Thursday, March 31, 2011

Rural Valcourt Quebec Mid 1930’s

The tireless inventor

  June 22, 1967

Born in 1907, Joseph-Armand Bombardier shows a genius for tinkering early in life. He's only 10-years-old when he takes a cigar box and a broken alarm clock and makes a working model of a tractor. As he gets older, Armand dreams of building a vehicle that can glide over snow — a fitting goal for a boy growing up in rural Valcourt, Que. At 15 Armand designs and builds his first snow vehicle which is basically a large sleigh powered by a Ford Model T engine with a wooden airplane propeller at the back.

He and his brother drive the noisy contraption through Valcourt before their father orders them to stop. Undeterred, Armand keeps working on his idea while he earns a living as an auto mechanic. His big breakthrough comes in the mid-1930s when he develops a drive system that will revolutionize travel in snow and swamp. In 1937 Armand sells 12 snowmobiles — named the B7 — and opens the company l'Auto-Neige Bombardier Limitée five years later.

 

 • Bombardier attended school at a seminary in Sherbrooke, Que. He was expected to enter the priesthood but convinced his parents he would make a better mechanic.
•On Aug. 7, 1929 he married Yvonne Labrecque, with whom he had six children.
•The death of his son Yvon in the mid-1930s further motivated J. Armand Bombardier to complete his snowmobile invention. The young boy died of an appendicitis attack when a snowstorm prevented getting him to a hospital.

•Adalbert Landry and Antoine Morisset of Quebec's Gaspé region made a rudimentary snow vehicle in the mid-1920s. They converted an automobile by putting skis in the front and a caterpillar belt over the double rear wheels. In 1924 they travelled nearly 600 kilometres to show off their vehicle at a Montreal automobile show.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Traffic 'on' All of Montreal Bridges is bad.......but Under it Too......

   Not only did this ship run aground in the Seaway,but he managed to turn it sideways ,as well..........effectively blocking the Seaway to all traffic 'coming & going'

 

MONTREAL - A commercial vessel has run aground in the St. Lawrence Seaway.

The ship, a container vessel identified as the BBC Steinhoeft, ran aground in the seaway between the Jacques Cartier and Victoria bridges early Thursday. It was reportedly destined for Philadelphia.

The 138-metre vessel was not only aground, but stretched across the entire width of the seaway, blocking the route to all other ships.

It appears no one was injured, and Transport Canada spokesperson Josianne Martel said none of the ship's 1,000 tons of cargo spilled into the river. It remains unclear how long it will take to move the ship out of the way and allow ship traffic to resume.

"We're working on it," Martel said. "We have an inspector on board the ship now ... we should getting an update soon."

More to come.              .Cheers !! HF&RV


Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Grand Trunk Boating Club

Now here is an institution that exhisted for a long period of time in the first half of the 20th century judging from the maps I consulted. Here is a 1932 map showing the club in all its glory. Notice the large area of the buildings wich contained plenty of storage space for the boats, a restaurant and also had a separate building for the Grand Trunk Canoe Club. It is also interesting to note that the club was situated mostly in Verdun but also partly in Pte St Charles. Also you can notice that Elmhurst Dairy had a building at the lower left of lot 5371. On the upper left of the same lot was situated a skating ring and camping grounds, no doubt where the Verdun Tourist Camp was situated. The camp was well situated as the campers could go to the boat club to get their boat or rent one. I think you can enlarge the photo to discover other interesting buildings. I guess there aren't many old timers around who could give us some interesting stories about the Grand Trunk Boating club. I would like to learn more about this subject which would make an interesting article and who knows, maybe other photos may turn up. After consulting several maps from different eras, River street had several names such as Gough, Kings Park, Atwater, Upsala and is presently called Henri Duhamel.   

Guy

 

$$$$$$$$ BILLION $$$$$$$ Food For Thought

                        I am sure everyone with computer has had this sent to them,or they have at least seen it sometime in the past,.   but It is interesting,to see a Breakdown of just what money is worth & how it's thrown around so frivolously by my favourite target group 'Politicians' as they are the ones who seem to benefit far more often than their constituents...they will tell you health cares is unsustainable, and to have it we have to cut this & that & just about anything to do with things for the people (where they get the money from in the first place) However For What it's Worth,.......read this,

        How many zeros in a billion???

This is too true to be funny...
The next time you hear a politician use the
word 'billion' in a casual manner, think about whether you want the 'politicians' spending YOUR tax money.A billion is a difficult number to comprehend,but one advertising agency did a good job ofputting that figure into some perspective inone of its releases.


 A billion seconds ago it was 1959.

A billion hours ago our ancestors were

living in the Stone Age.


 A billion days ago no-one walked on the earth on two feet.

A billion dollars ago was only

8 hours and 20 minutes,

at the rate our government

is spending it.

While this thought is still fresh in our brain...let's take a look at New Orleans ....It's amazing what you can learn with some simple division.Louisiana Senator,

Mary Landrieu (D)

is presently asking Congress for

250 BILLION DOLLARS

to rebuild New Orleans .. Interesting number...

what does it mean?


 Well... if you are one of the 484,674 residents of New Orleans

(every man, woman, and child)

you each get $516,528.


 Or... if you have one of the 188,251 homes in

New Orleans , your home gets $1,329,787.

Or... if you are a family of four...

your family gets $2,066,012.

Imagine, now $700 billion bailing out banks in the US .  That's enough to fund complete medical care for every man, woman and child currently alive in the US for 11 years!!

50 billion to bail out the auto industry???

Washington , D.C.

&

Ottawa ON.        Receivable Tax

Building Permit Tax

CDL License Tax

Cigarette Tax

Corporate Income Tax

Dog License Tax

Federal Income Tax , Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)

Fishing License Tax

Food License Tax

Fuel Permit Tax

Gasoline Tax

Hunting License Tax

Inheritance Tax

Inventory Tax

IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax)

IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)

Liquor Tax

Luxury Tax

Marriage License Tax

Medicare Tax

Property y Tax

Real Estate Tax

Service charge taxes

Social Security Tax

Road Usage Tax (Truckers)

Sales Taxes

Recreational Vehicle Tax

School Tax

State Income Tax

State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)

Telephone Federal Excise Tax

Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax upon Tax

Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Tax

Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax

Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax

Telephone State and Local Tax

Telephone Usage Charge Tax

Utility Tax

Vehicle License Registration Tax

Vehicle Sales Tax

Watercraft Registration Tax

Well Permit Tax

Workers Compensation Tax

Income Tax

Everything Tax


 Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago...and our nation was the most prosperous in the world.


We had absolutely no national debt...We had the largest middle class in the world..and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.


 

What happened? 'politicians!'

Cheers !! HF&RV

Saturday, March 26, 2011

2 BEEF or Not 2 BEEF, That is the Question: (Really ? A Play About Schwartz's)------A Musical-no less

                      So a play about Scwartz's Deli,   seems odd to me ,hopefully it's able to cut the mustard, and tastefully done., maybe has some steamy juicy bits,that you can really sink your teeth into, & not leaving everyone with a bad taste in their mouth, that would really get them in a pickle.  ( yea I know what your thinking , 10,000 comedians out of work & I'm here stealing their schtick)..........hahahahah       

                               

   No Really , a play about a smoked meat deli.........I think i'd rather have a smoked meat sandwich than spend the money on watching the antics of a store on the Main (albeit a famous ,storied shop) ,......but who knows it might be funny .They can only hope to get half of the good reviews & accolades that Scwartz's has gottenthrough it's Century long Run on the same stage 'The Main'

 

MONTREAL - “Where’s the beef?” No need to ask in Montreal. To the horror of vegetarians everywhere and the joy of cattle ranchers across North America, the consumption of smoked beef brisket is an integral part of Montreal culture. And Schwartz’s deli on St. Laurent Blvd. is, of course, the central rendezvous for smoked meat addicts, most of whom are ready to line up for an hour or more to get their medium-lean with mustard on rye accompanied by a dill pickle from heaven.

Been there, done that, many times. Although, to be frank, if blindfolded, I wouldn’t be able to tell a Schwartz’s sandwich from a reasonable facsimile. (Lightning strike me dead for blasphemy.) But that’s not the point.

Chowing down at Schwartz’s after a late-night Montreal Fringe Festival show means experiencing the theatrical equivalent of reality TV – only it’s interactive. Waiters at Schwartz’s tend to be conversationally inclined. The patrons, even more so. This is not a standoffish place.

First there was Schwartz’s restaurant, founded in 1928, then, in 2006, came Gazette columnist Bill Brownstein’s book, Schwartz’s Hebrew Delicatessen: The Story, recently released in an expanded edition by Véhicule Press. (True, a few other things happened in between but we’re cutting to the chase here.) Now thanks to a coalition of creative forces including playwright/composer/musicians George Bowser and Rick Blue, led by Centaur artistic director Roy Surette, Schwartz’s: The Musical is on its way.

Will this be the great Montreal musical we have long awaited? Or will it be just another rollicking Bowser and Blue show, with additional performers and an expensive faux Schwartz’s set by John C. Dinning?

Although Surette has directed musicals before, this is his first major one, put together on a budget of about $240,000, or about twice the cost of the average play at Centaur.

When he spoke to the Gazette this week, he sounded confident, even buoyant. But he admits that starting out with nothing but a local history book, a noted musical comedy duo, and a great sandwich, might have appeared foolhardy to some.

He quotes the first line of the play, “Smoked meat, can you write a play about it?” as an illustration of the quandary they all faced. Food-centric musicals are rare. (And seldom well done.)

Granted, Bowser and Blue, who have been performing together since 1978, have a considerable fan base, and a long list of musical hits: The 4 Anglos of the Apocalypse; The Paris of America; Mainly Montreal; Troubadours Through Time; and Blokes, plus Blokes Deux.

Still, even Rick Blue allows that he had qualms: “Billy (Browstein) had this crazy idea that Bowser and Blue should write a musical based on his book. I thought it was crazy. Everyone thought it was crazy.”

But the more they talked about it, the more encouragement they got from their friends. “The timing was right,” he recalled, during a recent Brownstein book launch held at Schwartz’s. “We were looking for something to do. Something to renew ourselves. So I put a proposal together and took it to Centaur.”

Once the pitch was accepted, the work of creating a musical began. That was about three years ago, he said. Their first step? “Well, we read the book.” Or rather reread it, Blue hastened to add. They quickly discovered that this wasn’t going to be the equivalent of adapting a novel like Mordecai Richler’s The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (last seen, as a musical, in Yiddish at the Segal Centre in 1997) for the stage.

“Bill’s book is written as a documentary. It’s just sort of a series of events,” Blue explained. “He tells the story, the history of Schwartz’s, which is interesting. But we had to find a way to present it on stage.”

As they searched for a plot to hang their musical on, the B & B team realized that, “There was this moment in 1998 when Madame Chartrand, who was the third owner, wanted to retire, and wanted to sell it,” Blue said. “Schwartz’s was kind of at risk because a Toronto group wanted to buy it and use the name in order to franchise it. That would have really destroyed the uniqueness of Schwartz’s. So I figured we should start with that.”

The next step, according to George Bowser, was to add the essentials. “Everybody agreed that you gotta have a girl, you gotta have a love interest, you gotta have some sort of jeopardy. So we kind of imposed a certain amount of structure on the chaos that happens every day at the restaurant. What Roy (Surette) has done, is to constantly find ways to engage minor characters and make them fill up the stage.”

The two main characters are a woman from Toronto who wants to buy the restaurant, played by former Les Misérables star Stephanie Martin, and a waiter, played by Vito DeFilippo, a local singer with an operatic background.

Some of the minor characters, like burlesque queen, Miss Sugarpuss, as herself, are likely to have a major effect, too.

Does she keep her clothes on? “Not entirely,’ Bowser replied.

Was Surette a tough director?

“It has been challenging,” Bowser said. “The bar was set a little higher.”

Now, after multiple rewrites, the 11th version of the script, with its 18 original songs within 23 scenes and 63 characters incarnated by 11 performers is good to go.

Or so everyone hopes.

What’s the genre? “There’s a little bit of satire that runs through, but ultimately it’s a big hearted musical,” Surette said. It is song-driven, rather than book heavy, he explained. And there are dance numbers, choreographed by Shane Snow. As for the music, “Like a lot of contemporary musicals it’s got a little bit of everything. It’s got a little bit of Gospel, a little bit of rock ’n’ roll because that’s their background. Some of it’s a bit torchy, a bit bluesy. It’s quite a wide array.”

Brownstein was more succinct: “It sort of feels like Queen meets Alan Sherman (known for parody songs like Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah). It’s so rock-operatic.”

And it’s not remotely like anything Bowser and Blue have done before, he added. No anglo protest stuff. No potshots at Quebec.

“You wouldn’t know it was them if their names weren’t attached to it,” Brownstein continued. “But they’ll be on stage, playing in the background, or in supporting roles.”

Asked if the musical was helping sell his book, he said, “It’s a symbiotic relationship. The book also helps to sell the play.” And given that the book is now in its third printing in English and has sold well in French, it’s not just along for the ride. Nor is Schwartz’s. It’s a powerful brand.

The whole project began when Browstein was asked to write a story on the eatery for the Gazette at a time when its future seemed uncertain. Digging into the archives he found a striking lack of documentation. There was almost nothing on founder Reuben Schwartz. And when the second owner, Maurice Zbriger died, his obituary lauded his musical talents but made no mention of the restaurant. (Hy Diamond, is the current and fourth owner.) Intrigued, the intrepid reporter kept digging.

For Browstein, the thrill of it all has been to see a news story become a book, and now a musical, with a life of its own. “It’s quite a trip,” he said.

Schwartz’s: The Musical, by Rick Blue and George Bowser, begins previews Tuesday, opens Thursday, and continues through April 24 at Centaur Theatre, 453 St. François Xavier St. in Old Montreal. Tickets range from $32 (student) to $51. Call 514-288-3161 or visit www.centaurtheatre.com

...I wonder if people will 'line up'for the play,like they have lined up at Scwartz's for many a deacade....??? Well we wish them all the Best, I guess Break a Leg as they say....& of course Mazel-Tof

                                                 ...Cheers !! , HF&RV

Friday, March 25, 2011

Is the Sun About to Set on Verdun's Champlain Bridge ?

        Well all the noise now is about how everyone agrees 'they absolutely have to replace the Champlain Bridge'.That's funny cause the Victoria Bridge is 3 times as old,and the Jacques Cartier is almost twice as old, now all bridges need maintenance,How come the Champlain Needs to be 'replaced' Could it be the more affluent thoughts of the nouveau rich on Nuns Island want a better looking Driveway to their overpriced condos

The inhabitants of Nuns Island can't stand the thought that they are really part of Verdun,so look for that title / status to change as well. (jmho)

MONTREAL - Ottawa is poised to spend an additional $158 million to repair it, and the provincial government is musing that perhaps it's time it was rebuilt, presuming all the other alternatives have been examined. But the Montreal area mayors whose communities rely on the Champlain Bridge for transportation and commerce say the time for studies and "procrastination" is over and the moment has arrived for Canada's most travelled bridge to be replaced.

"It's a no-brainer," Montreal mayor Gérald Tremblay told reporters as the Montreal Metropolitan Community (MMC) adopted a resolution calling upon the federal and provincial governments to "quickly" get to work on a new span.

"We're talking about a fundamental (thoroughfare) not just for the South Shore but for Montreal . for Quebec and for the United States.

"We're talking about the economic future of Quebec and the Montreal region.

"We believe the governments must make a decision as soon as possible."

The MMC represents 82 municipalities in the greater Montreal area, including the island of Montreal, Longueuil, Laval, the North Shore and the South Shore.

The MMC's resolution notes that feasibility studies on a new bridge have been completed, that engineering surveys indicate the 49-yearold span should be replaced and that "the safety of those who use the bridge daily must be ensured."

It goes on to ask Quebec and Ottawa to create a planning committee that would oversee the design and construction of a new bridge, to take a stand on "the best option for the quickest replacement for the Champlain Bridge" and also include a light rapid-rail line along the route of whatever replaces the span.

Asked how soon he'd like to see the bridge replaced, Tremblay replied: "Yesterday."

The MMC's resolution follows the creation this week of a coalition on the South Shore headed by Brossard Mayor Paul Leduc to press the federal government, which also administers the Jacques Cartier and Mercier Bridges, to replace the Champlain Bridge.

Asked if he thought an imminent federal election call could see the need for a new bridge turned into an election issue, Tremblay replied:

"I can guarantee that all the parties will promise to build a new bridge during an election campaign.

"But it's one thing to promise it - it's another to get it done."

Tremblay's announcement on Thursday coincided with the publication of a news release from Montreal's official opposition describing the mayor's silence on the issue earlier in the week as "a flagrant lack of leadership."

Opened in 1962, the Champlain Bridge is crossed 60 million times a year by vehicles, including inter-city bus lines using a reserved lane linking Montreal with the South Shore.

The span is also estimated to carry $20 billion in goods each year.

But while the member cities of the MMC are calling for prompt action, the federal government has decided to ensure the existing span's safety before building a new bridge.

In a letter to The Gazette this week, federal Transport Minister Chuck Strahl wrote that "the construction of a new bridge is a complex and costly process.

"The repercussions of decisions made today concerning a new bridge will be felt for years to come."

Strahl wrote that once a feasibility report produced by the federal agency that administers the span and Transport Quebec had been completed, "we will examine the results and consider all the options, including the replacement of the Champlain Bridge."

Quebec Transport Minister Sam Hamad has adopted a similar stance, telling reporters this week that, although a new bridge seemed "the surest and most feasible solution" to dealing with the problems posed by the aging Champlain Bridge, all technical aspects of building a new span would have to be examined

Now I would agree it is a traffic nightmare,but so are every one of Montreal's Bridges,let's face it Montreal has a lot of traffic,however with better upkeep these integral parts of Montreal's infrastructure , would last forever...instead ,as with most of Montreal's hi-ways & roadways,they have been inentionally left to decay,almost to the point of collapse (& some have) this I think is 'engineered' by politicians who hope to cash in on over inflated new construction projects,where they can line their pockets alng with inscrupulous construction company's ( You know the ones that were in court,charged with corruption recently,but Nothing ever seems to come of it) yes ,those thieving snakes...................hahahahaha  Oh Well as they say"that's Life in the Big City'
 
                                 Cheers !! ..................HF&RV
      

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Verdun Tourist Camp

I have found where the Verdun Tourist Camp was situated, it was situated at the Corner of Wellington and River wich is now Henri Duhamel street. The following photo was an ad that appeared in the Guardian of 1929 wich was the year that newspaper was founded, as a matter of a fact we have a part of the first edition in our archives (SHGV). I posted this photo in the MVC on the 30th of january 2009. Imagine a camping ground in Verdun, with running water and lavatories in every cabin, isn't that something ?

 This is the photo that Les posted this morning wich triggered my brain and helped me find the connection:

Guy:

 

Verdun History Celebrated








The Montreal Gazette printed an article about a group of Verdun Residents who got together to celebrate & remember Verdun's history:

MONTREAL - Kathryn Harvey was 14 when her family left Verdun for a new life in Lachine. Although her house was only a short distance away, it would take more than two decades – and a community history project – before Harvey returned to wander down Wellington St. and Church Ave. and get a fresh flavour for the old neighbourhood.

A McGill University-trained historian, Harvey was recruited a couple of years ago by the Dawson Community Centre, which was eager to help anglophone seniors in Verdun capture their story at a time when the working-class district was undergoing a transformation from manufacturing hub to gentrified suburb.

“The anglophone working class often feel as if they don’t fit anywhere in Quebec history,” said Harvey, who sees a parallel between Verdun and other vanishing – in some instances, already gone – English-speaking pockets in Rosemont, Park Extension and Hochelaga-Maisonneuve.

Working with 12 “totally passionate” Verdun residents ranging in age from their late 60s to their mid-80s, Harvey’s team put together a short film, a website (verdunmemories.org) and a community quilt.

The Verdun old-timers made collages to showcase their vintage photos and shared stories of school days at Riverview or summer afternoons on the boardwalk, connecting with their past and reconnecting with their community, whether they live in Verdun, the West Island or the West Coast.

On Saturday, the Quebec Anglophone Heritage Network, in concert with the Concordia’s School of Extended Learning and the Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling, will host a conference aimed at helping amateur historians, particularly those in the English-speaking Montreal community, learn how to preserve their stories.

“People want a sense of connection to their environment,” said historian Lorraine O’Donnell, who curated such community-centred projects as the Irish exhibit at the McCord Museum last year and another that focused on the once-vibrant, now mostly disappeared, Jewish community in Quebec City.

“For some, it’s a wish to know more about their ancestors who settled here 200 years ago. For newer arrivals, it’s a desire to better understand where they are. For English-speaking people, there is a special desire to understand how they fit into the conception of who is a Quebecer.”

Erin McDonagh, coordinator of the daylong conference, said often people have great stories to tell but don’t know where to begin to access resources. Discussions and workshops are designed to help people get started, find funding from government and private sponsors, archive documents, and develop a website.

O’Donnell said access to government services has improved a great deal over the last few years, yet often English-speaking Quebecers aren’t aware of what’s available or don’t know how to make government programs work for them.

“People might know the history, but not know how to share it with others. Or sometimes stories and experiences are very well known within a particular group or neighbourhood but they don’t know that other people aren’t familiar with that slice of Montreal life.”

O’Donnell and Harvey see such community-based history projects as a way to inject vitality, confidence and a sense of belonging, especially for English-speaking Montrealers from working-class backgrounds.

“Verdun and the whole southwest sector went through a terrible time after the free trade agreement, as factories closed, jobs were lost and young people moved away,” said Harvey.

pcurran@montrealgazette.com


Many thanks to Kathryn Harvey & people like her who understand the importance of keeping the Spirit of a Community alive.

Want more Verdun History & Content , visit the Verdun Connections site on the Multiply Network, it's free to jon Multiply & have your own personal page,and from there join the Verdun Connections site too. You can choose to participate & post stories,video, or photos and share your Verdun (or Montreal pictures & experience) with others. You also can choose to just read the stories already there, give it a try , http://verdunconnections2.multiply.com/
Have a look at the content by selecting eithewr the Home page, te Message Boards, the Video section, the Photo Albums, or some of the Links posted here.
Above All Have Fun and Remember Verdun

Verdun History Getting Some Press

Kathryn Harvey of the Verdun Memories site,which we posted quite a while ago, has a story posted in the Gazette,

MONTREAL - Kathryn Harvey was 14 when her family left Verdun for a new life in Lachine. Although her house was only a short distance away, it would take more than two decades – and a community history project – before Harvey returned to wander down Wellington St. and Church Ave. and get a fresh flavour for the old neighbourhood.

A McGill University-trained historian, Harvey was recruited a couple of years ago by the Dawson Community Centre, which was eager to help anglophone seniors in Verdun capture their story at a time when the working-class district was undergoing a transformation from manufacturing hub to gentrified suburb.

“The anglophone working class often feel as if they don’t fit anywhere in Quebec history,” said Harvey, who sees a parallel between Verdun and other vanishing – in some instances, already gone – English-speaking pockets in Rosemont, Park Extension and Hochelaga-Maisonneuve.

Working with 12 “totally passionate” Verdun residents ranging in age from their late 60s to their mid-80s, Harvey’s team put together a short film, a website (verdunmemories.org) and a community quilt.

The Verdun old-timers made collages to showcase their vintage photos and shared stories of school days at Riverview or summer afternoons on the boardwalk, connecting with their past and reconnecting with their community, whether they live in Verdun, the West Island or the West Coast.

On Saturday, the Quebec Anglophone Heritage Network, in concert with the Concordia’s School of Extended Learning and the Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling, will host a conference aimed at helping amateur historians, particularly those in the English-speaking Montreal community, learn how to preserve their stories.

“People want a sense of connection to their environment,” said historian Lorraine O’Donnell, who curated such community-centred projects as the Irish exhibit at the McCord Museum last year and another that focused on the once-vibrant, now mostly disappeared, Jewish community in Quebec City.

“For some, it’s a wish to know more about their ancestors who settled here 200 years ago. For newer arrivals, it’s a desire to better understand where they are. For English-speaking people, there is a special desire to understand how they fit into the conception of who is a Quebecer.”

Erin McDonagh, coordinator of the daylong conference, said often people have great stories to tell but don’t know where to begin to access resources. Discussions and workshops are designed to help people get started, find funding from government and private sponsors, archive documents, and develop a website.

O’Donnell said access to government services has improved a great deal over the last few years, yet often English-speaking Quebecers aren’t aware of what’s available or don’t know how to make government programs work for them.

“People might know the history, but not know how to share it with others. Or sometimes stories and experiences are very well known within a particular group or neighbourhood but they don’t know that other people aren’t familiar with that slice of Montreal life.”

O’Donnell and Harvey see such community-based history projects as a way to inject vitality, confidence and a sense of belonging, especially for English-speaking Montrealers from working-class backgrounds.

“Verdun and the whole southwest sector went through a terrible time after the free trade agreement, as factories closed, jobs were lost and young people moved away,” said Harvey.

Ways of Memory: The Montreal Experience takes place Saturday, March 26, at Concordia University. The $10 conference fee includes lunch. To find out more or register, go to www.qahn.org or email Erin McDonagh at qahnconference@gmail.com

...........................................Have Fun & Remember Verdun...............................Cheers!!

Harry Houdini doesn't show up for his birthday again........

Harry Houdini doesn't show up for his birthday again........

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

J. Gordon Whitehead, --- Ok , Who was he ? Just a Student @ McGill

J. Gordon Whitehead (Not the Guy in The Photo) .was also as it appears the best Illusionist in the World,..cause He made the great  Ehrich Weiss   Disappear.......well it took a few days but ,Old .Ehrich Weiss never did come back,......and My Friends that is the great Montreal Connection to the famous Ehrich Weiss        .Don't look for him on a Milk Carton, & don';t even bother with your old dusty Ouiji Board,......old Ehrich is not coming back......

The Last Days

In the fall of 1926, Houdini took a new show on the road. It was an elaborate, two and half hour performance, requiring Houdini to be on stage almost the entire time. The show featured magic, a section debunking spiritualism, and escapes from a coffin and a Chinese water torture, which had become one of Houdini’s most famous stunts. In the Chinese water torture escape, Houdini’s hands and feet were bound and he was lowered, upside down, into a glass tank filled with water, which was then securely closed. In mid-October, the tour took a bad turn in Providence, Rhode Island when Bess contracted a case of food poisoning. Despite the presence of a nurse, Houdini was deeply worried about his wife and stayed awake all night at her side. By the time they reached the next stop, Albany, New York, Houdini had gone three nights without sleep, his only rest coming from brief naps. Then, during the Albany show, the frame holding his leg in place for the Chinese water torture jerked, causing his ankle to break. Used to performing with smaller injuries, Houdini refused medical care and insisted on completing the show, but was awake all night from the pain. The tour nonetheless proceeded to the next stop in Montreal, Canada.

http://www.apl.org/history/houdini/biography.html

..........................and it looks like Google is today celebrating what would have been Harry's 137 Birthday.................................and so another Montreal Connection.....

                                                   Cheers !! HF&RV