When I click on 'REPLY' or 'REPLY TO MY INBOX' I am sent to the
following site.
http://groups.msn.com/home
Which is not Verdun Connections unfortunately, but the MSN home page.
What growing up in the great city of Verdun has blessed me with, is
patience, which has come greatly appreciated in the cyber age of
computers.
Have a wonderful day,
Bill Cooper
THANKS for stopping by, I do my best to acknowledge when someone leaves a comment,you do not have to be a member here & everyone is welcome. Ps: This site is monitored but not actively posting on a regular basis. Mostly these are stories & some photos saved from a defunct site known as Verdun Connections which was on MSN Groups initially then on a social network called Multiply.
ArialBill. Did you get my previous message
ReplyDeleteon how to send a message to VC? WinstonMSN 8 helps ...Times New Roman
Verdana0000,332F,6662winnieTimes New Roman
Arial 07-16-03Times New Roman
Yes Winnie, I did receive your last message but I still get sent to
the MSN home page. Could it be because I'm using an Apple system?
Maybe I need to join MSN messenger. I'll try to contact MSN.
Thanks,
Bill Cooper
yes Bill, it could be that you are using an Apple! Anyone else out there using an Apple system?
ReplyDeleteAt the foot of 2nd Avenue there was a commercial wharf
ReplyDeletewhich belong to the Leblanc (spelling?) family. It consisting of a
long cat walk out to the slips where maybe ten or fifteen small boats
were tied up. I believe you could rent them for the day. Us kids would
run around on that little marina until the owners chased us off. I
swam and fished that river from early childhood, mainly with the
Lawton family (2nd Ave.), who always owned a boat. Mr. John Lawton
kept their boat tied up at the 6th or 7th (?) Avenue marina, which
wasn’t far from the pavilion (the Pav), or maybe it was far - oh well.
I’d bring the fish I caught home, and my mother would throw them out.
The fun was in the catching anyway.
Bill Cooper
Hi Gord,
ReplyDeleteDid you hang around with Gordie
Lawton?
Margo
Margo are you directing your message to me? If so,
ReplyDeletethere was no Gordie Lawton that I was aware of during my time (1940s
and 50s). Could be he was a child of one of the Lawton brothers (Tom,
John or Eric).
Bill Cooper
Hi Bill
ReplyDeleteYes I was directing my message to you, I went to
Bannantyne School witha Lawton not sure which one. You are younger than me by a
few years so it could have been a cousin but I know that he did live on Second
Ave.
Margo
Hi Winston, I never did visit Griffin Town, except for reading about it
ReplyDeleteon the Griffin Town site I submitted to the V.C. group. Also the
DVD/VHS was informative. The residents there had the same sense of
community as we Verdunites. My father's family lived there on Grand
Trunk Street, and some time later moved to Goose Village, or Victoria
Town as it was also know as. Maybe you are familiar with this
neighborhood. It consisted of 6 streets I believe, under the foot of
Victoria bridge. Its all gone now and rightly so. Mostly immigrants
there from Italy, Ireland and Ukraine. The police were shot at if they
made there way into these poverty stricken streets. I've been reading a
number interesting books on Montreal, and they always have a thing to
say about G.V. Thankful I lived in Verdun my entire upbringing.
Bill Cooper
Margo did you save any of your school year books? You said you were a
ReplyDeleteyear or two younger than I, and I wondered if you remember if there was
a kindergarten in Bannantyne at that time. My memory fails on so much
of my early childhood. In regards to Bannantyne school I recall the
building from the outside, and I had to repeat the third -- because of
ADD probably. In the sixth we painted a mural of the Queen Elizabeth's
coronation. Mrs Martin's grade seven class, and carving my entire name
into my desk top. Seven years later my younger brother Robert had Mrs.
martin, and she instructed to sand it out. We both have a laugh about
that on occasion. She was a blessed woman indeed.
Bill Cooper
Hi Bill,
ReplyDeleteSorry but I am a few years older than you, I
started grade 1 I think at Bannantyne School, before that I went to Edward V11
School on Esplande St. My years at Bannantyne School were 1940-1947. I
was there with Mr. Harrison as Principle, what a great gut.
Margo
Bill. You are absolutely right about Ms. Martin. She was a wonderful teacher and person. Do you remember the maple sugar she would bring in? It cost us 10 cents. You and I were in the same class together. Do you also remember the 10 cents movies they would have in the afternoon. If you didn't have 10 cents you had to stay in class while everyone you paid got to go. Bummer. Winston
ReplyDeleteMSN 8 helps ELIMINATE E-MAIL VIRUSES. Get 2 months FREE*.
Mr. Harrison was a great guy. Very disiplined. Always dressed immaculately. I also remember myself and some other guy whose last name was Clarke getting the strap 10 times on ech hand. Holy cow I must have been a very bad kid. Winston Allison
ReplyDeleteMSN 8 helps ELIMINATE E-MAIL VIRUSES. Get 2 months FREE*.
Winnie, This is a memory from my brother Bob Cooper who was at
ReplyDeletebannantyne 7 years prior to myself (1953 to 1960)
I believe the principal when I went to Bannantyne was Mr. Larock
(probably misspelled). He was followed by someone named Tinsdale (also
probably misspelled). This guy gave me the strap at least 10 times on
each hand and then grabbed me by the shirt and pushed me against the
wall, All for talking and laughing during an assembly prayer. --- Bob
Fellow Verdunites, the 'Ghosts of Griffin Town' is a great tape/DVD to
ReplyDeletehave in your collection, especially if you are interested in the
history of the greatest city in the world, Montreal. Go to the V.C.
links and there is the web site URL. Richard Burman, is the producer
and he has put an enormous amount of effort into this project. He has
recorded the oral history of the Montrealers who actually lived in
Griffin Town. I suppose I am plugging his site, only because of the
love of my dad (died in 1963)) who was born and raised there, along
with all my aunts and uncles. have a great day.
Bill Cooper
Thought I'd ask the group if they had childhood photos. I have a
ReplyDeletedifficult time recalling names and if I had a photo to match the name
I'd be able to remember better.
Bill Cooper