery. This ax is part of Quebec’s cultural heritage because the timber industry played a major role back in the eighteenth century. When forests were cleared for farms and when railroads were built, axes were used. When log houses were in construction and boats were being built they used axes. The ax played a very important role in the way of life here in Quebec and in Canada. It is also a symbol of our way of life here. When winter arrives, most of us heat our homes by burning wood in our wood stoves. A lot comes to mind when I think of my heritage. Although my par- Even with technology, we still heat our homes traditionally with a ents and I were born and raised in Montreal, I still have a strong crackling fireplace. connection to my Polish roots. Shortly after the Second World War, The ax has contributed greatly to Quebec’s heritage and contin- my grandfather Peter Neudorf, fled from his home in Poland, and ues to serve its purpose to this day. came here as an adolescent along with his mother and brother. Dur- ing the war, he was kept in work camps, where he lost his father and sisters. After arriving in Canada, my family struggled to make ends meet. My grandfather swept floors in textile factories to help his mother. There, he was inspired to strive high and create his own business. In 1951, my grandfather and great-uncle created Atlantic Sportswear, a ski/winter apparel manufacturing company. Although the company started out small, it grew with time. Af- ter several years of hard work, Atlantic Sportswear became one of Quebec’s largest outerwear manufacturers. Until the 1980s, the clothing manufacturing industry was thriv- ing immensely. Many immigrants were creating their own business- es. Like my grandfather, these companies began as clothing manu- facturers. However, manufacturing became too expensive in Canada forcing many companies to close or turn to importing garments, as my grandfather did. Although I have no interest in joining the textile industry, I still have a sentimental attachment to my grandfather’s company. Not only does it inspire me to work hard, but it keeps our family closer

16 FALL 2014

HONOURABLE MENTION rapids. The vegetation surrounding the water helps frame the image, yet still allows a faint glimpse of the buildings in the distance. The Necklace by Gabriella Martucci, Secondary 2-A Trafalgar School for Girls, Montreal, Qc. Teacher: Lori Litvack

This photograph constitutes “heritage” because it is a wonder- ful example of how Quebec maintains a balance of urbanization and natural areas. This is a very important aspect of Quebec culture be- cause many countries do not manage this difficult task. Montreal’s devotion to protecting natural zones within the city is truly remarkable and should be acknowledged!

When I was born, I was extremely loud, had scarcely any hair and HONOURABLE MENTION barely slept. My mother tells me that I was a difficult baby but my grandmother tells me I was well behaved and beautiful. Being my Let It Snow grandmother her opinion is immensely biased but flattering. The by Shona Abtahi, Secondary 4 photo I have taken is a picture of a necklace that was passed down Trafalgar School for Girls, Montreal, Qc. to me from my grandmother. This necklace was given to my grand- Teacher: Lori Litvack mother by her mother (my great-grandmother) and survived the journey from Italy to Canada. The necklace gathered dust in the bot- tom of her jewelry box until she decided that I should have it. It is not one of my most versatile pieces nor my most worn but it is one of my favorites because of the fact that it has been passed down from my great-grandmother to my grandmother to me. It lets me feel connected to my great-grandmother as I imagine her saving up to buy the necklace and also my grandmother as I imagine her mar- rying my grandfather wearing it and keeping it safe for so many years. I feel very honoured to own such a beautiful piece with such a rich background that has survived so many years. When I was gifted this necklace I was much too young to appreciate it but when I see it hanging on my jewelry rack every day I feel proud to be its owner.

HONOURABLE MENTION This photograph represents the Canadian heritage in different ways. A Glimpse It was taken in Westmount on April 14, 2014. The model in the pho- by Andrea Fabris, Secondary 4 tograph is fully Canadian since her parents and herself were born in Trafalgar School for Girls, Montreal, Qc. Canada. The ski goggles on the model’s head represent the sport of Teacher: Lori Litvack skiing. Skiing is the most popular sport during winter. The gloves that the model is wearing are the Olympic gloves that most people This photograph was taken on a beautiful autumn day in the La- of Canada have. The winter Olympics is a very important event to chine Rapids, Montreal. I have a clear memory of that moment, the Canadians since it consists of winter sports, which are the sports that air was chilly yet the sun shone brightly on the sparkling water. The many Canadians play especially hockey. The clothing the model is constant hum of the river rushing with great power eventually be- wearing is the winter fashion and how most Quebecois adolescents came white noise, and I was able to pick out the songs of multiple dress during winter. It represents winter since winter is the main sea- birds that nested in the area. son of Canada. This is how the photograph represents the Canadian This photograph portrays a simple yet beautiful view of the heritage.

17 QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

HONOURABLE MENTION

A Small Package As well as natural resources, Quebec offers a variety of wildlife, by Yoad Vered, Secondary 2 found down on the ground and up in the sky. This photo, taken in West Island College, Dollard-des-Ormaux, Qc. the gardens of the Biodome, is a Monarch caterpillar feeding on Teacher: Philippe Marsolais milkweed. Soon, it will grow into a Monarch butterfly, one of the several local butterflies found in the region. This crawler is also aware of changes that are coming, since every year the on- ly plant it eats is being cut down or re- moved by humans. If all milkweed plants are removed, watching these crawlers hatch and majestically flap their bright wings for the very first time will be a thing of the past. This butterfly indirectly symbolises how many things in the history of Que- bec started off small and ended up as big successes. From its raging orange wings to its polka-dotted outline, this butterfly is one of the several natural gifts our province is lucky to have. Good things come in small packages.

18 FALL 2014

ISLAND OF STORIES CONTEST WINNERS, 2014

This year, QAHN partnered with the Quebec Federation of 2ND PRIZE Home and School Associations (QFHSA) to invite Primary Cy- cle 3 and Secondary I-V students to participate in “An Island of Rockland Shopping Centre Stories,” an essay competition launched at the November 2013 by Demetrios Adamakakis, Grade 5 QPAT Teachers Convention in Montreal. “An Island of Stories” Selwyn House School, Westmount, Qc. gave students the opportunity to participate in an inter-genera- tional activity that explored their family’s history through the re- Anna Derossis was born in Canada but her parents migrated search of a special place/building/site on the island of Montreal from Greece. She is a mother of two children. My mom’s fa- and surrounding area. Essays submitted to this competition vorite place is Rockland. She first went to Rockland when she have all been entered on QAHN’s website Mapping the Mosaic. was about 2-3 years. She still remembers going to Woolworths, Steinberg’s Supermarket, and Brown‘s shoes. My mom lives in Mapping the Mosaic (http://mapping.montrealmosaic.com) is a different neighborhood today than when she grew up. Back an innovative and easy-to-use mapping website that charts the then she used to walk to Rockland and it took about 30 min collected memories of the English-speaking communities in the from her house, and 10 min from her grandparent’s house. To- Greater Montreal area. It is a participatory website where users day it takes about a 7 min walk or a 2-3 min drive from her of all interests can share experiences and expertise of where house. their history happened, by pinning favourite stories to an inter- Presently Rockland is a large indoor shopping mall in active map of neighbourhoods throughout Montreal, Laval and TMR. It was originally built in 1959 as an open-air shopping off-island suburbs. We are pleased to reprint the two winning mall. It is now in the same location but has been rebuilt and ren- essays here. ovated over the years. Today, Rockland is much larger and has a large food court. 1ST PRIZE There are few original stores that are still there, most of the stores are different. One of the original brick walls which used Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church to belong to The Bay can be seen from the parking lot. Not too by Tommy Kokkinos, Grade 5 many people know that. My mom’s favorite stores used to be Selwyn House School, Westmount, Qc. Brown’s shoe store because there was a large slide that used to go from the first level to the basement of the store. She would My dad was born in 1969 in Montreal. run in the store and go on the slide His parents were born in Greece. We even when we weren’t buying shoes. follow the Greek Orthodox religion. She also loved to go to Woolworths, My dad’s favorite worship place was it was a five and dime store and we the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox always used to find little trinkets. church. It was located at the corner of There was a dining counter and Sherbrooke and Clarke Street, down- sometimes my mom would buy a so- town Montreal. The church was built da or ice cream. in 1865, more than 100 years ago! When my mom was growing up My dad was baptized there in she went there about once a week as 1970. He loved hanging out at the it was the only shopping mall in the church. He used to go to church every area. So she went there to shop for Sunday. It was only ten minutes away house hold items, clothes, shoes and from his home. His aunts and uncles food. Rockland is very special to my were married there and his cousins were baptized there too. My dad mom because she remembers going as a little girl and now she would spend Easter and Christmas there with his family. goes with her children. Did you know that the church had two floors? The second floor In the past, my mom had special moments at Rockland like: was the basement. That’s where my dad played with his friends. The she had her ears pierced when she was 10 years old at The Bay. church had pictures of saints and lots of candles. There was a lot of She could still remember it today. It was in the jewelry and ac- gold! cessories department. Actually one piercing was a little lower Unfortunately the church burned down on January 1986. When than the other but she never got it redone. my dad heard of the news, he was shocked, devastated and angry. Now she also had special moments at Rockland like: she He felt like a part of their home was gone. In 1997, the church got loved bringing her babies to Rockland. She still has fond memo- demolished. The Greek community did not have enough funds to ries of them in their strollers eating ice cream. She also loved rebuild the church. bringing them to Chapters book store that now has closed and Today there is a hotel called Hotel 10 at that same corner. It is moved. One of the most special memories was when we bought very popular and a lot of tourists stay there. When my dad drives by, it our Yorkshire puppy at Safari pet store, about 18 months ago. makes him feel like there is something missing and it still feels very This was the same pet store we would always have to visit with holy. The church was historical because it was an old church. It had a every trip to Rockland when the children were younger. lot of history and it was important to my dad and many others. 19 QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

QAHN HERITAGE ESSAY CONTEST WINNERS, 2014

feel the same way. If you walk by Ogilvy’s during the Holiday season, you will see a lot of people, of all ages, staring at the dis- play. Even now, with all the fast technology and Internet, everyone takes a few minutes out of their busy holiday shopping to stop and admire the display. My mom remembers seeing the display when she was younger and now she has shared this Montreal tradition with me and one day I will bring my children to see it – a Montreal holiday landmark!

2ND PRIZE

A Life Changing Machine by Amanda Lisi, Grade 5 Gardenview Elementary School, Saint-Laurent, Qc Teacher: Ms. Wong 1ST PRIZE Have you ever seen the roads covered in snow up to five me- Ogilvy’s Christmas Display Window tres high? Probably not. Well that is because we have our trusty by Elisa Vitovszki, Grade 5 friend the snow blower. The snow blower is an amazing machine. Gardenview Elementary School, Saint-Laurent, Qc Without this genius machine winter would be a big mess especial- Teacher: Ms. Wong ly in Quebec. The inventor of the snow blower is Arthur Sicard. Arthur was Ogilvy’s department store was opened in 1866 and is located born in Saint-Leonard-de-Port-Maurice, Quebec, on December 17, at the corner of St. Catherine and de la Montagne Street in down- 1876. Arthur’s father was a dairy farmer and Arthur would deliver town Montreal since 1896. the dairy products. In the winter it would be harder to drive in the In 1947, the owner asked a German toymaker to create two roads full of snow. So Arthur thought about a machine that would animated holiday scenes. The display is put up every year in the clear the roads. Arthur saw the machine his neighbour used to cul- department store corner window from mid-November to mid-Jan- tivate the wheat in the fields. He was fascinated by the fast blades uary. It takes one full week to put up the scene. The scenes include spinning on the machine that was used to cultivate the wheat. He hundreds of animated stuffed animals doing a lot of different ac- thought he could make a machine very similar to clear the snow tivities. Every year, the scene is switched form “Mill in the Forest” off the roads. to the “Enchanted Village.” It took Arthur about three decades to make this machine he In the “Mill in the Forest” scene, there are plenty of animals called the “Sicard snow remover snow blower.” This machine was such as frogs fishing, a porcupine playing the accordion, a rabbit made in 1925. The machine was also modified by Canadian citi- on a swing, and many more. My favourite animal is the monkey zens. From then on it was a joy all through Quebec for the roads shoeing the donkey. were no longer covered in snow. The best part of the display is the feeling I get when I see it Sadly, after inventing such a machine he died on September because I know that Christmas is coming and lots of Montrealers 13, 1946. Every winter we are reminded of him by his life chang- ing machine.

3RD PRIZE

CP Holiday Train by Grant Anderson, Grade 6 Beacon Hill School, Kirkland, Qc. Teacher: Chad Dixon

One tradition in my community that my family enjoys is the annual CP Holiday Train that rolls into Beaconsfield train station every November. My family and I have been going for a few years. The train has 14 train cars beautifully lit up with Christmas lights. It travels across Canada collecting donations of non-perishable food and money for the needy.

Top: Ogilvy window. Bottom: Snow blower. Photo: http://www.canadiandesignreso Photo: http://www.amabilia.com/contenu/planete_voyage /sec05_386d.html. 20 urce.ca/transportation /sicard-model-bu-42-snowblower. FALL 2014

I have chosen Philippe Couillard because I watched as he be- came the Premier of Quebec the night of the elections on April 7, 2014, while having dinner. He is a man who promises to help build a better economy, community and future for Quebec. He was born June 26, 1957, in Montreal. He graduated in Neurosurgery at the University of Montreal and became a brain doctor at 21. He had many different jobs. He was chief surgeon at Saint-Luc Hospi- tal. He was co-founder of neurosurgery in Saudi Arabia. He was a member of the Security Intelligence Review Committee. And he was appointed Minister of Health and Social Services during the Jean Charest Government. Philippe Couillard is a likeable, calm and good-natured per- In 2012, they collected almost $5 million and 2.3 million son. He gets his nickname “Bear” because of his size and the way pounds of food. The donations collected by CP are given to local he takes strolls in the park. food banks, so the donations are helping people in their own com- I find him to be a very interesting person. Here are some oth- munities. er facts about Philippe Couillard. First, when he was young he en- Along with the festive train cars, another reason to enjoy the joyed playing hockey outdoors without gloves in very cold weath- Holiday Train is the snow. Last year, Santa arrived with the band er, and his hands never got cold! This liberal leader still will not The Odds. As the band played holiday songs, Santa walked around wear gloves while making speeches outdoors. He says he only the huge crowd handing out candy canes. The radio station 92.5 gets cold ears and feet. He is into music, and has a playlist of The Beat was also there handing our “Beat Bags”. opera and classical to rock and reggae on his iPad. He says he is As my family and I made our way through the crowd last year not into ‘light’ reading. He refused to read the morning newspa- to find a place to watch the show, we realized we were standing pers especially during his campaign. He is a red wine lover, but right behind my grade 5 teacher, Mme. Lafrance, and her family. only drank orange juice and water during his campaign. Lastly, Even though the temperature was very cold, it didn’t stop Mr. Couillard is proud of his beard, he has trimmed his beard for hundreds of people from my community from supporting a good the campaign, but he wears his beard proudly. cause and having a good time! HONOURABLE MENTION HONOURABLE MENTION Thérèse Casgrain My Great Grandfather: George Flewelling Leighton by Dahlia Capparelli by Aiden Gallagher, Grade 6 Grade 6 Beacon Hill School, Kirkland, Qc. Beacon Hill School, Kirkland, Qc. Teacher: Chad Dixon Teacher: Chad Dixon

I am writing to tell you about my great grandfather named Thérèse Casgrain was born July 10, 1896, in Montreal but George Flewelling Leighton. He was born in Moncton, New sadly died in 1981. Thérèse Casgrain was important to our com- Brunswick, on March 4, 1920. My grandfather was a great athlete; munity, because she spoke out for the women to get the right to he still holds the national junior record in front crawl division. vote in provincial elections. She was also noticeable for world George Leighton moved to Montreal in 1940 to work as a la- peace and an end to the nuclear weapons. bor with the company Canadian Vicker. He took classes at night to In 1961, she founded an organization called the Voice of become a mechanist, which allowed him to transfer to their other Women, and was elected president for this organization. After company called Canadair. My great grandfather made specialized hearing about this organization, women from all over the county parts for the planes. During war time he specialized on bombers. started joining this organization, after all the women came togeth- George married Eva Carr and they lived in greater Montreal er, there was an accumulation of 6,000 members. in a 4 bedroom house with 8 kids. They had 5 girls and 3 boys. At the age of 19, Thérèse Casgrain married Pierre Casgrain, After a long good life, George Flewelling Leighton passed in who was campaigning for the Charlevoix seat. In the winter, he June of 2009 from pneumonia. He left behind 7 children, 11 got very ill so she took his place. Thérèse’s father had been a con- grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren. He went to heaven to servative member of Parliament for 13 years, but decided not to meet his loving wife and son, Wayne, who died in a car crash at run for the elections of December 1917. the age of 19. For almost 20 years, Mrs. Casgrain campaigned for women to have the right to vote, this made the Federation of Quebec believe HONOURABLE MENTION that women should have the right to vote in the provincial elec- tions. Philippe Couillard All the women in Quebec should be grateful for what she did by Aydan Guzevicius, Grade 5 for them, and she will always be remembered in our community. Gardenview Elementary School, Saint-Laurent, Qc. Thank you Thérèse Casgrain! Teacher: Ms. Wong

The CP Holiday train in Beaconsfield. Photo: http://montreal.ctvnews.ca. 21 QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

GNEO INA PUFF OF SMOKE Magic Tom Auburn by Rohinton Ghandhi

“In all my years, I’ve never once pulled earlier, Canadian troops had taken Vimy ic,” as we know it. After months of seclu- a rabbit out of my hat.” Ridge, John F. Kennedy was born, and sion, his “lucky sevens” allowed him to – Magic Tom Auburn Russia would depose its last Czar, Nicholas take short walks outside, as his health im- II. Although the records at St. Clement’s proved. For many, 1929 was a devastating Church state his place of birth as Verdun, year, but for Tom Auburn it was a year of If You Believe in Magic other documents connect his origins to the personal triumph, for now he was ready to now submerged village of Aultsville, On- take on a live audience! he health inspector trodded his tario, one of the many towns flooded dur- way up to a home on Ethel ing the 1950s’ expansion of the St. An Appearance of Greatness Street in Verdun, as a twelve- Lawrence Seaway. year old boy watched curious- At thirteen, Auburn began to show- lyT from his bedroom window, awaiting case his talents at school events, parties, a knock. Yet, none came. Instead, the and the many social clubs of those times. man attached a bright red sign to their The crowds were awed by his tricks, but front door and walked away. The fell in love with his charm. He knew the youngster then raced to the door only value of promotion, using printed to read the words “Quarantined: Scarlet brochures to advertise his act. Fever – Do Not Enter.” He was old At fifteen, he performed his first paid enough to know that in 1929 Scarlet show for Shell Oil in Montreal’s East end. Fever was a possibly fatal illness, af- An hour of magic cost him an extra quar- fecting children and adults alike. He ter in tramway fare to carry his equipment had the symptoms: a strawberry-red with him, and made him his first five dol- tongue, a sandpaper-like rash and a lars. This one event anchored him as a fa- very high fever. He was under doctor’s vorite on Montreal’s corporate entertain- orders to remain in bed. The posted ment circuit. At first he played in a mask, warning confirmed that he might never performing tricks with cards, billiard recover. balls, silks and cigarettes, using front and The boy’s sadness soon faded when back palm manipulations with props. As a cousin presented him with a 25-cent his confidence grew, he dropped the mask magic book called Howard Thurston’s and became the “Great Auburn,” accept- Card Tricks as a get-well gift. He was lat- ing every booking offered. His unique up- er given another called Dunninger’s Pop- close style and slow hand movements, not ular Magic. Thomas Auburn then made a to mention his respectful dress in tux and choice. Instead of believing in a tragic tails, set him apart from the rest. end, he chose to believe in himself and to use his convalescence to practice literally Auburn always believed that seven A Time of Mystics every trick in the book. was a mystical number and that his “luck In a puff of smoke, the career was of sevens” would follow him throughout The early 1930s were the times of the launched of a man who would one day be his life. It was a life with dire beginnings, “great ones,” as a new blend of illusionists known as “Canada’s finest magician,” for at two-months old he lost his father, a and mystics entertained crowds that were Montreal’s very own, Magic Tom. machinist, to the flu epidemic, and by age struggling for an escape from the Depres- three, he was sent to live with his “Aunt B” sion years. In August 1932, Auburn attend- The Luck of Sevens (Beatrice) and his uncle at 994 Ethel Street ed his first magic show at the Loews The- in Verdun, Quebec. While attending St. atre, witnessing the exquisite slight-of- Thomas Rochford Auburn was born Willibrord’s School, he contracted the hand illusions of the great Cardini himself. on the seventh hour, of the seventh day, of fever that forced him into quarantine. With While sitting in the dark with all eyes fo- the seventh month in the year 1917, a tri- only two books for company, he studied cused on the performer in the spotlight, fecta event in numerology. It was in the them from cover to cover and practiced his Tom realized that a great magician must midst of World War I; only a few months skills in “the art of conjuring” – or “mag- play to an audience’s intelligence as well as

Book cover, Howard Thurston’s Card Tricks, 1903. 22 FALL 2014 their curiosity. From that night on, he rarely car I wouldn’t have much left, so I took the missed another performance of his person- money to Sun Life and it’s been there ever al heroes: Dante, Blackstone Sr., Howard since.” Thurston, and of course Cardini. These ma- His investment didn’t end there, for it gicians inspired him to take on their larger- was at Sun Life’s Montreal Office where than-life personas, not knowing that he was smitten by a young librarian named Auburn would stand amongst them in later Dolores Arlene Edwards. He then practiced years. his most convincing magic on her, the magic of courtship. Their romance extend- Tales of Floating Lamps and Green Indian ed into the war years; they married on Needles Valentine’s Day, February 14, 1942. On their wedding night, they stayed at the In 1935, Tom moved back in with his Mount Royal Hotel, not knowing its future mother in N.D.G. and attended Grade 10 at importance to their success. Magician and Montreal High School. During this time he librarian performed their own off-stage began mastering the tricks of his idols, and tricks, and soon welcomed the arrival of adding them into his act. Local headlines their daughter Darlene and their son Byron. raved: “Thomas Auburn teen-aged magic man of 2212 Old Orchard Avenue has pur- Tricks for the Troops ances to our troops. In his final year, he chased the famous Floating Lamp trick, rose to sergeant, forming his own “Army one of the best conjuring tricks in the In 1940, with Canadians fully en- Show” with the Recruiting Department, world. Only the Great Blackstone had ever trenched in WWII, Auburn joined other before getting medically discharged with performed this trick before in our city.” performers in the YMCA-TNT Review, honours in March 1945. The trick involved showing the audience a entertaining over 100,000 servicemen over lamp and globe which together would light 85 shows. During this time, he worked as a A Bite of the Apple up, and by unscrewing the globe the light correspondent for Dominion Oxygen to would go out. Tom would then unscrew the fund his voluntary military shows. He was Returning to civilian life, Auburn globe again and the light would stay on, honoured by Canada’s Defence Minister risked it all to become a performing master swinging across the stage and through James Ralston for his patriotic service. magician. Leaving his lucrative job at Do- hoops at his command. With the audience Tom then got his first big break, filling minion Oxygen, he collected his savings still in awe, Tom would move into the in for another magician for a run of shows and went off to the Big Apple. There, he “Needle-Swallowing Trick,” swallowing at the Tic Toc Club on 1258 Stanley Street. met talent agent May Johnson of the Music several packages of green Indian sewing He was now billed as “Magic Tom Corporation of America, and made her his needles and yards of thread. After eating an Auburn.” The audiences were so impressed exclusive manager. Under Johnson, he apple and drinking a glass of water to show that they referred to him as “an American screen-tested for romantic roles for major an empty mouth, he would then pull out a act” – quite the compliment in those days. Hollywood studios and built a professional string of needles neatly looped on the After his club run, he dedicated him- magician’s portfolio, often modelling for thread! This trick once gained him the self to Canada’s war effort, and in Novem- magazines as the dashing man of magic. compliments of Mayor Camillien Houde ber of 1941 he joined the Royal Canadian He declined the movie offers, however, and after his act at the Viger Hotel. That night, Army Medical Corps. No. 4, the Military decided to return to his home town, where a critic had left his notes behind with “very Caravan Show. his Dolores awaited. May Johnson accom- good” scrawled on the panied him back to Montreal, along with playbill under Auburn’s talent scout Jimmy name. A note which forev- Nichols and Nichols’ wife, er remained in Tom’s per- singer Norma Hutton, and sonal archives, marking a set up the May Johnson time when he was unstop- and Associates (Talent) of- pable. fices in the Mount Royal Hotel. Auburn would Off-stage Magic share an office on the mezzanine level with Tom’s Aunt B passed Nichols for almost forty away in 1936, never to see years, until the hotel final- him graduate from Montreal High and go Throughout his years of service he ly closed in November 1984. on to study communications at Sprott’s went beyond the call of duty, fulfilling his As a talent agent, Auburn helped an Commercial College. “When I was eight- military obligations during the day and per- unknown pianist Walter Liberace (Libera- een an aunt whom I lived with died and left forming his shows at night, without any say, in those days) become the famous Lib- me $5,000,” he later quoted. “The Pontiac I rest. He often travelled long distances be- erace and fitted him with his first tuxedo wanted cost $1,850. Gosh, after buying the tween camps and gave over 1,500 perform- for his Montreal debut. As a booking agent, Auburn brought top North American enter-

Top: Magic Tom Auburn, member of the Society of American Magicians. Bottom: May Johnson Associates business card, 1946. Photo: http://tomauburn.com. 23 QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

their hero. Auburn did not let them down; he performed weekly at the restaurant for over 26 years, with only his summers off. His shows ended in 1977, and the land- mark eatery finally disappeared in the mid- 1980s along with the true magic it once held.

Magic on the Airwaves

On January 20, 1961, CFCF-12 pre- miered as Montreal’s first commercial tele- vision station, covering JFK’s inauguration that evening and soon adding “Surprise Party” with Magic Tom to their weekday 4:30-5:30 p.m. schedule. Thousands of tainers to Montreal clubs and worked his loved her. She would rarely attend his kids tuned in to watch their hero introduce act alongside them when playing at the shows, stating that the “actor” on stage was one new boy and girl on every show to Normandie Roof Club on the ninth floor of not the man she married. In public, she was present their talents by singing, dancing, or the hotel. “The Roof” was once the social regularly asked: “Aren’t you afraid that he by simply sharing their good-deed stories. centre of Montreal, where affluent politi- will saw you in two or make you disap- They loved his many magic tricks, includ- cians, presidents and celebrities rubbed el- pear?” She always replied: “We are ex- ing his favorites like the Magic Candy bows with the latest “American” perform- tremely happy, but you can’t trust a magi- Tube trick spewing candy from an empty ers of the 1940s, and where the city’s cian, they’re always up to tricks.” She was cylinder, the Cut-and-Rejoin rope trick, and biggest deals were made. Both Mayor proudest of his non-drinking, non-smok- the old Disappearing Milk trick. Houde and Premier Duplessis held tables ing, and specifically his non-gambling there. Many stars, including Duke Elling- ways, only playing with cards as part of his ton, Xavier Cugat, Guy Lombardo, Jerry act. Lewis, and Frank Sinatra, played in the ballroom-styled club. A Tale of Two Toms

I Married a Magician In 1951, Tom Auburn met Tommy Tomasso and learned that they both shared In 1946, Dolores wrote an article for a passion for entertaining children. Tomas- magazine called “I Married a Magi- so was an accomplished musician himself, cian,” detailing her love for her young per- playing with many bands in New York and former and his trust in her as his most hon- London. He had hung up his trumpet in est critic. They were as close as any couple 1934 to join his mother in opening Montre- could get. Tom would try every trick with al’s famous “Piazza Tomasso” restaurant her first before taking it to the stage. At on Decarie Boulevard. Thursday nights in 1951 were known as “the maid’s But Magic Tom really only used tricks night off,” an evening when fami- to get the children’s attention, as he felt the lies dined out together. With that real magic was in teaching them how to be in mind, the two Toms launched safe, to be respectful of others, and to be- the “Kiddies Cabaret” shows at come good citizens. Auburn’s show was Tomasso’s by offering kid-friend- unique in this way, as it was more of a con- ly meals, while Magic Tom versation with children rather than a show played at every table without re- directed at them, welcoming their pets, peating a trick. Pulling a quarter their collections, and their words to his un- from an ear here, making a spoon rehearsed tapings. It was his sincere respect disappear there, he roamed for children that made him a Montreal through the excited room, turning icon, gathering crowds of loving fans common items into magical ob- across the city. Tom was also well aware jects. The weekly shows were an that parents watched the show. Once, after instant success, making Tomas- a puppy had “tinkled,” he looked into the so’s the city’s top spot for family camera and said: “Now you know why we home, there was a skull in every cupboard, dining and Magic Tom a household name. call it Surprise Party!” keeping Dolores always on guard for a By 1959, over 25,000 kids would proudly In July 1963, the “Magic Tom Road glowing skeleton or a floating ghost to pop be carrying their “Kiddies Cabaret” mem- Show” taped segments were added, with out of nowhere, as Tom’s way of saying he bership cards awaiting their next visit with Top and bottom left: Sun Life Review, article by Dolores Auburn, April 1946. Middle: Piazza Tomasso matchbook. Photos: courtesy of Sun Life Archives, Waterloo, Ontario. 24 FALL 2014

to this day. Great, then Harry Kellar, then Thurston and Blackstone Sr., each passing the man- Catch a Falling Star tle on to the next. Today, there are too many magicians,” he said. The tux and tails The Quebec Safety League reported a were gone, along with the grand scale illu- 10% jump in children’s traffic accidents af- sions which cost hundreds to build, and ter Magic Tom’s “Do’s and Don’ts” on even more to move. street safety went off the air, along with his He regretted the passing of old tradi- beloved show. Auburn covered his sadness tions, yet went with the times by downsiz- well, determined to set an example for his ing all of his tricks to fit into four suitcases young followers by showing them how and by often working out of the sixteen Magic Tom would prove courage in the pockets sewn into his dinner jacket. His de- worst of times. He gathered his strength livery remained impeccable, never reveal- from the thousands of letters which contin- ing his weakening back while performing ued to arrive from his loving fans who delicate and intricate slight-of-hand tricks missed their lunchtime buddy. only inches away from his audience. Perhaps because of his own childhood The audience was also becoming illness, Tom had always supported local much thinner. In 1977, with the passing of Auburn visiting local family attractions charities and volunteer groups helping sick Quebec’s language law (Bill 101), Montre- such as Granby Zoo, Frontier Town (N.Y.), children. Throughout his career, he had al’s corporate banquet circuits started to Belmont Park, the Verdun Natatorium, and formed close ties with the Montreal Chil- dry up as companies fled the province. The the Brome and Ormstown fairs. By 1965, dren’s and the Shriner’s hospitals by regu- exodus was slow but steady, as the lights of Surprise Party’s popularity had sky-rocket- larly visiting their wards and by honouring over 150 Montreal nightclubs gradually ed, reaching 70,000 viewers and receiving a child’s last wish to meet Magic Tom. He went dark, and with them Magic Tom’s over 1,200 fan letters per month, and now always felt that it was the most gratifying playgrounds. airing six days a week, Sunday to Friday. work he could ever do. Years before, he In November 1966, the show was fi- had set up the Tom Auburn Non-Profit Or- Aloha-cadabra nally renamed “Magic Tom” and moved to ganization to donate all net proceeds from 11:30 a.m. to capture the pre-school and his live performances to children’s chari- From his first two magic books, Tom’s school-lunchtime audience. It was fol- ties. personal library had grown into one of the lowed by Cliffhanger Theatre with Johnny As a founding member of the Montre- largest collections of magic memorabilia in Jellybean (aka Ted Zeigler) of “squawk al Chapter of the Society of American Ma- the country, valued at almost $25,000. He box” fame at noon. In this timeslot, the gicians and an honorary member of the In- was also a serious Egyptologist, owning a “Magic Tom” show became the Montreal ternational Brotherhood of Magicians, he lunchtime phenomenon that many still still held his title as “Canada’s finest magi- count among their dearest childhood mem- cian.” With this in mind, Tom Auburn once ories, often speaking of Magic Tom as if he again chose to believe in himself and with had been a member of the family. By the his “luck of sevens” was soon performing summer of Expo 67, his show had replaced to sold-out crowds in many of Montreal’s the Jellybean shows at noon. He now re- finest hotels and restaurants. He expanded ceived as many as 30,000 fan letters a year, his shows in the Toronto, Quebec City, as his loyal audience continued to grow. Ottawa and Upper-state New York areas. “Magic Tom” would be the number Magic Tom was back, yet for many he had one kids’ program on CFCF-12 for another never left! eight years, until his last show aired on September 6, 1975. One day before, a Stardust in Your Eyes Montreal Star headline read: “After 15 years, the magic leaves Channel 12.” In The 1980s arrived with Auburn work- the story, Tom revealed: “I’m quite hurt by ing non-stop between his stage shows and the cancellation of the Magic Tom show as special guest appearances across Montreal. this was a ready-made rapport between the In 1982, he reunited for with his old pal children and me. They identified with me.” Ted Zeigler for “International Jellybean As the final show had been taped months Week” at The Keg restaurant, performing ago, Auburn was completely unaware that “jellybean magic” from table to table. By it would be his last, having heard of the that time, he knew the business of magic cancellation only hours before. The studio had changed. Dozens of amateurs bought was silent as “Magic Tom” was gone, leav- pre-made magic kits to become overnight ing a legacy for the longest running show professionals. “The cloak is not passed on on Montreal television, a record still held today as it was. First, we had Hermann the

Top: Magic Tom with children on CFCF-12, 1964. 25 Bottom: Promotional flyer, 1967. Photo: http://bravenewtv.wordpress.com. Photo: http://montreal.ctvnews.ca. QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS collection of over 200 artifacts, including a Year’s Day show at the Montreal Sheraton cherished basalt monkey dating to between Centre were not aware that they would be A Final Trick from Above 4,000 and 3,000 BC. witnessing the final disappearing act of In 1980, he began selling off his col- Magic Tom Auburn. On January 3, in a In the following months, Dolores auc- lections, preparing for a fresh tioned off his library of magic start in Hawaii where his daugh- books and objects, including his ter, Darlene, was now settled. Egyptian collection, and donated From November 1982 to April his props to his closest friends. 1983, he performed over 45 Over the years, she continued to shows on the island of Maui, support Tom’s charities, until on whose citizens proclaimed September 2, 2000, she went on March 3 to be Magic Tom to meet him herself. Auburn Day. Hawaii’s governor Tom Rochford Auburn now proclaimed: “You exemplify the rests with his wife at the St. Aloha spirit, that feeling of care Lawrence Valley Cemetery in In- and concern for friends and gleside, Ontario, in the Long strangers alike. The people of Sault region near the now sub- Maui hope that we will always merged town of Aultsville from have a special place in your heart which he traced his family’s ori- because you have a special place gins. The 1958 expansion of the in ours.” Auburn continued to St. Lawrence Seaway had flood- play there each winter, yet al- ed many towns, including his ways returned to his own island city in the puff of smoke, his magic left us all. own, out of existence. For over 50 years, spring, knowing that Montreal was his the towns had remained hidden under the home. A Broken Wand murky waters of the St. Lawrence until a recent invasion of zebra mussels filtered The Disappearing Act Television and radio stations interrupt- the waters clear. While flying overhead, an ed their programming to announce the aerial photographer stared in awe as the On November 17, 1984, The Gazette news across the island and across the coun- outlines of the town of Aultsville began to published a photo of the last group of ten- try, “Magic Tom Auburn, beloved Montre- reappear beneath the waterline. ants standing in the grand lobby of the al magician, has died at the age of 72.” The Perhaps this was Magic Tom’s final Mount Royal Hotel, hours before it would days prior to the funeral felt as if the whole trick, reminding us of the magic we will al- finally close at midnight. At the rear stood city was in mourning with newspapers, ra- ways hold within ourselves… Tom Auburn gazing into the camera, as his dio call-in shows and television specials all office at the May Johnson Talent Associ- paying tribute to Magic Tom. This article is dedicated to Magic Tom ates closed and as the hotel’s items, from On January 6, they honoured him fur- Auburn and the many young Montrealers its doorknobs to the famous canoe from the ther with coverage of his official public fu- who were raised in his grace. Kon Tiki restaurant, were being liquidated neral from St. Thomas Anglican Church in around him. His world again became NDG. A day earlier, his family, close Rohinton Ghandhi lives in Crawford Park, smaller, overnight. Always the optimist, friends, and a group of long-time magi- Verdun, and regularly performs his own Auburn relocated his business office to his cians had gathered around his casket for a kind of magic in publications across the home in N.D.G., a property that he boasted private moment to perform the “broken province and on-line world-wide. His par- measured exactly 777 sq. feet. wand” ceremony on his behalf. Two of his ticular interest is the history of the Craw- A few years earlier, his fellow Montre- dearest friends, magicians themselves, read ford Park community. He has been digitally al magicians had dedicated the city’s first a sacred magician’s eulogy then cracked a chronicling the Verdun Guardian for the annual magic convention to Magic Tom repesentative wand and placed it in his cof- last 5 years, from 1931 to currently 1941, Auburn. It was the highest honour he could fin, signifying that the magician’s powers as a personal preservation interest, before receive, inspiring him to create The Tom were now gone. A sentiment echoed by the pages turn to dust… or is it smoke? Auburn Award to be presented to rising thousands of his loving fans who voiced magicians at all future ceremonies. their condolences from across the country. Sources & Contributors: In the late 1980s, Tom was still bring- They spoke of his greatness, his dignity, ing in the crowds at his weekly events and and they defined him as a true entertainer, Phil and Evelyn Matlin, Perfect Magic special appearances throughout th one that will always have his own place in Shop, Montreal. e Montreal region. Although his dark Canada’s collective memory. Bonnie Ross, St. Lawrence Valley hair and blue eyes had softened, his deliv- Tom must have been smiling that day, Cemetery, Long Sault, Ontario. ery still held the quick-draw of a gunfight- as his belief in himself and in his message Tom Ewing, National Historian, Society of er, baffling audiences with his own unique of universal respect had influenced so American Magicians Archives. style. many, making him a legend well beyond Krystal Rycroft, Archivist, Sun Life The crowds attending his 1990 New the sparkling dust he left behind. Archives, Waterloo, Ontario.

Auburn family gravestone. Photo: courtesy of St. 26 Lawrence Valley Cemetery, near Cornwall, Ontario. FALL 2014

Louis Helbig, Aerial Photographer and Fun Facts: Ontario Historian, Ottawa. PROVINCE-WIDE Rejean Page, Archives, LaSalle, Quebec; EXPOSURE • JFK (born in the same year as Tom Auburn) AT A GREAT PRICE!! tomauburn.com. also had Scarlet Fever at a young age. Blair Marshall, Local Magician Archives, SPECIAL ADVERTISING RATES Montreal. • Auburn used to get his playing cards for free 2014-2015 The Montreal Gazette Archives. from people at the MacDonald's Tobacco Google Newspaper Archives. Company to save on costs. They were made Purchase two or more ads of CTV–CFCF-12 online archives. the same size, and receive of cardboard and not the smooth plastic coat- 40% off each ad! Alfie Wade Jr., Emanone Jazz Society, ed cards of today, making them much harder Paris, France. to manipulate. Purchase a full year and receive an Billy Georgette, Emanone Jazz Society, additional 10% off! Montreal. • Howdy Doody had left the air in 1960 FULL-PAGE Brian Luker, Auburn family friend, (1952-1960), only months before Magic 10 inches (25.5 cm) high Montreal. Tom's Surprise Party started on CFCF-12. Bruno Stenson, Montreal historian, 7.5 inches (19 cm) wide McGill-Redpath Library, Montreal. • Auburn had a photo of Harry Houdini $400.00 (Special: $240.00) Chris Eustace, Educator, Montreal. signed by Bess Houdini herself in his personal Back cover or inside page, colour Gary Schroder, President, Quebec Family archives. $500.00 (Special: $300.00) History Society, Montreal. Guy Camirand, Local Magician, Montreal. • Tom Auburn was baptized in St. Clement’s HALF-PAGE Jean F. Lymburner, Emanone Jazz Society, Church in Verdun, which, in April 1942, held 5 inches (12.5 cm) high Montreal. the largest Sunday school on the island. Kristian Gravenor, Independent writer, 6.5 inches (16.5 cm) wide Montreal. • The Mount Royal Hotel opened on Decem- $235.00 (Special: $141.00) Matthew Farfan, Writer and QAHN ber 20, 1922, as the largest hotel in the British Colour $300.00 (Special: $180.00) Executive Director, Stanstead, Qc. Empire with 1,046 rooms. Michael Fish, Architect, Montreal. THIRD-PAGE Michele Palett, Montreal. • Kon Tiki owner Stephen Crane was married (COLUMN ONLY) Noel Thomas, Emanone Jazz Society, and had a child with actress Lana Turner. 10 inches (25.5 cm) high Nova Scotia. 2.25 inches (5.75 cm) wide Ron Patterson, Educator, Montreal. • Many of the viewers watching Tom's first Peggy Curran, Writer, Montreal. show in 1961 were the parents of the kids $200.00 (Special: $120.00) Sean Duffin, Auburn family friend who watched his show in 1975. (house-painter), Montreal. QUARTER-PAGE Sultan Jessa, Writer, Cornwall Free News • Retailers throughout the garment industry in 5 inches (12.5 cm) high (retired), Montreal. the 1930s, 40s and 50s used what they called 3.25 inches (8.5 cm) wide the 10-number Blackstone Code to easily re- $125.00 (Special: $75.00) member their cost price for their products. It To Learn More: was named for Blackstone (Sr. & Jr.), the ma- BUSINESS CARD gicians. Example: trousers marked with a B-T 2.5 inches (6.5 cm) high Perfect Magic Shop: http://www.perfect tag originally cost the seller $17 (B=1, T=7). 3.5 inches (9 cm) wide magic.com/default.aspx. In this way the seller would know how low he could go in bartering with his customers at the $75.00 (Special: $45.00) Society of American Magicians, Tom time of sale. Auburn’s Assembly #58, Montreal: FREQUENCY, DEADLINES AND http://www.oocities.org/mapleleaf58/tom.h • Auburn’s fellow magicians and dear friends SPECIFICATIONS tm and http://magicsam.com. Phil and Evelyn Matlin still run the Perfect 4 issues annually Magic shop on Van Horne Avenue in Deadlines: Spring (early March 2014); Montreal. Summer (early June 2014); Fall (early Septem- CFCF-12 Magic Tom: http://montreal.ctv ber 2014); Winter (early December 2014) news.ca/magic-tom-1.594876. Resolution required: Minimum 300 DPI • In the 1990s, Montreal historian Bruno Sten- By email at: [email protected] Blair Marshall, Montreal magician’s, site: son purchased Lessons in Conjuring by David http://www.montrealmagician.ca. Devant (1922) from Russell Books on St. An- toine Street. Penciled on the first inside page Canadian Association of Magic, in a five-year-old’s writing was “Tom http://cammagic.org. Auburn.”

27 QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

TE H ORIGINAL “BOMB GIRL” Hudson’s Mildred Allen by Bill Young and Ralph Simpson

lthough failing eyesight now propriately and then turning the produc- the manufacture of .303 caliber car- limits her mobility, Mildred tion faucets back on, full blast. Almost tridges, which they pumped out by the Allen (Millie to her friends) overnight, a whole new category of thousands. Mildred was stationed in the manages quite nicely to get worker was monitoring the nation’s as- Quality Control Department as an in- Aout and about most days. Born and sembly lines. Rosie the Riveter had spector on the assembly line, studying raised in Verdun, until very recently Mil- come into her own. cartridges speeding down the conveyor dred spent most of her life in Hudson, belt and pulling aside any that appeared active in the community and a regular defective. She continued in that role in the congregation of Hudson’s right through until the war ended and Wyman Memorial United Church. In the men began to return home. June 2014, circumstances compelled In the beginning Mildred and her Mildred to move to a senior’s facility in fellow inspectors worked 11-hour shifts Vaudreuil-Dorion, where she now calls on the unforgiving assembly lines. The the Résidence Le Languedoc home. arduous work schedule was later modi- If you were to meet this modest, fied to three eight-hour shifts, thus af- unassuming nonagenarian today, you fording a more reasonable workday for would hardly guess that in her youth, the women without any lessening of during the stormy years of World War II production. when she was still known as Mildred Because of this hectic schedule, and Moore, she was one among thousands given the nature of the workplace, the of young women who took jobs in the women tended to turn to one another for burgeoning defense industry, stepping friendship, often coming together infor- in for men who had joined up and gone mally, both at the plant and off-site to battle. when they would frequently share The challenge was clear and un- leisure time together. equivocal, and beyond daunting. War “We would usually eat our meals in had broken out in Europe and with the the DIL cafeteria,” said Mildred recent- Japanese rattling their sabres across the ly, reminiscing about times long past. “It Pacific, nations of the western world was convenient, gave us a chance to get had little option but to commit vast re- the latest news and even more, the food sources – human and material – toward Mildred of the DIL was great. We always seemed to have a ending the conflict as quickly as possi- good time, joking and laughing, and ble. They increased both the size of their Mildred Moore was part of that even though the work was hard and the armed forces to a scale unheard of scant mix. Her first job after high school was days long, nobody complained.” years before and directed large sums of with Canada’s principal munitions man- Increasingly, that spirit of merri- money to the arms industry, to the pro- ufacturer Defense Industries Limited ment and camaraderie extended to the duction of every imaginable article of (DIL) at their sprawling Verdun Works, non-working hours when groups of war, from airplanes and battleships to close to her home. women would get together and plan any bombs and bullets. DIL was a subsidiary of Canadian number of activities. Among the most But there was a problem. For when- Industries Limited (CIL), the name giv- popular was a simple excursion to the ever the ranks of the military expanded, en to chemical giant DuPont’s opera- movies, a huge pleasure for many, espe- civilian work forces suffered. Men who tions in Canada. DIL was established at cially the younger women. Movie-going in other times might have been available the beginning of the war specifically to was a relatively new experience for to do the jobs were in uniform and pre- build, manage and operate Canadian them. Back then, admission to cinemas occupied with tasks of a very different government war plants. According to in Quebec was restricted to those 16- nature. Industry needed to come up with one source (www2.dupont.com), at the years of age or over. Many of the a Plan B – and it did. To maintain, and height of hostilities, “this subsidiary had women were still in their teens, or just even more critically, to expand the about six times as many employees as barely out of them, and for them the cin- workforce, it began replacing the men did CIL.” ema was still a delicious novelty. Danc- with women workers, training them ap- The Verdun Works specialized in ing was also a popular past-time with Millie at 17. Photo: courtesy of Mildred Allen. 28 FALL 2014 any number of social clubs and public In the accompanying photograph, too far away.” halls looking to draw in participants, the present-day Mildred displays They courted and married and most often supplying a live orchestra to her commemorative plaque, holding it raised families, and their years in the provide the music. Groups of young close to her heart. munitions installations faded into distant women, unescorted and off on an outing Mildred’s other souvenir from her memory, their contribution to the war ef- away from the noise and dust of the mu- DIL days is the butt-end of a cartridge fort pretty well forgotten. nitions factory, were not an uncommon jacket on which she once scratched the sight in Montreal during the war. Of letter “J.” She meant it as a nod to her Life after Verdun course, if one had a boyfriend to go boyfriend of the day, Jimmy Enfield. dancing with the adventure became Throughout the DIL years Mildred even more exciting. lived at home, something she continued The merriment Mildred describes to do even after the war when she has to be viewed in the context of the found other employment. Her first job times. Canada was at war. Young Cana- in civilian life was as office clerk with dians serving overseas, fathers, broth- the Morgan’s Department Store (now ers, husbands, friends, were dying the Hudson’s Bay Company) on St. every day. For the most part it was left Catherine Street. It was there she met to the women, young and old, to wait her future husband, Victor Allen, a at home for news, and worry. Thus the master electrician who worked at the opportunity to work, no matter the job, same store. Predictably, sparks flew, especially within the War Industries, and after a short courtship they were created opportunities for them to meet married in August 1946. and draw strength from each other and One of Victor’s friends was a Mr. make a contribution to the war effort at Todd, a Morgan’s employee who was the same time. It is no surprise that assigned to the store laundry. When the friendships were highly prized and nur- newly-weds were exploring possible tured – or that every opportunity to get communities where they might put together for a few laughs was wel- down roots, Todd encouraged them to comed as respite from the shadows consider Hudson. Although the town falling on the darker side. was a fair distance from Montreal and Mildred still remembers her first the roads still quite primitive, it did supervisor, Reg Tormey. “He was a have the good fortune to be sitting nice man,” she says. She was less astride the Canadian Pacific Railway’s pleased when a few years later the main line to Ottawa and the west. Con- plant replaced him with a woman boss. She was fond of him then: she remem- sequently, Hudson benefitted from ex- “I found her tough to please,” Mildred bers him fondly still. cellent train service, with frequent and recalled. When the war ended and hostilities regular trips into and out of the city built But always there was the work – a ceased, life for these young women re- into the schedule. The number of senior perpetual challenge of processing as turned to normal – whatever that normal CPR executives living in Hudson and many bullets as possible, and keeping might have been. Their work opportuni- working in Montreal made sure of that. the assembly lines moving smoothly. It ties in the defense industries, along with The newly-minted Mr. and Mrs. would be an almost impossible task to the accompanying stress, joy and re- Victor Allen took Mr. Todd up on his calculate the number of .303 cartridges wards, all vanished as men returning suggestion – and by 1947 they were in- produced by the Verdun plant during the from overseas were now preparing to stalled in a cabin on Sandy Beach, a pri- war, the total was so huge. By way of il- step in and do the work. There was little vately-run summer recreation area lustration, a year or so after Mildred room for the women who, for the most owned by the Blenkinship family. Be- started working at DIL, the factory reg- part, seemed quite ready in the post-war cause these cabins were intended for istered its one billionth cartridge manu- era to return to traditional patterns. seasonal use and not fully winterized, factured on the premises since the start Friendships formed in the work- the young couple would return to the of operations. To commemorate the aus- place were frequently deep and sincere, comforts of more traditional dwellings picious moment, the DIL gave each em- but tended not to survive much beyond once the bitter winds of winter settled in. ployee a small plaque on which was af- the war. As the women turned toward They continued on with the same pattern fixed a sample .303 cartridge and the the new lives awaiting them and away of summers on Sandy Beach, winters in following dedication: With the help from their wartime experiences, their in- more comfy quarters, for five years, on- of…(M. Moore)………Verdun Works terests and preoccupations shifted to the ly moving inland in 1952, when they ac- made its Billionth .303 Mk VII s. Car- more immediate. “We all had lots of quired what would become their perma- tridge on November 26th, 1943. The ci- friends at the DIL,” Mildred recalls. nent home on Cedar Avenue. tation is signed by a representative of the “But not so much afterward. Many were As the Allens had no children, Mil- plant, signature unclear. like me and moved out of Verdun and dred continued working in retail for

29 QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS much of her married life, eventually more about the Verdun operation on her fuzzy the image appears in the newspa- shifting over to the now-defunct Simp- own. Searching through family memora- per, Mildred is quite certain, as are son’s store on St. Catherine Street, bilia she came across a 1944 group pho- friends who have seen the photo, that where the chain of Simon’s clothing to of DIL’s Quality Control Department she is the young lady seated in the sec- stores now has its Montreal base. and ran it in the newspaper, asking read- ond row from the bottom, the third one In 1994, following Victor’s death, ers to help her identify the women in the (second inspector) in from the right. Mildred moved into Hudson’s Manoir picture. The photograph is a precious sou- Cavagnal, an apartment complex for One of them is indeed Mildred venir, a stark reminder of a world so seniors, which remained her home for Moore Allen. She sits in the second row, completely different from what we know twenty years. In June today – and in a small 2014 she relocated to way it stands as a salute Le Languedoc, taking a to the many men and lifetime of memories women who in that pe- with her. riod (1939-1945) put their lives on hold to do Bomb Girls Revisited their part in offering service to God and For years, Rosie country. the Riveter, the Bomb The debt of grati- Girls and employees of tude we owe each one the munitions factories of them can never be across Canada faded repaid. Like all wars, from memory, taking World War II brought their experiences and massive upheaval into their stories with them. the lives of our parents But recently that distant world of arma- third person from the right, one of the and grandparents, and even ourselves. It ment industries where women held jobs women whose distinctive company-is- was a time of sorrow, a time of opportu- traditionally assigned to men, and did sued pale blue uniforms, quite different nity; it was a time of sudden endings; a them well and proudly managed to cap- from the much darker overalls worn by time for fresh beginnings. ture the spotlight again. the others, identify them as assembly- And most of all, it was proof posi- Give credit to the Global Television line inspectors. The odd-looking mesh tive of just how far civilizations can Network for getting the ball rolling. caps perched on every head were com- tumble when responsible men and Their 2012 mini-series Bomb Girls in- pany-issued hairnets, required garb for women stop paying attention. And a tes- troduced us to four women employed in all employees. timony to the great heights that can be the ordnance industry in 1941 and struc- Despite the seventy years that have reached when they do. tured the drama to follow the arc of their passed since this photograph was taken, lives. The programme succeeded in in- and despite her failing eyesight and how troducing younger generations to a very specific reality of life long-forgotten as well as tapping into a flood of memories for those who lived the experience. The mini-series was extended over a two- year span and re-broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom and Ireland. And in late March 2014, a feature film entitled Bomb Girls – The Movie was broadcast on Global. That same month at the Centaur Theatre in Montreal, local playwright David Fennario launched his most recent original work, Motherhouse, a drama set in the Verdun DIL and based somewhat on the experiences of his mother who was employed there during World War II. Both the play and the history upon which it was based caught the fancy of Pat Donnelly, drama critic for the Mon- treal Gazette, and she set out to learn

Top: DIL munitions factory (formerly Dominion Textile plant), Verdun. Bottom: “Rosie and her Riveters” (DIL’s quality control department), 1944. Photo: www.messengerverdun.com. 30 Photo: courtesy of Pat Donnelly. FALL 2014

31