Remembering Verdun

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Ok....Who remembers...??? COME ON PEOPLE!!

Sharon, I lived just down 2nd Avenue from you at 457. We used to say
'across the street on the other side', but on the opposing corners at
that intersection (Verdun and 2nd), there was a laundromat, Campo's
(sp) meat market, restaurant and a triplex apartment building -- maybe.
Of course this was in the 50's.
Bill Cooper
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A Question for those who left Verdun

This is a question for those of you who left Verdun and are now in other parts of the world.

I see many ex-Verdunites on this list who are now in the U.S. and one in Australia even! I myself am now in Virginia, and I'm interested in knowing how you came to end up in the U.S.

Anyone care to share?

My story is that 3 and a half years ago, I was in a Yahoo chatroom, and some gentleman from the U.S. messaged me. We began to chat and a friendly relationship ensued. After about 6 months we realized that something was developing between us that we couldn't deny LOL. It was hard tho...750 miles separated us, but we made plans to meet face to face and did not long after. To make a long story short, after a very long and difficult long-distance relationship that lasted 3 years, we were married finally 3 weeks ago and I am in the process of getting landed immigrant status.

So now this Verdunite is a cowgirl in Virginia hehe.

Who's NEXT to tell your story?!

Luv, Sharon

Indian Totem Poll

Hi Everbody,  Does anybody remember the Totem Poll Between the police station and 2nd ave. on Lasalle Blvd. It was in a yard that everybody cut through to go play in the park and on that old fire truck. I have always wondered what happened to it. It should have been protected and not moved or dystroyed. Now there is apartments there.   Dannyb--

tobogan slide??

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JUDEBUG where are you?hahah

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Rink Photo(dannyb this is for you)

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Welcome Sharon

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Mag...About the Just Verdun Photo Album here!

Maggie...I was just checking out your "Just Verdun" photo album here. I saw the pic that you are wondering where it was taken. If nobody has guessed it can I take a stab at it? I hope you don't mind, but I downloaded the pic and lightened it to see better cuz it was bugging that I was sure I knew where it was but I had to see. Isnt that the lane that runs parallel between 4th and 5th avenue and that's the back of the French church that's on Verdun Ave between those same streets?

Also....you know that building that's on Lasalle Blvd. with all that beautiful woodwork? It's between Willibrord and Rielle not Rielle and Gordon. It's just 2 or 3 buildings down from where you used to live matter of fact. I know that for sure cuz I watched that couple work on that building by HAND for almost 2 years, slowly but surely removing all those years and layers of old paint and sanding it down with love till it was it's original woodwork. It was totally amazing to watch the transformation, not to mention see how beautiful it turned out. :-)

It was too much to see your pic of the coner of Lasalle Blvd. and Willibrord too...my grandmother AND my Uncle Ronnie's house show in that pic! You babysit for my Uncle Ronnie a few times didn't you? Or was that Tina or Sandy?

That album is great Mag...just as the rest of them are...talk about memories!

Let me know if you think I'm right about that back lane pic, ok?

Luv, Sharon

Ok....Who remembers...??? COME ON PEOPLE!!

Hey! I don't wanna hog the message board here, give me a hand you guys!

Who remembers some of my fav things about growing up in Verdun, like:

 

That wooden GREEN THING...the toboggan slide near the river behind where Therrien Pool is now? Man....me and my pals spent HOURS there on winter weekends! ESPECIALLY after we had freezing rain and the slide was slick with ice....you'd FLY! You had to go up this wooden ramp that had wooden slats nailed down for rungs, there was a guy in a small booth waiting at the top, there were places (runs/tracks) for 3 toboggans if I remember right, you'd put your toboggan down up against this metal hook that held your sled in place and when the guy said GO and dropped the hooks down your toboggan would would fly down the ramp. It was pretty high and you went for a long time too...get to the bottom and climb that ramp over and over again...we had a BLAST!

 

I used to ice skate at Willibrord park. At that time I lived at the corner of 2nd and Verdun so I'd just put my skates on at home and walk to the rink! LOL Anyone else?

 

I can't remember what store it was, but I remember we used to be able to buy the potato chip CRUMBS in small wax paper packets for 5 cents! And they tasted even BETTER than the regular chips too.

 

When I was really young we'd go to Richard Park, the one behind the police & fire station on the boardwalk? Anyone remember when they used to have a REAL old fire station for the kids to PLAY on in that park? And they used to have summer programs where you could sit in the park with "monitors" and you could do arts and crafts or play games and they even had STILTS that the kids could use...they were MY favorite thing! And the pool there was a pretty good one for a kids wading pool too. That park was so popular that there was a crossing guard at the corner of Willibrord and Lasalle Blvd. for years just to cross the kids going to that park. Gone are those days man...it's so sad. The government cut funding for those kinds of park programs years ago, and as a matter of fact, that PARK has now been taken apart and CONDOS are in it's place. They have built a new really fancy and neat kids playground further down the boardwalk now tho near 5th or 6th Ave. I guess to make up for it.

 

What else...hmmmm...

 

How about the RESTAURANT that used to be on the boardwalk right behind the big apartment building near 1st Avenue, not far from that same park I mentioned? I can just barely remember my uncle buying me hot dogs there. It was just a snack bar sorta place...

There's a fairly new restaurant down where the old Boat Club used to be now. A real fancy place with prices to match. Good food tho I must say, my sis took me there for my birthday last year. :-)

 

And who remembers when there were all KINDS of docks down by the river for the boats? We used to walk all up and down them and even sit down and dangle our feet into the river on hot days.

 

Ok....My memory bank is starting to get overdrawn here hehe....surely somebody ELSE remembers these things and can remind us of even more? Remembering your growing up years is a blast, man!

Come on PEOPLE! :-)

Luv, Sharon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For Jo Geraldi

 

OMG JOANNE! How the hell are ya, girl! It HAS been a VERY long time! Oh man this is SO great to hear from you! hehe I'm in my glory...all these people from my past!  Think maybe we can recapture our youth? hehe You're still in Verdun or what?

Yes, I had run into Karen several times too in Verdun. She has like what...FIVE girls and a boy now? And she ended up with Steve Carrier didn't she? God I remember all those nights spent in the 2nd Ave. restaurant LOL. Those were some fun times. remember the statue at city hall Jo? hehehe Right across from your house, you had to be careful. LOL And yeahhhhhhhhhhh what's Danny talking about anyway huh? hehe The Geraldi's WERE/ARE good people, man!

Your Mom was a riot and a half Jo, I was very sad to hear of her passing awhile ago. My own mother died 10 years ago, only 53. Not a time in my life that I want to remember, it was very hard to see her leaving me a little more every day and there was nothing I could do to stop it. It affected me deeply, I got into drugs after to numb the pain but then I believe that my Mom threw me a big slap in the head from heaven and sent me my youngest daughter Allison. Alli was not "supposed" to be...lol...I was taking the Pill. To this day I truly believe that my getting pregnant despite precautions was my mother's way of smartening me up cuz she knew I would quit everything cold turkey if I found out I was with child. And I did of course.

I have three kids altogether, Jo. My oldest girl, Fawn is now almost 21, my son Justin is almost 16 and Alli is 7. Yes....lol...OOOPS! I affectionately call her my Alli ooops  hehe. But what a beautiful oops she is.

Fawn and Justin decided to stay in Montreal with their Dad.  It isn't easy but we know we can handle it. They were here 3 weeks ago for my wedding and will be here again at Xmas. We talk on the phone....email....letters...it works. They know that I am not "abandoning" them, and actually it was THEY who convinced me to move to Virginia. I wasn't going to do it, didn't want to leave them and a piece of my heart behind, but they told me that I need to be hapopy for a change. They love their new step-Dad and they know how much he loves me. They never saw that with their bio-Dad and I, unfortunately. The marriage was over for a long time already before I finally couldn't take it anymore.

Anyway.....yada yada yada...here I go on again hehe some things DON'T change hehe.

Jo...it is SO great to hear from you! Yes we MUST keep in touch for sure! And I would LOVE to see pics of your kids and YOU.

I just realized that Debbie told me that her email to me came back, so it must be cuz I haven't used hotmail in a long time. I use Yahoo most of the time, I find it more convenient, but then again maybe I'm just biased cuz I met Rick in a chatroom there lol.

You can email me at hotat40_1999@yahoo.com (NO COMMENTS! LOL)

I look forward to catching up with you, girl!

Stay Sweet!

Luv, Sharon

For Debbie

 

Hi Debbie! So it IS you! hehe

Man....that aquarium will stay with me for the rest of my life! I was so in awe of it.

Ok....I lived on Gervais street VERY briefly too. God it was all just a new develpoment then, wasn't it? I think there was even like a mini-forest across the street. Anyway, I had red curly hair and freckles (STILL do!) and I lived with my Mom and her boyfriend in a small basement flat down the street from you! Oh man....I was TEN then, that was THIRTY-FOUR YEARS AGO do you realize that? Shit....I'm feeling old now LOL.

I went to Keith School for about 6 months I think....I had almost forgotten about that! I LOVED Keith School and the new concept it had about letting the KIDS pick which subjects they wanted to take hehe. Didn't you go there too?

Do you remember me yet?

Unfortunately, I don't have any pics of me from then either...we had a fire at our house we moved to after Gervais St. and all old photos were lost :-( Do you have any pics of YOU? You were blonde weren't you?

Great to hear from ya!

Luv, Sharon

 

Postscript: It was so nice to chat with you this afternoon, Debbie! I'm still looking for that pic of me when I was younger but no luck so far I'm afraid.

For Danny B

 

Hi Danny!

Say Hi to Dodo for me! I'm sure she'll remember me. I used to be afraid of her, so I was really nice and polite! hehe

Wow....20 years? That's fantastic, Danny, not too many people these days that can say that, especially not our age anyway.

And well...it wasn't really Kevin that I hung around with, it was more Karen...and they were bro and sis...TWINS to boot, so I saw him a lot. Had a HUGE crush on him when he was younger. Karen used to get mad sometimes cuz I'd go over to their house on 4th Ave. to hang around and she'd be talking at me but I didn't hear her cuz I was swooning over Kevin! LOL

Do you remember when Kevin went thru the "Bruce Lee" stage? hehe

I'm not sure, but I think I kissed him once too...but maybe that was just a dream.  Trust me....things changed as HE changed too, if ya know what I mean.

Do you know the MacLean's and the Robert's brother's too? And how about Jean and Yvon Dumichel (sp?).

Wow....this is great to hear from you Danny, thanks for replying to me! Tell Dodo to get in on this group too!

Take care.

Luv, Sharon

For Sharon Mugford

To the moderators of this group...sorry for the following double posts that I am about to put here, but I wanted to be sure that the person's in question got my replies, ok? I'm sure that you understand.

 

Hi Sharon!!
It's great to hear from ya! We never really hung around together or knew each other well, but I can still remember your face.
And, as I said, the fact that you were one of the four Sharon's hehe.
I'm still in Virginia. Will most likely be for many years to come. My hubby would like to retire to Canada in 15 years tho so we might just end up back there. Probably not Montreal tho, as Rick doesn't speak any French of course. Probably end up somewhere in Ontario.
I am now a true cowgirl! hehe I live on a cattle farm in the Shenandoah Valley with the Blue Ridge Mountains all around me. It's so beautiful. Quite the difference from the hustle and bustle of Montreal LOL! Who'd have ever thought that I'd end up here huh?
Certainly not I. But love makes you do many things that you never thought you would.

One of my friends is forever teasing me by singing that old theme song from the old "Green Acres" TV show hehe.

The pic I posted here is kinda dark I realized...lol...sorry about that. But before I could fix it or add a better one yesterday, we had a storm that downed a power line so we lost power till this AM and I couldn't fix the pic. But I will do that soon and add some more too.

Thanks for replying to me! I LOVE getting in touch with people from my past! This IS a wonderful thing the Internet, isn't it? I actually met my hubby on the Net too! hehe

Love, Sharon

P.S. In case you didn't see my previous post, Sharon...I asked you if you used to hang around with Lesley Stuart?

OOOOPS!

I just realized that when I started my intial hello here that I didn't start a "new discussion" and instead it was answered as a reply to an old post..so it might get lost in the shuffle.

I really did reply to all of you who answered me, it's just under the "Looking For: Hello "message strain. If you can't find my replies to you please let me know and I'll find them and re-post them ok?

Let me know!

Luv, Sharon

Pics

Rather than fill up the photo section with pics, at the risk of sounding vain hehe I will just put up a recent one that was taken at our wedding on August 8th and also put a link to my Yahoo Photo Album where you can see more, ok? The link is in the "Links" section here on the left (Duh! LOL)

Luv, Sharon

Green apples

Does anybody else remember the sour green apples that grew on a lot of trees in the back yards of the cottages on the avenues between bannantyne and champlain. It was a pass time of myself and a few friends to raid them at lunch hour from school.There was a few trees in the lane between Willibrord and Rielle behind Willibrord school in the AllyO laneway I'm sure that many of you remember that lane I think it was the only one in Verdun with a given name. It had a wild little hill that you could make your bike airborn if you went fast enough.Nearly got my butt kicked good a few times just for getting a apple,Verdun Style.  Dannyb--

Hot summer nights

Hi everybody,  How many of you people that left Verdun remember those hot humid nights that there was not even enough of a breeze to blow out a match, well that how hot this whole summer has been so far.When I was a kid we would build a tent on our galleries and pray that it would rain during the night.I guess a lot of you did the same thing.You could joke with your buddies across the lane or street all night or until your parents would yell to shut up.Any other ways to beat those hot nights that you remember.  Dannyb--