HOMEFRONT HEROINES WIN THE WAR WITH HOME COOKING AND SAVED SCRAPS $10 Quebec

VOL 10, NO. 1 W INTER 2016 HeritageNews

237 Years of Local News An Interview with Gazette Editor-in-chief Lucinda Chodan Fairyland to Estérel Greeks and Belgians Develop the Laurentians Martello Towers and Polish Princesses “Memoirs” of the First Montreal-born Engineer QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

Quebec CONTENTS eritageNews H Editor’s Desk 3 Cane’s Traf Rod MacLeod EDITOR RODERICK MACLEOD Mystery Object 8 PRODUCTION DAN PINESE; MATTHEW FARFAN Curator’s Handbook 9 Handle with care! Pointers for working in heritage collections Heather Darch PUBLISHER QUEBEC ANGLOPHONE Genealogy, you say? 10 HERITAGE NETWORK The preacher and his young parishioner Jim Caputo 400-257 QUEEN STREET SHERBROOKE, QUEBEC Overlooked Quebec Churches 11 J1M 1K7 Windows of the past: Trenholm United Church Mark W. Gallop PHONE 1-877-964-0409 Walking Black Montreal 12 (819) 564-9595 FAX Railways in Montreal Ashlie Bienvenu (819) 564-6872 CORRESPONDENCE The Engineers of 1812 13 [email protected] A first-person account Jean-Pierre Raymond WEBSITES QAHN.ORG Grosse Île on the Compulsory Provincial Exam 18 QUEBECHERITAGEWEB.COM Leo Delaney 100OBJECTS.QAHN.ORG Salamis of Samos 19 PRESIDENT A Laurentian family Joseph Graham SIMON JACOBS Food Will Win the War 23 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & Home cooks in Montreal, 1939-1945 Sandra Stock WEBMAGAZINES EDITOR MATTHEW FARFAN World War II and the Montreal Home Front 26 OFFICE MANAGER Literature review Patrick Donovan KATHY TEASDALE Classic Montreal: Revisiting Anglo Institutions 28 Quebec Heritage News is published quarterly by QAHN with the support The Montreal Gazette Flora Juma of the Department of Canadian Heritage. QAHN is a non-profit and non-partisan Review: Many Threads, Same Cloth 30 organization whose mission is to help advance knowledge of the history Les juifs de Québec, Sandra Stock and culture of the English-speaking by Pierre Anctil and Simon Jacobs (eds.) communities of Quebec.

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2 WINTER 2016

EDITOR’S DESK Cane’s Traf by Rod MacLeod

uring the summer of 1846, power for the city’s burgeoning indus- snapped up by people like Frederick Frederick Barnard Matthews tries. The island’s first train route was Barnard Matthews. had an unusual job and a cu- laid out for the Montreal and Lachine It became evident to the councillors rious place to live. Railroad Company, whose president and that a detailed city plan had to be created DIt was probably Frederick’s older key promoter, hardware merchant James to document urban expansion. The task brother George who got him this gig, or Ferrier, had joined the new municipal naturally fell to Ostell, who began com- at least put in a good word for him with- council in part to ensure the smooth im- piling information but soon found him- in his social networks. George plementation of his railway project. To self overwhelmed with other municipal Matthews, one of Montreal’s leading supervise construction, he invited back responsibilities, to say nothing of archi- lithographers, was doing well. A grow- William Casey, an American engineer tectural commissions such as the McGill ing middle class throughout Arts Building, and survey Canada was showing an inter- work for the Sulpician semi- est in owning etchings and lith- nary. The job of actually draw- ographs – typically landscapes ing the plan would have to be or local scenes by popular given to someone else. Archi- artists such as James Pattison tects and surveyors were not Cockburn, William Henry scarce in early 1840s Montre- Bartlett, or James Duncan – or al, but Ostell was impressed by books containing printed illus- the credentials of James Cane, trations. Many of these, espe- a young civil engineer from cially Newton Bosworth’s Toronto who had recently pre- Hochelaga Depicta (1839), pared a detailed “Topographi- with illustrations by Duncan, cal Plan” of that city. In 1843, are crucial sources for the peri- Cane moved to Montreal, od. George Matthews was a signed a contract with the city, careful businessman, but his and put down roots of sorts by brother Frederick was impa- joining the architectural firm tiently reckless. A book-keeper of Macfarlane and Brown, lo- by training, Frederick had cated on St. François Xavier made an unsuccessful attempt Street just along from George to set himself up as an importer Mathews’ lithography shop. of straw goods in the early Unfortunately, James 1840s, but the business soon Cane proved a disappointment. floundered. He had also been Ostell ended up having to send quick to purchase one of the new build- who a decade earlier had built Canada’s back numerous versions of the map for ing lots on the side of Mount Royal and first train line, between LaPrairie and St. corrections, and even then, there were had begun to construct a sprawling John on the Richelieu. Also on the Mon- errors that made their way into the final house for himself there, but despite sell- treal municipal council were building product. Despite Cane’s incompetence, ing half the land to his brother George to contractors John Redpath and Thomas the Topographical and Pictorial Map of raise funds he was unable to complete Phillips, who presided over the city’s the City of Montreal of 1846, the most the project and eventually had to sell the new planning and public works depart- famous source of information on the rest of his land to pay his debts. By ment. As major landowners, these men city’s layout at mid-century, is informal- 1846, Frederick Barnard Matthews was used their official positions to facilitate ly known as “Cane’s map” even though not doing well. their own private real estate schemes. it was really a collaboration between It was an age of ambition. The polit- They also ensured the appointment of many specialists. The man at the helm of ical tensions of the 1830s were over, the architect and surveyor John Ostell as the entire project was writer and pub- Canadas were united, Montreal was City Surveyor, the man in charge of co- lisher Robert Stuart Mackay, who posi- newly incorporated, and business was ordinating all building projects. Ostell tioned himself prominently, if deferen- starting to boom. The Lachine Canal had prepared the plans for Redpath’s tially, in an inset box at the top of the was deepened and widened to accommo- own mountainside subdivision, whose map: “Dedicated by Special Permission date larger boats and to create hydro lots had gone on sale in 1842 and been to the Mayor and Corporation of the James Duncan, “Trafalgar,” marginal drawing for James Cane’s Topographical 3 and pictorial map of the city of Montreal, Robert W. S. Mackay, 1846. QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

City by their obliged fellow citizen Robert W. S. Mackay, publisher.” The mayor to whom Mackay felt obliged was no doubt James Ferrier, who had been elected to that office the previous year, and then again in March 1846, as a promoter of urban expansion as well as railways. It is true that by the time the map was published, the courts had over- turned his re-election after a vote re- count, but Ferrier’s successor, John East- on Mills, had not been so involved in planning. In another of the map’s inset boxes, Mackay courteously acknowl- edged the draughtsman’s work: “Sur- veyed and Drawn by James Cane, Civil Engineer,” although there is no mention of Ostell’s preliminary work. In the finer print, Mackay acknowledged the contri- bution of George Matthews, the map’s lithographer, and of James Duncan, the artist who drew a number of scenes posi- tioned around the map’s borders. These last two men also contributed more with nearly 9,000 “British Canadians,” tectural commission, from 1836, and so covertly to the map’s overall message. over 15,000 “English, Irish & Scotch” a tribute to the real creative and scientif- Cane’s map is a complex historical (meaning those of British origin not ic talent behind Cane’s map. But the last document, with more going on than the born in the colony), and 700 born in the two drawings seem incongruous on a mere “plan” at its centre – that is, the “United States & other Places.” It is document purporting to showcase the streets, buildings, and other topographi- clear that over half Montreal’s popula- city’s top landmarks: a structure marked cal features that Cane had drawn. In tak- tion was Anglophone and, leaving aside “Odd Fellows Hall” and a pastoral scene ing on its publication, Robert Mackay the Irish, well over a third Protestant – labelled “Trafalgar.” saw an opportunity to showcase the although in 1846 the boom years of Irish The Odd Fellows Hall would seem city’s status as Canada’s emerging me- immigration were still to come. a bizarre choice, given a plethora of sig- tropolis. A consummate collector of in- Montreal’s civic and commercial nificant civic buildings: court house, formation and, since 1842, the author of prominence, as well as its fundamentally prison, Sulpician college, McGill Col- the annual Montreal City Directory, Anglophone and Protestant character, is lege, News Room, Theatre Royal, Ras- Mackay was keen to provide population also reflected in Duncan’s drawings. co’s Hotel, and McTavish monument, statistics, which appear in one corner of Across the map’s base is a panoramic just to name a few that had featured in the map. According to his figures, view of Montreal from the water, giving Hochelaga Depicta. The Odd Fellows French Canadians counted for only much prominence to the port and the re- was a comparatively obscure organiza- 19,000 of the city’s 44,000 people, along cently-built Bonsecours Market. Eight tion in 1846, the first lodge in Canada other ornately framed im- having been founded just three years ages depict key institu- earlier, and it lacked the social gravitas tions about town. The of the Masons and other social and phil- choice of what to depict anthropic organizations to which leading is telling. Notre Dame citizens belonged. But the Montreal Church was a nod to lodge’s founder was none other than li- Francophone Catholics, thographer George Matthews, who was and St. Patrick’s a nod to also current head of the flagship Prince their Anglophone coun- of Wales Lodge No.1. Robert Mackay terparts. Three other had also joined the order, along with Protestant churches are Frederick Barnard Matthews and such featured: St. Paul’s Pres- prominent businessmen as Luther byterian, the Methodist Hamilton Holton and John Young. chapel, and Christ James Cane may well have had a hand Church. A sixth scene in the lodge’s design, as it was his firm, shows the Customs Macfarlane and Brown, that had been House, an important given the commission. Far from an odd building but also John choice, the depiction of the lodge on Ostell’s first major archi- Cane’s map was a deliberate attempt by Top: James Cane’s Topographical and pictorial map of the city of Montreal, Bottom: James Duncan, “Odd Fellows Hall,” marginal drawing Robert W. S. Mackay, 1846. 4 for Cane’s Topographical and pictorial map. WINTER 2016 key members to situate this up-and-com- member when it was demolished, al- ing association among the city’s great though plenty of people even into the institutions. twentieth century have claimed to re- But what of Trafalgar? Duncan’s member seeing it, and it has been the drawing shows a mountain estate with subject of drawings and even photo- two buildings, rolling grounds, and a su- graphs. It is known as the Trafalgar perb view of the city below. Trafalgar Tower. Often described as “Gothic” lay on the side of the western spur of (probably in the late eighteenth century Mount Royal (“West Mount,” it would sense of “Gothick,” à la Mary Shelley), later be called), at the point, marked at the tower had six sides with long narrow that time by a tollbooth, where Côte des windows and a crenellated roof that at Neiges Road stops climbing and begins some point (or some artist thought) was its steady descent northwards. The estate covered with a pagoda-style top. Ogilvy, had originally belonged to John Ogilvy, who may have built the tower (although a Scottish fur trader whose enthusiasm it may also have been there when he for Horatio Nelson extended not only to purchased the property), supposedly in- naming his property after the famous stalled a canon on the roof, which he battle but to spearheading a campaign to fired every year on the anniversary of erect a statue of the admiral in Jacques the battle, but how it got up there and Cartier Square long before anyone how (and when) it was taken down is erature. But because his dog seems not thought to do so in London. He also unclear. In 1835, budding Canadian au- to be picking up on anything untoward christened the old farmhouse on the es- thor Georges Boucher de Boucherville (as dogs, of course, always do), he is in- tate “Trafalgar Cottage” – which is pre- brought the tower a degree of notoriety clined to try settling down again, until a sumably the larger of the two buildings by publishing a story called “La tour de flash of lightning illuminates splashes of shown in Duncan’s drawing. Ogilvy Trafalgar,” a tale that either drew heavi- blood on several walls and the back of never actually lived on this estate, how- ly on local legend or invented it. the door – whereupon he flees the tower ever, preferring the comforts of a much Boucherville describes what seem to be and stumbles across the mountain until larger farm to the north (called Airlie, his own adventures getting lost during a dawn, the storm eventually lessening. In after the ancestral home of the Ogilvy sudden storm while he was hunting on the wee hours, he finds an isolated hut family in Scotland), where he died in the mountain (it was still a rocky and with an old hermit sitting on a tree 1819, leaving no heirs. Trafalgar re- forested wilderness in those days), al- stump sharpening an axe that looks as if mained unoccupied for much of the fol- though this may have been a case of an it had blood on it. Far from finding this lowing quarter century, and fell into a “unreliable” narrator. At any rate, many prospect unnerving (although readers state of disrepair. generations of Montrealers have since were presumably expected to draw cer- It became the stuff of legends. Wild reported having had supernatural en- tain conclusions), the narrator recounts stories in particular focused on an counters near the Trafalgar Tower. That his adventure. In return, the hermit tells ephemeral structure located somewhere the tower itself has mysteriously disap- the tale of Léocadie and Joseph, two on the estate – nobody can quite remem- peared merely adds to the legend. young lovers who were walking on the ber where, just as nobody can quite re- Boucherville’s story is the kind of mountain one Sunday after mass when thing that Frederick Barnard Matthews they, too, discovered this mysterious would have been well advised not to read, by candle light, alone in Trafalgar Cottage during the summer of 1846. The narrator (who does seem older than Boucherville was at the time of writing) and his dog take shelter from the storm in this abandoned tower, which is so di- lapidated that rain sprays in through the broken windows and the floorboards threaten to give way to some snake-in- fested cavity below. As night falls, he finds a dry corner to stretch out, but is just nodding off when he feels some- thing cold pass over his face – some- thing that might have been a snake or a thief, but might also have been a ghostly hand. At any rate, the narrator experi- ences the kind of indescribable thrill of horror that one expects from c.1835 lit-

Bottom left: “Tour de Trafalgar,” c.1920. BANQ, P600, S6, D4, P60. Top right: Edgar Gariépy, “Tour de Trafalgar,” 1926. Photo: BANQ: P600, S6, 5 D4, P61. Bottom right: Georges de Boucherville. LAC, MIKAN 4169282. QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS tower. They were inspired to kiss (pre- find their burial grounds a tad over- in secluded places. But properly main- sumably the tower was in better shape crowded and would soon begin search- tained, the new cemetery would be “a then) – at which point an uncouth young ing for a new location outside of town. source of attraction, usefulness and man who had been sweet on Léocadie Holton et al were hoping to jump the celebrity” to the city of Montreal. jumped out, stabbed her to death, and gun on this project by establishing The man appointed to the position strangled Joseph. Trafalgar Mount. What distinguished of superintendent was the 27-year-old Apart from these two incidents these men from the trustees of the Fredrick Barnard Matthews, selected (which may have both been invented by Protestant Burial Ground, a clubby more for his bookkeeping skills than for Boucherville), the “real” haunting of the group representing the city’s main his almost non-existent experience man- Trafalgar Tower took the form of a Protestant churches, was that they were aging estates. While the proprietors be- ghost, usually identified as that of a her- Unitarians, members of a new, religious- gan setting rates for burial lots and es- mit, presumably the young couple’s ly liberal congregation. Significantly, tablishing transport services for mourn- murderer and possibly that story’s axe- they were also Odd Fellows. George ers to and from town, Matthews settled sharpening raconteur. The ghost mani- Matthews, both an Odd Fellow and a into an idyllic existence in Trafalgar fested itself to anyone visiting the tower Unitarian, helped the cause by getting Cottage. After having fruitlessly expend- by walking about, audible but invisible. James Duncan to draw the Trafalgar es- ed much energy advancing his social One visitor (this also happened on a tate for inclusion on Cane’s map, printed ambitions by purchasing a lot on the Sunday, presumably after church) just as Trafalgar Mount was underway. mountainside and struggling to build a climbed up to look through one of the The Trafalgar Mount proprietors house there, Matthews suddenly found tower’s windows and distinctly heard were well-versed in the contemporary himself occupying one of the mountain’s footsteps approaching him, but when he aesthetic of the “rural cemetery,” where- oldest and best situated properties, with- turned around there was no one there. by burials would take place in a natural out much else to do but enjoy it. Anne Molson, a practical-minded advo- setting that could also serve as a public It was here that railway supervisor cate of girls’ education, also remem- park. This view was inspired by Roman- William Casey spotted him when he bered having heard the footsteps while tic landscape architects such as New passed by one day. Casey was apparent- visiting the tower in her youth, although York’s Andrew Jackson Downing, ly so enchanted by the old house and its her conclusion was that the sound was whose pupil Frederick Law Olmsted grounds that he wanted to die there. Suf- the result of an echo caused by geologi- would later design Mount Royal Park. fering from advanced tuberculosis, cal irregularities. Subsequent owners of The prospectus for Trafalgar Mount, is- Casey had been staying at Sword’s Hotel the Trafalgar estate also reported hearing sued in June 1846, lauded the “modern in the village of Côte des Neiges to es- these footsteps. As late as 1925, practice of burial on the outskirts of cape the worst of the summer heat, but archivist and local historian E. Z. Massi- cities” for its “obvious” advantages. An- after seeing the Trafalgar estate he sent cotte went to see for himself, accompa- ticipating major landscaping to begin his sister, who was caring for him, to ask nied by a photographer, and while they shortly, the proprietors promised visitors Matthews if he could spend his last days were setting up the camera both men “every opportunity of promenading” in there. Not having many other distrac- distinctly heard the footsteps. The last what they clearly envisaged as recre- tions, Matthews acceded to this some- date at which locals remember at least ational space. Potential clients would al- what bizarre request, and soon he and some traces of the tower is 1937. so be able to follow “serpentine walks” the sister installed Casey in Trafalgar It is not clear how much of this sin- to burial sites “without profanely tread- Cottage. Casey died on August 6, and ister legend troubled Albert Furniss, ing upon circumjacent graves.” The became the first person buried in Trafal- manager of the Montreal Light Gas Trafalgar Tower was also happily de- gar Mount Cemetery, his grave a shady Company, who bought the estate in 1845 scribed as “peering from the summit of spot near the path up to the Trafalgar with some intention of living there. Nor the Mount clothed with luxuriant ar- Tower. Matthews called in the new Uni- does it seem that Luther Hamilton bors.” Clearly, the proprietors saw this tarian minister, John Cordner, to preside Holton, John Young, and their partners obscure structure as an asset to a Ro- over the modest ceremony. gave much thought to ghosts when they mantic landscape, rather than a macabre William Casey was also the last per- approached Furniss with the proposal to blot on the cemetery’s potential appeal. son to be buried on this part of the turn part of the estate into a cemetery. The prospectus refers to the two build- mountain. By the autumn of 1846, the Furniss seems to have been game, and ings shown in Duncan’s drawing, stating proprietors still faced the task of actually the following spring these gentlemen that one would serve as the resident su- converting Trafalgar Mount into a burial formed a “proprietary association” that perintendent’s house, while the other ground, which was no easy prospect giv- would manage the proposed Trafalgar would be converted into a chapel and en the unevenness of the terrain. The Mount Cemetery. Montreal was already vault. The superintendent would be “in factors that made the Trafalgar estate served by burial grounds, including the constant attendance” to “ensure order ideal, according to rural cemetery theo- extensive Catholic St. Antoine cemetery and decorum” and “preserve the grounds ry, proved a drawback in practice: slop- (on what is now Dorchester Square and from violation.” This last represents a ing ground did allow for good drainage, Place du Canada) and the Protestant rare dark note within the proprietors’ en- but it made it hard to bury bodies with- Burial Ground off Lagauchetière Street. thusiastic language, reflecting the wide- out installing a system of terracing, and By 1846, Protestants were starting to spread concern for the dangers inherent even though the prospectus had boasted

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printer, John Lovell, whose name is more commonly associated with these volumes. James Cane, who had also in- herited a project that brought fame to his name, did not meet with success after completing (at least as far as he was concerned) his work on the Topographi- cal and Pictorial Map of the City of Montreal. John Ostell, who stepped away from the project, went on to even greater achievements in surveying, ar- chitecture, and industry, but Cane’s ca- reer dried up. Aside from a few bits of surveying work in the late 1840s, there is no record of his activities. The author of Montreal’s first comprehensive urban development plan disappeared off the map. Sources: of the site’s “natural terraces” this did school he hoped to create. Even apart City of Montreal Archives. not mean that bodies could be accom- from its sinister past, the site was really modated as easily as plants. (Mount too isolated for this sort of institution, Mount Royal Cemetery Archives. Royal Cemetery, which the Protestant and the school bearing the name Trafal- Lovell’s Directories. Burial Ground trustees would open six gar was built further east on what is now years later, would go to great pains to Simpson Street – as readers of “Spem Edgar Andrew Collard, “Of Many address this challenge, with much suc- Successus Alit” (QHN, Fall 2012) will Things,” Montreal Gazette, May 30, cess.) Besides, Trafalgar Mount was too recall. 1970. small: a mere sixteen acres. For a city of Having lost his job and his home, J. Victor Owen, “The Como-Hudson Montreal’s size, a much larger property Frederick Barnard Matthews went to Factories (c. 1845–77): Results of Geo- was needed to bring any kind of relief to live with his brother George, who had chemical Analyses for Québec’s First the congested inner-city burial grounds. built his own house on the Mountain Known Glassworks,” Canadian Journal The project was abandoned. Casey’s Street lot he had purchased from Freder- of Archaeology 25, 2001, 74–97. body was never removed, and presum- ick. This house was so new it did not ap- ably lies on the mountainside still, the pear on Cane’s map, but the lithographer John Beswarick Thompson, “William grave site lost to posterity along with the had the spot marked with the initials Redmond Casey,” DCB. Tower itself. Curiously, no sinister con- “G. M.” so the public would know his nection ever seems to have been made intentions. Frederick returned to book- W. J. White, editor, Canadiana: A Col- between Casey and whatever lay behind keeping and accounting, apparently hav- lection of Canadian Notes, Volume II, the ghostly footsteps. ing abandoned his earlier social ambi- Montreal, 1890, 48. In 1848, Furniss built himself a tions. George, by contrast, diversified sprawling new house on his portion of his business by investing in a profitable the original estate, which he called glass factory near the village of Cav- Trafalgar Lodge. This multi-gabled brick agnal, along the Ottawa River. In 1864, structure was one of the first Neo-Gothic he started his own factory in the area, buildings in the city; today, it is one of the Canada Glass Company, and soon he Montreal’s oldest extant houses, and sits and his wife, Eliza Hudson, and their rather glumly off Côte des Neiges Road, younger children left Montreal to relo- surrounded by Trafalgar Avenue and cate in the village, which was eventually other more recent subdivisions. Furniss named Hudson, after Eliza. The sprawl- turned Trafalgar Cottage into a shed and ing Mount Victoria Farm would be their stables; this building survived until home together until George’s death in Côtes des Neiges Road was widened in 1870. Years later, the farm would be the 1950s and the bulldozer called in. owned by Sun Life president Thomas The adjacent site of Trafalgar Mount Bassett Macaulay, who would breed Cemetery was eventually purchased by prizewinning Holstein cattle there. auctioneer Donald Ross, who lived Robert Mackay continued to publish across Côte des Neiges Road from it as his Directories until his death in 1854, at of the 1850s, and fancied it would make which point his widow Christina contin- an appropriate location for the girls’ ued the work, in partnership with the

Top: Alexander Henderson, “Trafalgar,” c.1872. 7 Bottom: George Matthews, 1860. Photo: McCord Museum, MP-1984.107.62. Photo: courtesy of Hudson Historical Society. QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

Mystery Object This object came from a dig at an old fur trade area. QAHN vice-president Jim Caputo writes, “Honestly, you might as well give up. You could guess until the cows came home.” If you do know, send your answer to: [email protected]. Blanchard Ad

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CURATOR’S HANDBOOK Handle with Care Pointers for working mindfully in heritage collections by Heather Darch he sound of tearing picture canvas is never soothing to materials together, like metal and glass. Some items can even be a curator’s ear. And the volunteer who peered through designated as “no move” objects. Keep a record of recommen- the canvas was not a sight I’d ever hoped to see. But dations for certain objects in the event the object needs to be re- there it was. A careless move made in haste had left a located quickly. nailT in the forehead of a serenely smiling nineteenth-century Assess the complexity of the move and consider the ob- politician and, yes, the wound was significant. ject’s size, weight and weaknesses. Remind yourself and others Moving objects around storage areas and elsewhere in a not to rush, identify your route to its destination, and determine museum setting is serious business. Volunteers and staff who the tools and adequate materials you will need ahead of time, help to set up exhibits and who are tasked with the day-to-day such as padded carrying trays and a trolley cart. Make sure you handling of artefacts play an important role in their protection have the assistance you need from others; an object may be and care. It pays to keep conservation in mind at all times and to heavy and should never be dragged. make a habit of a few basic practices. As for wearing gloves – cotton gloves should always be For starters, handle artefacts as little as possible, only when worn when handling metals, organic materials, delicate textiles, necessary and then, only with a defined and clear purpose. Al- unglazed pottery, marble and other porous materials. These sur- ways examine an object before faces are highly susceptible to de- touching it, keeping an eye out terioration caused by the oily and for loose, moving and removable acidic secretions on our skin. Latex parts. And pay special attention to gloves are the preferred choice for hairline cracks, lids, handles and objects with unstable surfaces like decorative accessories, which are brittle pages in books or smooth particularly hazardous. Ceramic surfaces such as glass and glazed and glass objects are most often ceramics. Generally, though, clean damaged simply by dropping hands are the way to go. them. When we enter a collection we Never lift an object in your introduce risk to the objects. The collection by the rim or handles. goal in every museum, regardless Use both hands to support the ob- of its size, is to have practices that ject uniformly. An item may ap- promote safe, secure and success- pear stable to the naked eye, but ful interactions with objects. The many objects have received re- opportunity to touch any of the pairs in the past and these areas unique and irreplaceable artefacts are never as strong as the original. in a collection really is a privilege Be aware of the impact your that carries with it considerable re- activity can have on the artefact. sponsibility. Your clothing should be free of With careful habits you will be buttons and belts and avoid wear- better equipped to have a success- ing bracelets, rings, and watches ful experience working with the that could scratch, snag or tear objects in your collection. fragile materials. Don't chew gum when han- Careful moving and handling of this plaster cast sculpture in museum dling an artefact, don’t hang cos- storage would have ensured that Sir John A. Macdonald kept his head. tumes on wire hangers, and don’t fold textiles. Don’t leave objects on the floor: you might re- member they are there but don't assume someone else will see Heather Darch is curator of the Missisquoi Museum, a past di- them. Never lean or sit on artefacts or use them to write on, and rector of the Quebec Anglophone Heritage Network, and a her- don't place anything on them like a cup of coffee that could itage consultant whose recent assignments have included co- pose a risk. managing QAHN’s Security for Heritage Initiative (SHOWI), Moving an irreplaceable object becomes more complicated and now the FOREVER project. when the object is surrounded by other fragile objects on a shelf, or in a cabinet or display case. Avoid carrying dissimilar

9 J. D. Perry, Plaster cast sculpture of Sir John A. Macdonald, 1874. Missisquoi Museum Collections. Photo: Heather Darch. QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

Genealogy, You Say? The preacher and his young parishioner by Jim Caputo

any people imagine the study of genealogy to be a dry, boring enterprise full of dates, names, and useless information – the task of someone who has nothing else to take up their time and efforts. NotM so – it can be a delightful quest, full of stories of intrigue, mishaps, and skullduggery and, in this case, a love story. For many years, I have been conducting research on my mother’s family, the Boyles, early pioneers of Gaspé Basin, Quebec. The Boyle family came to Gaspé in 1798, from – well, no one knows for sure. Quite a few researches indicate that they originally came from Scotland, with perhaps a stopover in the Boston area of Massachusetts. What we do know for certain is that, once in Gaspé, the family became involved in the whaling industry, the first Gaspé family to do so. They may have learned the trade from a member of the Coffin family from Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, a major New England whaling centre. (“They be whalers…” but this is another delightful tale to tell – After Quebec City, the trail then goes cold – for a while. forgive the pun.) Recently, I found a cemetery record indicating that Ellen died in So, what of the preacher and the young parishioner? the Albany area of New York and was buried in a very historic William Arnold was the second permanent Anglican minister of cemetery near the city. I know this information is correct, as the what is now Gaspé City proper – at the time a small outpost of document includes the name of Edith Mills, her daughter with settlers, many of European stock or United Empire Loyalists Rev. Arnold. Of interest, Edith married Frederick Mills, an or- from the former British colonies to the south. William Arnold ganist at a Quebec City Anglican Church. I would suggest that had been previously married to Maria Charlotte O’Hara, a she probably met him when she and her mother lived with the member of a prominent Gaspé family. The O’Haras were con- O’Hara stepdaughter. Also of interest is that Edith spent her last sidered Gaspé aristocracy, since Felix O’Hara was a govern- days living in Portland, Oregon, where she authored her “Remi- ment functionary, land surveyor, entrepreneur and a major land niscences of Gaspé,” the recollections of a young woman grow- holder in this area. Unfortunately, Arnold’s wife died, leaving ing up in Gaspé of yesteryear, an excellent historical source as him with four daughters to take care of. One of Arnold’s parish- well a very nice read. ioners was young Ellen Boyle of what was known then as I hope that this story indicates that genealogical informa- Gaspé Bay South, Lower Canada – present-day Wakeham of the tion does not have to be boring, as it can portray the life and City of Gaspé. The two eventually married, much to the chagrin times of a pioneer ancestor and her adventures in life. of the O’Haras, who thought that young Ellen was not of the If this discourse has generated interest among our readers, I same social class. The age difference – William was 37 to her suggest that you may wish to tell your own stories in future is- 19 – may have also been an issue. One would like to think that sues of Quebec Heritage News. I would also suggest that our they fell in love, married and lived happily ever after, but this readers check out “Genealogy Ensemble,” which is a collabora- was not the case. Arnold was the spiritual leader of a large area tive blog and Facebook page about family history, whose goals and spent large amounts of time away from home, often in in- are for readers to share their experiences doing family history clement weather, travelling on horseback, tending to the needs research and to help others with their research: http://genealogy of his flock. Returning home from one such occasion, he be- ensemble.com. Another valuable resource is noted Quebec ge- came ill with pneumonia and passed away shortly after, at the nealogist Mr. Jacques Gagne, who will guide you on how you age of 53. should conduct your family lineage searches: Arnold left his young wife in charge of the children and gagne.jacques@sympa- tico.ca. their large stone house, Spring Grove, situated on a bluff over- Genealogy, you say? It can be interesting! looking the harbor. Not being a person of means and having the expense of a large property, home and children, Ellen had to sell parcels of land, and eventually her home, to survive. Ellen’s life Jim Caputo is the vice-president of QAHN, president of Her- at this point became somewhat of a mystery. Indications are that itage Gaspé, and a board member of the Vankleek Hill and Dis- she lived for a time in Gaspé, perhaps with her family in Wake- trict Historical Society and the Maison Macdonnell-Williamson ham. She then moved to Quebec City in 1863 and possibly lived House Historic Site. with one of her stepdaughters. She was joined there in 1864 by her daughter Edith B. Arnold. The Inner Harbour, Gaspé: Ellen Boyle’s view from Spring Grove. 10 Photo: courtesy of Jim Caputo. WINTER 2016

OVERLOOKED QUEBEC CHURCHES Windows of the Past Trenholm United Church by Mark W. Gallop

n a sunny Sunday in August, we made a pilgrimage from Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick and New England to honour the efforts of our Oancestors and to celebrate the dynamic commu- nity that continues their legacy. The occasion was the 175th anniversary of the United Church in the hamlet of Trenholm (formerly Tren- holmville) in the St. Francis River Valley, not far from Richmond. The church was a community effort from its start. On April 12, 1839, the Trenholm family donated one acre of land, which was accepted on behalf of the Wesleyan Methodist Society. William Trenholm had arrived in the area in 1819 from Yorkshire with one son, and the re- mainder of his family had followed the next shape, well cared for with a fresh and clean interior. Services year. He was a school teacher and surveyor who died in 1826 continue monthly, except in the depth of the winter. when a tree fell on his tent in the night while he was surveying The 175th anniversary celebration started with an 11 a.m. on Melbourne Ridge, but his local legacy carried on through his church service led by the Rev. Reg Jennings of the United widow, Ann, four sons and a daughter. Church, who is responsible for the pastoral care of churches in The Armatage family immigrated in 1839, also from York- Ulverton, South Durham and Trenholm. The service was fol- shire, bringing their trade of brick making to the community. lowed by a corn roast, a hamburger and hotdog barbeque and a The bricks for the church were supplied by the Armatage brick- magnificent spread of desserts (“bring your own lawn chair”). yard across the road from the acre of land donated by the Tren- Tucked behind the church is a building that would be un- holms. Armatage bricks were also used in many local buildings, likely to attract the attention of anyone other than historians and including a school, several mills (grist, saw and woollen) and architects. It is the horse shed, built to shelter the horses during homes. church services. It dates from about 1849 and the survival of The Armatage bricks of 1840 have stood the test of time, such a building in its original form and context is rare. (Another with the continual care of the faithful. In 1869, a vestry was similar surviving church stable is the open L-shaped structure added to the back of the church and is still being used for meet- dating from about 1845, behind the Odelltown United Church ings, after service “cookie hours,” and pot luck suppers. In near Lacolle.) 1926, this former Methodist chapel became part of the United The horse shed became a centre of activity during the an- Church of Canada. The building itself appears to be in excellent niversary celebrations as the result of the work of a local committee which encouraged others to lend artefacts, photos and stories for a large dis- play, bringing the history of Trenholm, its church and its residents to life. Photos, maps, newspaper clippings and other ephemera were artfully dis- played in old window frames, with the theme “Windows of the Past.” The last hymn of the church service summed up the event and the community: “How firm a foundation.”

Mark Gallop spent three decades in the invest- ment and financial services sector, and now de- votes his time to historical research and writing. He is a Trustee of the Mount Royal Cemetery and a past president of the Atwater Library.

11 Trenholm United Church, exterior and interior. Photos: Mark Gallop. QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

WALKING BLACK MONTREAL Railways in Montreal by Ashlie Bienvenu

he high-pitched whistles and the sounds of metal upon able to join the company-sanctioned unions. Nonetheless, the metal could be heard from every corner of Montreal’s men who joined agitated to improve the working conditions and industrial South-West. In St. Henri, Little Burgundy, to get bargaining recognition. They eventually did bring about Point St. Charles, and Griffintown, transportation in- labour change in the city. Railway unions became the first in frastructureT played a key role in defining the character of the Canada to desegregate. area. One portion of Montreal’s infrastructure, the Grand Trunk These unions also had an impact on other social activist or- and Canadian Pacific railways, was a direct cause of the emer- ganizations in Montreal. One of these organizations was the gence of the predominantly English- Union United Church, which started speaking Black community that in 1907 as a church for the porters came to characterize Little Bur- and their families. Therefore, the gundy. very make-up of the Church came to As early as the 1880s, many be to give support for the families of Black immigrants, coming from the the porters who were left on their United States, did not have many job own for days at a time. In fact, after opportunities in Montreal due to the First World War, “the congrega- overt discrimination. One job oppor- tion stabilized and grew. Union tunity they did have, however, was Church became a catalyst for social as railway porters. Black employees action and a resource for a host of were not allowed to become waiters new organizations growing out of or to attain any other position above Union.” porter. The porters did not even get a The railways have had a great salary at first, relying solely on their impact on the landscape as well as tips. It was tough. Unable to get em- the history of social activism within ployment elsewhere, they stuck Montreal’s Black community. They close to the St. Antoine district. have shaped the character of Little Sometimes called St. Henri or St. Burgundy due to its close proximity Cunegogne, the area, later known as to the rail lines that run parallel to Little Burgundy, became the heart of the Lachine Canal. Railways have the English-speaking Black commu- also shaped the nature of unions and nity simply due to its proximity to social activist groups within the the railway tracks. The strong railroad connection lasted for community, such as Union United Church and unions for em- over 60 years in that neighborhood. ployment rights. Railway porters were put in charge of making beds in their cars, cleaning shoes that were left out, and cleaning their re- spective rail cars. They were always supposed to present them- Ashlie Bienvenu, a student in public history and anthropology at selves as spotless and trustworthy, so that passengers could feel Concordia University, interned for QAHN in 2014-2015, in col- comfortable leaving their valuables and children under their laboration with Montreal’s Black Community Resource Centre. care when in the dining car. Their work was laden with racial- ized expectations and behaviours. They could not defend them- Sources: selves against demeaning insults, accusations or slurs from the Post-Industrial Montreal, “Canal: Walking the Post-Industrial public or from their bosses. Lachine Canal,” Center for Oral History and Digital Story- Black porters were a hardy breed. They were required to telling, Concordia University, audio-walk, 33:55-38:30. work hundreds of hours a month or go thousands of miles be- http://postindustrialmontreal.ca/audiowalks/canal. fore they were given their pay, which amounted to much less than the white men’s salary. They would also have to endure “A Porter’s Pride,” The Hamilton Spectator, December 4, 2007 tough conditions while on long trips, working for five or more “Key Historic Events,” Government of Canada, days with only three hours of sleep allowed each day, with lay- http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/multiculturalism/black/history.asp. overs of two days. The men wanted something better. Starting in the late Our History,” Union United Church, http://www.unionunited 1880s, they established unions, such as the Brotherhood of churchmtl.ca/history.htm. Sleeping Car Porters and the Order of Sleeping Car Porters. These were segregated labour collectives because they were un-

Railway line near the Lachine Canal. 12 Photo: Ashlie Bienvenu. WINTER 2016

TE H ENGINEERS OF 1812 A first-person account by Jean-Pierre Raymond

This is a first-person account of the ca- schambault. In 1746, she married Pierre by surprise, I rushed to Niagara from reer of Ralph-Henry Bruyères, as re- de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil de Quebec in spite of my bad health. I then counted at a conference in New Orleans Cavagnial, then the governor of began to direct the construction of Fort by the retired professional engineer Louisiana and later the first governor Mississauga, but my worsening health Jean-Pierre Raymond, in his uniform of general of New France born in Canada. forced me to return to Quebec. I would a Royal Engineer of 1812. He was a cousin of the first Quebec-born still have enough time in Quebec to engineer, Michel Chartier de Lotbinière, write my report before dying in the arms am Colonel Ralph-Henry Bruyères, who built Fort Carillon, now known as of my wife. Duty to the king first, and chief engineer of Upper and Lower Fort Ticonderoga, where he would help then to my wife. I know, it sounds terri- Canada during the War of 1812. Montcalm win a brilliant victory. De ble, but in time of war there are even Since I was born in Montreal, in worse ways to die. 1765,I I am the first Montreal-born engi- When he returned to Quebec, neer. Chaussegros de Léry married Marie- My father is John Bruyères, a Louise Martel de Brouage. This couple British officer who fought in America would meet King George III, and so during the Seven Years’ War. At the ca- were the first Canadians who voluntarily pitulation of Montreal in 1760, since he became “Quebecers.” On that occasion, spoke French, he was appointed secre- seeing Marie-Louise, the king would de- tary to the governor of Trois Rivières, clare that “if all the ladies of Canada are Ralph Burton, who is my godfather, and as handsome as you are, I have indeed his wife, my aunt Marguerite Bruyères. made a nice conquest.” The couple In Montreal, my father met my mother, would have 18 children (it is very cold Catherine-Élisabeth Pommereau de in Quebec!), five of whom were officers Montesson et de Croisillon, co- in 1812. seigneuresse of Bécancour. She would In 1793, I was transferred to Flan- show my father that you can be quite ders with the Duke of York’s army to comfortable in Canada during the winter fight the French republican army, whose if you use properly what engineers call a chief engineer was François-Joseph bi-energy central heating system – that Chaussegros de Léry, born in Quebec in is, you have to be two in the same bed to 1754. To my knowledge, this was the have it work. Consequently, I was born first playoff series between Quebec and in October. If you do your calculations, Montreal. On one side you had the you will see that it works. Canadian of Quebec and facing him you Because my father was Protestant, I Lotbinière married Louise-Magdeleine had me, the Quebecker of Montreal. If was accepted at the Royal Military Chaussegros de Léry, daughter of the you are mixed up with your identity, it is Academy of Woolwich in London, chief engineer of New France, Colonel normal; we have forgotten that the where I received training as an engineer. Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de Léry, Canadian identity is French while the When I got back to Montreal in 1790, I who built the fortifications of Quebec Quebecker identity is British. married a nice lady, also born in Montre- that I would later improve by adding the François-Joseph had been refused al, Janet Dunbar. Her father is Captain Martello towers on the Abraham an education at the Royal Military Acad- William Dunbar of the British infantry Heights. This kind of fortification had emy of Woolwich because he was and her mother is Thérèse-Josephte been proposed by Lotbinière in 1759 but Catholic, which greatly upset our Gover- Fleury de la Gorgandière Deschambault, were refused by Montcalm – to his great nor Guy Carleton, who wanted him on another nice French-Canadian noble la- misfortune. our side – an act of reasonable accom- dy. Consequently, we are both bridges Chaussegros de Léry also built Fort modation. Instead, four Chaussegros de between nations, which is appropriate Niagara, which I inspected in 1790 be- Léry brothers ended up in France and for an engineer. fore we ceded the fort to the Americans. learned engineering in a program much My wife’s mother’s aunt is Jeanne- Years later, in 1813, when I learned that more stringent than the British one. At Charlotte Fleury de la Gorgandière De- we had taken it back from the Americans the beginning of the French Revolution,

Col. Ralph-Henry Bruyère (J.-P. Raymond) and Janet Dunbar, Mrs. Bruyère 13 (Andrée Aubut) in Queenston Heights, 2012. Photo: an obliging tourist. QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

the Empire. The following year, Regiment during the sieges of Louis- Napoléon returned, but kept François- bourg and Quebec. Josephte’s mother Joseph on, assigning him the task of was Marie-Claire Fleury de la Gor- building fortifications for Paris and Ly- gandière Deschambault, the sister of my on. (Those of Lyon are still used today, mother-in-law. Charles-Étienne would as the command post for the nuclear serve as deputy adjutant quartermaster strike force of France – with some engi- general and later as adjutant general neering improvement, mostly electron- with the rank of lieutenant colonel. (An ic.) Alas, to no avail. As François-Joseph adjutant general is responsible for the wrote in his final report, “the emperor provost, or military police, and for hu- has rendered useless all my work by pre- man resources.) cipitating his army in front of my de- For my part, I was defending Hol- fences to have it destroyed in one shot at Waterloo.” François-Joseph then re- turned to the service of Louis XVIII, who showed no resentment. The engi- neer even managed to have his brother in Russia, Gaspard-Roch-George, two brothers remained faithful to the awarded the Croix-de-St-Louis for serv- monarchy and followed the king’s broth- ices rendered to the French monarchy – ers into the Prussian army. I call them basically for having fought him twice. sovereignists. The other two joined the Nice family spirit between Canadians! Republican army, Alexandre-André-Vic- The other royalist brother, Louis- tor serving as aide-de-camp to his broth- René Chaussegros de Léry, was exiled to er François-Joseph before being appoint- Britain after Valmy, and from there ed chief engineer of Guadeloupe. moved back to Canada to replace his fa- After the royalists’ defeat at Valmy, ther as land owner. When war was de- Gaspard-Roch-George Chaussegros de clared in 1812, he was one of the most land in 1799, and in 1802, I was trans- Léry accepted the offer of the Polish experienced officers in North America. ferred to Canada where I surveyed all princess Czetwertynska to educate her This time, he was not rejected because the defences of Upper Canada with Gen- two daughters. To my knowledge, they he was Catholic. He served as a colonel eral Isaac Brook. I wrote a report about are the first two women to receive engi- in the British army and was later joined the inadequacy of the fortifications and neering training. One of the two, Maria by his young brother Charles-Étienne. suggested some work to correct the situ- Antonovna Naryshkina Svyatopolk- Charles-Étienne Chaussegros de ation, but my report was shelved for lack Czetwertynskaya, would become the Léry, unlike his four brothers, was nei- of funds. I was then transferred to Que- mistress of the future tsar of Russia, ther a career military man nor an engi- bec to become the chief engineer of the Alexander I. She was trained to take neer, but a lawyer, and never left Que- two Canadas. In 1806, Governor James citadels. And that was how a Canadian bec. He married Josephte Fraser, the Craig ordered me to construct the engineer came to be the preceptor of the daughter of Judge John Fraser of the Martello towers on the Abraham Heights tsar’s son. King’s Bench who had served as an offi- – before we got approval from Parlia- Gaspard-Roch-George was in St. cer of the 78th Foot Fraser Highlander ment in London. When they found out, Petersburg in 1812 when the Grande Ar- he was recalled and replaced by General mée invaded Russia. His older brother Provost. François-Joseph, who had covered him- My Martello towers were almost self in glory through seventy military like the more than 200 others built campaigns under Napoléon Bonaparte around the world, the main difference (he was no longer a republican but a being that I added a roof over the gun Baron of the Empire), was now division platform at the top of the tower. This general and chief engineer of the Grande way, it avoided the defect of Armée. A second confrontation between Chaussegros de Léry fortifications, that the two brothers ensued. This time, the the water infiltrates into the masonry French suffered a terrible defeat, but and with freezing and melting creates François-Joseph saved the French army vertical potholes ten feet in diameter. at the Battle of Berezina. In 1814, he Since it was impossible to shoot guns was promoted chief engineer of France. with the roof in place, it was designed to In that year, Napoléon was sent to Elba be removed – and put back, if we won. to take a rest, although Louis XVIII kept If we lost, our guns on the ramparts François-Joseph on as chief engineer – could destroy the towers, which were with the title of Viscount, not Baron, of much thinner on the back than on the

Top: “François-Joseph Chaussegros de Léry, 1754-1824.” Benjamin Sulte, Bottom: Salvatore Tonci, “Maria Antonovna Naryshkina.” vivatfomenko.narod.ru. Histoire des Canadiens-Français, 1608-1880, Montreal, 1882-84. 14 Right: “Martello Tower, Quebec, 1898.” Photo: McCord Museum, MP-1977.76.67. WINTER 2016 front. In this project, I was assisted by James Thompson, the overseer of ma- sonry work in the engineering depart- ment who had previously served as a sergeant in the grenadier company of the 78th Foot Fraser Highlander Regiment with the promise by his recruiting offi- cer to have an officer’s commission as soon as an opportunity presented itself. Unfortunately, his recruiting officer had been killed right next to him in the land- ing boat assaulting the beach of Louis- bourg. Thompson became a good friend of General Wolfe, who also promised him a commission – only to be killed in the siege of Quebec. After the Montreal capitulation, Thompson was still without commission and so not entitled to half- pay when his regiment disbanded. He offered to work for the engineering de- knowledge that I would apply as chief sive position behind Fort George, which partment in Quebec, and was involved in engineer. At my death in 1814, he was was dominated by Fort Niagara, so well the reconstruction of the devastated city. still working for the engineering depart- located by Chaussegros de Léry. The Thompson told us of his many ad- ment and took care of my funeral. After key element of that defensive position ventures. In November 1759, he was re- 65 years of faithful service to the king, was Fort Mississauga and the Colour quired to cross the St. Lawrence River to he would finally retire in 1825, at the Corps was used in that construction. The fetch the company pay. Trying to get in venerable age of 92, and died five years Colour Corps was made up of about fifty the boat, he missed his step and fell in later. free men of colour led by Richard Pier- the water, wearing a kilt. Two strong I finished building the Martello point, who fought alongside his owner Canadians pulled him out, and a Canadi- towers just in time to be ready for the who freed him for that. They had fought an lady, seeing his bare legs, moved next war of 1812. I then rushed west to im- eagerly during the battle of Queenston to him in the canoe and covered them prove Canada’s defenses; this time, Heights and were ready to avoid being with her skirt. He swore that, when they budget was not a concern. I supervised “liberated” by the Americans. It was reached the other side and she stood up, the fortification of Coteau-du-Lac and while working on this project that I start- his legs were steaming as if coming out Prescott (Fort Wellington), and then ed to see my health decline. of boiling water. This story proves again stopped in Kingston, where the shipyard After my death, the war would con- how warm a Canadian lady can be. was not defended; I built Fort Frederick, tinue for several more months. In Sep- Thompson began his engineering today the site of the Royal Military Col- tember 1814, General Provost would at- work five years before my birth. He lege of Canada. I proposed attacking the tack Plattsburgh with the support of a fought the American invasion of 1775- American shipyard of Sackets Harbour small squadron of the Royal Navy, but 1776 and was with the group of soldiers to delay their ship construction. In the they would be stopped cold by two that killed General Montgomery. He beginning of 1813, I moved west again American engineers and the American buried the general along the Quebec to reach the Niagara peninsula, which I squadron of the United States Navy on ramparts and later buried his French- knew needed some defensive work. My Lake Champlain. The American forces Canadian wife next to him because she first priority was to prepare a new defen- were under the command of Brigadier was refused in the Catholic General Alexander Ma- cemetery. In 1822, when the comb, who received engi- Canadian government neering training in France, agreed to return the gener- assisted by Major Joseph al’s body to the United Guilbert Totten, one of the States, they had to ask first engineers to graduate Thompson where it was. from the United States Mili- Thompson replied that tary Academy at West Point. Montgomery rested beside his wife. I met Thompson as a young engineer and he initi- ated me into the secrets of the Quebec fortifications,

Top: Richard Short, “A View of the Church of Notre Dame de la Bottom: William Armstrong, “Fort Victoire,” 1761. McCord Museum, M2492. 15 Mississauga, 1870.” LAC, C-010509. QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

16 WINTER 2016

2016 Conference series MattersVolunteeringVolunteering

Stanstead FEBRUARYMontreal 5 QuebecMARCH City 18 APRIL 15 Château Ramezay Morrin Centre Colby-Curs Museum

Voluntary service is the heart of community life. Yet many non-profit groups in English Quebec are failing to find and inspire a new WakefieldMAY 20 generation of supporters. Given society’s Wakefield Community Centre aging population, new approaches to volunteer resource management are urgently needed. Gaspé Town How do community organizations stay vital? JUNE 17 Musée de la Gaspésie Join the Quebec Anglophone Heritage Network for these workshops and presentations as we explore and share practical ideas that will help SEPTEMBERKnowlton 23 your community answer this critical question. Brome County Historical Museum

Learn valuable insights about: . Designing your volunteer program . Finding and keeping the right people . Training and managing volunteers . Appealing to younger supporters

Register online at www.qahn.org or call toll-free 1-877-964-0409

Fostering Organizational Renewal through Enriching Volunteer Experience and Recognition (FOREVER) is sponsored by the Quebec Anglophone Heritage Network, with financial support from the Department of Canadian Heritage.

17 QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

GROSSE ÎLE ON THE COMPULSORY PROVINCIAL EXAM by Leo Delaney

he Jeanie Johnston Educational Foundation is pleased to note that the Quebec Ministry of Education has in- cluded Grosse Île in the compulsory exam for this year, 2015. Students must pass this exam to graduate. TThis achievement ensures that Quebec teachers continue to in- clude Grosse Île in their history teaching. The Irish Community has talked about Grosse Île for years and years and years, wondering at how the provincial govern- ment has failed to recognize the importance of this entry port in the history of Quebec and how the federal government has failed to understand its importance in the history of Quebec and Canada. Why is it that this historic island through which 4.5 million immigrants passed into Canada and the United States, of which 2.5 million were Irish, was never given proper accreditation? In the 1970s it was proposed to make the island an amuse- tors to Quebec. ment park. This dreadful idea was scrapped after 300 Irish soci- The federal government has pledged $5,000,000 to help re- eties objected. We have supported Grosse Île strongly as a me- store the buildings on the site and to address the potential morial to the thousands of immigrants who are buried on the is- tourism benefits. This, coupled with the educational initiative of land. We were involved in having those 300 briefs submitted to the provincial government, presents an unprecedented opportu- Parks Canada in the 1980s and to the development of the island nity for the Irish community and its supporters. as a historic tribute to the memory of those buried there. In 2008, the Jeanie Johnston Educational Foundation In 2005, the Jeanie Johnston Educational Foundation fi- worked with the Ancient Order of Hibernians in their tremen- nanced a two-day visit of prominent historians, both local and dous efforts to bring American visitors to Grosse Île. Unfortu- international, including the late Marianna O’Gallagher, Ben nately, due to a downturn in the economy, this was not the Walsh (historian, advisor to the British Educational & Commu- hoped-for success, and the Hibernians suffered a large financial nication Agency and to the European History Agency), and loss. Now, however, things seem to be turning around. The Noel Burke (then Assistant Deputy Minister of Education, now combined efforts of the Jeanie Johnston Foundation, LEARN, Dean of Continuing Education at Concordia University). Unfor- Heritage Grosse Île and the Ancient Order of Hibernians have tunately, Parks Canada was unable to provide staff as guides for succeeded in their quest for recognition of the role of this site in this distinguished group. the history curriculum. The Foundation works closely with the Callery family, The education that students acquire will influence the fu- owners of the Famine Museum in Roscommon, Ireland. This ture of this country. Irish family, who understand the importance of the Grosse Île site, contributed generously to the historic value of the Irish im- Leo Delaney is chair of the Jeanie Johnston Educational migration by financing a memorial cross, erected in Quebec Foundation. City. The recognition, at last, of the importance of Grosse Île by both Quebec and the federal government is one of the greatest steps in the history of the Irish in Canada. The Irish community can now bring together all the projects regarding the history of immigration and the influence that the Irish brought to Canada, Small Press, the Montreal Black Stone project as well as Grosse Île. Funding Tremendous Books! can take a more substantive direction, garnering a greater na- tional and international interest. Now that finally both govern- 23 rue Ste-Anne ments have woken up, it is time the Irish community focused on Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X 1L1 the tremendous educational value that this offers. Imagine a re- [email protected] 514.457.5733 search centre on Grosse Île that tourists could access to investi- www.shorelinepress.ca gate their family histories; it would increase the number of visi-

D. A. McLaughlin, “Quarantine Station Building, Grosse Île.” 18 Photo: LAC, MIKAN 3623686. WINTER 2016

SALAMIS OF SAMOS A Laurentian family by Joseph Graham

Montreal’s Griffintown was a tough of the island, his future was either South years. It was during this time that he en- place in the 1930s and 40s. Africa or America. With the flip of a couraged his younger brother, Nicholas, Back in 1908, the Sperdakos broth- coin, and his grandfather's guitar and to come to Montreal. Nicholas became ers started projecting films onto the wall blessing, he set off to find a way of sup- the most sought-after bookkeeper for of their ice cream and tobacco shop on porting his widowed mother and many among the 500 Greek businesses. Notre Dame Street, hoping to draw in younger sister and brother, confident Basil met Pota Kalfas and her father passersby. When they saw how many that, as a Samiot, he could deal with George, a Greek distillery owner. Basil clients came in to see the projections, whatever came his way. began working for the distillery and they built a nickelodeon, an early cine- Sick with typhoid fever, Basil found soon married Pota. By 1927, they had a ma whose name came from a combina- himself quarantined when he arrived in daughter, Marika. In 1932, Nicholas re- tion of the price of entry and the Greek Wheeling, West Virginia. He didn’t turned to Greece, having discovered he word for a theatre housed under a roof. know a soul and his natural optimism had a vocation for the priesthood. He By the end of that first year they had ex- was put to the test. This new world, with came back to Toronto and served as a panded it to 750 seats and named it the its foreign language, was very demand- Greek Orthodox priest there, working Fairyland Theatre. As the city for the community during the dif- grew, though, the character of the ficult war years. At the end of the neighbourhood began to change war he transferred to Montreal, and the name of the theatre evoked where he served as the religious a bygone era. During the Depres- foundation of the community for sion things got really tight, but the the balance of his career. upside for the Sperdakos family The Kalfas distillery was not was that they could hire competent fated to survive the Great Depres- people for very little money. sion and soon Basil was looking Their bookkeeper, another for work to provide for his family. Greek, was an engineer. Basil That was how he came to be the Salamis couldn’t find much work bookkeeper for the Sperdakos in his own field during the Depres- family at the Fairyland Theatre in sion and so he took on whatever Griffintown. His sunny disposi- job he could find. He had left tion could not hide the state of the home at 17 in 1910, headed for the books from the Sperdakos family, United States from Samos, a Greek is- ing for him. Even his familiar name, though, and one fateful day in 1933, af- land off the coast of Turkey south of Vasili, too unusual for the locals, be- ter a meeting that can only be imagined, Izmir. Once the home of Pythagoras, came Basil for simplicity. Still, he pur- the Sperdakos family solved one of their Aristarchus and Theodorus of Greek an- sued his goal, sending what money he financial problems by simply turning the tiquity, Samos was hard-pressed eco- could spare home to his mother as he keys and ownership of the theatre over nomically by the meltdown of the 500- worked in restaurants and hotels in to him. That was the same year Basil’s year-old Ottoman Empire centred in Cleveland, Chicago and Minneapolis. son Constantine was born nearby Constantinople (now Istanbul). Four years later, he saw an opportunity By early 1934, the sun was begin- But Basil had a sunny disposition and with the beginning of the Great War and ning to rise from behind the clouds of the confidence inspired by the knowl- headed for Canada to fight for the the Depression. Belgium’s Baron Louis- edge that the people of Samos had been British. Refused by the military, Basil Jean Empain, the son of Edouard-Louis- among the greatest scientists and worked his way from Winnipeg to Van- Joseph Empain and heir to half of the thinkers in history. Pythagoras was fa- couver where, at 21, he wrote the en- family fortune, had decided to smile up- miliar to musicians and mathematicians trance exams and was accepted at on Canada. His father had founded the while Aristarchus had determined, a mil- McGill University in Montreal. Empain Bank and was obsessed with lennium before Copernicus was born, His life changed in Montreal. He public transport. He had built train that the Earth revolved around the sun. became the first Greek to graduate in en- tracks across France, Belgium and Hol- Theodorus invented the level, the lathe gineering at McGill and he went to work land. He experimented with electric and the lock. Given the grinding poverty for General Electric for a number of trams, supplying a long list of cities with

“Fairyland Theatre, Notre Dame Street, Montreal,” 1915. 19 Photo: McCord Museum, MP-0000.2327.403.5. QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS their first public transit systems. He built and, he reasoned, there were sure to be sive property, hoping to encourage Bel- the Paris metro, the Cairo transit system other opportunities with the baron. In the gian emigration to it. Somehow, the Cana- and a railway through China. He built a meantime, there were the lakes in sum- dian government saw only the benefits of railway in the Belgian Congo and was mer and skiing in winter. His whole grabbing and sequestering his property involved in hydroelectric projects and family would benefit while he developed and assets as though he, himself, had be- many other industrial developments. His a strong relationship with the young come an enemy. Not surprisingly, he nev- great accomplishments, particularly in baron. er forgave the Canadian government and the Congo, led King Leopold II of Bel- Greek has two words for time, the fa- ultimately abandoned his projects in gium to recognize him with the title of miliar chronos, time as it is measured, and Canada, but Basil, loyal to the project the Baron in 1907. When he passed baron had created, maintained the away in 1929, he left an estate esti- Laurentian theatre for many years, af- mated to be worth six billion French fording his family some escape from francs to his two sons. Clearly the the city. Pota loved the Laurentians Empains had as much self-confi- and they maintained a year-round va- dence as a Samiot like Basil, even if cation residence close to Lac Masson. Belgium could not boast of scholar- They were one of the first Greek ly breakthroughs from antiquity. families to take up skiing in the Young Baron Louis-Jean Em- thirties. pain established himself in Canada Later, in high school in Montre- in 1934. He proved to be not only al, Con worked occasionally at the the financial salvation of the Sulpi- Fairyland candy counter making pop- cians and of the University of Mon- corn and serving customers. He re- treal, but he also conceived and calls how rough the crowds were and built a Laurentian vacation resort in the less-known word, kyros, the time at how they hired Marcel “Rocky” Brisebois Sainte-Marguerite-du-lac-Masson, call- which things happen. Unknown to them to act as a bouncer. Rocky was one of ing it the Domaine d’Estérel. all, one of those things that changes those Griffintown French Canadians who The positive, sunny disposition that everything was just about to happen. was so tough he was adopted by the local drove Basil’s life and outlook made it in- On May 10, 1940, the German army Irish gangs. Even his English had an Irish evitable that his and the baron’s paths invaded Belgium. The young Baron Em- lilt. About five years older than Con, his would cross. pain had moved from the peace of Canada career as welterweight boxing champion into the vortex of war as the Belgian gov- had not yet begun though he was still a *** ernment called up all available young teenager when boxing took him away men. Reporting for duty, he participated in from the theatre. t was in Basil Salamis’s nature to the heroic “Campaign of 18 Days,” a se- In the early hours of October 28, make things work. Having taken ries of battles that slowed the German ad- 1940, five months after the collapse and over the Fairyland Theatre in vance, giving the surprised Allied troops surrender of Belgium, the Italian ambas- Griffintown in the depths of the precious extra time to evacuate Dunkirk. sador rudely awoke Greek Prime Minister Depression,I he had to make it feed his The baron was captured and taken prison- Ioannis Metaxas and demanded strategic family. Working together, Basil, his er by the Germans. The war came into access to Greek soil and some ports. wife, Pota, and the rest of the family everyone’s lives and the dream of the op- Metaxas, a dictator who had modelled his made the theatre viable, but the conver- portunities Basil would have working government on Benito Mussolini’s Italian sations around their kitchen table fo- with the baron became clouded and dis- regime, knew Greece was at a crossroads. cused more on academics and sporting tant. The family still had responsibility for To maintain his authority, he was depend- events than on the theatre. As Basil’s son both cinemas, but they would have to wait ent upon the Greek king (George II) as Constantine (Con) grew up, he wasn’t for the end of the war to learn the fate of well as the military, both of whom were encouraged to join the family business. the baron. favourable to the British-French alliance. Basil sorely missed his earlier profession The Canadian government reacted Acceding to the ultimatum on that early of electrical engineering and wanted his very poorly to the situation, sequestering morning in October would have made son to follow into the applied sciences. Baron Empain’s Canadian holdings be- Greece a part of the Axis and his govern- In the meantime, Basil and Pota saw cause of his status as a prisoner and subse- ment would have become a puppet of new opportunities for their children, quently as a citizen of an occupied coun- Mussolini. He is purported to have an- Marika and Con. Baron Jean-Louis Em- try. Empain had married a Montrealer and swered the Italian ambassador with the pain had gone to take care of his respon- was committed to his new country. He French words “Alors, c’est la guerre,” but sibilities in Brussels and his managers had been approached to effectively bail his official response was “Ohi!” (Greek here needed someone to look after their out the Sulpicians, who had over-extend- for “No!” – reminiscent of more recent new cinema in his Domaine d’Estérel. ed themselves trying to establish the Uni- events in Greece, opposing the intensive When Basil heard about their search, he versity of Montreal and who needed to austerity of the European Community.) jumped on the opportunity. It would al- liquidate their Lake of Two Mountains Metaxas’ statement also served as a battle low his family to enjoy the Laurentians holdings. He obliged by buying the exten- cry and, within hours, the Italians invaded

“Hotel de la Pointe Bleue, Domaine d’Estérel, 1937.” 20 Photo: BANQ, E57, S44, SS1, PY-1287. WINTER 2016 through Albania. Salamis was honoured by the Greek gov- military applications, so, of course, the At home, the Salamis family read and ernment, who named him Commander of United States military did the same, en- listened to the news as the poorly the Greek Order of the Phoenix. He was couraging its mining and development. equipped and outnumbered Hellenic army also recognized with the highest decora- Basil created the Laurentian Titanium pushed the Italians 60 kilometres back in- tion from the Hellenic Red Cross Society, Mines Company. It was Con, in his early to Axis territory in Albania. Metaxas was the Golden Cross with Laurels. university years, who discovered the a dictator who had a reputation for ruth- During the war, Basil’s mother and highest grade prospect in the Lac Pin lessness inside Greece and had taken his sister, who remained in Greece, expe- Rouge area of Saint-Hippolyte. That complete control of the media, burning rienced serious deprivation and one can event persuaded him to pursue a degree and prohibiting books – including Plato’s only imagine the concerns Greek Canadi- in Mining Engineering at McGill, which Republic. Even so, Greeks everywhere, ans would have had for family members he obtained in 1956. including Basil and his family, were proud in the occupied country. The population of Sometime after graduation, Con fell of the repulsion of the Axis forces that Greece, just one of the many countries de- in love with another member of the winter, and when Metaxas died suddenly stroyed by the war, declined by three mil- Montreal Greek community, Katherine, in late January of 1941 the defensive line lion people. the daughter of Constantine and Helen the Hellenic Army had established was Well after the war had ended, Basil’s Schoolarinos. In her early years, Kathy, named in his honour. A week before what whole family remained involved with and reputed for her beauty, worked the cash would have been the prime minister’s concerned for Greece and the Greek im- at the family business, the Diana Restau- 70th birthday, in early April, the powerful migrants who had found their way to rant on St. Catherine Street. Her father German army broke through the Metaxas Canada. It was well after the war, too, that was a great supporter of the Greek com- Line and another Axis power, the Bulgari- the young Con, a graduate in engineering munity and normally could not refuse a ans, also crossed into Greece as occupiers. from McGill, met Katherine Schoolarinos, request from its spiritual leader, Basil’s Once the German, Italian and Bulgar- daughter of a family that had immigrated brother, Reverend Salamis. But one day ian occupation was complete, Greek re- to Canada from Sparta, Greece, in 1912. when Schoolarinos was sick in bed, the sistance kept their occupiers busy, while priest came to see him to ask that Greek nationals elsewhere helped any *** Katherine participate in a Greek commu- way they could. From the moment of the nity beauty contest. Schoolarinos was invasion, all food had been requisitioned fter the war, the Salamis fam- adamantly opposed, and Katherine, re- for the occupation forces and death was ily maintained their presence specting her father’s wishes, did not par- the penalty for anyone hiding supplies. It in the Laurentians. It had be- ticipate. The Schoolarinos family owned wasn’t until 1942 that the British accepted come, as it has for so many two restaurants, the Diana, and the to lift their Mediterranean blockade, al- ofA us, an important, even central, part of Cadillac on Peel Street, which were lowing neutral Swedish and Turkish ships their lives. Basil Salamis undertook to among the earliest Greek restaurateurs in through with aid. Not able to stand idly investigate the mineral potential of the the city. Anyone familiar with Montreal by, Basil, together with four other Greek lower Laurentians. Titanium, named for cuisine today knows how much our Canadians, co-founded the Greek War Re- the Titans of Greek mythology, was Greek restaurant owners have influenced lief Fund in Canada, eventually succeed- present in the area between Ivry and our tastes. ing in sending Canadian wheat on neutral Saint-Hippolyte. Viscount Ogier d’Ivry Con and Kathy married in July Swedish ships through the British block- had tried to mine it before the Great 1960. By then, Con had moved to Val ade. Forty thousand people died in the War, but it wasn’t economically viable d’Or, where he was involved in a geo- German-occupied greater Athens area because the techniques to separate it physical consulting partnership. A city alone and the country was pillaged, leav- from its ore had not yet been developed. girl, Kathy adapted, giving birth to their ing Greece impoverished and split among After World War II, though, the Soviets daughter, Alexandra, in their new, rural occupiers as well as among contending re- were said to be developing titanium for community. Soon, though, Con was sistance groups. By the end of the working on world-wide assign- war, fully a third of the country was ments that led to the discovery of dependent upon aid. two significant gold mines in From the beginning of the war, Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Pota also worked diligently for Volta), Africa. How different Greece, becoming president of the could that be? Kathy prepared to Greek section of the Canadian Red adapt once more. Then, when they Cross. After the war, some 100,000 moved to Nicaragua in the mid- Greeks immigrated to Canada. Both sixties, she had great difficulties she and her father, George Kalfas, living in its frontier environment. dedicated themselves to helping Political enemies of the Somoza Greek immigrants establish them- regime disappeared with alarming selves in Canada. Even her daugh- frequency. The young Salamis ter Marika worked as a volunteer. family lived in what we would At the end of the war, Basil now call a gated community that

“Dragons’ Teeth on the Metaxas Line, 1941. 21 Photo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaxas_Line#. QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS included a guard at the entrance who eastern Nicaragua, Con was struggling and Kathy was comfortable with her ca- was regularly beaten up even though he through an overgrown bush trail when pacity to adapt, so they looked outside was heavily armed. Added to Kathy's he felt his right leg start moving to the the city. That was when Con’s strong re- concerns was the safety of their now right on its own. Glancing into the lationship with the Laurentians directed three-year-old daughter, Alexandra. A brush, he saw that his foot was firmly him to come and look here. Even though young mother of twenty-three, it was not planted on the back of a large snake, a his father's dream of a titanium mine in what she had anticipated when she boa constrictor. Startled, he jumped back the Laurentians ended with his death, imagined the bliss of married life. It was only to watch the huge snake continue and Baron Empain's Laurentian dream too colourful for her, and often for Con, on like a moving sidewalk, indifferent to had ended with his self-imposed exile as well. the occasional preoccupied prospector. from Canada and the Domaine d'Estérel, One midweek evening in Managua, After that, Con determined to ensure that Con’s connection to the Laurentians is a Con went with a colleague to a steak someone more familiar with the fauna part of the legacy of both those men. house just outside of town. Parked out- walked ahead. After a thorough search, Con and side the restaurant was a hefty looking Kathy returned several times to Kathy settled in Morin Heights, where station wagon adorned with the national Montreal, happy to get away from young George attended school before flag and equipped with thick bulletproof Nicaragua. On one of these vacations following in his father’s career foot- glass. Clearly some important event was home, she discovered she was pregnant. steps. Kathy threw herself into local taking place inside. Upon entering they It was early 1966, a few months before projects, co-founding Theatre Morin noted that only four tables were occu- Con's two-year contract was due to ex- Heights and later becoming a local ac- pied and the patrons were nervous-look- pire, but Kathy was distressed to discov- tress. ing heavily armed young men. In the er he had accepted a further one year as- Today, George, a mining engineer, centre General Somoza, the Nicaraguan signment in Kenya and she had difficul- lives in Vancouver and works on a gold dictator, sat with what appeared to be a ty imagining having her baby in a primi- project in Val d'Or. Alexandra is director young girlfriend. All the men, including tive maternity ward in Africa. of her own company through which she the general, wore bulletproof vests. In Close friends living in Nairobi, provides leadership and management retrospect, it mystifies Con why he and Kenya, did their best to reassure them consulting and coaching services to the his colleague were even allowed into the that it was a much different place, one Government of Canada. Both return reg- restaurant. Somoza’s father had been as- not to be missed. In spite of all the pre- ularly to visit their parents in Morin sassinated during the early thirties while vious hardships, Kathy consented to join Heights. lunching in a restaurant under similar Con there two months after his arrival in circumstances. As Con and his colleague Kenya. When she arrived six months Joseph Graham ([email protected]) sat, they became aware that their every pregnant, his first words were "Welcome is the author of Naming the Laurentians: move startled the heavily armed youths to paradise," as indeed it was at that A History of Place Names Up North and protecting the general. If their hands time. George was delivered at the Queen a forthcoming book on the history of the dropped under the level of the table top, Elizabeth Hospital with the help of a Laurentians. the tension became almost palpable. The midwife, much to the surprise of family quiet lunch they had imagined was turn- in Canada. They spent a delightful year Special thanks to Con and Kathy ing into a nerve-wracking mistake. Sud- in newly independent Kenya with its Salamis for their patience and encour- denly, the general rose and his party fell huge parks teeming with game, much of agement. into protective positions around him and which has since disappeared. his girlfriend as they walked out. Upon their return to Canada, Con At another time, while looking for worked in Quebec City and Montreal Sources: rock outcroppings in the rain forest in but had no desire to live in a metropolis, G. Scott MacLeod, Dans l’Griff-In Griffintown: Three personal French Canadian narratives on their homes, public spaces, and buildings in the for- mer industrial neighbourhood of Griffin- town, Department of Art Education, Concordia University.

Rocky Brisebois obituary: http://www.fe derationgenealogie.qc.ca/avisdeces /avis/pdf?id=24998.

Information pertaining to the Fairyland Theatre was found at https://moviethe atres.wordpress.com/the-movie-the- atres/fairyland.

22 Lac Masson, 1937. Photo: BANQ, E57, S44, SS1, PY-1288. WINTER 2016

FODO WILL WIN THE WAR Home cooks in Montreal, 1939-1945 by Sandra Stock

This article was written in connection small stores that specialized in meat, shopping. The act of getting out of the with QAHN's project, Housewife Hero- fish, or fruit and vegetables. These were house probably added to a growing ines: Anglophone Women at Home in positioned on commercial streets close sense of freedom among women, and it Montreal during World War II, which to residential districts. Sherbrooke Street certainly had a strong social side, meet- has been funded through the Department West, between Girouard and Grand, was ing the neighbours and chatting with the of Canadian Heritage's World War Com- an example of this. The stores were grocer. This system hung on into the memorations Community Fund. close together but nothing like the super- 1950s, along with the milkman and his markets that would follow after the war horse. A note on fish: Montreal was thor- ne of the main issues for any oughly Roman Catholic, so the govern- country involved in warfare ment push to have Montrealers eat is feeding both its troops and more fish, at least on Fridays, was not a its civilians. The production, problem here. Surprisingly, lobster was harvesting,O processing and especially not considered the gourmet item it is the transportation and delivery of food- now. It was seen as a “junk fish” and stuffs becomes an essential undertak- not eaten much until the Canadian De- ing. During the Second World War, partment of Agriculture started promot- Canada was (as it still is today) a major ing it with such statements as “It's Pa- exporter of surplus foods – grains, meat triotic and Pleasant to Eat Canadian and dairy, in particular – and war, of Lobster.” Apples were also touted as course, disrupts this important aspect of patriotic food. trade. During the war as never before, This emphasis on local products women in Montreal households were was part of the war effort: “Early in the faced with obtaining and preparing war, Canadians were asked to con- healthy and, if possible, appealing tribute voluntarily to Canada's food ex- meals for their families. port commitments by avoiding foods In many ways, the 1930s were a that were needed in Britain and by con- transition period for domestic life. By suming more Canadian foods whose this decade, Montreal, Canada's largest European export markets had disap- city and industrial centre, had a greater peared, therefore threatening farmers variety of food available than previous- and fishermen with unused surpluses.” ly. There were now refrigerator cars on (Mosby) So, lobster cocktail, lobster à trains and the iceman delivered regular- la king and lobster sandwiches became ly (although the ice box did not to give the choice dishes. way to home refrigerators until after the Recipes and recipe books became war). There were also regular deliveries prevalent as never before during the of bread and milk, which freed up the war years. Food production, nutrition housewife from daily shopping. The lo- and, sadly, put most of them out of busi- and conservation were hot topics both cal milkman with his horse would re- ness. on the radio and in print. Kate Aitken main a neighbourhood fixture in residen- The housewife headed out at least was the best known of the media’s home tial areas such as Notre Dame de Grâce two days a week (Tuesdays and Fridays economists, appearing in The Montreal well into the 1950s. seemed to be favoured), and she usually Standard and on Montreal radio stations; Most shopping was done either at dressed up for the occasion: a dress, hat another food expert was Chatelaine large markets like Atwater or Jacques and, except in very hot weather, gloves. magazine's Helen Campbell. Some ex- Cartier Square, with farmers bringing in All of these stores delivered; the house- perts, like the Vancouver Sun's “Edith produce from the countryside, as had wife would scan the goods and place her Adams,” were fictional. These wartime been done for centuries and, in some order. This routine was nearly universal, avatars all had attractive alliterative cases, on the same locations as markets since by then even the very rich had few names of British origin and comforting of the French regime. There were also servants and most people did their own personas like a favourite aunt. As dated

23 “Economy Recipes for Canada's ‘Housoldiers’ 1943.” McCord Museum, M2002.123.3. QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS as they may seem to us now, these fe- Country people were slightly better male food and home economy experts off as they already had gardens and were a great help to Canadian house- grain fields, and in wilder areas they wives dealing with shortages, ration could fish and hunt. Montreal was still books and absent family members. They an agricultural island, at least in part, also, somewhat unintentionally, opened and districts such as Cote St. Luc, Mon- the non-print media world to women. treal North and the West Island had The rationing of food products is many functioning farms. Canada, how- perhaps the most frequently mentioned ever, was shipping tons of foodstuffs to memory that older Montrealers have of Britain, especially after the fall of the Second World War. Everyone has to France in 1940 when the continent be- eat, so changes to the availability of came closed to exports. Canada was also food affect everyone. This was also a feeding the growing military forces, as time before pre-packaged, ready to well as the influx of munitions workers serve, foods were seen in grocery stores. and others working in military support Everything had to be chopped, sliced, capacities, many of whom had been mashed, and whatever else it took to agricultural workers before the war. The make food edible. military now lived in barracks (Longue Pointe, east of Montreal harbour, for ex- Wartime Recipe ample) and civilians crowded into rental housing. Many people were forced to The Woolton Pie live with relatives, especially the wives dians who saw military service.” (Mos- and mothers of men in the forces. by) Obesity and type-two diabetes were A vegetable pie with a potato pastry The Wartime Prices and Trade nearly unknown in those days before that uses very little fat. The potato Board ensured that scarce commodities sugar-infused fast-foods. makes the pastry moist and crumbly, were not wasted. Government advertise- Of course, many Montrealers tack- however, work with it quickly or the ments reminded citizens that economy led the food shortage quite literally at pastry turns grey. The pie contains was a patriotic duty. (Burns, 121) The the root by growing their own vegeta- seasonal vegetables. This British- weekly ration for one adult was one cup bles in what were called "victory gar- origin pie was a recipe encouraged of sugar, two ounces of tea or eight dens." Surpluses could also be sold, or by the government in their “Dig for ounces of coffee, a quarter-pound of but- more likely bartered, for other goods and Victory” campaign. ter, and less than five ounces of meat per services. At first, the government did not day. Beer, spirits and wine were also ra- take to what they called "unskilled city- The filling: tioned, with the amounts differing de- folk” growing their own turnips, and One pound of turnips, one pound of pending upon the province. Recipe tried to discourage this practice. Canadi- carrots, one pound of cauliflower, books and pamphlets were issued in ans ignored this, and by 1943, agricul- one pound of spring onions (or great numbers. The government feared tural officials had reversed this policy. In leeks), one pound of potatoes, one that Canadians might suffer from malnu- 1944, “over 209,200 victory gardens teaspoon of vegetable extract – a trition with all the restrictions, so in were in operation nationwide producing kind of concentrated vegetable 1942 the Canada Food Guide (still with a total of 57,000 tons of vegetables.” stock, like the cubes we use for us) tackled this problem. Looking at the (Mosby) Some residential districts also soups. Oatmeal – 3 or 4 tablespoons recipes and reading about food prepara- had fruit trees (Montreal was long noted – used to thicken. Boil up all togeth- tion at this time, we see a diet that was for its apples), beehives, and even urban er to soften in a large pot, having low on proteins but high on vegetable hens and the odd cow. Front lawns, va- covered the vegetables with water. content. Vegetables are excellent for vi- cant lots and even parks were turned into tamins and minerals, and high in fibre, gardens. Since Montreal is situated in The pastry: but in bulk, make for a rather starchy the midst of a highly fertile agricultural and dull cuisine. Imagination was re- Six ounces of flour, one and a half zone, city residents produced a wide va- quired for a cook to present appetizing ounces of butter, one and half riety of foods, with the emphasis on po- fare. ounces of lard, two ounces of raw tatoes, turnips, cabbages, cauliflowers, In spite of restrictions, it was found potatoes, grated. This makes a top Brussels sprouts, carrots, onions, pump- that the health of the country actually crust – no bottom crust is needed. kins and melons. improved during the war. “The language Brush the surface with milk. Bake in In wartime, a Montreal home cook of sacrifice, austerity and thrift... contra- a moderate oven (about 350 degrees always had to plan ahead and consider dicted the reality of many Canadians' F.) for half an hour. that there might be days when she could wartime diets: that they were typically not go out to the stores. Severe winters, eating more, and better, than they had www.cookit.e2bn.org/historycookbo added to the general apprehension about for over a decade. This was particularly ok/1157-woolton-pie. what the future could hold during the true for the more than one million Cana- war, forced cooks to find ways to pre-

“Dig for Victory.” Imperial War Museum, 24 London, England, Art.IWM PST 16807. WINTER 2016 serve food. All those carrots, cucumbers, Canadians also responded enthusi- tomatoes, apples and peaches from our astically to the Department of National ubiquitous victory gardens had to last War Services’ campaign to collect fats Recipe through the winter to supplement what and bones, used in the manufacturing of was available through rationing. munitions: the bones provided material Baked Cereal Potatoes and root vegetables, and for use in industrial glue and fats sup- apples, could be kept in cool, dry cellars, plied glycerin for making bullets and Pudding and often packed in clean sand, or even in cannon shells. Millions of pounds of fats Left-over Porridge cooler cupboards or unused rooms and bones were collected across Canada. against exterior walls. Houses were not At that time, meat products were gener- This is from the very popular Five as airtight as they are now; most were ally much fattier than what we are used Roses: A Guide to Good Cooking, rather draughty and heated unevenly by to now. Fat was not seen as an enemy to published in 1938, when war radiators with hot water from coal fur- health but rather fancied. Lard was used loomed. This Canadian cookbook naces. Some homes relied on wood in cooking and baking rather than the was produced “under the supervi- stoves, especially in the older or poorer vegetable shortening and even the butter sion of Jean Brodie,” another of the parts of Montreal. Small upright wood- which took over in our diets in the home economics ladies who burning stoves were called Quebec 1950s. presided over Canadian households heaters. A house could have several of Scrap metal, rubber, glass and other at the time. these, placed in pretty well any room items we would now call recyclables and attached to a stovepipe. Fireplaces were also collected and re-adapted for Two cups of cooked Five Roses Ce- were quite small in most Montreal hous- use by wartime industries. There were real (porridge/oatmeal), one tea- es of the period and not used for heating more of these articles around then as, for spoon of vanilla, two cups of milk, except in emergencies. After the war, example, glass jars and metal tins (tin!) half a cup of sugar, two eggs, one many Quebec heaters left Montreal for were used rather than the ever- present can of sliced peaches, and one cup second-home country houses as afflu- plastics of today. Housewives kept busy of puffed raisins. ence and travel returned to middle class “responding to the demands of frequent families. Apartment dwellers relied on salvage drives. Household waste of Add vanilla and milk to the hot larger hot-water heating systems that every kind was wanted to feed the war cooking cereal. Beat the egg yolks originated in basement coal furnaces. machine. Old pots and pans could be slightly with the sugar and combine Canning was by far the most popu- melted down to make tanks and guns.” with cereal mixture. Drain peaches lar method of food preservation during (Weintraub, 54) Youth groups like the and reserve the juice for sauce. World War II. The Department of Agri- Boy Scouts would go from house to Place peaches and raisins in greased culture “promoted home canning house collecting. Everything from old baking dish, cover with the cereal through public demonstrations by staff fur coats, to used toothpaste tubes, to old and egg mixture. Bake in a moderate home economists as well as through a hot water bottles was gathered up and oven at 350 degrees F. for about 40 range of pamphlets and brochures.” re-purposed. Although some of these minutes. Make a meringue of the (Mosby) items may in reality have had little actu- two egg whites and three table- al re-use value, the morale building and spoons of sugar. Pile it on the pud- community cohesiveness brought about ding and return to oven until slightly by the collecting drives themselves brown. probably had a positive effect on the population. Left-over porridge may be added to muffin or pancake batters, to Sandra Stock’s article about the Quebec steamed pudding mixtures, and to home front during World War One, “A yeast bread doughs and quick bread Century-Long Impact,” appeared in batters. If the left over porridge is QHN, Spring 2014. stiff, add a little hot water to it and beat well with a fork. It can also be Sources: added to the soup kettle. It thickens Patricia Burns, Life on the Home Front: the soup and adds to the nutriment Montreal 1939-1945, Montreal, 2012. of the dish. Ian Mosby, “Food on the Home Front Five Roses: A Guide to Good Cook- during the Second World War.” ing, complied by the makers of Five http://wartimecanada.ca/essay/eating/foo Roses Flour, Lake of the Woods d-home-front-during-second-world-war . Publishing Company Limited, Mon- treal & Winnipeg, 1938. William Weintraub, City Unique: Mon- treal Days and Nights in the 1940s and '50s, Toronto, 2004.

25 John Gilroy, “We want your kitchen waste,” 1939-46. National Archives, London, England, INF3/224. QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

WORLD WAR II AND THE MONTREAL HOME FRONT A literature review by Patrick Donovan

1942 poll asked Canadians the Italians of Montreal: An Oral Histo- wider range of occupations by war’s whether their greatest contri- ry (Guernica, 1998). The topic has also end. This upward mobility was true not bution to the war effort was been explored through a virtual exhibit: only for Blacks, but also for working food, men, or munitions. http://www.italiancanadianww2.ca. class people of all origins who had expe- A“Food” trumped the two other choices at Other ethnic minorities experienced rienced hardship during the Depression. 38%, followed by munitions. In other the war as a period of positive change. Serge Marc Durflinger looks at the words, Canadians considered that efforts For instance, in The Road to Now war’s effects on the working-class city on the home front had more impact on (Véhicule Press, 1997), author Dorothy of Verdun (now a Montreal borough) in the war than soldiers sent abroad. De- Fighting from Home (UBC Press, spite this, the glory and tragedy of the 2006). Nearly a third of Verdun’s resi- battlefront has long been the main fo- dents were born in Britain, making it cus of historians. But this has changed the most British city in Canada. It is in the past thirty years. There is now a therefore no surprise that the city had wealth of material about experiences in the highest voluntary enlistment rate in Montreal during World War II. What Canada for a municipality of its size. follows is a brief tour through some of Durflinger looks at the wide range of the publications that deal with the home home front efforts in which women en- front. gaged. The Mayor’s Cigarette Fund Patricia Burns’ Life on the Home stands out as one of the more popular Front (Véhicule Press, 2012) is a great causes. Imperial tobacco set up collec- introduction for a general audience. tion boxes in movie theatres, women This is a highly readable account of sold cigarette fund “tags,” and children Montreal during the war years with ran lemonade stands to raise money for plenty of contextual information about this cause. This allowed Verdunites life in what many considered to be overseas to receive bi-annual shipments Canada’s “sin city.” Much of it is based of cartons. Soldiers wrote that this gift on original research drawn from inter- allowed them to indulge in some inter- views. Among these, the testimonials city rivalry on the front: “Whenever I from Japanese, German and Italian so- receive cigarettes from you I show and called “enemy aliens” living in Montre- share with the boys, and say, ‘Now al are particularly interesting. there’s the kind of town you should Out of all these groups, Italians come from.’ And that always calls for were by far the most numerous and an argument. But they always admit have received the most attention. There Verdun must have something.” Overall, were over 28,000 Italians in Quebec at a staggering 3.7 million cigarettes were the start of the war compared to only Williams says that “many Montreal sent to soldiers through this Verdun fund 6,000 Germans and fewer than 50 Japan- Blacks thanked God for World War II.” (if the war didn’t kill them, lung cancer ese. Many were part of what we now At the start of the war, about half of all eventually might). call the English-speaking community in Black men worked as porters and most Wealthier parts of the island, like that they spoke English as their first offi- of the working Black women were do- Montreal’s Golden Square Mile and cial language. Hundreds of reputed fas- mestics. Labor shortages meant that cer- Westmount, experienced the war differ- cists were sent to internment camps, few tain sectors had to put aside their tradi- ently. In Remembrance of Grandeur (Li- of whom were actually a threat to Cana- tional racism to recruit workers from bre Expression, 1990), Margaret Westley da. The rest of the community was given new labour pools, including the Black argues that WWII signaled a massive de- “enemy alien” IDs and its members had community. Hospitals finally accepted cline in the privileged way of life of the to regularly report to the RCMP. Their Black nurses as trainees, CPR porters Anglo-Protestant elite. Because of high stories form the basis of several studies, were unionized in 1942, and the Black salaries and plentiful work in the war in- namely Filippo Salvatore’s Fascism and population had generally entered into a dustries, it became harder for the upper

26 Conrad Poirier, “Children gather rubber for salvage, Rosemount,” 1942. BANQ, P48, S1, P7495. (Cover design for Life on the Home Front by J. W. Stewart.) WINTER 2016 classes to retain servants and cooks, not throughs” that took place during wartime to mention the cheap labour that at least were temporary. Values soon reverted PROVINCE-WIDE some of their fortunes had been built on. back to those that had existed before the EXPOSURE Many had to learn to boil their own eggs. war. That’s how we ended up with the AT A GREAT PRICE!! Moreover, taxes were raised to support “Father Knows Best” fifties. the wartime economy and new social More recent studies have challenged SPECIAL ADVERTISING RATES programs; these taxes did not go down Pierson’s argument. Jeff Keshen’s Saints, 2016 after the war, putting a check on the “rob- Sinners, and Soldiers (UBC Press, 2004) Purchase two or more ads of ber barons” of yore and their limitless argues that the war represented “two the same size, and receive fortunes. steps forward, one step back” for women. 40% off each ad! Ian Mosby’s Food Will Win the War While it is true that traditional gender Purchase a full year and receive an (UBC Press, 2014) won the Canadian roles were actively promoted after the additional 10% off! Historical Association’s 2015 Best Book war, women had gained enhanced recog- in Canadian Political History award. nition and self-confidence during FULL-PAGE Mosby provides a scholarly Canada-wide wartime that proved crucial to their per- 10 inches (25.5 cm) high overview of the politics of food during sonal development. The number of em- 7.5 inches (19 cm) wide wartime, looking at rationing, victory ployed married women quadrupled be- $400.00 (Special: $240.00) gardens, salvaging efforts, wartime tween 1941 and 1951. The rest of Kesh- recipes, and nutrition campaigns. High en’s pan-Canadian study examines some Back cover or inside page, colour military rejection rates signaled that of the negative behaviours bred by $500.00 (Special: $300.00) young Canadian men were unfit and not wartime conditions on the home front: receiving adequate nutrition at home. black market profiteers, greedy landlords, HALF-PAGE Mothers were labeled “Housoldiers” and and the supposed moral breakdown of 5 inches (12.5 cm) high given the “patriotic duty” and “sacred re- women and children. 6.5 inches (16.5 cm) wide sponsibility” of raising healthy men for Both wartime propaganda and some $235.00 (Special: $141.00) the front (or, should we say, of fattening of the more traditional writing about them up for the kill). Boys were told to World War II tend to promote simplified Colour $300.00 (Special: $180.00) “eat their carrots” so they would have the narratives focussing on patriotic duty and THIRD-PAGE night vision necessary to be good fighter dramas on the front. In contrast, the stud- pilots. This new role signaled that ies discussed above reveal a multiplicity (COLUMN ONLY) women’s work in the kitchen received of narratives that show how social class, 10 inches (25.5 cm) high unprecedented recognition during the ethnicity, and changing gender roles led 2.25 inches (5.75 cm) wide war. to different experiences of war. They pro- $200.00 (Special: $120.00) World War II also provided an op- vide critical perspectives and a more nu- portunity for Canada’s three million adult anced view on the old heroic narrative of QUARTER-PAGE women to go beyond their traditional do- the “good war.” Moreover, these studies 5 inches (12.5 cm) high mestic roles, through both volunteer and assert the important role played on the paid labour, but what were the long-term home front that is too often upstaged by 3.25 inches (8.5 cm) wide effects of the war on women’s emancipa- the more dramatic and gripping stories of $125.00 (Special: $75.00) tion? Ruth Roach Pierson’s They're Still battles overseas. Women After All (McClelland and Stew- BUSINESS CARD art, 1986) is a pioneering feminist study Patrick Donovan is a PhD candidate in 2.5 inches (6.5 cm) high that examines this question. She con- History at Université de Laval. He is a 3.5 inches (9 cm) wide cludes that the “relatively minor break- former executive director of the Morrin $75.00 (Special: $45.00) Centre in Quebec City and a former vice- president of QAHN. FREQUENCY, DEADLINES AND SPECIFICATIONS He studies ethnic 4 issues annually relations within the so- Deadlines: Spring (early March 2016); cial service sector in Summer (early June 2016); Fall (early Septem- Quebec. ber 2016); Winter (early December 2016) Resolution required: Minimum 300 DPI By email at: [email protected]

“Advertisement for the Verdun Boardwalk Dance Pavilion, 1939.” 27 Photo: courtesy of Rohinton Ghandhi. QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

CLASSIC MONTREAL: REVISITING ANGLO INSTITUTIONS THE CENTAUR THEATRE by Flora Juma

This interview series examines some of Montreal’s iconic Anglophone institutions and their ability to engage with the Which factors have best contributed to The Gazette's city’s Francophone community, as well as their success in resilience and survival within a French-dominated news adapting to the city’s changing demographics and modern culture? community needs. Well, there’s a significant amount of people ounded in 1778 by Fleury Mesplet, the who still live their lives and read information Montreal Gazette (formerly La in English. People often forget that this is a Gazette du commerce et litteraire, fairly large English-speaking city, in the pour la ville et district de Montreal) broader context of Canada, although Anglo- was,F at its inception, Canada’s first entirely phones are outnumbered by Francophone French newspaper. Over the next few years, readers. Our commitment is to the communi- Mesplet evolved his Gazette to be more inclu- ty. We’re one of North America's oldest sive of different forms of writing (philosophi- newspapers, dating back to the late eighteenth cal, anecdotal, etc.) and, most notably, adopted century, which is a very long history for a the Quebec Gazette’s model of bilingualism. young continent. I also think that our long Eventually, by 1822, the paper became exclu- standing reputation of accurate and reliable sively English-language. Throughout its exis- information gathering and volume of dissemi- tence, The Gazette competed with many other nation mean that people come to us for news English-language Montreal newspapers, such and information whether it's in print or on- as The Montreal Star and The Montreal Daily line, or in various other ways. News. Since 1989, following the end of The Daily News’ publication, The Gazette has been What difficulties arise when the needs and the sole English-language newspaper of its wants of the established readership diverge size, with 69% of the English market reading from those of a newer, untapped customer the paper throughout the week. However, in re- base and how are these difficulties mitigat- cent years, the paper has sought ways to broad- ed? en its audience to reach the Francophone com- munity, similar to Mesplet’s own bilingual as- The Gazette, like all other print-based media pirations to reach out to Anglophone organizations has had to adapt to the fact that Montreal over two centuries ago. As publisher different people are reading different things Larry Smith has stated: “The Gazette is Mon- in print and online. We know the demograph- treal… anyone who can read some English is a ics: people who read the print version tend to potential customer.” (Aubin) be fifty plus, while online demographics tend to be younger; people who use smart phones are primarily under Lucinda Chodan is the current Editor-in-chief of The Montreal fifty. We’ve done research on what kinds of content people who Gazette. With 20 years’ experience as a Gazette reporter, are reading in print, on mobile devices, and other technologies, Chodan served as editor-in-chief of The Victoria Times and The are looking for. Their information habits are very different, but Edmonton Journal before returning to Montreal in 2013. The we've found that news is a big overlap in all those areas. Gazette soon launched “a new look and visual identity.” Whether people are reading you in print or digitally, they want (Garcia) Coupled with multi-platform digital content, the em- their local news, followed by national, followed by international phasis of news reporting will “focus on local news” more rele- news. No matter what platform they use, people are interested vant and close to The Gazette’s readers, Francophone and An- in the news. Of course, there are differences. People who are glophone alike. “We are storytellers,” Chodan says, “and giving reading print are more interested in listings, announcements people permission to dream of different kinds of narratives has (births and deaths, for instance), whereas people on smart been a boost to morale. That is heightened when they see how phones don't actually care if you have listings at all. For us, the audiences can be engaged on our revamped platforms, especial- key has been to understand what audiences are consuming and ly the new iPad app. So it’s all good.” to provide different content in print and non-print platforms.

28 John Seward Johnson, “Catching Up,” 1985, Westmount, Qc. Photo: Sandra Cohen-Rose and Colin Rose. WINTER 2016

How does The Gazette stay relevant and stand out for the creasing source of traffic. You have to be fast and better than bilingual consumer when compared to Montreal's French- everybody else. language newspapers? How has The Gazette's readership and popularity been af- There's a pretty clear difference between the Journal de Montre- fected during times of heightened political events within and al, which has a lot of the characteristics we attribute to tabloid outside of Montreal? magazines: provocative stories, shock and awe. There's a lot of human interest in that kind of news. For people seeking that Some of our highest numbers ever in digital platforms came in kind of information, a bilingual reader would go there. Le the run-up to the provincial election in the spring of 2014. Peo- Devoir has a small audience, many academics, people coming at ple were reading every word. We live-blogged the things from a particular intellectual point of view. It tends to French/English debates. It was a huge traffic driver. Overall have more Eurocentric content. La Presse is the broadsheet though, politics and bad weather are huge traffic drivers for us. news organization in print and it aims to be the national news- Of The Gazette's more recent stories, which have stood out paper for Francophones Canada-wide, kind of like a Globe and to you as memorable or controversial? Mail type of audience. It provides news for Francophones in the broadest spectrum: local, provincial, national, international. Well, we've done a lot of work on Lac-Mégantic, but one of the The Gazette does the best job of covering local Montreal most powerful and moving stories for me was the 25th anniver- news. We don't have the resources outside of Montreal to cover sary of the Polytechnique killings. I was working at The Gazette those kinds of stories; we are a Montreal-based newspaper and when we first reported on that story and on the reflections of the our focus is local news, particularly city administration and mu- journalists who were there on-scene as we began to realize what nicipal affairs. We’ve been breaking stories for months about was going on. That somebody had actually gone through the U the McGill University Health Centre. We have the most in- de M and separated men and women and killed the women is depth reporting on areas that are largely populated by Anglo- still unbelievable to me. Allan McInnis, our photographer on the phones, so we tend to cover the West Island and off-island to a scene, captured that infamous and chilling photo of a slain stu- much greater degree than anywhere else. We have a separate dent that was widely used. We donated all of the money we re- off-island print edition that comes out once a week and a mi- ceived for reselling the photo to organizations working to end crosite within our website for the West Island and off-island. violence against women. I have to say that the morning of De- There's nothing exclusive about news anymore. If we put a cember 6, I looked at our tablet edition, I looked at our print breaking story online by 6 a.m., by 6:30 or 7:00, CBC radio is edition, and I read all of the stories with tears streaming down reading our story and they're not crediting us. We have the abil- my cheeks. It was such a significant event for women around ity to get the ball rolling, but the other media do not necessarily the world and for women who lived in Montreal at the time. I acknowledge it and it's not obvious to our readers. Among Eng- was very proud of how The Gazette covered it at the time and lish media, we have by far the largest news-gathering force. how we remembered it.

What challenges lie ahead for The Gazette in terms of stay- Would The Gazette ever consider going fully digital. Why? ing competitive in an increasingly digital age, and how do Or why not? you hope to rise to these challenges? We still make about 70 percent of our revenue from the print The challenges facing The Gazette are those facing every tradi- edition, so no [laughs]. tional media organization: there are more sources of information Where do you see The Gazette 20 years from now? than ever before. The revenue model we've always used – that the majority comes from print ads – isn’t necessarily valid, not I would like to see The Gazette continue to thrive as a news when print ad rates are a thousand times what you’d pay for on- organization with relevance, integrity and a healthy balance line advertising. We are a unionized organization, and we're fine sheet. with that. You need to pay journalists a decent wage to get good journalism. On the other hand, that revenue model doesn't sus- tain the pay for those unionized and reasonably paid journalists. Flora Juma, a third-year honours student in history and politi- cal science at Concordia University, interned for QAHN in Digitized news is often presented in a compact, flashy man- 2015. ner to accommodate the needs, trends and abilities of tech- nology and those who wield it. How does The Gazette navi- gate this balance between accessibility and quality? Sources: Benoit Aubin, “Montreal Gazette tries to Attract French Read- Our unique selling position is local news. It's hard and expen- ers,” Maclean’s, July 21, 2003. sive to get local news, so we pay people and we exercise curato- Claude Galarneau, “Fleury Mesplet,” Dictionary of Canadian rial and editorial practices. We make sure we're out there where Biography. readers are. We offer them specific information and news in ways they want to get them. I think you build your brand around Mario R. Garcia, “Montreal Gazette: New Look, New Strategy marquee personalities and columnists. You have to get out there across Four Platforms,” http://www.garciamedia.com /blog. and make sure people are reading this. Facebook has been an in- “Montreal Gazette,” The Canadian Encyclopedia.

29 QUEBEC HERITAGE NEWS

REVIEW Many threads, same cloth Les juifs de Québec: quatre cents ans d'histoire Pierre Anctil, Simon Jacobs, editors Presses de l’Université de Québec, 2015 Les juifs de Québec is a unique look at a very small but endur- ing population that continues to reflect the experiences of cul- tural minorities within an increasingly diverse Quebec. The structure of this book is interesting in itself, as it includes histor- ical pieces by several different authors, with about two-thirds written in French and one-third in English. The core information (about a third of the content) is cov- ered by Anctil, a professor of history at the University of Ottawa and an author of many works on the history of Jews in Quebec. Here we read a more or less chronological account of Quebec City's Jewish population with examples of various prominent characters, events and challenges. Anctil is an out- standing writer of history, always lively and understanding of his material. This is especially remarkable for a writer who example, the electrical engineer Sigismund Mohr, were educat- takes on a religion and culture different from his own back- ed, emancipated individuals from the newly organized and then ground. The chapters by Ira Robinson, professor of Jewish very progressive German states. They spoke several languages – Studies at Concordia University, are well written (in English) French more likely than English at that time – and fitted in and clearly describe twentieth century life in this small Jewish seamlessly (more or less) in Quebec. Mohr, one of our forgotten community. benefactors of history, was important in bringing electricity to The work of these two historians is supplemented by nu- Quebec City: his electrical launch of thirty-four street lamps on merous chapters by other authors. For example, Franklin Toker's Dufferin Terrace in 1888 must have been one of the greatest family history story is serious, yet with amusing undertones as spectacles of our history. he traces two large clans from Eastern Europe with many mar- At the turn of the twentieth century, due to pogroms and riages and ups and downs of fortune in Quebec City and be- generally poor conditions in the Russian Empire, thousands of yond. The shameful anti-Semitism of Quebec society caused people emigrated to North America. Many Jewish families from very serious problems for this community in the 1920s and 30s this area – especially Rumania and Moldova – came to Quebec and even after the Second World War. The 1944 arson attack on City. These people were poorer, far less sophisticated than pre- the synagogue in the Upper Town, while congregants were still vious Jews, and they spoke Yiddish. Their form of Judaism is inside, is a sad comment on the disagreeable attitude towards called Ashkenazy – and within that, there are different levels of those not “de souche” that still plagues Quebec. observance and ritual. They were quite different from the by Outsiders might not realize that, like most groups, Quebec now totally assimilated English- and German-origin Jews by City’s Jews are not a monolith of origins, religious beliefs or whom they were welcomed but with whom they had little in practices. This was, and is, a difficulty for a small, yet mixed, common. These divisions and variations still persist, of course, community. The first Jewish residents of Quebec came with the along with the general falling off of religious life among every- British colonial takeover in the 1760s. These families, body of all religions in our society, and do still create some Sephardic and of Iberian origin, had been expelled from Spain challenges for this community. after the fall of the Moorish kingdom there in the fifteenth cen- This is a book that offers endless insights into both the Jews tury. These were the Harts, the Josephs, the Judahs, who by this of Quebec City and the wider Quebec cultural milieu. Educa- time had become well integrated into British society, and who tion, language, economic fluctuations – it’s all here, and clearly were well educated and usually in the upper middle class pro- explained. The many photos and illustrations are excellent, al- fessions and businesses. In 1832, well ahead of though perhaps a map of Quebec City showing the Britain, Jews were granted equal civil rights in relevant sites would have been helpful. the Canadian colonies. Several achieved high In 2008, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of positions in Quebec. Their numbers were few Quebec City, co-editor Simon Jacobs (also the cur- and, for most religious purposes, they had to rent president of QAHN) organized a major exhibi- journey to the larger Jewish community in tion of the Jewish history of the city. This led to this Montreal. terrific book that testifies to the survival and even In the nineteenth century, Quebec City’s the flourishing of this small minority that has man- Jewish community grew, but slowly. New aged to adapt to changing conditions without losing members came, most from German-speaking its identity. areas and Alsace in France. These people, for –Reviewed by Sandra Stock

Top: William James Topley, “Russian Jews arriving at Pointe-á-Carcy, 30 Bottom: Simon Jacobs, co-editor. Photo: Kathy Teasdale. 1911.” LAC, PA-010400. WINTER 2016

31 nes Housewioususseewife heroineheheroinesheroi TheyThey answeredanswered thethe callcall ofofff dutyduty AAsss homemakershomemakers andand volunteersvolunteers TToTTooo keepkeep CanadaCanada strongstrong andand freefree