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.
2,601 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 2001 – 2200 of 2601 Newer› Newest»Hi Mom'45 ,.....you weren't ancient ,you were probably one of those good looking young gals ,just starting out on her career path,......the ones we could imagine meeting in the Wagon Wheel a few years later...........hahahahaha How my Doing?.................hahahahha Have Fun & Remember Verdun
Thanks, Les_F, I'm taking that as a compliment.... But you know you're really old when you start conversations with....."When I was your age..." or like a little girl said to me the other day when I was out shopping and she asked me to help her unfasten something and I couldn't...she said....."it's okay lady, I'll just go ask my dad, he's only 38 years old". I felt like asking how old she thought I was, but then I asked myself if I was ready for the answer.... Cheers
Political? What the hell is political about anyone respecting their national anthem? Political is telling someone, anyone that for any reason they can't sing their national anthem. Weapons of mass destruction that aren't there, now that's a political discussion. I think Canadians are just as patriotic as anyone, but we're not brainwashed into blind patrism. On Canada Day, Canadians celebrate our national day, across the country, and during the rest of the year we are burning proud, but just keep it to ourselves. If anyone questioned our patrism, at any time I think they would be in serious trouble. good for you Ed, for playing O Canada! I'm proud of you for doing that. Thanks, Mike
Hi Linda, I remember that at Rushbrooke School we said the "Lord's Prayer' and sang "God Save the King" and at Verdun High we sang both 'God Save the King' and 'O Canada!' There was a flag in every classroom. We were taught to respect the FLAG and praise God! We were also taught to respect our elders (and teachers) and did or got strapped across the hands to awaken our senses! (It worked for me!) I sincerely wish those teachers were alive today so that I could thank them for all their dedication, sacrifices, patience with so many dumbo's, teaching and for steering me in the right direction. All on the lowest of wages! Bless 'em all! Victah
JMH ,Frescoe MMPU,......and those Bus /Trams etc etc,.......have a look at this odd looking bus apparently built by GM ( $$$ for big doe$$$) This is one of 12 built by GM, a self-contained display and transport vehicle created by the GM design staff under Harley Earl's direction. Opening side, lighting, retractable stage, distinctive center "cupola" cockpit driving position and dual wheel front axle. Used in the "Parade of Progress" touring exhibit created by "Boss" Kettering that complemented the GM "Motoramas" from 1940 through 1956. One of only three survivors restored in their original "Parade of Progress" configuration (the others are in long term ownership by NATMUS and Peter Pan Bus Lines), this Futurliner is fully functional and has toured Canada in corporate promotions. Recently returned to its original "Parade of Progress" configuration and colors. Powered by a 400ci GM truck engine and fully equipped including an onboard motor-generator and updated air conditioning for the driver's compartment. A matchless symbol of the American auto industry at the height of its power and influence.
This one was restored in Montreal, Quebec Canada and sold for $4.1 million us at the Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction in Jan, 2006.
Submitted by Andre P.
hf&rv
Ed You ask where do you ever hear O Canada today? Well you hear it loud and clear here in Edmonton. I had mentioned I was at a bar watching the Oilers 6th game and when Loriau raised his microphone to the crowd in the arena, everyone sang and none more proudly then Moss (the oilers' man in the dressing room). He has Downs Syndrome and he became a symbol of our patriotism. He stood there so tall and proud and sang sang sang like no one else could. And we in the bar all stood up tall and strong and sang O Canada with the spectators in the arena. I felt a tingle down my spine. It would never happen anywhere else in Canada, especially Quebec. My family immigrated from Germany here after the war, and it was a proud day for us when we received our citizenship papers in 1964. The day my mother turned 60 and received her first CPP cheque was the day she knelt down on the kitchen floor and proclaimed Canada to be a great country. Here in Edmonton, cars and homes flew the Maple Leaf. For my family, it is the day 13 years ago that we arrived in Edmonton from Montreal. At midnight, we stood on our hotel balcony and watched the fireworks. I felt like an immigrant again in a way because I felt like I had left 'another' country ----Quebec. Those punks at that national war memorial were just punks, overloaded on booze and youth. I understand one had drank 26 oz of vodka and 12 beers...a wonder he was still alive. The guy is an engineering student, so not someone who is intellectually deficit and would intentionally want to desecrate the memorial. He really had to pee and he was so brain dead after all that booze, he didn't remember anything until he saw his photo in the paper the next day. I saw him on the news and his apology was quite sincere. Let us learn to forgive the world's foolishness. Life is much too short and getting shorter as we get older. Not to make excuses, 'cause I'm not, but what crazy things did you do in your youth without thinking? Dolly
Hi Sabby ,...there were plenty of Canadian Flags here in Victoria,......during those same hockey games as well as on Canada Day,......I filmed a group here in Victoria ,several years back ,.when the Canada Day celebrations were on,..we were having a BBQ,...and the whole mountain side behind began to fill with people ,who had come to view the fireworks (when it was held at Clover Point),.........and as the final fireworks stated to go off,.the whole crowd,began to sing Oh Canada,......completely un solicited,.......it was quite a sight to see & hear,.....I 'm glad you reminded me of it,.as I will make a point of digging out that old video,and watching again.....as for Patriotism it is Alive & Well ,...and every event,across the country still pretty much sings or plays the Anthem,...... Even in LaBelle Province,....albeit you may 'hear' more detractors there,but nevertheless 'most ' people appreciate this country,including most Quebec'ers, It has always been only a handfull of clowns ,who pushed their ideas on the majority of the populus,...We all grew up there,and enjoyed the friendship of many different Nationatilites,......but the common denominator is We are Canadian's ........and it would seem ,.that We are also Proud of it: .......but I have to agree about the crowd in the arena ,they sang both Anthems,.which amazed me,.......but they sure poured their Hearts into the Canadian Anthem & that was fantastic to see...............Wanna Hear the Anthem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meLpuF9UMvk&search=O#Canada as sang by the Fans in Edmonton HF&RV
I'll bet the arty's on for all the Sports Bars across Canada,....especially in Montreal & toronto,....with their large Italian populations,..........the flags are waving & the horns are going,.... Italy beats France...........in World Cup Soccer Congrats to Italy........................ Have Fun & Remember Verdun
You're right Les. I just never remember people standing up to sing O Canada in the bars. And still, the question of why sports drum up such unbelievable enthusiasm while the arts.....won't go there again as we had already covered that topic. Dolly
Hi Les, Thanks for the Rexall site. And yes, it brought back my tingling spine. So proud --- we just seemed so united. Did you see Moss in the background there? Not sure of his first name, but he is so supportive of the Oilers and his singing of the anthem so fiercely was so unbelievable and touched everyone.. And yes, Little Italy is just wild here. You have the flags on the cars too and honking horns but not like during the playoffs. Can't believe I'm into sports now. Me the artsy one but I'm even reading the sports section to see who got traded. Pisani is staying. Yeah! Italy rules here lately! Rumour here is that Pronger got a CTV reporter pregnant and the wife wanted out. Just a rumour...but what other personal reason could it be that the wife wanted to leave our fair city? Mmmmmm. Sports could be interesting. Verrrrrry intereeeesting!!! Dolly
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Hi Sabby, I'm in Florida and we did get to see the last 4 games of the series. The American commentators did quite a talk about Moss from the Oilers. I was glad to find out who he was because during the opening cerimonies he was singing the anthem and the cameras stayed on him for quite a while. He is obviosly a very proud and enthusiastic Canadian. The Ameican commentators remarked that he is the Oiler's biggest fan and in charge of the locker room and equipment and takes his job very seriously. It was nice to see that they gave this young man the credit he deserved. I was disappointed to see that he did not make the trip to Raleigh. I guess he only does the home games. Ruth
Now if only we could get our political leaders around the world to stop and give each other a group hug. You can tell I'm a product of the sixties, aye! Dolly
Love the Front Page MaggieMck,.............I took that exit many times,.......even stopped very close to the bottom of it ,and went into DannyB's favourite Oasis (at least I think that;s the same exit,......it's been a long time,.) Did you take the shot or your Bro' , ?I ask that because of the Bikes surrounding the photographer,.............Very Nice Shot ,........Simple & Cool,.......says it all: Have Fun and Remember Verdun vroomvroom hahahahahah
Actually Les, 'twas I who took the shot and put it on the home page. Glad you like it, I do too.
That's great Sharon ,....Thanks for the picture,........the 'round building ' in one of your photo's is part of the university,...... the McIntyre Building, the statue looks like it may be in the park across from the old Forum at Atwater,Closse,StCatherine your other picture of Montreal skyline with Rick in it,...is a completely different view of Montreal,and a really good shot (my thoughts anyway) and the one you took lookung towards Atwater from Peel &StCatherine, must have been directly outside of HMV music store,....if you had of looked up diagonally across the street Peel & StCatherine NW corner,......you would almost see the webcam staring down at you from atop the building (whose name escapes me right now) ( but checkout ) http://www.montrealcam.com/en-visitation.html this view looks down StCatherine towards the east, Looks like you had a ball, How was the little town you stayed in ,....did you like it? Did you go fishing etc etc................ have fun and remember verdun
theMcIntyre building (literally, 'building') roughly 1964........................................ Have Fun & Remember Verdun Nice to see a university,actually doing something 'constructive' for a change.........hahahaha
If you're saying that "round building in the background" is the McIntyre Building then you're right, Les. Ages ago...one of my very first jobs I believe...was at the McIntyre Animal Sciences Building. Oi...some of the things I saw there would kncok you for a loop let me tell ya.... Darn MSN is confuzzling me again...lol..putting replies in the wrong section as it often does!
Re: Jim Adams Jim passed away Monday night July 10th around 10 p.m... As Junior said earlier, he was one of the good guys. Jims dad was trainer to the Mcgill Redmen and the Montreal Allouettes when we were kids. We could always count on Jim for a used football each fall and the occasional ticket to an Als game. Jim attended Verdun High in the 50's and went on to become chief of the Westmount Fire Department. Jim and his wife Liz were totally involved in swimming in Ville Lasalle for many years. He was a good Verdun boy
Wayne sorry to hear about your old friend Jim,.....perhaps if speaking to the family ,.give them our sympathy's from Verdun Connections ,...... if you like you could post this message in the 'in memoriam' section of this site, or I beleive we also have a 'members passed' section too...... Have a look and see if you would like to post it there,.or if you prefer we can do it for you.......... ...................................................................................................................hf&rv
Just to clarify..... "In Memoriam" is a LIST where you can post information about Verdunites (or those with connections) that have passed. The list can be sorted by viewers into the different headings, last name, first name, dates etc. It is basically an information page. "Members passed" is a message thread where the topic is obvious. A question to VC members.......Do you think this list of deceased persons is of any value? What are your thoughts about it?
Maggie, the list "In Memorium" is very important and I think should stay. "Members Passed" on the other hand is good for a message to be posted and left for about one week only. Just my opinion. Ralph, mpu.
The Big Dig ,(Boston) is now comng under scrutiny,...and for one unfortunate woman it's the end of the road: BOSTON (Reuters) - Plagued by charges of corruption, Boston's $14.6-billion "Big Dig" claimed its first fatality after tons of concrete fell from a tunnel ceiling and crushed a car, prompting severe criticism over safety standards at America's biggest public works project. Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney began legal action to oust the head of the agency overseeing the project after steel rods that secure 40-ft (12-meter) cement panels gave way late on Monday, causing several panels to cascade from the ceiling. Milena Del Valle, 38, was killed instantly after a three-tonne chunk of cement flattened the car she was traveling in to Boston's Logan International Airport. Her 46-year-old husband Angel managed to crawl through a window. ...............I always thought this was a project that was considered to be an engeneering marvel ( and I suppose it is),......but I had never heard these other allegations of poor building,...& corruption,..............(Well not since the ,Big "O"we,.........project in Montreal in 1976............) too bad it get's this rep ,....before it has had a chance to showcase it's dividends.......... Either way regardless of suspected wrongdoing,....this is not a memorable moment for the affected family,.................... Haven't seen pics of the cave in ,........but I imagine they will have all available resoursces to 'fix' the problem: .....................................................................................................................hf&rv
Sorry , I meant to add the link to read the whole story as reported by the 'Reuters News Group'............ http://ca.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-07-12T004535Z_01_N11217639_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-CRASH-BOSTON-BIGDIG-COL.XML .....................................................................................................................HF&RV
Re: Jimmy Adams Les, thanks for the offer to move The notice to the 'in Memorium' section. It would be great if you could do that. For those who may be interested, Jims obit is in the Montreal Gazette and is available on their website. I believe viewing is in Verdun tomorrow. The service will be in Cornwall on Friday Thanks for your concern
No Problem Wayne,....I did it this morning actually,.....the whole obit from the Gazette is in there as well,.plus a link to the On-Line Guestbook from the Gazette Extend our thoughts to the family ,if you will,.
Hi Wayne aside from being in the 'in Memoriam ' section here,where it will be for anyone to see anytime: Here's a direct link to the actual obit in today's Gazette http://www.legacy.com/can-montreal/Obituaries.asp?Page=Lifestory&PersonId=18434344 Farewell to another proud Verdun (er ,ite),........ hf&rv
Re: Jimmy Adams Thanks Les Thats great
Has anyone noticed lately...............August is just around the corner.........YIKES..............hahahahahha The long weekend in August is coming up quick,.......................then (shhhhhh) Labour Day not that far away,..... better keep those BBQ's a going ,....and enjoy these days when we can,....Looks like it's decent weather across the country,............so have some fun: & RVerdun
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Bastille Day........
Hi Sandy & Happy Di Do you think this scene is being played out all over France today? "One more of these,then back to work" hahahahaha Have Fun & Remember Verdun
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Les: I believe it! We were in France in 1991 and happened to be in Paris for the Bastille Day Celebrations, wow, do they ever celebrate, it was quite a show with the military parade etc. The hotel where we were staying told us to be very careful because the kids and older people as well would light firecrackers and throw them at you. We saw this actually happen, a car was stopped at a red light and a gang of kids threw firecarckers into the back of the car and we saw some teens throw them at each other. Nothing happened to us though. It was quite a day! The Gendarmes seemed to ignore the whole thing with the fireworks and the drinking on the streets. We didn't see anything get too out of hand. My daughter who was 16 at the time was mesmerized by the whole thing. Exciting holiday. Dianne
Remember in the hot weather, a good escape was always to head up to Beaver Lake,.........that's the Beauty of Mount Royal's Beaver Lake ,it was fantastic in any Season,........ Oh yea Remember also when people sailed those little boats on the lake,....years ago that would have been an expensive hobby,.....but a few hobbyiest's (whatever that means,,,.......hahahaha) used to sail boats around Beaver Lake,.........I don't Remember whany of us would have ventured into the Chalet at the Lake in the summer,......but Winter's would have brought us in seeking Warmth,..& maybe a Hot Chocolate............Summertime was meant for outside,and what a Fantastic Park it was,.......I think we all appreciated it,even though we were younger,...........but now many years later We can all easily recall fun times had here in any Season (What Say You??) ..............is that a duck sailing by,...........or one of those new modernized remote controlled boats?? Seems to be creating a decent wake. Have Fun and Remember Verdun
Anyone also notice the daylight is getting a little less each day,........Seems like Summer just started ,but we are cruising through Summer ........................Hope your all taking the time to enjoy the things you have & especially the time you have : ...................................................Have Fun & Remember Verdun we're 3weeks in & counting:...............hahahahhaaa
Les: Great picture of Beaver Lake, like the Fall colours but pleeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaase don't rush summer!!!!!!!!! We waited so long for summer to arrive and it goes by so fast. Here in Nova Scotia we've been having a very wet summer and I mean the weather has been wet, so don't get any of your funny ideas going ....hehehe.....what I wouldn't give for a glass of wine right now......well not at this hour of the morning......now I'm going to sound like I'm fealing sorry for myself but last Monday I was diagnosed with shingles and I am not a happy camper but pain killers sure do their job and in the morning is my most clear-headed time as the pills make me really , well not sure how to describe the feeling, I guess one would say I'm stoned for most of the day and night. So here I am feeling stoned or drunk and not having any of the fun...oh well, Mom said there would be days like this....blaw...phooey!!! Pissed off Di in Beaver Bank
I seem to remember an artificial lake in LaFontaine park where one could rent rowboats or canoes. We used to take the electric bus on Amherst street from St.Catherine. Ed
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Dianne, Oooouuuucchh......I bet that really hurts. Cheers.
Linda....Thanks for the get well message...and yes it hurts, but pain killers are marvelous...hehe...Love the graphics. Sandy....thanks for your good wishes too!!......I wonder too if they are more strick in Paris now too. I remember when we were there everybody seemed to be drinking alcohol (wine and beer) openly on the streets and in the parks. No one seemed to notice, except us, tourists. Over here we'd be in big trouble if caught. Dianne
I remember the lake at LaFontaine Parc. Went there quite often with my boyfriend and we'd rent a row boat, have a picnic, was lots of fun...beautiful park. Dianne
Hi Happy Di ,....doesn't shingles make you itchy? ,.....and I've heard that 'stress' is part of the cause,......also that if you had chicken pox as a kid,..that you may get shingles?.......I don't know ,something like that anyway,.........hope you feel better quick,& I didn't realize that you guys weren't getting the best whether,...I had thought most of the country finally had summer arrive,.......Maybe you'll have a late start,and then have great weather all the way into fall: ..............................................................................................................HF&RV
I can Remember going to Lafontaine Park as well ,when I was a kid it was like a big adventure to take the bus ride ,and visit the park,........I had an Aunt who worked for the City of Montreal,..and spent 25 or 30 years working in Lafontaine Park,for the city's comfort stations,....... The Park was originally called Logan Park: (but somewhere along the line it changed names??) http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/montreal_1894.jpg but nevertheless it was a beautifull Park want to read more about LaFontaine Park: http://www.montreal.com/parks/lafontaine.html havefunandRemember Verdun
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slopes of King George VI Park, which most locals still call "Murray Hill". ... Hi Sandy ,......the above excerpt came from the Leonarcohen files site,...and apparently he lived very near the Murray Hill Park ,.you mentioned,...and the real name of the park was KingGeorge VI ,......but as it says above your quite right everyone knew it as Murray Hill Park,.......on the slopes of Westmount,............. I never knew that,........so again I've learned a new thing today,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Merci Sandy,.................HF&RV http://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/montreal.html ..............................................................................................................................
"Growing up in the 50's & 60's" Seems that alot of our lives were very much the same,....... clotheslines and clothesline poles.. I remember when every home had clotheslines and clothesline poles. The biggest effect they had on my growing up our first TV set.. I can still remember the day of delivery of our first TV set. It was sunny and I was in the third grade. It would have been about 1952. Wool baseball uniforms.. Enough said. And, yes, they itched. And yes, they were hot one bathroom homes.. Most homes in our neighborhood had one bathroom.. and we had five kids and two adults. I don't remember how we did it. the Kennedy assasination (1963).. Milkmen Delivered Milk.. in Real Glass Bottles.. You had a certain schedule with the milkman, and you left your "empties" on the porch for him to pick up. I Remember When.. Part of genealogy is nostalgia, so here "I remember when..." the 1950's and 60's Want to read the whole deal: http://members.aol.com/jacob59/more/otherstuff/rmrwhn.html I came across this website earlier,.and thought some of you might enjoy it: it's good to 'think back' & Remember those days gone by Have Fun & Remember Verdun
Her3e's a site that deals with a lot of the Big Discount Stores of the 60's,.....I always Remember going to the Burlington Factory Outlet in Vermont,.....and it was huge and had everything you could think of,.........and then you got to 'smuggle it back across the Border'.............hahahahahaha I suppose we'd be terrorist suspects these days..........hahahahaha http://www.wtv-zone.com/dpjohnson/60sdiscountstores/index.html Check out all the stuff on this site it's neat,....there's mention of Miracle Mart stores,...and a claim of one of the Dairy Queens being the oldest one around these days,....but I wonder if we still have a few old Dairy Queens around this country ,that are dfeintely old,..........and only Opened in the Summer Months,......Remember Dickie Moore's DQ on the 2/20,..in Lachine was it or Dorval??? Anyway the old stores were large for their day ,and would certainly seem to rival the 'Big Box Stores' of today,...they even had some you had to be a member of, Guess it's true what they say,....there's nothing new under the sun................ Have Fun & Remember Verdun
Hi Winston ,...I thought the one bathroom was funny too,...we had 6 kids plus the parents ,.and as you pointed out ,there always seemed to be a guest lurking about as well..............hahahahahah I Remember a neighbour we had on 2nd av I think it was,.named Bob Rheaume (not sure of the sp?) but they had a whack of kids ,like 10 or more,.....now that 's a line up,.........not just for the bathroom,..but an actuall line up for a whole baseball team,.hahahahahaha Maggie Mcks's family had similar waits ,......didn't ya Maggie? but it wasd all fun growing up there) at least that 's how I choose to Remember it now.............hahahaha ......................................................................................................................hf&rv
Yes, a trip to Boston always included many shopping stops, the most memorable for me being the "Winooski Factory Outlet" not far from Burlington. Or many times we would come home via "The Mohawk Trail" where there would be an endless string of souvenir shops including one with a brear sitting on the top of a pole on a small platform, kind of cruel if you think of it. m.p.u.
Here you go MPU,....a visit to your youth: http://www.muddyriverpress.com/mohawktrail.html (There's several sites re: the Mohawk Trail..............tried to find a picture of that bear on top of a pole for you,......but this is the best I could do so far (on short notice...........hahahaha) ..it reminds me of family trips through these areas as well,...............must be nostalgia day for me or something.............hahahahahaha Thanks for the memory prompt,...HF&RV
My sister who lives in Beaconsfield still goes down to the States to shop. Here's a funny story she recently told me: During the last few months of my mom's life, she wasn't doing too well and was hooked up to the oxygen 24/7. Needless to say, she didn't get out too often, and my sister took her down to the States a couple of times. But....my sister said my mom made her promise that if she passed on (read died) while down there....that my sister would just prop her up in the front seat and just tell the border agent that she was sleeping. Well, does anyone remember the National Lampoon movie where they their dead grandma in her chair on top of the car? Sound familiar? I was peeing my pants when my sister told me this story . BTW ~ no my mom didn't die on that trip and I'm sure she's upstairs laughing and embarrassed at my telling this story. Cheers.
Hi Mom'45 ,......funny story,.....and I'd say your Mom45+,.....is upstairs laughing but not embarassed,....but if your really P'ing your pants right now,.....she may be embarrased for you...............hahahahahah Reminds me of the movie 'weekend at Bernie's',.....same typ of idea, .............................hahahahahaha Have fun & Remember Verdun
Les and Linda: I can top your story.....my husband worked for Air Canada for 36 years and he thought he had seen it all until one day a group of people were checking in at the airport and one person in the group was in a wheel chair. My husband said the lady travelling with you doesn't look too well, is she fit to travel and they said that she was fine, but having a rest. Well, my husband was suspicious and good thing because as it turned out the lady had died en route to the airport but they thought they could get away with getting her onto the plain. they were going to Ottawa. And that is a true story. Dianne
Hi HappyDi did your husband work for AC out at the Dorval facilties or Downtown at the PVM building? I used to go for lunch Downtown at the Astor Restaurant,........for lunch ,while visiting a sister who worked for AC in the late 60's early 70's...........then she moved to toronto....I know AC had a pile of employees but you never know,.. HF&RV
I went out to find a Friend but Could not Find one there, I went out ,to Be a Friend, & Friends were Everywhere Have Fun & Remember Verdun
Thanks Les, sometimes a trip home from Boston could take ten hours, on the small highways, there were so many places to stop & shop, or just nose around. Another place I loved was Bellows Falls, no shortage of trains there, even steam ones......mpu
MPU ,.......now I'm thinking of all the great spots ,that were available to us ,to camp or picnic,..or just explore,...all the winding little rivers,& waterfalls,.....and the rivers seemed shallow,.....and lots of rocks to try & walk across,...every little town in the NE States,....Vermont ,NY,Maine, NH,....blah blah blah ,......had great little stores to shop in and almost all were (not surprisingly) built beside a river,...and usually had a waterwheel,.....to generae power,....etc etc,.........as a kid I went to many of these countryside places,......it was always a fun adventure,to visit all these places,........Have a look at this website of Bellows Falls,.......and some of the pictures will bring you back immediately ,.....at least it sparked my memory, Again Thanks for the memory prompt,........ http://www.bellowsfalls.org/ not to rush the summer ,but driving through Vermont ,or any of the above mentioned States,in the Fall was really as beautiful as the Laurentians for rolling hills and trees turning colours...............Remember also Ausable Chasm ? NY http://www.ausablechasm.com/ the whole Eastern Seabord was interesting,....perhaps my memory wants to Remember them 'larger than life' but I did like the area,.............................................................. have fun & remember verdun
Hi Les: Paul began his career in 1965 at the Res Office on Ste.Catherine Street and then spent a couple of years at the air port in Customer Sales. While at the Res Office during Expo he spent the summer at the Air Canada Ticket office in the Laurentian Hotel, I believe that is where it was at that time. He has so many stories, he should write a book. Remember the movie Airport with Dean Martin, as well as all those airport spoof movies? Well, they were,'t so far fetched....we still laugh over some of the things people have tried to get away with over the years. Dianne
Les, yes it was always a great trip, of course with my interest of trains Bellows Falls always had a special attraction to it... http://www.rails-vt.com/index.html , I wish my Dad had kept more pictures, I am sure that there were a lot taken...he also had a lot of 8mm movies, but I never found them either. Rutland Vermont also is a familiar name but no more than that. It is true about Vermonts' fall colours being fantastic. m.p.u.
Couldn't agree more MPU,....I advocate to everyone regardless of where we live ,.to take as many pictures as possible ,about everything,.....someday they will be very much appreciated by the folks who come after us,.......Teresa & I just got back from my brothers place,where we sat beside the pool & had a few wobbly pops,....and looked at just one box full of old pictures,,,,,,it was a blast,...Found a lot of neat old items ,...and got to Remember a bunch of places I had been ,.but had forgotten about......... I too (now that you mention it) have many old 8mm & Super8mm films hanging around,.......just came across my Dad's old Super8 Projector the other day still in a box jammed away in the basement................hahahahahah I will see what treasures I can recover from these old pics,..............................Memory's are a cool thing, Hope our kids get the same bug & capture many of their future memories on film: They will appreciate it later on,.......... I still think that many of VerdunConnections Members have pictures hanging around somewhere that we would all like to see,.....So I will appeal once again to everyone to ,check out those old 'shoebox's' full of old pics,.and share them ,if you would ,with all of us,.......and also mention this site to as many old Verdun (ites- er's) to join us in trying to Remember Verdun as they saw it................... Have fun & Remember Verdun
I have pictures, but I'm not sure how to mount them. Ed
If you like Ed, you could always email them to me and I could post them here for you. My email addy is hotat40_1999@yahoo.com
We were fortunate in that our "bathroom" and "toilet room" were across the hall from each other. Although there was still usually a wait for the "throne", with 11 (2 adults and 9 kids) in the house and often some extras. I could probably come up with a few stories but my siblings might X-communicate me if I tell!
LOL! I know toooooooooooooo heh heh heh. Ok, how much do I get if I keep my mouth shut?
Good site MPU,......some good pictures,and probably a neat thing to do,.( the railtour),...........the whole area is quite scenic: HF&RV
Hi MaggieMck ,.Sharon,...et al,..........aside from the one bathroom,,,,,,,,there was usually no shower in those older homes,.....until you rigged up one with one of those old hoses that fit over the tap,........and had a shower head on the other end,....that would attach to the wall................hahahaha ,...I can Remember that one of the selling features ,of moving to LaSalle was that we would have a 'real shower' and also a shared driveway............hahahahah Funny how we made do ,with what we had,.......and never felt deprived..........and how about having dinner/supper,...or any meal for that matter with everyone jammed around the kitchen table,and you passed everything to everyone.........(and don't forget the obligatory complaint ,to the parents that your sibling was kicking you under the table)...................hahahahahah Have Fun & Remember Verdun
Sharon, OK, OK, I'll leave the "spire" alone!
Deal.
You're absolutely right Les - I never lived in a house with a "proper" shower until I got my first place of my own.
Did anyone else have trouble signing on to the msn network ,tonight?,....It seemd to be non-responsive for a while,....not just the VC site but quite a few msn sites,.....Just wondered if anyone else ran into this same log-on problem? Seems Ok now obviously,........oh well , ............................................................................................................................hf&rv
Yes Les, I had MSN troubles today as well!
Hi Ed Brown (edbro),.........I did post a "Computer Lingo" abbreviations /or slang quite sometime ago,....So here is a link, Have a look ,and enjoy......... http://www.mopo.ca/web-jargon-slang.html I don't know if this is the exact same link as ,has been posted before,However it will cover most of the abbreviations,................Good luck ...............................................................................HF&RV
There's two good pictures on the Point St Charles site: the first one is the wharf to the dock ,near the Natatorium the 2nd is a good wide angle view of the Natatorium's Pool nice and clear & good colour,.......have a look if you like: http://www.homestead.com/indexgwm/newlanding.html Have Fun & Remember Verdun
We have mentioned this before,.....but I was just thinking of those old adaptors for the old B&W TV sets,......to make them into color...............hahahahahah Remember it was a piece of plastic (tri color).////that would fit in front of your screen,.and it was supposed to make your TV look like it was a color one. I Remember seeing them in the stores,.but don't Recall having one,........Anyone out there Rememeber it,.....or Remember what the contraption was called,.? Imagine the kids have 'colour Tv's & camera's built into their cell phones nowadays...............hahahahahahaha (or is that lol)................. Have Fun & Remember V E R D U N (where we deal on the square)
Hey Verdun Connections, I was just in Verdun/Crawford Park....oh it was great to see the old hometown! We met at the park....Queen Elizibeth that is, then convoyed arround the Park to see our old homes....then onto Woodland Pizza! Oh and living here in BC it was wonderful ordering an "all dressed pizza"......trust me on this one....ask anyone out here! It was great to see the old "homestead" unfortunately I didn't get as much time as I wanted......will have to visit again I guess? Chris
chickentaco2000,.............it's Great to Hear from you again (thought you were mad at me????) ,.........Hope you took alot of pictures ,and want to share here on the VC site,.............What prompted your visit to Verdun/Montreal,........and what were your best memories.??? Have Fun & Remember Verdun
Hi Linda, loved the story about your sister shopping in the states. Actress Veronica Lake was broke and tending bar in New York City in 1961. The Editor of The Police Gazette Nat Perlow brought Veronica to Montreal and got her a second floor apartment on Queen Mary Road near St Joseph's Oratory. Veronica passed away in Montreal on July 8, 1973. Her wish was to die in The United States. Jim Schneider who worked for Nat Perlow pulled up to the Queen Mary Apartment in his 1970 Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser. Nat carried Veronica's body to the waiting car and all three people left for The USA. At the border Perlow told the customs agent that Veronica was sleeping. Veronica's body was delivered to Montpelier, Vermont. This story can be found at: www.montrealmirror.com/ARCHIVES/2001/051701/news7.html .
Hi Fresco that is a funny story,....that Montreal Mirror does come up with some obscure stuff,.....many story's of Montreal,and it's history (sometimes shady),.......... I had never heard of this paper until i found it on the net a few years ago,....Kristian Gravenor is one of the writers,and it he ,that we tried to contact about the 'missing 3d cows' at the old Elmhurst Dairy,........he did mention them once in an article,but couldn't come up with a lead to getting any pics,......(I think MaggieMck also e-mailed him for some info)..........in anycase,thanks for posting that Veronica Lake article................. hf&rv
Les, From Ed. I thank you for the list of abbreviations. I have brought it down to two pages by changing the font; dividing the page and removing spaces. I will now print it out and mount it beside the computer. I will then check old postings to see if someone was trying to tell me something important that I was too thick to get like STHU (shut the hell up) I hope I am not expected to memorize it because these days I have trouble remembering that my name is
Hi Les, I came across the Veronica Lake story a couple of years ago. I was recalling the days of reading Midnight when it was a local Montreal newspaper. I loved reading Midnight but I would have to keep it hidden otherwise my Grandmother would really get on my case. I remember finding an article on Joe Azaria who founded Midnight Newspaper in 1954 after The Montreal Gazette wouldn't hire him. Azaria started Midnight with $14 and a $1,000 line of credit. He sold it in 1969 and Midnight became The Globe which is still going. While surfing for Midnight stuff I came across The Veronica Lake article that was actually printed in Midnight. Today when I read Linda's letter I tried to find The Veronica Midnight article again. I could not but fortunately I came across the same story in The Montreal Mirror.
Hi Fresco I Remember Midnight,......it always had a wild outrageous headline,.. Alien Eats Cow & Moves to Brooklyn...........or something..........hahahahaha I did some searching a few yearsback as well,..for 'Allo Police' which always had gorey pcs from accidents or shootings around Montreal,.....i was actually looking for the picture of Guy Lafleur (asleep at the wheel,I suspect after using a few Molson as a sleep enhancer),......but they had a picture that had to be taken while on the hood of his Cadillac ,with him still in the drivers seat,and a fence pole (one of those frost fence galvanized steel poles) sticking through the windshield and clipped part of his ear ( a very luck fellow),.........anyway that pic appeared on the Front Page,....etc etc but in looking for old Montreal area papers i came across some 'True Crime' mags that were also big in the 50's,......perhaps one of those may have carried the same Veronica Lake story,..........as for Midnight,..I can't Remember if I ever did find any of those old copies,..but I know I did look for some..............strange the old stuff we Remember..............hahahahaha ..as for the "Allo Police" I did find a website,.that shows a lot of car accidents,......but not like the old Tabloid Style Paper,........which also had a Front page picture of Richard Blass filled full of holes laying on his back half in a closet,........and of course the Cops said he went for his gun...............hahahahah i guess he backs into closets to look for things,.......but the photographer was right there pretty quick,.........Who knows with the QPP ,if the photographer 'shot the picture first,......or the subject of the picture".............hahahahaha Blass was notorius for escaping from custody,so going for his gun was an odd thing to do,......blah blah blah..................... Maybe someones got an old Midnight Newspaper hanging around ,with a good old Headline ,they scan and post here............................. have fun & Remember Verdun
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Some more Veronica Lake: Actress
Date of birth:
14 November 1919
Brooklyn, New York, USA
Birth name:
Constance Frances Marie Ockleman
Height:
5' 2쩍"
Spouse: John S. Detlie (25 September 1940 - 2 December 1943) (divorced) 2 children
Andr챕 De Toth (13 December 1944 - 2 June 1952) (divorced) 2 children
Joseph A. McCarthy (28 August 1955 - 1959) (divorced)
Robert Carleton-Munro (June 1972 - 7 July 1973) (her death)
Date of death:
7 July 1973
Burlington, Vermont, USA. (hepatitis) here's a link to the original page: http://www.leninimports.com/veronica_lake.html Have Fun and Remember Verdun
excerpt from a MontrealMirror ,....... Quebec's Biblioth챔que Nationale has a copy of every magazine, newspaper and book published here except, of course, for the ones they don't have. Since 1968, the law orders Quebec publishers to provide the library with a copy of everything that comes off their presses, which, in turn, makes it available to the public. But gaping holes remain in the collection, such as Montreal's trailblazing Midnight tabloid during its peak years from 1954 to '68, of which, sadly, only two known copies exist. Other hunted books include Al Palmer's Montreal Confidential and something called The Aggressive Female by David Benton. The library begs owners of needed titles to consider donating them to the public. .................................looks like they may be more of a rareity than we think: hf&rv
Hey here's the guy,that Jean Drapeau should have consulted first ,before paying for the Olympics and building the Big O-(we),........... : the olympics could no more run a deficit,...than a man could have a baby" OOOOOOOpppppps: ...................................and in a Montreal Paper at that..............hahahahaha Have Fun & Remember Verdun
Veronica Lake made a few films with Allan Ladd.who also had a tragic life. I read a book on his life.The name is "Ladd, a Hollywood Tragedy" by Beverly Linet. He apparently had previously atttempted suicide and finally succeeded. He died January 19th 1964. He was 51.Here is a page from this book. Guy
joe azaria passed away in san jose costa rica a few yrs back, carolyn
Hhhhhhhmmmmmmmm: Joe Azaria history is quite interesting:" Midnight seemed risque, although it contained in reality just hints at sex and no nudity. The raciest pictures were of women in bathing suits. It was a contrast to Joe Azaria's own life. He was a feature in Montreal night life for years and when celebrities visited Montreal he was on hand to greet them. Such visitors included TV impresario Ed Sullivan and world heavyweight boxing champ Rocky Marciano. Joseph Amin Azaria was born on Oct. 9, 1929 in Baghdad into an Assyrian-Chaldean family. His father, Georges, was a merchant who exported such things as dates and carpets, and imported luxury goods, in particular whisky. In Baghdad, young Joe attended a Jesuit school. Georges Azaria was prosperous as a financial advisor to Iraq's King Faisal, but he saw no future for minorities in the country so he left for Lebanon and then Canada, his second choice after the United States. The family settled in Montreal in 1949 when Joe was 19. Wonder what happened to the State of Islam............................hahahahha quoted from above: he left for Lebanon,...then Canada his 2nd choice after the USA,....the family settled in Montreal in 1949............Oh did I mention that he was born in Baghdad,. funny how he did well enough to sell,....& then retire to Costa Rica (why he'd live inSanJose,....is odd,.as it is not that nice a place,......compared to the west coast of the country.................. ................................................................have fun and remember verdun
Other excerpts form the life of Azaria ,..are that he started the Sunday Express,...........and a few others,...........seems he is well entrenched in Montreal History: read the excerpt here: Joe Azaria was loyal to the people who helped him along the way, in particular the late Pierre Peladeau, his printer, who went on to found Quebecor Inc., the printing and media empire. Mr. Azaria also helped bankroll projects such as the Sir Winston Churchill Pub, which became one of the most successful bars in Montreal. A rich man, he went on big-game safaris to Africa and bought a game farm south of Montreal where he raised pheasants, buffalo and white-tailed deer. Later, the 240-hectare estate was sold to the Peladeau family and it is used as an executive retreat. He published four other tabloid newspapers, owned the Police Gazette --famous for the recurring headline Hitler is Alive --and started a successful weekly newspaper in Montreal called the Sunday Express. But it was Midnight that made him rich and, in its heyday, famous. One of his few failures was the Daily Express, a daily version of his Sunday paper. It lasted less than a year. Ever had a beer in the Sir Winston Churchill Pub ? (Winnies as some of the locals refer to it as)..............................then thank Mr Joe Azaria Have..........................................................Fun...&.....Remember...............Verdun
Hi Les, It would be fantastic if someone located some old copies of Midnight. In the sixties I knew Bill Draper who was a freelance photographer for Allo Police. I remember being at his house in Rosemount a couple of times and seeing some of his photographs. Bill was really connected. Whatever bar in Montreal you went into with him he knew someone there. One time it was a Montreal Detective who was very interesting to listen to. I tried to locate Bill a couple of years ago and could not. I'll bet he has a goldmine of Montreal history tucked away. Bill would be a great member of the Group. He would have lots of Verdun stories. Bill Draper could tell you anything about Montreal newspapers, French papers & English. At the time I pestered him with a ton of Montreal Herald questions. Remember The Herald? It was taken over by The Montreal Star around 1955 I guess. For a year The Star's front page logo said 'The Montreal Star and Herald.' The 'and Herald' was in small print under the large letters of 'The Montreal Star'. The Montreal Herald as I remember it used to hit the news stands at about 10am and I think the last edition was 3pm. It was the mid day newspaper. Wow, that is some picture of Montreal Confidential. I do not remember that but I do remember The American Confidential with The Hollywood scandal news. I also liked Jack Kent Cooke's magazine Liberty. It was cheap, ten cents I think. It had raunchy & strange stories. Kind of an Art Bell preview. This back in the days when Jack Kent Cooke still lived in Canada. Jack also owned CKEY Radio in Toronto. Hope all is well in God's Country out West. Thanks for all the good stuff-Walter
Sandy brought up an interesting point in one of her messages about Sharon's daughter winnings. She mentioned that sometimes it seems like messages on this board, whether happy, sad, humourous, are met with stony silence. And....I have to agree with her. Often it's nice to be a lurker on these boards, especially if you don't have anything to say or add to the conversation, but for goodness sake I'm impressed that in some cases where there's nothing but pure happiness, sorrow or joy in a message that this can't be met with some sort of an appropriate response, and I have seen this happen a couple of times. Here's an : Perhaps we should ask ourselves "If I was the poster wouldn't I welcome some sort of response, even if only to know others share my happiness/grief/sorrow or whatever?" Cheers.
Geez (I use that phrase alot..........hahahaha) ,......I'm not sure how to respond to that post Mom................................ hahahahahah should I treat it with indifference,.......or should I be happy about it,......I can't seem to trust my feelings on this one ..........hahahahaha I'm going to choose happy,.that I responded at all,.....that makes me feel good,... but you probably don't care how i feel do you ??,,,,,,,,,,hahahahaha Have Fun & Remember Verdun
Les_F Do I care? Don't I care? Geez .... Yes.....No....Maybe But being the shy violet that I am I was just voicing my opinion. Guess I don't really give a damn if I'm the only one who responds to a message, but must admit that when no body at all responds I sometimes wonder if anybody even reads the boards. At any rate, when a subject is raised that elicits (or solicites) a response, I try to respond. Cheers.
Your a good girl Mom'45................................................see I care too hahahahaha HF&RV
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Mom, I wish you would read more of my messages! Sometimes I think that I am still invisible.
Les_F. Les, maybe Joe Azaria was one of the few people "who knew the way to San Jose". The poor bugger!!!! Winston
Mom. I respond to many messages, but for some reason I never see them. I send the responses all the same way, but I guess they disappear into microsoft heave. WOW, is that an oxy-moron????? Anyways. we should be thankful sometimes when there are only a few responses. What do you think?????? NAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!! Also, I am SUPPOSE to get instant messages, and a lot of times I never get them. I have to go to the "What's happened on VC this week. Then go thru all the messages from start to finish. Winston Allison
Yes Winston ,that could have been his plight ,...............hahahahahhaa (what's light mean anyway------destiny???)...........hahahaha It's scorching hot right here, rigfht now ,.....and that's one thing about SanJose Costa Rica,......it was alway slightly cooler,.than on either coast,........I preferred the west coast ,....Manuel AntoniaPark area & ,....Quepos,.......etc etc ..............I imagine it's hotter for you .........and the weekend calls for hotter weather,...... but my favourite spot was Jaco Beach,..........lots of fun till the touristas started arriving ...............hahahahha HF&RV
I would have to agree with mom , and I am often guilty of reading and not responding , it seems only fair to reply if someone makes the effort to post, I have also posted and had no replies, makes one wonder if anyone is reading, however, I still manage to visit at least a couple of times a week, It sure looks warmer out west than here Les, I was looking at the weather map of U S A today , and wow , the States are burning, its warm everywhere , hope its not a sign of things to come, Jimmy
Good morning everyone! Greetings from Nova Scotia! We just had a tropical storm pass by yesterday....another rainy day! Looks like the weekend will be wet again.....anyway I am digressing from the topic.......I read all the posts everyday......and yes, I do not respond to them on a regular basis......but I really enjoy all of them.....I will try to do better...honestly I will....but sometimes we get too busy...oops an excuse!!! Well, there must be 100 or more posts everyday if you combine all the topics, threads etc., so to reply to all of them would be a little difficult, don't you think? I have noticed more people reply when something controversial is being discussed, or when a question is posted, such as MPU's Pets thread or awhile back "What's the weather " thread etc....but it is usually the same people replying. So, I don't have any answer to the question......Dianne
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Hi Sandy: Three years ago we had Hurricane Juan and that was really scary, and the damage was terrible. Luckily the trees that came down in our yard missed the house etc and we were without power for 24 hours but some areas had no power for several weeks. Earlier this week Nova Scotia Power was going around checking the hydro poles and towers to make sure everything was secure.....being proactive for a change....anyway the storm wasn't too bad as it was down graded to a tropical storm once it reached our area. We have had a very wet summer so far. Haven't had to water the garden at all and all the lawns are green too. And usually we have a forest fire or two somewhere in the province, but not this summer. Awh...the shingles.....never knew what pain and itch was till I got that...child birth isn't as bad...lol....any how pain killers do the job, but only take them at night so I can sleep....they make me really dizzy and drowsie. I do feal a lot better though and the pain isn't as bad, feals like pins and needles sometimes and hurts if I touch the area where I have it......Thanks for asking, Sandy. I miss having a glass of wine...lol.....well 7 more days of pills and hopefully no more!!! Dianne
Yes kingfu the weather here is extremely hot,......and hotter on the mainland & interior of BC 40+ in a lot of places,.........(too hot for me) I had thought ost of Canada was getting hot weather,..i know in Ontario (at least at the start of the week),.it was quite hot,..with the humidity to match (I hate that weather),........as for the East Coast....sorry to here your still not getting terribly good weather,.......I thought you too had finally recieved some relief from the rain...... Hope it all stabilizies for everyone,....and we can get out those BBQ's again, it wasa actually too hot for me the other day to stand out on the deck & BBQ,......opted for a cool salad & stayed inside................... as for the reading of posts,......never let it bother you if you don't have an immediate response to a posting,.......I can Remember when we started out on this site ,...i would post many messages ,....regardless of a response or not,...eventually you post something that's generates a response,......if we had of given up way back then ,there would near zero action today on this site,.....some days 'are' slower than others,...but I do know that we have many people that check in & read on the site everday,.......& that's good too,............when you want to ,as we've mentioned many times to new members,'jump into any topic ,anytime'...........and feel free to ad pics or stories ,Don't forget our common denominator is the fact that we are from Verdun,......and We don't give up,...............so know this,.....We appreciate all the efforts from everyone who post or just read,........So whatever you do Remember to: .........Have Fun & Remember Verdun
sorry about all the extra crap in that last post,...I didn't check it before hitting the 'submit' button,.....However you can scroll through the top part & read the story,.....or just click on this link to take you directly to the Gaztte page with the story on it: http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=ca240e6d-be16-4bf6-8cbd-179428e50dcf&k=88066 one thing about Montreal in days gone by .was that we could get excellent food ,just about anywhere..... .....HF&RV
Now, now Maggie McK don't you go . I do read all the messages on this board, and as a matter of fact, I even ventured to "chat" with you, but I find that I get totally discombobulated with the chatter and input if there's more than one person in the chatroom. Frustrating to say the least. Dianne...glad to hear you're doing better , sad to hear the weather is lousy . Les_F....yah that's the ticket....let the girls be girls . Sandy....sure hope you froze some of that hail, saves on ice cubes for the drinks . See everybody.... I DO read the messages. Cheers.
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Hi Les, You're right re reading/replying to posts. I check the site whenever I can but hey life gets in the way sometimes ---work, my writing, family and a social life. The summer is particularly bad because I have deadlines to meet and I am out and about. When I procrastinate (like I'm doing now), I go to the site until I get inspired to return to my writing. It's hot hot hot here also. In the high 90's. Supposed to cool down late next week. We have the Grand Prix this week, Capital Ex, A Taste of Edmonton --- just so many events happening here. It's nuts. I love to remember Verdun and I'm also sketching from some of the photos posted ----it's a creative impulse --- something else I do.. I'm sad to hear about Ben's. It was my favorite place for smoked meat. Used to go there for lunch often and after rehearsals. Our theatre company would stop there after a performance or rehearsal because it was opened all night. I also enjoyed their cherry coke and chopped liver on rye. The place reminded me of New York's Sardi's. My brother, Ray Filip, has a photo of himself in the Poet's Corner. He's had 5 poetry books published and is a Qspell winner. I took the photo----he's kinda leaning on the rail of a bridge. So Ben's has lots of fond memories for me. Too bad it's going downhill like so many other things in Montreal. Christ, only $8? They pay $10/hour here to work Mcdonald's! And Sandy, I did hear about the power failure in New York. Understand even the subway has stopped working. I love New York --- it is such a drama queen---something is always happening there, but that's why it's so exciting! That article re the Queens Deli guy.....makes me appreciate Canada and how lucky I am. Sandy, do you remember David Garred who used to work for CIP during our day there? He keeps in touch with me. He married Joyce Carruthers and both are retired somewhere near Toronto. He's writing poetry and is self published. And I hear Marietta will be moving to a residence in Quebec City shortly. She was always a smart cookie. She's in her early eighties and I guess she feels she won't be able to take care of herself any more. All right. I'm sweating bullets up here and am going to take a break and run downstairs and park myself under the ceiling fan to cool down. I haven't received a response re a name for a make-believe go go club in sixties Montreal for my novel. I'm not offended :-) I'm on holidays and trying to write reams. Will come up for air again!
Oh, one more thing, re Ben's......it's in my novel. The protagonist gets stuck in the revolving door. Let me know what happens re the strike.... Dolly
To whom it may concern...........my input on a few posts.....1) I log on every day and read every post...lately I have not commented much or posted much as there has been a big hole in my life since May 27th, my wife has been in India, and will only be home July 29th. 2) speaking of hot...when my wife visited the Taj Mahal on the July 1st weekend, the temperature was 48 degrees and very humid. 3) I will still keep my promise to take pictures of every church in Verdun, and the back yard sculptures of the Mohawk Church near Canadian Tire, and I will try to meet Ed, and take some inside pics of the Church where the reuion will be held in less than one month. 4) I have been to Ben's once, and don't consider it worth returning. Reubens on Ste.Catherine is quite good. Have never tried Schwartze's, but have been twice recently to Smoke Meat Pete's in Ile Perrot, and he gest my vote as the best that I have ever had. 5) Montreal newspapers....I think the Mtl Star was the best, also enjoyed the Daily Express and Sunday Express when they were printed. For a while the Daily express was the talk of the town, as they would hide a voucher for $1000 somewhere, and I believe they would give a clue as to where it was hidden each day. It was amazing how many people you would see looking under park benches, behind signposts, in waste baskets, and hundreds of other places hoping to win. An ex-co-worker/ friend of mine, John Kenny, used to be a photographer for them, now works for the Gazette, part time-freelance I believe. 6) Last, but not least, I empathize with those members who have health problems whether they be mild, or as far as very serious. This is a fact of life as we age, unfortunately and we have to accept these bobos...my best friend, who is only 53, had surgery last week for rectal cancer, and is having a hard time recovering enough to be let out of intensive care into a regular room. Well, that makes up for my quite for the last little while. Just want to say once again, that Verdun Connections was a great creation, and must not be let to fade away. Thanks to anyone that read this message. Ralph, aka m.p.u.
I figure it's not so much what people say, but just the fact that they care enough to contribute. There are some who would say that words are cheap, and sure enough they really are, they're priceless. Cheers
MPU that covers it pretty well,.........hahahahahah hope your friend recovers soon,....but your right ,it seems that all of a sudden we've enteren an age where I seem to know many people,...who have had some major health issues,......some did not survive,...but I guess we learn from all of this,.....and Enjoy all around you ,and all you can,....because we never Know when our lives may change,.......................So live it up,....& help where you can,(it all comes back to us,somewhere down the line) Sounds like your wife is having a quite an interesting adventure,I'm sure you miss her,.......and the 29th won't come soon enough in the meantime we hope you continue to enjoy all the participation on the VC site,...as we all Appreciate yours & everyone elses efforts to s[ark Our collective Verdun/Montreal Memory Banks: Don't Forget to "Have Fun & Remember Verdun"
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I can"t wait!!!!! hehehe!!!!
Sandy & Dianne Must be those stories I heard about Catholic girls....hehehe..... Cheers
Hi Sandy, Past midnight and can't sleep. Sweating bullets too---not much writing done because of the heat! Supposed to cool down next week. These sudden shifts in temperature can sometimes cause tornadoes around here. We also got some slight hailstones here a couple of weeks ago. My husband rushed around covering the plants. Love your sense of humour. Joyce Garred used to be Joyce Carruthers in our legal department and David worked in sales. I believe it was in the newsprint division. He sent me an e-mail today and has self-published quite a fews books. He will be forwarding me a copy of his novel, which I am looking forward to reading. Apparently the Kanata News (he lives in Kanata near Ottawa and not Toronto as I orginally thought) did a nice write up on the book. It's great that he can do this in retirement full time. I'm jealous!:-) Dolly
Update from Florida! So, it's quite warm UP THERE above the border, huh.I think the Warm and muggy Southwest winds from the Caribbean along with those West winds and rain whipping across the Lakes are doing a number on y'all. It's been cooler down here in Florida, this summer than in most States to the North and West of us, at least in this part of Florida.just South of St. Petersburg.(Cooler near the Bays and Gulf. Cool for us is 84 degrees.) As for the humidity, it's mostly in the early morning and evening. This is our wet summer, lasts 4 months! Rains come and go, like this morning, one inch of rain in a half hour, then beautiful skies and sunshine.More BIG clouds are beginning to form. I do remember summers in Verdun, much like here. No A/C and so we just sweated it out. Hang in there Verdunites, the leaves will be falling and temps will cool down, alot! So much for weather. I do prefer Florida, even after 17 years!!!! Victah
Another scorching day here in Victoria,........I had the sprinklers going last night for hours ,to avoid the hot day time Sun,......& not burn the lawn,........we'have a slight breeze every so often ,which is welcome,but on;y last for a few seconds,..... but the basement is very compfortable,.........Funny how basements are always the right temperature,.....Just right in Hot weather,...and still fine in Winter (our winter anyway).......only 10:41 in the morning and it's only going to get warmer: but I'll take over the old Verdun Hot Humid Summers,........with the old fan going & really just moving humid air around..........hahahaha but it was always great toget home once I had an air conditioner,......the one thing about those humid days & nights,is they usually produced some fantastic Thunder & lightning,storms,........ sitting on the front gallery watching the heavt rains & lightning,........the benefits of living on the 2nd floor,.....you could still sit out on the gallery (closer to the building) and you would have the somewhat shelter of the 3rd floor gallery............... Summer in Verdun,............................................HF&RV
Now here's a smart girl: "the quintessence of summer can be traced to the balcony at 5 p.m., where the scorch of high summer is vanquished with a cool, refreshing drink come late afternoon" written by Susan Semenac in an article in today's Gazette: _____________if you'd like to see her complete article: http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/story.html?id=e9863a92-7841-4e67-88fe-7b5e0c3f1e4d ...........................................................................HF&RV
I've just read the posts about Sharon's daughters winnings and the fact that people didn't respond with joy. We don't make all our feelings public. I remember when I read it, I said a silent prayer that she would enjoy it. Money sometimes brings problems as well as happiness and I wish her all the best. Ed
I never saw any posts 'other' than ones expressing nothing but joy & good wishes,....for Alli,.............and I doubt anyone thinks that the whole membership needs to respond,to any message,.........not everyone thinks the same .....(thank 'somebody'),................hahahahhaha an old famous thought: "Always remember you're unique, just like everyone else. " hahahahahaha .............and this thought is interesting too: "He/She who laughs last.......... thinks slowest " ............................................hahahaha Have Fun & Remember Verdun
"Warning: Dates in Calendar are closer than they appear. " ........................... ........................... ....................... ..................... ........................ "Have Fun & Remember Verdun"
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My sister mentioned that the Gazette had an article on a book which deals with the history of Verdun. Is anyone aware of the name of that book and where it can be acquired
When did the gazette run the article and have you tried writing to them? Sometimes they do answer requests. I think there was a history published for the 100th or maybe 125th anniversary of the city of Verdun. Dennis Gravel comes to mind. Also Mr. Elliott of VHS wrote "A short history of Verdun" in the 1980's.
Correction, Mr. Elliott's book was a "Short History of Verdun High School".
Just to reiterate on the point of anyone replying/responding to posts or not: As Ed said, not everyone makes their feelings public of course. Not only that, but not everyone has the time to reply to every single message either. Or what may be of interest to one may not be to another. Or if you're like me, you start replying to one or two and get called away from the computer by something or either (life? LOL) with all intentions of returning and replying to the rest. But it doesn't always work out that way and sometimes you don't get back to the computer for a day or two only to find so many more new posts that you can't possibly catch up haha so you simply pick up from the most recent. I know I have done that myself and have hoped at the back of my mind, that those whose message(s) I've missed/skipped aren't thinking that I've ignored them because I did reply to others and not theirs. That said, and with that knowledge myself, I certainly don't expect everyone to reply or be able to reply to every single one of my messages either. Just because I share doesn't mean I expect everyone to reply. And it won't STOP me from sharing either haha cuz I'm just a run-off-at-the-mouth kinda gal sometimes....lol.
And speaking of me being a run=off-the-mouth kinda gal haha here's something else to share with you... I'm a little sad at the moment.
A few weeks ago when Alli had her check-up at the dentist, he told me she had several baby teeth that should have fallen out and hadn't and that the adult teeth were starting to grow out despite it. He told me that if the baby teeth hadn't fallen out on their own within 3 weeks to a month, to come back so he could pull them. They had to come out to make room for those adult teeth.
Well, none of those baby teeth so much as got even a little loose, so off we went to the dentist yesterday, where my 10 year old little girl was a real trooper. In spite of the fact that these baby teeth were perfect and that she has never had a single cavity, she had to experience getting her top AND bottom gums numbed and then needles of Novocaine injected into them. She only yelled once. Freaked me out when the dentist started pulling one after the other till there were SEVEN little baby teeth in the tray beside him. I hadn't realized she would have to have so many taken out. I'm thankful that because baby teeth don't have roots like adult teeth do, that it only took like 5 minutes in all once he started pulling them. Again...Alli was so brave.
Now, the reason I am sad...
The dentist asked if she wanted to keep the teeth and when she replied "Yes, because I want to find out if the tooth fairy still comes even if you have to have the baby teeth pulled!" (she doesn't really believe anymore I don't think, she just likes the money so goes along with it haha) he told her the hygienist would clean them up and put them in a container for her to take home. He then turned to me and said "And that's the last of them, she has no more baby teeth in her mouth to lose."
Then it hit me. Alli is my baby of my 3 kids. She's much younger than my 2 older children who are 23 and 18. I suppose I have been lucky to have been able to share the childhood fantasies with each of them such as the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny as long as I have, as it is.
The Tooth Fairy almost went broke last night...lol. She figured that what that little girl went thru to have those teeth taken out and the fact that it was a LUMP PAYMENT for 7 teeth at once was worth at least a 20 dollar bill.
But damn...she cried too because she knew it was the very last visit she would ever pay to this child.
I hate it sometimes when your kids grow up....
Hi Winston ,...were you referring to the 'Ben's Employees'? Many resataurants in Quebec have unionized,....Magnan's employees were on strike either last year or the year before......I don't know what the whole problem is with some of the employees(or management for that matter),....but how complicated does it have to get,....It's a Restaurant,...................in the Ben's case it sounds like after the founder died,..the family has lost it's real interest in maintaining the status quo,......They should sell,and have new blood come in & try to revive it's old reputation,......(as far as a I have experienced Ben's has been hanging on for years,and hasn't been even a shadow of it's former self ,...since the late 70's) have fun & Remember Verdun
Here's a scary thought: 5 months until.......that jolly old fella in a red suit pays a visit! Okay, so maybe I'm rushing it a little, uummm, gotta wait for those ghosts & goblins to visit before that. And oh, those turkeys at Thanksgiving. I guess waits for nobody. Cheers.
Hi Mags,........here's a few of the same old cement tubes (sans le paint).........hahahah look over towards the far left behind the excavator,.and there are 3 cement sections of the pipe being ready to be installed under Wellington ,......they look like they are sitting right on Gordon Ave: I'll see if I can find another shot,..I think I have one from Wellington Street further up near Main's ............................ HF&RV
Here's the other photo,.the cement tubes look like the right diameter,.in smaller sections ,that are not yet joined with those concrete bands ,..like the one in the park photo,.... .................................................................Have Fun & Remember Verdun
Sharon, I can relate to how you're feeling. I only have the one son and he is 21. Because I only have the one, I enjoyed every moment of his growing up. A neigbour boy told him there was no Santa when he was 6 and my heart sank because I wouldn't see the joy in his face Christmas morning when he saw the cookies and milk were gone. (He still believed for a while after anyway). Each stage was difficult ---first day in school (now I can't protect him); high school (now he'll get hurt in love); first job (now, he'll want to leave). He dropped out of university after 2 years and now is an apprentice. Came home for lunch the other day and as he left for work I heard him say, "I'm a working man." He's happy. So I did my job as a parent. But.... Next he'll want to get his own apartment. And that's coming because he and his girlfriend have been together for 5 years and he's mentioned things like, "when I leave home, I'm only going to shop for groceries in the frozen food section." "When might that be?" I ask hoping I heard wrong. "Oh, I don't know." But it's coming. I'm bracing myself and hoping I won't cry like I did when he got on that school bus first day of kindergarten. So enjoy the next steps. You have had the luxury of knowing the tooth fairy 3 times. I can hardly wait to be a grandma and enjoy it all over again! There's always that! Dolly
Sabby, Let me tell you about raisng kids as a grandparent. You are looking forward to doing it over again. I am enjoying it for the first time. I was on the road three thousand miles per week. It gave a great living, educated the kids , bought a duplex and supplied a country house, but my wife raised our children. Seems whenever one of them was having a birthday, I was hundreds of miles away. Now I am enjoying watching my grandchildren grow up. My son and his wife both work. I was baby sitting when my grandaughter took her first steps. I had the pleasure of walking the floor with her on my shoulder. I looked forward to changing her diaper at 3am so the young folk could sleep. We'd laugh afterwards and I'd sing her back to sleep. I've sat in every playground in Verdun guarding them in the sandboxes with their friends. When Matt out grew it, Shannie's turn came. I don't remember the names because Matthew renamed most of them. The one around the corner on Duhamel (River) Street was 'Happy Park'. Reaume was 'Big Park". Desmarchais was Sunny Park. Great memories. I walk past 'Happy park' every day and the memory is good. Go for it Sabby. It can be the greatest time of your life. Retired and all the time in the world to spend with the grandchildren. But be careful, sometimes the parents get mean and want them back. Ed
Re book on Verdun My sister saw the article last weekend or the weekend before. She said it mentioned mayor Wilson and dealt with verdunites and WWII
Anyone need some digs in Verdun: http://www.structuresmetropolitaines.com/alouer/info.asp?projectno=314&msi=EN These are a tad higher rents than I Remembered inVerdun...........hahahahha and 'no lanes toplay in' what kinda scam is that?......................hahahaha The Times they are a changin............................................ ....................................................HaveFun& Remember Verdun
Hi Synergize,.........regardless of the topic ,the choice to participate rests with you,..& you & everyone else is always welcome to join in,... the whole idea is to share some old memory's and have some fun: I would venture a guess that most of our members have not met any of the other members or at least haven't seen them in years,.etc etc. So please feel free to Join in any conversation, any help us to: Have Fun & Remember Verdun ps: responding to any sad type of news is always difficult ,.if we knew the person who died (or is sick)or not,.but well wishes are greatly appreciated ,at these times,and,..........it sometimes good to 'just mention' something as a way of dealing with our loss,or situation at the time: Sometimes just getting the news 'out there' makes us feel a little better just like you mentioning that you knew 'Jimmy' just as a friend from childhood,...that is definitly a Connection ,to your friend and of course to Verdun.....................So Keep posting,as you seem to have some good recall from the 'old days' in Verdun (Lasalle/Montreal etc ),. ........We Appreciate the Effort again Have Fun & Remember Verdun
Actually Les, The lanes are still there but we no longer put garbage in them. Garbage now is put on the sidewalks in the evening and collected the following AM. I guess the big trucks had trouble turning in the lanes. Remember the old Sanivans? (We had a dog called that) The trucks were just the right size for turning in the lanes. They had a short distance to go when Verdun had it's own dump. (70 yr' old brain now trying to remember where it was) But I digress. The dump now is in Northeast Montreal, some of it still going to the Miron and Freres quarry I believe, so the larger trucks make less trips. The lanes are still there but there are no kids pl;aying in them. Occasionally they play hockey on the streets like we used to but they don't have to worry about Sargeant Walter Daniels putting all the hockey sticks in the sidecar of his motorbike and making their parents come to the station to pick them up. Ed
Hi edbro,......I get a kick out of the side car story,as I had heard a few stories similar to that one ,also had my own experiences with the gendrames at the time,......hahaha as kids (young teens actually) we had a case of beer 'confiscated' from us,while we hung around the Boardwalk near 1st or 2nd ave ,I watched the cop drive straight down the avenue & turn right ,into the lane (I guess btwn 2nd towards 1st),.....and so we walked down to see if my suspicions were correct,and they were, He had stopped in the lane ,and was about to have a beer,....so I walked up and said you could at least give us a couple,...........and so he reached over and took two out of the case (half case really ,it was only 12......hahahaha,...a real 'case ' would have been 24.....hahaha but now I digress in anycase he handed me two bottles of beer and off we went .........hahahahaha That's when cops were local characters and had a sense of humour,.....I won't say they were exactly as friendly as, I got a little older..........hahahaha HF&RV
Ps: Edbro ,...I was talking about 'no lanes' over on Nuns Island,...on that site I posted 'Chemin de Golf' I noticed that they were advertising rents for some of those apatment blocks over there and 'nolanes to play in' hahahaha I do Remember hearing that the garbage is being picked up on the av's now instead of the lanes,...and exactly for the reason you mentioned ,...present day trucks are too big to make the turns in the lanes,....I sort of would be inclined to dislike bringing the garbage through the house to place it out on the street,..they could havea special fleet,of downsized trucks,.and then transfer to transport carriers for the trip to the east end dump,..it seems to me that since Verdun's population is considerably less than it once was,...that there would be also a lot less garbage too??? Oh well who knows what makes sense these days,......I'm sure the contract to haul the garbage,is a considerable one,........and the powers that be will not change it: HF&RV
Right Les, Verdun cops had a sense of humor. I got a ticket for "excessive use of the klaxon' (horn) In front of the auditorium with my old '52 Merc panel truck. I was bringing a load of kids back to Crawford Park after a baseball game. Actually it was Normie Zubis playing a jazz style of 'Mary had a little lamb' on my musical horns that annoyed them. The cop then offered to buy the horns for $15. Figured it would be safer that way so I sold them. Ticket cost $7. Wonder what they had against jazz? Ed
Les, As an added thought, even if Verdun's population is smaller, the garbage would not likely be less. Have you ever put two extra large pizza boxes in a garbage bag? As a boy, I remember putting out two garbage pails. One was full of ashes I had sifted from the stove. Our garbage from a family of seven all went into one pail which was usually a five gallon asphalt pail from tarring a roof. My Father didn't believe in waste. He called it purchasing things to throw away. My Mother carried her own bags to the store. Bottles were returned and cans and papers recycled for the war effort. Brings to mind Woodland Scout troop had a two ton truck for collecting paper. I remember Everett McCallum (V.H.S.) was the driver at times but I can't recall the ScoutMaster's name. Perhaps the members could say more on this. Ed
One of the things I love about Verdun (well maybe 2) are the spiral staircases and the lanes. They are so scenic! I used to love sitting on our back veranda on Brown and looking at the sheds and neighbours yards. I'd throw bread to the pigeons that would land on the garage roof below us. No kidding! I discovered lanes again here in Edmonton. We have a wonderful lane where garbage gets picked up and these wildflowers grow unattended. I take my dog, Tipsy, for walks around the lane which leads into another lane and then onto the back of a school playground. There are bushes of wild roses and grass on the border between the lane and yard where Tipsy does her thing.. Ah life's little pleasures! Lanes! Dolly
Ahh Oui. L'Escaliers, ................Stairs & Sheds,............we had 'em all,............Sorry I didn't have any summer pics right at hand of the stairs,....I have some ,but not at the ready,........ don't forget to HaveFunandRememberVerdun,...........use your imagination: Remember what Albert Eienstein said: "Imagination,....is More Important than Knowledge" and Remember what I said : Have Fun & Remember Verdun .....hahahahaha (that's why kids are so smart, they have imagination)
Verdun: this is more of a Summer Day,..............than the previous post, but I'm sure I have some more:....... the gorunds of the waterorks at the Acqueduct,that property was always well kept,.and it's grass was trimmed,and just like a carpet,and the black wrought iroon fence around the property made it look like a stately mansion :It almost seemed a rariety to ever really wander upo that way,sometimes coming back through the Atwater tunnel ,I would make a turn down Joeseph,past this property,...and then meander up to Bannatyne ,Remember how Bannatyne sort of just ran into a dead end,where you had ti turn and skirt the Acqueducts property,... Just thought I'd post this shot again,..afterall Who doesn't Remember Church & Wellington,...........with all the familar stores ,Gagnon's ,Woolworths,five& dime,etc etc ,......of course the 'big' church on the corner with it's towering twin steeples,........and of course at one glance down Church to Lasalle blvd,.......the old Auditorium standing higher up looking straight up Church Av,......... ....................................Verdun, Have Fun & Remember Can't forget Marshall's 5-10-15 on the other corner of Church & Wellington Just another ,different view of Verun:...........................What's yours:?? Have Fun and Remember Verdun
Don't forget you can look up any schools for clues ,as to old classmates, Here's a list of some of the schools In Verdun http://www.graduates.com/ls.asp?city=Verdun&pid=5&cid=39&cn=Canada&pn=Quebec You can also navigate around the site to see if you can find old friends from other schools,..................Good Luck with that: Also again I would suggest ,having a look through the 'Links' page on the left hand side of this site,.....and searching through ,& rediscover some of the great things we are linked to,...or even to look through some of the Photo Albums,that many members have taken the time to share with everyone,.... there are some really great old pics as well as newer ones,........a complete History it is not,.....but it's a good start,...so Have aLook,.......and if you've got ,some pics to add ,..then please do not hesitate to do so,.........if you've got any questions about anything on the site (that goes fro all members,not just new ones) then ASK away,......and we'll do what we can to Help any of you: ...............Rediscover your past: & Have Fun & Remember Verdun
Les, The Church at the corner of Church and Wellington is Notre Dame des Sept Douleurs. Guy
Thanks Guy5479,.....I knew it was NotreDame ??? ,but I didn't want to guess ,without being sure,..as I think there is another Church In Verdun, called NotreDame????,....and I always mix them up,.....so I went with the obvious,the Tallest Twin Tower Steeples in Town............hahahahah Sounds good like that too ,don't you think?........ Thanks for the info,...... How did your History Study at the old house on Lasalle go,...le Maison Saint Dizier ,or Ettiene ... (I'm just being lazy,and don't want to look it up right now.......hahaha) ....I do have the proper title here somewhere,......but you were busy I believe with the start of an archeological dig of sorts were you not? Again thanks for the input, Have Fun & Remember Verdun
great pics Les, hope you dont mind that I copied them...
Hi Shayne rainydayman,......absolutely not,I'm glad you did,I only leave pics up for a few days,as the msg's drift to the back of the pack,.....So feel free to save any pics posted here,........that's what will ensure there availability later on: What happening in your neighbourhood these days,.Weren't you all planning a breakfast or get together back there,..that's the great thing about being centralized,you can always have an impromtu gathering,on little notice,........not like here on the rock ,.just to meet someone on the mainland costs hundreds,.....btwn fuel,ferries,food,& accomodation,................Sometimes I miss that ability to just jump in the car & cruise wherever you want on a weekend drive,.......You guys can go to any number of spots (that people have heard of.............hahahahha) in just a few hours,.....from NYC ,Toronto ,.Montreal,.......or just a cruise around Ontario(Muskoka etc etc),.........Here on the Island from one end to the other is 350-400 miles(Montreal to Toronto almost).................and your still on the Island...........hahahaha Does Donna(that is your wifes name I hope) ever have the urge to revisit her homeland (was it North Shore Van??........all the loaded folks............hahahah Better keep her........good investment ,and not a bad place to retire to: ...............................................................................................HF&RV
Les, how do I save the photos of the sheds and back lanes? I'm not technically inclined....haven't got the patience. Also, that Marshalls 5 and dime photo remind me of the time I stole a tube of lipstick there. I must have been 10. Never got caught until I stole a chocolate bar at the A and P in Ville Emard. (Cocolate has always been my downfall!) Cried my brains out and swore I would never do it again. The manager was going to report me to my parents...worse than reporting me to the police. I thought I was going to go to jail. Must have been the same age. Anyhow, that put the fear in me and I never stole again. Ah, youth! Dolly
For edbro & Les: speaking of lanes and garbage trucks, I'm going to tie this one into another thread/mystery concerning the boardwalk. Yes Verdun did dump its own garbage withing Verdun but it did so right behind the hospital at the end of Hickson just past the boardwalk. THATS why there is land beyond the boardwalk and hence the french high school and Therrien park & pool. I would've thought someone would've come up with that before but was waiting for the right opportunity. I could recall when we did renovations (early 60's) or needed to dump something large that the garbage trucks would'nt take, we had a trailer, loaded it up and off to the Verdun dump. They would charge something like $2 and you could dump as much as you like in one load. I could distinctly recall my father telling me to stay in the car and keep the doors closed!!! My father & uncle had billy boots on & dumped the whole lot anywhere convenient. The reason for the doors closed and boots is they didn't want the rats to get into the car or nip at their ankles. Vultures and seagulls peppered the sky always gawking. I can also recall at the waters edge there were temporary docks & shacks with boats tied up. I think it might have been the Verdun yacht or Motor Club? not sure. Every year they would move it around and lay a new road down at the waters edge. The dumping area would alternate years, and it even went as far west as the avenues If you dig far enough down in Therrien Park you would probably find your parents & grand-parents old bathroom fixtures, plumbing and hotwater tanks and anything else that doesn't rust or rot. I think that if they would've continued dumping they would've linked up with Nun's Island!!..........Hah! From what I recall they stopped dumping in the late 60's, early 70's Thats about as far as my memory banks take me this morning. If anyone else recalls more (or correct my facts) please feel free to add on or continue the story. Mac
Hello Sabby,......put the cusror over the picture you want ,..then 'right' click on your mouse,.this will show you a menu selection of things you can do,.select 'Save As...'click that,...then it will show you something like a Folder called 'My Pictures' ,or My Documents,.....type in the name of the picture,and click 'Save' this will then place that picture in a Folder for you that will be stored on your computer,.......You will find it quite easy,...Good luck , Remember a book by 'Abby Hoffman' the title was "Steal this Book"...............hahahahaha Funny how learning the lesson of not stealing early on,stays with you,......we were more concerned about our parents finding out than the police,.....great story................. HF&RV
Yes Fresco,...the dump meandered first making it's way into extended parking from the Auditorium to just past the Hospital, and it did keep getting further & further out,then it got as far as 1st Av,(where the old Boat Rental place was,with those dilapadated wharves,.).......and there were plenty of rats down there,in the Winter they dumped all the snow from the trucks along the same dump,....we used to make forts in the snow banks (very dangerous,now that I think of it),......but we survived,I think your fairly close to the right years for the end of the dumping very late60's or very early 70's.................they kept filling in along the river for quite sometime although I'm not sure with what. ,as I do Remember when you could walk on the boardwalk ,and it sloped off immediately down to the river,....but in around '69 or so I can Remember playing frisbee btwn 6th av & Desmarchais on the other side of the boardwalk,that had obviously become recovered land,......and now a days the whole Island seems to have been enlarged ,as it's not a big distance over to Nuns Island now at all......... as you can see here there was no space at all on the other side of the familiar old 3 green railings and stone pillars.................. ......... these are some rat fast food delivery vehicles in Verdun (not to be confused with these delivery cars,for people ,maybe even some 2 legged rats).........hahahaha ..hahahahah these little cars delivered some of the ingredients that would eventually find themselves filling those larger vehicles in the previous photo..............hahahahah .......................................Good Memory Fresco,.... Thanks for the Input Have Fun & Remember Verdun
Reply to 9598 - French Mac As I remember it the Verdun City dump was behind the Police & Fire Station and was later covered with earth, and became the Verdun Stadium. They filled in staring at the Aud & worked their way to about Willibrord, I lived on 3rd near LaSalle between 1939 to 56. And that how I saw it. The VWBC was behind the Hospital, and the Toboggan Slide was on the NE side from the Aud Gordo
Your right for those years Maroonvet,.....after the stasium it went to the other side of the Aud,.towards what is now Therrien Park,..as well as going towards 1st av the other way,...where the groung sloped away toward the river from the little park beside the stadium,was continued on as the city dump for well through the 60's,...and as I mentione dearlier they started to fill in more and more all the way along towards Desmarchais,....they had an opening in the old boardwalk rails at the head of desmarchais that allowed trucks through to dump other stuff along there (very late 60's),......the river started to get further away from the boardwalk,and now today you can buy a 3 to 4hundred thousand dollar condo ,near where the old Stadium was,...(stadium is gone now),....and the whole waterfront sports a nice new look: ................................................................................................HF&RV
Woderfull spelling in that last post .............hahahahaha Sorry about that,..hope the jibberish can be understood: Really must watch the keyboard: as someone once said ,.it's from trying to type fast,....when I Can't............hahahahah hf&rv
Thanks Les, Yes, it worked. I find whenever I'm stuck on anything re computer it's always about the right click on the mouse.... Then had to find where my folder was, but I'm good now. And yes, I heard about that book. Cooled down here considerably. Comfortable. mid 20's. Rained last night....in case anyone interested in a weather report. Dolly
That's great Sabby,.glad it worked for you,......now you'll have some fun loading up with some favourite pics,....and when you find some you think we'd like (and we like almost everything),...you can post them & share them with us,..... ..............................................................................Have Fun & Remember Verdun
Les, It's interesting that you mention spelling. I know computers have a spell check but very few people I know use it, and yet the quality of spelling, punctuation and vocabulary in the posts I read is top quality. I feel we had good schools and teachers in Verdun. We could read, write and spell properly before we went to High School. Today, CGEPs are complaining that students can't or spell or write legibly after four years of high school. Our teachers were strict compared to now. I only had one year of Verdun High before going to work but today, when I go to classes at McGill I can keep up with the best of them. Hooray for Verdun teachers. Ed
Les, The other church you are talking about is Notre Dame de Lourdes at the corner of 5th and Verdun Ave. As for the Maison Étienne Nivard de Saint-Dizier, visits have already started but for the exterior only. Enclosed are some pictures I took a couple of weeks ago. It will be more interesting next year when the interior will be excavated and hopefully artifacts will have been discovered and will be displayed. The City of Verdun did a wonderfull job of landscaping the surroundings. They even built a belvedere near the river and you can see Heron Island and Nuns Island. Guy
Guy Thumbs up for the excellent pics! Merci. Cheers.
I agree wholeheartedly, Edbro,......I used to be quite confident in my penmanship,and spelling,......typing however has made me a little more lazy,....yet I really hate to mispell somethng........and I wish there was a spell check built into our msg's hahahhaha have fun & remember verdun
Thank You Guy5479,....those up to date pics are very much Appreciated, I wonder how they will do a proper 'dig' inside the old house? I'm sure you will keep us in touch with any forward movement in it's History, ..........................How was the open house ?I have not heard anything about that yet. Again Merci Beaucoup,.........for all the Info you have already shared with us,it is very much Appreciated:........................by all means please keep posting Verdun/Montreal type of history ,We love it,& you have a captive audience, Have Fun & Remember Verdun
Dianne, Came across this quote, and immediately thought of you. So here's my little cadeau just for you: Wine is bottled poetry. ......Robert Louis Stevenson Cheers
wrt posting 9600 , I think you were replying to me, FrenchMac instead of Fresco, Les about the dump sites. Its OK.........I won't complain about your speeling either. To edbro wrt #9606 Yes we were lucky to be taught good english grammer in school and the spell check is a useful tool. Unfortunately that option isn't available when you hit the reply button at the top left and compose a message. By reading the postings on this site I believe our grammer is pretty darn good without the use of spell check thereby attesting to the quality schooling we received in Verdun.
Eye theenk ur rite FrenchMac
Very nice pictures....one of them looks like the OLD STONE HOUSE in Crawfordpark on lasalle blv..I use to live on Clemenceau street...Legion meeting were held there..
John, You are correct, this old house, built in 1710 is at 7244 LaSalle Blvd, angle Lloyd George.It was originally owned by the religious order Congrégation Notre Dame and was sold to Étienne Nivard in 1769. It passed in the hands of several owners up the the 1930s. It was taken over by the City of Verdun for use as a warehouse, then used by the Crawford Social Club between 1940 and 1947, then tthe Royal Canadian Legion, no. 202 Crawford Park branch.. It was recognised as an historical monument on the 13th of February 1976 by the Commission des Biens Culturels du Québec. It is the oldest ancient building of the Verdun Borough. Guy
Your welcome, Les. Now pass me another beer, you're sitting on the cooler.
Hi Linda: thanks for the cadeau..... Dianne
Where is everybody! Have you all headed for greener pastures? It's another rainy day here!.....Dianne
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Sandy....Thanks for asking, I am a lot better and have enoyed a glass of poetry in a bottle earlier this week. Paul's sister and husband were down for a few days and we had a few glasses of poetry...good luck to your daughter and her future studies. Cheers.... Dianne
Saint Lawrence & Saint Catherine: then & now .....................note the sign saying 'ShowBar' in the 1st photo, The Main,...............we've all been down that road ,...............Schwartz.s Montreal Pool Room,etc etc .................. "Have Fun & Remember Verdun"
Another then & now type of shot, from one extreme to another (the Main,.....and now the Oratory)..........hahahahaha after you left one ,you may have needed the other........................ "Have Fun & Remember Verdun"
I remember my Nan referencing the females down on the "Main" as: trollops, strumpets or ladies of the evening. I believe prostitutes was not in her vocabulary. I think it interesting how the language changes with each generation. Cheers.
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Sandy, Guess the mention of "The Main" made me think of that as the place where most of this "action" took place, and so on, and so on. I think it was the shopping up that way, yah, it was the shopping.....lol. Cheers.
The picture of the Main looking South from St.Kitts takes me back. After the Crystal Palce and Midway theaters which you see on the left came the Rialto Showbar and the Main Cafe. In 1952 the beer was 40 cents a quart and a dime tip made the waiter happy. On the right in the picture you see the Showbar not to be confused with Esquire Showbar where we saw Frank Motley and Bo Diddley. The Main clubs had mostly live country and western with some very good artiststs. We didn't take our wives and girl friends up there, it was too dangerous. Before the time of Drapeau it was wide open. I remember Friday and Saturday evenings there were 8 cops (Two on each corner) at St.Lawrence and St.Catherine. After the great music we went to the Montreal Poolroom for 2 dogs a fry and a coke, 25 cents. Also the same at "Number Nine' Church Avenue, Verdun. Ed.
EdBrown....ya gotta remember the Rodeo....and after the New Chinese owner took over in the late 60's I believe , they re-named it to the L'Odeo......
There was a guy from Verdun , Barry Greenlees ,that I believe use to play drums at infrequent times for the peelers at the Rialto......in the early sixties....
There also was the Peppermint lounge that later became the GRAND NATIONAL....in the mid sixties....
joey
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Ed.....
I must correct my calling them PEELERS.....back then it was different there was actually a floor show...they were called exotic dancers.........show girls .
joey
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Then & Now Bonsecours Market in the 1st photo,the very familiar Dome was missing ,as it had been destroyed by fire(something that has happenned a few times in it's long History) the 1st picture is mid-60's based on most of the vehicles,63,64's etc etc I can't say that I Remember seeing the market without the Dome,but there it is,.........They completely refurbished the whole Market Place,& revitalized it,in the early 90's.......many 'upscale' boutiques in there now: "Have Fun & Remember Verdun"
Then & Now ,(again with a Bonsecour Market,theme) this one dates back a little further,....but in the picture you can see a chapel,there are foundations there dating back to 1657 ,it is thought to be the oldest pilgrimage site in North America: Bonsecour Market was orgiginally built in 1845,it is patterned after the Customs House in Dublin,during the 19th century,it was used 'briefly' as the Parliment of United Canada, & served as a City Hall,a police station,a library,an armory, and a ballroom: What a great city Montreal is and seemingly always has been, "Have Fun & Remember Verdun"
Everyone out there enjoying their summer so far,..?? We're having an afternoon BBQ,...and we get to see the Canadian Snowbirds,doing an air show for us,....they will be performing right over Willows Beach,here in Oakbay, so some that will be neat to see: Nine jets, 36 inches apart, make a 360-degree inside loop at 4 G's. From the ground it looks like a ballet, but this dance of steel and speed requires split-second timing. Never more than a hair's breadth from death, Canada's Snowbirds do this 1800 seconds 65 times a year.
it should be great for the kids ,(us Big kids too.........hahahaha)everyone's coming over here to watch the show,and have some grub,should be a good afternoon,..........Hope your all enjoying your long weekend too!! I might take some pictures,but I have seen them many times,and it's nice just watch,we'll see.............maybe just sit on the deck,and have,a beverage of choice,...............(yea that's the ticket,........hahahaha) CHEERS Everyone ...................Have Fun and Remember Verdun.............
I just now noticed the "bus stop" sign in the pic below. I totally, totally remember this type of sign, also the signs the buses had in the bottom of the front window showing where the bus was headed. I also remember when the bus drivers wore a uniform and hat. Out here where I live the drivers dress in casual street clothes. Of course, when I went to VHS both the girls and boys wore school uniforms! I guess as they say......"the times they are achanging". Cheers.
Les....the place that you referenced the Metropole (sp)
night club on St.Catherine st.... 2nd floor with GO/Go dansers in the window......the same spot that Sharon took a picture of dureing her montreal holiday.......
Well here is a Verdun connection for the place.....back in the 60's it was a great place it was called "CHEZ PIERRE Le Grand . " A super sucessfull night club...... no live music.
The Verdun connection was that Mr. Smith who owned the snack bar restaurant on Verdun Ave at the corner of Melrose also owned a decorating , display buisness...and he had done the interior of the St. Cathering club...it was one of the first useing the Quebecois Antiques motif with Barn wood ...
LOTS OF HISTORY BEHIND THESE PICTURES..
JOHN
--- Verdun Connections
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Nope , the Snowbirds did an excellent show,....and though they looked like they were coming right at us,....they missed the BBQ..........hahahahhaa We had a ball ,and certainly Appreciate the efforts that these dedicated Canadian Forces Personnell go to ,........... by the same token ,the Famed Blue Angels took to the sky near Seattle today for the high speed Boat Races,........they too are incredible to watch,I have seen them in action many times as well..............it was a very cool Sunday Afternoon,........now tomorrow (Monday) it's back to trimming the edges of the lawn,.....and maybe a mow front & back, (the high heat kept me from wanting to cut the lawn for the last little while),.......but it's now back to business as usual.......................hahahahahhaha "Have Fun and Remember Verdun"
ahh summer's end is quickly approaching,.....less than a month till Labour Day Weekend,..........the kids will be Back to School , the Natatorium will be getting ready to shut down,...I think we've talked about that before,....that usually on the last day of the season for the pool,.....they let everyone in Free,.....and you could spend that extra quarter on a toasted hotdog,a small bag of Laurentide Chips,and a soft drink,..........and Remember standing on the roof and dropping the chip bag down to a friend still inside the pool area,so they could have a few chips.........hahahaha lots of fun to be a kid wasn't it !! "Have Fun & Remember Verdun"
The dreaded time of year for kids, and the much celebrated event by parents everywhere, Back to School,..... the winding down of summer for the kids it was a few last weekends to go to Platssburgh Beach,.or StAlbans Beach VT,...or up to Rawdon,.....and then as the last weekends before school started,you got re-acquainted with your pals from last years school grade,Got to tell the stories of where you'd been,.things you got to do,...new people you met over the summer, all the while your parents were busy getting those Back to School supplies,and it was Officially the End of Summer..............hahahahahaha Well Cheers to those old Summer's, and hope the memories last . "Have Fun & Remember Verdun" Just another "Natatorium", shot HF&RV
I noticed that in the pic of the "Nat" that all (or many) of the women are wearing those bathing caps...remember them. Most of the pools wouldn't let you in unless you wore one if you were a female. I'm not sure what good they did...they certainly didn't keep your hair dry, water still got in your ears, and they gave you a headache. Besides which, they were so unglamerous! Cheers.
Hi Mom45 Linda,....Good question ,as to why women had to wear the caps,.I would think it was mostly to keep as much loose hair from finding it's way into the pools filters??,......Don't see any other reason ,although that doesn't explain women wearing them at the beach . as for the women looking glamourus or not,...it usually wasn't Hair attracting the looks........hahahaha Women do have some finer 'points too'............hahahahaha Have Fun & Remember Verdun
Come to think of it Linda, (Mom45) all the competitve swimmers wore them as well,..I Remember Marilyn Bell,also wearing one in her swims across Lake Ontario, and out here across the Straight of Juan de Fuca,.......there is a Monument to her ,here in Victoria near the beach where she came ashore,.and carved into the stone is her likeness also wearing a bathing cap,....so I'll alter my previous thoughts by suggesting that ,.the cap was simply to keep the hair out of their faces,...Women generally had longer hair (at least moreso than today) ?? HF&RV
Marilyn Bell,.......... Here's a picture of the monument stone dedicated to Marilyn Bell,on Dallas Road here in Victoria,....I took this shot in June of this year,and ,I did Remember it correctly,.she is wearing a cap ,..... Have Fun & Remember Verdun
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