Before I was born (1939)my dad won a thousand dollars on the Irish sweep. He then brought over part of the family (relatives) and to this date..like 70 to 80 years later their kin still lives in Verdun..the Lows.
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.
18 comments:
Hey beeaired,......the Lows sounds familiar, but I am unsure of a first name, St Willibrords ,school is what I'm thinking in the early 60's ( Art Low maybe....but I'm just guessing)........ Have Fun & Remember Verdun
I seem to remember whenever anybody talked about buying Irish Sweepstakes it was always in hushed tones. Was it illegal? Didn't have gamblers in our family (prolly cause we were too poor and didn't have any extra money). And it seems you had to know where/who to buy them from. Am I remembering correctly?
Hi Linda, yes I think you are right, they were illegal in those days, not sure about today. I remember my grand father bought them and he said when his horse came in we'd be on easy street...his horse never came in...lol....Dianne
I also think it was iilegal. At the same time it was illegal to sell
margarine in Quebec. I remember somebody gfetting it in Ontario and your had
to mix the poder or capsule to make it yellow. Does anyone else remember
doing that?
Hi Ruth, I remember that. It was called Mom's. My Dad sold the Irish sweepsstake tickets to the men at the C.N.R, Pointe St. Charles power plant where he worked. I remember him selling a winning ticket to someone there and as the seller he got a percentage. Patsy Ginn Ernst
Ruth, I remember the capsule in the margarine also. You squeezed and broke the capsule and kept kneading the white margarine until it all turned yellow. That job fell to the kids in the family. I remember my arms aching.
As for the margarine, if you bought it in Quebec you had to mix in the colouring, if you went to Ontario you could get looking like butter. we had a neighbour who worked for the railway and would bring back a case for anybody who wanted it, I still remember the brand name of the margarine it was Blue Bonnet, their slogan was "everything's better with Blue Bonnet on it" Is it still sold in the east? because it's not out here in the west.
Hi Dzldawg 1, you can still buy Blue bonnets margarine here in Halifax area of Nova Scotia. patsy
Are you sure that Blue Bonnet isnt available in Calgary? I buy butter but I remember my father bringing home Margarine from Toronto with the orange pellet that you had to knead thing it was Fleischmans to this day margarine is white-ish in Montreal but it is even sold in 1 lb size like butter here in Calgary and yellow. I think my uncle bought Irish Sweepstakes tickets at the Army and Navy on Union they were small tickets if I remember and I remember tissue paper like.
Hi Linda, I agree. The Irish Sweepstakes were always hush hush. I moved to New York City in 1965 and they were really easy to get. There were a lot of Irish bars and most sold Irish Sweepstakes tickets. Then along came New York Lotto with bigger jackpots than The Irish Sweepstakes. Still, I kept buying The Irish sweepstakes tickets just from the memory of how impossible they were to get in Montreal. I'd have an Irish Sweepstakes ticket with a prize of $300,000 and a NY Lotto ticket who's prize was $1,000,000. The most I've ever won is $85 on Lotto & $250 with the NY Lotto daily number. My ship has not come in yet, please standby.
Les..dads name was James..Low or Lowe? Thought were protestant..as was I.
Hi Beeaired, Did the Low's live on Second Avenue between Lasalle and Wellington ? Were they related to th Chriphers who lived on Lasalle Blvd. btween Willibrord and First Avenue. Reggie Paine
Hi Beeaired, Make that name Christopher's. Typo. Reggie Paine
Sorry that name does not ring a bell here..Christopher??
My Father who came from Ireland in the 1920`s always sold Irish Sweepstakes,you wer always looking over your shoulder in case somebody was looking for you.We lived at 623 3rd Avenue. Dan Flynn
Verdun Connections seems to stay with you all the time. Rooney's Public House just opened a new restaurant by us at Jog Road & Okeechobee Boulevard, West Palm Beach, Florida. Dan Rooney started an Irish Pub in Pittsburg in 1911. The Rooney empire grew, today they have numerous restaurants, radio stations, a race track & a lot of quarter horses. My wife & I went to the new Rooney's for lunch today. The place is beautiful. Lots of little semi private areas like Ruby Foos had. One section has a fire place. My wife and I were checking out all the pictures of the Pittsburg Steelers, Race Track photos, famous people pictures. Then I spot this huge 1932 Irish Hospital Sweepstakes poster. Help the hospitals, get a sweepstakes ticket. The Irish Sweepstakes tickets were hush hush & hard to get in Montreal. I guess Rooney's in Pittsburg sold sweepstakes tickets just like the bars of New York. I don't know why we never saw them in Montreal but every so often it was nice to hear of some lucky Canadian who won and spent the rest of their lives on easy street.
Hello 'Fresco' I have to relay a funny & true story,....your post shows a picture with the title 'Chief' on it,.... & your posted msg. mentions living on Easy Street (if you won the Irish Sweepstakes) ............many years ago,( actually my birthday weekend ,when Mt St Helens blew up. a whole bunch of us were camping for the weekend,at a place called Bamfield ,(Westcoast BC Canada) .....it's actually the beginning of the 'WestCoast Trail' ( a hike you wouldn't believe) ......However there is an Indian Band who own the land close to the beginning (or end,depending on where you start) of the WestCoast Trail........well the 'Chief'(in those days,at least) lived on (and get this ,...these are just a couple of dirt roads,on the reserve) well the Chief named the 'street' he lived on 'Easy Street'................and it was better than a lottery...............hahahahahaha & showed a great sense of Humour........hahahahah Bamfield isn't easy to get to by road,(at least at certain times of the year),but it's a beautiful place once your there........Have Fun & Remember Verdun
I should have said that 'Pachena Bay' is where we camped,....about 5minute ride to Bamfield (Bamfield has about 50 residents...........hahahahaha so it's sort of the nearest HUB.................hahahahah
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