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W is for Wolfe's Cove

Formerly the Anse au Foulon. A mile and a half above the city of Quebec. 

In 1759 the French had a post there, commanded by de Vergor. Early on the morning of September 13th Wolfe landed with his army at the foot of the cliffs; a small party of volunteers climbed the steep path and surprised and overpowered de Vergor's handful of men; the army followed - "In the gray of the morning the long file of red-coated soldiers moved quickly upward, and formed in order on the plateau above;" the first step had been successfully taken in the movement that led to the Battle of the Plains and the cession of Canada to Great Britain.

Wolfe's Cove - 1860

 My Irish great-grandparents lived in Wolfe's Cove for a time, he being a stevedore working on the docks weather permitting as no ships could break through the ice of the St. Lawrence River in winter.

Three hundred and thirty feet below Quebec City runs Wolfe's Cove Tunnel.

The 1800-foot-long tunnel was built by the Canadian Pacific Railways in 1930. It passes beneath Belvedere Avenue and the Plains of Abraham and was built primarily to serve as the pickup for the trans-Atlantic Empress ship. With ship traffic transferred to Montreal by the 1950s, the rail switched to freight.
While the tunnel is easily accessible by foot, one should be very careful if they choose to enter the tunnel (we do not recommend it) as the Wolfe's Cove Tunnel continues to have trains running through it, approximately 3 or 4 per week, rail transportation services only.
The South portal is just east of Gilmour's Hill, hidden under Champlain Boulevard. The North portal is accessible by West Charest Boulevard, between the streets Vincent Massey and De Verdun.

 Wolfe's Cove is 195 km ( 1 hr. 55 min.) from Saint - Hyacinthe, QC.

Wolfe's Cove - 1860

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

V is for The Battle of Vimy Ridge

Remembering the Fallen: Canadian National Vimy Memorial

 

The Canadian National Vimy Memorial at Vimy Ridge on the 1914-1918 Artois battlefields, northern France.

Designed by Canadian sculptor and architect Walter Seymour Allward, the Canadian National Vimy Memorial stands on Hill 145, overlooking the Canadian battlefield of 1917, at one of the points of the fiercest fighting. It took 11 years and $1.5 million to build and was unveiled on July 26, 1936 by King Edward VIII, in the presence of President Albert Lebrun of France and 50,000 or more Canadian and French Veterans and their families. In his address, the King noted, "It is a memorial to no man, but a memorial for a nation."
At the base of the Memorial, in English and in French, are these words:

To the valour of their countrymen in the Great War
and in memory of their sixty thousand dead this monument is raised by the people of Canada.

In fact, more than 66,000 Canadians died in action, or of their wounds after the war—more than one in ten of those who had worn uniforms. Among the dead are many who have no known grave. Inscribed on the ramparts of the Memorial are the names of 11,285 Canadian soldiers who were posted "missing, presumed dead" in France. Another 6,994 names of missing Canadians are carved on the Menin Gate at Ypres, Belgium.

CWGC Cemetery Record Search: Vimy Memorial




In 1922, use of the land for the battlefield park which contains the Canadian National Vimy Memorial was granted for all time by the French nation to the people of Canada. The Memorial rests on a bed of 11,000 tonnes of concrete and masonry, reinforced by hundreds of tonnes of steel. Many live bombs and shells were unearthed during the excavation. Today's visitors will find the now grassy grounds still pock-marked with the depressions of mine-craters, shell-holes and mounds from the massive artillery bombardment which the Canadians used to take Vimy Ridge.

The Memorial's two towering pylons and a score of symbolic, twice-life-sized sculptured figures contain almost 6,000 tonnes of limestone, brought to the site from an ancient quarry in Yugoslavia. The figures were carved where they now stand from huge limestone blocks over a 10-year-span.

The troops of the Canadian Corps of the First World War were superbly capable citizen-soldiers, tested in the cruel crucible of war. But their dreams were of peace. The people of Canada still respect those dreams and that sacrifice. Canadians strive to ensure that the dreams are realized and the sacrifice honoured, now and in the years to come. Then the valiant soldiers of Vimy may continue to rest in peace.

U is for Uxbridge, Ontario

I had to move out of the province of Quebec to find a city/town that started with a U for the A to Z Challenge, I found myself in south-central Ontario in the town of Uxbridge.

It was named for Uxbridge, England, a name which was originally derived from "Wixan's Bridge". The Wixan were a 7th-century Saxon tribe from Lincolnshire who also began to settle in what became Middlesex.  
The first settlers in the area were Quakers who started arriving in 1806 from the Catawissa area of Pennsylvania. The community's oldest building, the Uxbridge Friends Meeting House, was built in 1820 and overlooks the town from Quaker Hill, a kilometre to the west.
The township was incorporated as a municipality in 1850 and became part of the newly formed Ontario County two years later.
The first passenger carrying narrow gauge railway in North America, the Toronto and Nipissing Railway arrived in Uxbridge in June 1871, and for over a decade Uxbridge was the headquarters of the railway. In 1872, the Village of Uxbridge was separated from the Township and incorporated as a separate entity.

In 2009 Uxbridge Township received federal designation by Industry Canada as The Trail Capital of Canada, resulting from the over 220 kilometers of managed trails on over 8,000 acres (32 km²) of protected greenspace within its borders. Uxbridge trails run through and alongside historic villages, mixed forests, meadows, ponds, streams, and wetlands. A number of major trail systems run through the Township, including the Oak Ridges Trail and the Trans-Canada Trail.

Thomas Foster Memorial Temple

Being a bit of a film buff I was surprised and pleased to see how many films used Uxbridge at least partly, as their location. Films such as:

The House Without A Christmas Tree - 1972
The Littlest Hobo - 1980's (dog story)
Road To Avonlea
Once Upon A Hamster - 1995
Christmas In My Hometown - 1996
The Long Kiss Goodnight - 1996
Jerry and Tom - 1998
A Map of the World - 1999
Driven - 2001
Serendipity - 2001
Prancer Returns - 2001
A History of Violence - 2005
Lars and the Real Girl - 2007
Grey Gardens - 2009

The Township of Uxbridge

T is for Trois-Rivieres

Trois-Rivières is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence Rivers, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River across from the city of Bécancour. It is part of the densely populated Quebec City–Windsor Corridor and is approximately halfway between Montreal and Quebec City.

The city's name, which is French for three rivers, is named for the fact that the Saint-Maurice River, which is divided by two small islands at the river's opening, has three mouths at the Saint Lawrence River. Traditionally, Trois-Rivières was referred to in English as Three Rivers, although in more recent decades it has been referred to as Trois-Rivières in both English and French.

The city was the second to be founded in New France (after Quebec City, before Montreal) and – thanks to its strategic location – played an important role in the colony and in the fur trade. The settlement became the seat of a regional government in 1665. Ursuline nuns first arrived at the settlement in 1697, establishing the first school and helping local missionaries to Christianize the local Aboriginals and Métis.

In 1908, the greater part of the city of Trois-Rivières was destroyed by a fire in which the majority of the city's original buildings, many dating back to French colonial years, were destroyed. Only a few were spared, including the Ursuline Monastery and the De Tonnancour Manor. As a result of the destruction, a major redesign and renovation of the city was undertaken, including the widening and renewal of many of the city's roads.

Notre-Dame-du-Cap Basilica

The structure was originally built as a church in 1720. The first pilgrimage to the Sanctuary was made on May 7, 1883. In 1964, the present basilica was inaugurated, and the sanctuary officially became a minor basilica.


Trois-Rivières hosts the FestiVoix de Trois-Rivières, a 10-day summer music festival which attracts in excess of 300,000 visitors annually. The city also hosts the Festival International de la Poésie – an international poetry festival – as well as the Festival International Danse Encore, and the MetalFest de Trois-Rivières every November. In 2009, Trois-Rivières was designated as the 2009 Cultural Capital of Canada for cities having a population of 125,000 or more.

Trois-Rivières is officially the "Poetry Capital of Quebec" and numerous plaques displaying poetic verses are installed throughout the centre of the city, and its International Festival of Poetry (held each year in the first week of October) honors this title.

Tourisme Trois-Rivières Municipal tourist office (English)

Trois-Rivieres is 115 km ( 1 hr. 16 min.) from Saint-Hyacinthe and 129 km ( 1 hr. 24 min.) from Quebec City.

S is for Saint - Hyacinthe

Saint-Hyacinthe is a city in southwestern Quebec east of Montreal on the Yamaska River.

Convent St. Joseph

Most of my maternal grand-fathers line came from Saint-Hyacinthe. Many were baptized, married, and interred there belonging to Notre Dame du Rosaire church.

Notre Dame du Rosaire

1748 - Seigniory (St. Hyacinthe) Granted Sept. 23, 1748, to Sieur F. Rigaud, seigneur de Vaudreuil.

1772 - Église Saint-Matthieu established at Saint-Hyacinthe.

1831 - In 1831, the village of Saint-Hyacinthe had a population of around a thousand people. It contained an important seminary where the sons of some Patriote leaders, including Papineau, studied.

1848 - December 26 - Rail - First train runs between Longueuil and St-Hyacinthe, Québec.

1853 - Cathédrale Saint-Hyacinthe-le-Confesseur established at Saint-Hyacinthe.

1854 - Destructive Fire in Lower Canada Montreal, Wednesday, May 17.
The village of St. Hyacinthe was almost wholly destroyed by fire to-day.

 
1876  St. Hyacinthe, Sept. 3. - A fire broke out in the western end of this city at 1:30 P. M. to-day, and , fanned by a high wind, soon totally swept the lower part of the city out of existence. The flames ran down both sides of Main street, taking in their course the St. Hyancinthe, Quebec, and National Banks, the Post Office, market, Court-house, factories, and over eighty wholesale and retail stores. At 3 PO. M. the fire had spread, by means of burning cinders, to the three parallel streets, and burned everything up. The people had no time to save anything, and at 7 P. M. 600 houses had been burned. A steam fire engine arrived from Montreal by special train at 5:30 P. M., but was too late to be of much service. Hundreds of families are homeless and without food. The loss is roughly estimated at $2,000,000. The Royal, Stadacona, Quebec, Providencial, and Royal Canadian Insurance Companies are heavily interested.

1903 - FIRE DESTROYS 250 HOUSES. One-fourth of the Population of St. Hyacinthe, Quebec, Left Homeless.

ST. HYACINTHE, Quebec, May 20.- A fire which started shortly after noon to-day in the shoe factory of the Cote Brothers, destroyed half a dozen flourishing industries and 250 houses, leaving nearly a quarter of the city's population homeless. The loss is placed at $400,000. Nobody knows how the fire started. When it was first noticed it had secured a firm hold upon the Cote factory. The wind was blowing half a gale at the time, and the buildings in the immediate vicinity were of such a character as to fall easy prey to the flames. The local Fire Department did its best, but the water pressure was poor, and it was not long before the fire had gotten entirely beyond its control. Word was wired to Montreal for help, and two steamers and a supply of hose made the run of thirty-six miles in forty-four minutes.

Their coming was opportune, for by this time the fire had worked its way up to St. Antoine Street, and was attacking the finest business blocks of the town situated on the market square. Through the efforts of the Montreal men the market building and the buildings on the same side of the square were saved.

The burned district is practically the same as that destroyed in 1876.

1938 - FIRE DEATH TOLL MAY REACH FIFTY. 19 KNOWN DEAD IN SCHOOL RUINS, 26 ON LIST OF 'UNREPORTED.'

St. Hyacinthe, Que., Jan. 19 (Canadian Press) - Two blackened skulls were found today in the frozen ashes of the burned college of the Sacred Heart, raising to 19 the total of known dead in the fire that destroyed the school for boys early yesterday.

It was feared the death list might reach 50. Twenty-six teaching brothers and students were listed as "unreported." Five of 21 injured, pronounced close to death, had last rites of the church administered to them in St. Charles Hospital.

Searching crews poking through the wreckage of the four-story college found the two skulls, unrecognizable as were most of the 16 bodies previously removed.

JEAN MARCEL PHENIX, 12-year-old pupil who leaped from the roof of the college when it collapsed, told today of the heroism of a teacher who lost his life to save a group of boys.

Brother PAUL ARMAND, born EDWARD DAUPHENAIS, whose family lives at Woonsocket, R. I., was in charge of the dormitory of "Les Petits" - the lower-form boys. The teacher herded the youngsters to one wing of the building and persuaded several to jump. The roof collapsed as he tried to get the others to follow Brother PAUL ARMAND and five or six of the pupils were plunged into the inferno.

City of Saint - Hyacinthe is 199.8 km (2 hrs. 5 min.) from Quebec City.

R is for Riviere-du-Loup

The city was named after the nearby river, whose name means Wolf's River in French. This name may have come from a native tribe known as "Les Loups" or from the many seals, known in French as loup-marin (sea wolves), once found at the river's mouth.

Rivière-du-Loup was originally established in 1673 as the seigneurie of Sieur Charles-Aubert de la Chesnaye. The community was incorporated as the village of Fraserville, in honour of early English settler Alexandre Fraser, in 1850, and became a city in 1910. The city reverted to its original name, Rivière-du-Loup, in 1919.

Between 1850 and 1919, the city saw large increases in its anglophone population. Most of them left the region by the 1950s. 1% of the population still speaks English as its first language.

The city is known for its spectacular sunsets.


Rivière-du-Loup is a traditional stopping point between Quebec City, the Maritimes and the Gaspé Peninsula. The Trans-Canada Highway turns south here, transferring from Autoroute 20 to Autoroute 85 and continuing southerly to Edmundston, New Brunswick.
There is a ferry which crosses the river (fleuve St Laurent) to Saint-Siméon on the north shore.
The city is also served by the Rivière-du-Loup Airport. The town can also be reached by Via Rail.

City of Riviere-du-Loup

Riviere-du-Loup is  376 km. (3 hrs. 35 min.) from St. Hyacinthe and 207 km. (2 hrs. 11 min.) from Quebec City.