Many Verdunites summered in the Laurentians, usually travelling by train. The CN line left from Central Station with an electric engine going through the tunnel to Mount Royal. The Mount Royal station has been preserved and of course the tunnel is still there being used for the train to Two Mountains for example. The electric engine was swapped for a (sometimes 2 or 3) steam engine. The train ran through little towns that today are all part of Laval to St.Jerome where people hopped off to get steamies. It trundled along through Shawbridge, Newago and Montfort (highest point). Right through the middle of Camp Chapleau and on through St.Sauveur; Morin Heights, Sixteen Island Lake, Weir. Arundel, Grey Vallee to the Air Base, the name of which escapes me at the moment. Upon arrival, the air was a high by itself. We remember the fields, the lakes and the cottages. Who needed TV when you had all that. Ed
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.
15 comments:
Those were the days Ed. I remember my mother, my younger brother Hartland (Bumpy), and I going up to Morin Heights when we were just kids. Those were the days when the train was packed with skiers. I can still hear the conductor yelling out the next stops. Also the train to Val David. We were lucky enough to rent part of a house on Golden Lake, in Val David. I have some 8mm film from there. I have converted it over to VHS tape. When we visited my sister Maureen (since deceased) we drove up there, so I could show my wife where we would have a great time when we were kids. My wife is originally from California. Her family moved to Vancouver, Washington when she was 9. Thanks Ed, those really were the days. Winston Allison
Ed....as a very young child my parents took me and my brother by train to Weir where my grandparents lived at that time, I don't remember much about it. When I was between 10 and 13 or so we went to Ste.Agathe for a couple of weeks every summer. My mom was close friends to a family who owned a log cabin and we stayed there. It was very primative, no indoor plumbing and if we wanted a bath we went to Lac Des Sables for a swim. We, the kids had a ball. My brother and I each were allowed to bring a friend along....I think my mom was smart, because then we would not be board and want to go back to Angers St. Anyhow, those summers were so much fun. A few years back Paul and I went up to Ste. Agathe and it is so changed.....the cabin is no longer there, torn down when the Auto Route was extended....There were railway tracks across the road from the cabin and we weren't allowed to walk along them...but of course we did, we picked the best blueberries along side the tracks. ......anyhow those tracks are part of Le Petit Train, a hiking trail, and we hiked along there for quite a distance, beautiful scenery, and the smell of fresh spruce and pine trees...Wonderful! ...great memories...Dianne
Hi Ed, We would take the CNR train to St Sauveur and stay at Miss Paquette's Boarding House. She made fanatstic food including a maple syrup pie. Pie crust, thin layer of maple syrup then pie crust strips on top of the maple syrup. Sometimes we would take the CPR train to Piedmont and taxi over to St Sauveur. We would do a week in the summer and a couple of weekends in the winter. The taxi from Piedmont to St Sauveur during wintertime was a big snowmobile. St Sauveur was a lot of fun. Kids could get into the movie theatre, unlike Montreal. The CPR train from Piedmont had really old wooden passenger cars and some had gas lantern lights in the cars. The Conductor would light them up when it got dark. One time we got on to the wrong train, one that was heading for the CPR Station in the eastern section of Montreal. I had never been to that station and I was furious when we got off at Park Avenue Station to wait for the correct train. The CPR east end station closed in 1952, I forget the name of it and I never did get to see the inside of that station. Remember the guys who sold the food from the big baskets on the trains. I loved those sandwiches and was usually lucky enough to get a Neilsons, Lowney or Cadbury chocolate bar (Hershey was not yet in Canada). It is a shame that both the CPR & CNR Laurentine train lines were dismantled.
You just tickled my tired old brain. I remember that Hershey chocolate was not available here in Canada, and my aunt and uncle would make annual trips to the USA at Easter and Christmas and bring back loads of stuff for all us kids. Of course, Cherry Blossom and Crispy Crunch would do in a pinch. Cheers
HappyDi2. A few years back we went up to St Agathe and it was changed to where it was a city. We went further up to St Faustin and it had not changed a bit. Winston Allison
Hi Winston: I remember St Faustin and the fish hatchery...do you remember that place?..Also my cousin's parents rented a cottage on Lac Carre...I think that is the name...Square Lake....This goes back to the late 50's and early 60's...where does the time go?....dianne
I was only about 5 or 6 years old at the time. We were on lake Superior. There was also a Catholic church(?) where the priests stayed. I do remember the lake. We were probably there around 1945 or 1946 I am guessing. Winston Allison
Much of the Laurentian country landscape has changed. Farmers used to cut hay along the sides of the roads every year for hay to feed cows. Trains took their milk to the dairy in St.Jerome. The train stopped frequently, often between towns to pick up the milk cans. This was known as a milk run. When Mulroney ended the trains farmers and tourism suffered. With hay no longer being cut, the forest grew up to the edge of the road. WIth this a good fire break has been lost. I wonder if anyone knows what happened to the 584 billion dollars spent by Mulroney and Trudeau/Chretien. The only thing Canadians got was the GST and poorer. Ed
Linda, you used the right word to catch my attention......chocolate. I remember as a kid in Verdun, every time my uncle, from Burgeo, Newfoundland, who worked on a freighter ship, would stop at the Port, we would pick him up, and bring him home. He would always have cod fish, moose meat, hard tack, and boxes of CHOCOLATE BARS. His visits were always very sweet. m.p.u.
Dianne, The Weir/Arundel town historian is Bevan Jones at frankiebevan@sympatico.ca He has a great memory of all residents, regular and summer. Ed
Hi Ed: That's great, I'll have to email him. I've been thinking about Weir and it seems to me that the lake was called Bevan Lake. And, believe it or not, I am quite sure a Jones family lived across the road from my grandparents. Perhaps Bevan Jones is a relative of that family and named after the lake....Thanks again...Dianne
Ralph:......My sister-in-law is from Burgeo, her maiden name was Rose.....Dianne
Fresco 750 ( Hope that's not your weight) It is a shame that the train
lines to the Laurentians were dismantled. When I talked to the people at
Morgan's farm at Weir I was surprised at the vehemence they held against
Mulroney for doing it. It made the country people feel like they were being
cut off from the mainstream of Canada. He also changed the transport laws
everywhere. In B.C. we were pulling trailer trains (2 trailers) through the
Rockies. Those roads were never built for that. It hard enough to pass one
slow moving trailer but two can be deadly. Ed
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Dianne, as they say it really is a small world. I never went to Burgeo that I know of. I have only been to NFLD when I was 5 or 6 and my Mom, Sister, and myself went to my Mom's hometown of Fortune. My aunt and uncle that lived in Burgeo were Sarah(Day) and Gilbert Melbourne. They had a few children, but I don't remember any of their names. My Mom was a Newfie, as were my four grandparents, so I guess that makes me 25% Newfie??? If so, I am proud of it. Ralph.
Mom1945 Linda My grandparents always went to East Boston every summer to visit my Grandma's sisters. They always brought back a box of Hershey Bars and it was great treat. Ruth
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