Happy Thanksgiving, Canada!

 

The first official, annual Thanksgiving in Canada was celebrated on 6 November 1879, though Indigenous peoples in Canada have a history of celebrating the fall harvest that predates the arrival of European settlers. Sir Martin Frobisher and his crew are credited as the first Europeans to celebrate a Thanksgiving ceremony in North America, in 1578. They were followed by the inhabitants of New France under Samuel de Champlainin 1606.

The celebration featuring the uniquely North American turkey, squash and pumpkin was introduced to Nova Scotia in the 1750s and became more common across Canada by the 1870s. In 1957, Thanksgiving was proclaimed an annual event to occur on the second Monday of October. It is an official statutory holiday in all provinces and territories except PEI, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador.

The first national Thanksgiving in Canada was celebrated in the Province of Canada in 1859. Organized at the behest of leaders of the Protestant clergy — who appropriated the holiday of American Thanksgiving, first observed in 1777 and established as a national day of “public thanksgiving and prayer” in 1789 — the holiday was intended for the “public and solemn” recognition of God’s mercies. As historian Peter Stevens has noted, some citizens “objected to this government request, saying it blurred the distinction between church and state that was so important to many Canadians.”

Thanksgiving is an official statutory holiday in all provinces and territories except PEI, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador. It is called L’Action de Grâce in Québec and is celebrated to a much lesser extent there than in the rest of the country, given the holiday’s Protestant origins and Anglo-nationalist associations. The main differences among the other provinces tend to concern the dishes that are served with the meal. For example, Jiggs’ dinner is often preferred over turkey in Newfoundland. Pumpkin pie is a common dessert nationally, but there are also regional favourites, such as Nanaimo bars in BC, butter tarts in Ontario and cranberry pie in New Brunswick.

 

©2016 Linda Sullivan-Simpson
The Past Whispers
All Rights Reserved

The railroad on ice

 

In 1875 the Québec, Montréal, Ottawa & Occidental (Q.M.M.&O.) was founded. This railway company built a railroad North of Montreal, which is known as ‘’le p’tit train du Nord’’. On the South Shore, the Montreal, Portland and Boston Railway Company ran from Longueuil to Newport, in Vermont, and from there it was easy to reach Boston and New York. At some point, the Montreal, Portland and Boston Railway Company was purchased by the South Eastern company.

 

‘’Railway on the ice over St. Lawrence River, Montreal, QC, 1880’’,
by William Notman, 1880, McCord Museum

The general superintendent of the Q.M.M.&O., Louis-Adélard Senécal, wanted to connect the North shore’s railway network with the one on the South shore. However, at that time there was only one bridge between Montreal and the South Shore: the Victoria bridge. It was owned by the Grand Trunk Railway, which used it for its own needs and was not willing to share it with other railway companies. The Grand Trunk charged $10 to $12 per wagon to allow other companies to use the bridge, which was expensive. As for building a new bridge over the St. Lawrence River, it was not an interesting option, since it required very big investments.

In order to solve this problem, Senécal had a very special idea: to build a railroad on the frozen water of the St. Lawrence River!

Senécal met with engineers, who assured him that the ice is at least 60 centimeters thick in the depths of winter. Such a thick ice can support heavy weights: at 45 centimeters, it can support 25 tons; at 75 centimeters, it is 70 tons.
Because Montreal is located at the foot of the Lachine rapids, the ice is not even on the St. Lawrence River. Thus, the first task for Senécal’s workers was to level the ice. Then, they installed the railroad.

The launch of Senécal’s railway took place on January 30, 1880. The railroad ran from Longueuil to the Hochelaga wharf, near the Iberville street. The new railroad was a big success! American merchants signed contracts with Senécal to convey hay to Boston. Great reviews were written in newspapers and in the scientific press.

The railroad was in use during four years. In 1880, the railway was in operation from January 30 to April 1st; in 1881, from January 5 to April 8; in 1882, only from February 4 to March 4; and finally in 1883, it was in operation from January 15 to April 3.
Only one major accident happened during these four years. At the beginning of January of 1881, a locomotive sank into the water near the Longueuil’s shore! Thankfully, no one died in the accident.

In the mid-1880s, Senécal and his partners were able to sell the East segment of the Q.M.M.&O. and the South Eastern company to the federal government. This transaction was more than enough to reimburse the funds that they invested in the railroad on ice.
 

 

©2016 Linda Sullivan-Simpson
The Past Whispers
All Rights Reserved

The Sault-au-Récollet's mills

 

In 1625, Nicolas Viel, a French missionary member of the Récollets (a reformed branch of the Franciscans) and his friend Ahuntsic, a young Frenchman living the Amerindian way of life, died in the rapids of the Rivière des Prairies. In memory of them, the site was called "Sault-au-Récollet".

 

Remains of the old mills in Sault-au-Récollet, by François Guillet, 2012

The Sulpicians, who arrived in Montreal in 1657 and were Seigneurs of Montreal until the English Conquest, developed the Sault-au-Récollet area. In 1726, a man named Simon Sicard built a dike for them between the island of Montreal and Île-de-la-Visitation. Two years later, there were already three mills in use at the Sault-au-Récollet: two flour mills and one sawmill.
In the 1830s, the Sulpicians began to sell their mills to different owners. New kinds of mills were built at the Sault-au-Récollet: a nail mill and a mill to card and to full wool. At the beginning of the 1870s, the production of leatherboard started at the mills site.
During the 20th century, the Sault-au-Récollet's mills were owned by three companies, the Dominion Leather Board Company, the Black River Company and the Milmont Fiberboard Company.

These companies produced mainly leatherboard and fiberboard. During the Second World War, the mills served to make shell packaging.

In 1981, the Montréal Urban Community (MUC) acquired the site. They tore down most of the buildings, but they kept remains of the mills, the dike and the Maison du Meunier. Today, there is a museum on site, Cité Historia, where visitors can learn about the rich history of the Sault-au-Récollet.

 

 

©2016 Linda Sullivan-Simpson
The Past Whispers
All Rights Reserved

Nun’s Island

 

On January 28, 1664, Saint-Paul's Island was divided into three equal parts and awarded to three rich and notable French subjects established in Ville-Marie (the former name for Montréal). They were Jacques Le Ber, Lord of Saint-Paul and Senneville, Claude Robutel de Saint-André, Lord of La Noue and Jean de la Vigne.

The latter transferred his share to Marie Le Ber, sister of Jacques Le Ber, in 1668. That same year, Marie Le Ber sold her share to her brother, who thus became owner of two-thirds of the island. In 1676, the island included the fiefdoms of Saint-Paul and Lanoue.

 

Thirty years later, the Congrégation religieuse de Notre-Dame, founded by Marguerite Bourgeoys, acquired the Lanoue's fief. Following the British conquest, the other fief was put up for auction and purchased by the Congrégation, making the latter sole owner of the island for more than the next 250 years.

 

In 1956, the island, which has ever since been known as Nuns' Island, was sold to the Québec Home and Mortgage Corporation Ltd. At the same time, Québec enacted an order amending Verdun’s city charter stipulating that Saint-Paul's Island (Nuns' Island) would henceforth be part of the city of Verdun. The nuns left the island for good in 1957.

The island was used for farming throughout the 1960s. It was only accessible by a shuttle boat run by boatman Pierre Lacoursière, among others. This service made it possible to cross between Verdun and the island until the Champlain Bridge was opened in 1962.

Nuns' Island has now become a select residential community. With a high-quality standard of urban living within a unique environment, Nuns' Island is just minutes from downtown Montréal.

 

©2016 Linda Sullivan-Simpson
The Past Whispers
All Rights Reserved

 

Jitterbug Nation – The Clash of ‘39

 

Hey Boy? Oh, boy! Panama, Shanama, Swanee shore, let me dig that jive some more.

It was the spring of ’39, a time when the world around us was talking of another great war. Just as in pre-war 1914, the threat of war was changing the way we lived, the way we dressed, and the way we danced. Once known as a “product of mad times”, the Jitterbug was on its way, bringing us a wild new way of free-style dancing. Here in Verdun, we were already in the midst of another conflict, as Verdun’s Anti-Jitterbug Society was taking actions to literally stomp-out the menace that was already swinging its way north.

The “bugs” had arrived, flailing their arms and legs, and throwing their bodies across the dance floor, and brushing the “naturally-flowing” dancers off to the side. It was only the beginning of what was to come, as the small corners of our world began to converge into a Jitterbug nation.

The jim-jam-jump with the jumpin' jive, makes you get your kicks on the mellow side. Hep! Hep!

“Bug” news came from around the world with stories of young girls dying instantly of heart attacks and of people collapsing of exhaustion after uncontrollably “jitterbugging”. Many school dance committees, dance halls and music clubs dealt with this new craze by imposing outright bans on jitterbug dancing.

 

In that year, a pair of Jitterbug shoes sold for an expensive $3.95, with rubber soles and every inch covered with “swing-lingo inscriptions” for the coolest cats. It seemed that our local world had also gone C-U-R-AAA-ZY, as the jitterbugs took over all the “jam-joints” in town. The Seville Theater announced “Jitterbugs Attention – the Greatest Jam Session Ever! – See and hear from our screen – 2 solid hours of swing! – Admission 20-cents – Everything goes including Dancing in the Aisles!”. Everyone was getting bitten by the bug, and they just couldn’t get enough of it.
The jim-jam-jump with the solid jive, makes you nine foot tall when you're four foot five, Hep! hep!

The early jitterbug was believed to be a mix of various swing dances, including the Lindy hop and the East Coast Swing. Using fast six-count steps, the man would lead on his left foot as a left-right-left-right-right-left, with his partner copying on the opposite foot. With multiple turns, lifts and spins, jitterbug partners often danced side by side, instead of face-to-face. After the basic steps, the “bugs” could then add complicated maneuvers, like through-the-leg swings! The more moves you knew, the more hep you were!

Bandleader, Cab Calloway and his Cotton Club Orchestra were the first “name band” to play at our Verdun Auditorium - admission was 75-cent to a dollar. On the night of May 28th, 1940, he introduced a new dance called the “Boog-it” to an enthusiastic crowd of 3,000 Verdun jitterbuggers, performing his ever-popular “Minnie the Moocher”, and his latest hit the “Jumpin’ Jive”. Calloway, known as the chief of Hi-de-ho, was the first to use the term “jitterbug” in his 1934 recording "Call of the Jitter Bug". Adding that the dancers looked as if they had the “jitters”, a prohibition term describing the hangover effects of alcohol or moonshine, then frequently referred to as “jitter sauce”.
The jim-jam-jump with the jumpin' jive, makes you like your eggs on the Jersey side, Hep! hep!

In 1939, "The Jitterbug" was also a number written for “The Wizard of Oz”. Although not in the final cut, the Wicked Witch of the West would release flying jitter “bugs" to compel the heroes into doing a jitterbug-style dance, quoting to the flying monkey leader, "I've sent a little insect on ahead to take the fight out of them." The song by Judy Garland, and some of the dialogue, made it to B-side of the Over the Rainbow.

With the arrival of August, the young “Hep-cats” were dropping their numbered practice dance steps on to the floor. While Verdun Mayor, Herve Ferland, was pictured laying the cornerstone of the great Verdun Bandstand being erected near the corner of Woodland and LaSalle. As the stone was being lowered, the daily headlines of that time were ablaze with Jitterbug news, drawing fire from traditionalists, outright disgust from the clergy and severe health warnings from the establishment.
Don't be that ickeroo, get hep and follow through; and make the joint jump like the gators do.

Rex Billings Jr., president of Verdun’s Anti-Jitterbug Society, quoted in the local “Verdun Guardian” that a majority of folks have been forced from the floors through embarrassment or for the fear of being permanently disabled by the maniacal antics of the thoughtless “bugs”, who throw themselves in all directions. He blamed the guys more than the gals, as most girls assumed their popularity depended on their “jitterability”, and so they “jittered”. Adding that he has seen “healthy girls pass out after just one number”, and that jitterbugging is more like a marathon six-day bicycle race (held at the Montreal Forum) than a dance. For this reason, the Anti-Jitterbug Society organized its own “Dance-and-Frolic” evenings at Wood Hall, for persons who believed in “natural” dancing, strictly outlawing the jitterbug. Their ads would quote, “For those who like to Dance not Prance”, admission 40-cents. Bandleader Jimmy Laing, known for his “disappearing” fingers on the piano, would lead his orchestra as a local favorite.

 

As ’39 progressed, Verdun, still known as the third largest city in Quebec, was about to change its slang, as the new hepster lingo hit the streets. A “Hepcat” was “solid”, one who knew the latest jive words and who could really “cut a rug”, while an “Ickeroo” was the opposite. People were urged to shag on down to “slide in their jib” (dance) and get Hep. Hepcats spoke fluidly, as if rhyming their words to music and creating new ones in the process. Swing styles also had their own hep names, like the “Peckin’ Neckin’”, “Swing the Wing”, the “Rusty-Dusty”, the “Shorty-George”, and “Whip the Hip”. Even with this smooth new language, those times remained simple.

Until, on September 10th, Canada finally declared war on Germany. Suddenly we would all be dancing for a different reason. As the reality of another World War crept in, we were comforted by the enjoyment of the few remaining moments of peace we had left, before being sent off to war.
The Jitterbug craze would go on throughout the War and continue into the late fifties. As the wave finally crested, it was slowly replaced in our dance halls with the new sounds and steps of the early sixties.

Just as our own elegant Verdun Dance Pavillion bandshell began to erode, we could feel the times of the Jitterbug slipping away, and with them our fondest memories.
The Verdun Bandstand was demolished in the late 1960’s, and not so long after, the Verdun Dance Pavillion was also torn down. Those ever-smiling dancers swaying, bopping, and twisting into the twilight of the night skies, are but just a memory now. Yet, whenever we hear that fast swing music, we are reminded of our once beautiful dance halls, with their flickering lights and their polished floors, awaiting our return. Giving us a reason to smile, knowing that we were all once part of a Jitterbug Nation…which had danced its way through our Southwest Corners. - Hep! hep!

courtesy- Rohinton Ghandhi

 

©2016 Linda Sullivan-Simpson
The Past Whispers
All Rights Reserved

Remains of shipwrecked Irish famine victims found in Canada

 

The remain of eight humans discovered in Quebec last month are believed to be those of Irish immigrants who died in an 1847 shipwreck off the coast of Canada, Parks Canada revealed.

The bones and skeletons, found in near Cap-des-Rosiers, Quebec, in late July, appear to be those of five adults and three children who were fleeing the Great Hunger in Ireland when their ship got into trouble during a storm.

Although the remains have yet to be analyzed, Parks Canada archaeologist Martin Perron believes the eight bodies could be the remains of some those who died when the Irish ship, The Carricks of Whitehaven, sank during a storm off the Gaspe coast.

If proven to be those of Irish immigrants aboard the 1847 ship, the discovery may be an indicator of a mass grave in the area for the massive fatalities among the 167 passengers. At first discovery, Perron stated that the bones appeared to be very ancient, possibly as old as the 170 years since the ship sank, although further analysis is needed before this is confirmed.

Adding to the evidence that this may be a burial site for The Carricks, the remains of three European children were previously discovered close to this site in 2011. The bones were found on Cap-des-Rosiers beach just a few hundred meters away from July’s grave discovery. The coroner ruled that the three children were the victims of a maritime tragedy and that they had also suffered from malnutrition, a fact that would fall in line with the theory the children were Irish and leaving Ireland because of the famine.

"All these elements point towards a mass grave that is quite ancient, which could be linked to the Carricks shipwreck,'' Perron told CBC Canada.

The Carricks was just one of the Irish ships, often called the “coffin ships,” that transported thousands of Irish people from their suffering island to a new life in the US and Canada. Unfortunately, conditions on many of these ships were deadly and hunger, malnutrition, and disease caused the death of many on the passage and many more when disease spread among immigrants and the local population on landing.

This particular ship is believed to have been traveling to Quebec in 1847, the very worst year of the Great Hunger and often referred to as “Black ‘47.”

Some 100,000 Irish immigrants made the journey to Canada in 1847, descending on the quarantine station in Grose Íle which welcomed the arrival of 14,000 Irish by the summer months alone, despite having just 150 beds. If they escaped the quarantine station, many Irish may have made it to Montreal, where typhus was killing those who survived the journey, while others carried along the river to Toronto.

A fifth of those who traveled that year - 20,000 immigrants - died.

Built in 1812, The Carricks set sail from Sligo, one of the principal points of emigration during the Great Hunger, in March 1847, under the command of Captain R.Thompson, with 167 passengers, most of whom were tenants from the Irish estates of Lord Palmerston. On April 28, she ran into a storm and most of her passengers were lost. It appears that of all those on board, only 48 made it to the shore. Nine had died previously on the voyage while the remaining 119 were lost in the wreckage. All of the crew survived but for one boy.

One Quebec film maker Viveka Melki is currently making a documentary about The Carricks ship and the fate of those poor Irish on board. During the course of her preparation for the documentary, Melki came across an obituary written by a local priest referring to the way in which the shore was strewn with bodies after the shipwreck and that a shallow, hasty mass grave had been dug for the remains along the beach, leading her to believe that this latest discovery must be several of The Carricks victims.

"It's not been easy for us or for the descendants (interviewed) in the film to even suppose that this might be the grave,'' Melki said.

Other documentaries have been made regarding the ship which focuses on the Irish-speaking family, the Kaveneys from Sligo, who five generations later are now the French-speaking Kavanaghs of Gaspé.

The areas around the bodies has now been cordoned off and Park Canada will continue to excavate the site to discover if there are further remains buried nearby.

"There's a way to give a second life to these bodies and make them talk, thanks to the different analyses that can be done,'' Perron said.

A monument already stands to the victims of the shipwreck in Gaspé, which was offered by St. Patrick’s Parish in Montréal in 1900. It is joined by the enshrined ship’s bell, discovered in 1966. The monument’s inscription reads: “Sacred to the memory of 187 Irish Immigrants from Sligo wrecked here on April 28th 1847 (Ship Carricks of Whitehaven 87 are buried here. Pray for their souls.”

 

-courtesy Irish Central

©2016 Linda Sullivan-Simpson
The Past Whispers
All Rights Reserved

Point-St-Charles gala raises $500,000 for local youth

 

When Kevin Figsby packed his bags to leave Point-St-Charles, he began a journey most children from the working class enclave would never know.

“The Point” had always been a hardscrabble place but by the late 1970s — after massive layoffs at the Northern Electric factory and Redpath sugar refinery — it had become one of the poorest neighbourhoods in Canada. The Irish neighbourhood was notorious for its association with the West End Gang, known more for producing brawlers, boxers and tough-as-nails rail workers than scholars.

So it was a rare thing for someone like Figsby, in 1979, to leave town and attend Bishop’s University in Lennoxville. But when that did happen, the community rallied around Figsby and another young man from The Point.

“The parish priest, Father Willard, gave us both $150 and he said: ‘Here, here’s something to help you on that road,’ ” said Figsby, now the director of Hockey Program Delivery at Hockey Canada. “I said to him: ‘How can I repay that?’ And he said: ‘If you ever get the chance to help another kid, do it.’ ”

After helping raise more than $500,000 in scholarships and programs for children Point-St-Charles youth, it’d be fair to say Figsby held up his end of the bargain.

On Saturday, Figsby joined about 500 people at the Point-St-Charles YMCA for the 13th annual Hall of Recognition ceremony, which honours notable locals and awards scholarships to about 20 youth who live in the area.

The ceremony began, almost by chance, when Figsby heard about plans to close The Point’s YMCA in 2003. After meeting with the YMCA’s director, Figsby devised a way to help save the social programs it promoted while honouring the people who organized youth sports when he was a boy in the south Montreal neighbourhood. More…

 

©2016 Linda Sullivan-Simpson
The Past Whispers
All Rights Reserved