Thats a picture of me somewhere on the river in July 1955. I kept my boat at the Verdun Yacht Club behind the Auditorium.That's over 50 years ago, time sure flies.
Guy
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.
28 comments:
Guy there is software which could enhance that great photoo.
Bill
Guy, I think that you mean the Verdun Motor Boat Club. My dad belonged to the Verdun Yacht Club that was down by the Pav. at the other end of Verdun. Harriett
Harriett, I guess you'r right, it's so long ago ! Guy
Bill, I have the software but other than making my photos ligthter or darker, I'm afraid I'm not too familiar with it. However, I will practice my skills.Tthe crooked and misty old photo (unintentional) adds a certain originality. I think I will improve, enlarge and frame it. I think I will call it "River Rat" or le "Rat de la Riviére" in french as I spent a good part of my youth on that river. Guy
Maybe this is clearer?
Little darker.
Bill, I think it is too dark. I will play with my computer and try to improve on it as you suggested. Guy
what...no fishing rod in the boat
My question to Guy would be ,.Do you Remember who may have taken the picture ? .....and if so,maybe they would have other photo's that you could possibly get to share with us,..........All these pics are certainly perfect isolated & captured 'moments in time',........and easily appreciated by all.
Guy; what type of motor did you have and what was the HP, it does not look like a Johnson, but I guess 9.5 HP. Gordo
Hi Guy /Maroonvet,........I have been searching for old types of outboard motors,.and I think this one may have been an Evinrude,.....(but I'm no outboard motor expert),......Guy Do you recall what make this motor was? maybe we can find a good photo to correctly identify it. I know this isn't exact,but it seems to have that 'pancake' head type of look maybe Our member nostop514,might know ,He runs that same stretch of water up to Heron Island,..and also has converted some old outboards to jet drives,...so maybe he would recognise ,what type of motor is on Guy's boat ? How about it nostop514.....any ideas ? Here's Guy's original photo,for comparison .................
Now how about this ,for 'somewhere on the river',.......this picture most likely,pre-dates 'any' of Our Members,....... it's a shot taken from a boat near the Victoria Bridge,..(when they were converting the old box style Victoria Bridge,into the more familiar Iron & Steel Bridge ,that we would more readily recognize: ........as the note on the picture says,.this was the 14th span,to be put in place: It's really amazing ,How resourceful the thinking minds of the day,were,considering the type f equipment & tools ,they would have had to use...............The work force earned it's dough ,this must have been very hard work,not to mention,the constant danger of ending up in the drink:
Here's another shot of the Victoria Bridge,showingg a little 'upgrade alteration' that happened more in Our Time (are we getting old........hahahah)....This was to accomodate the bridge traffic,& allow uninterupted traffic flow,while a ship entered the Locks of the Seaway, by the time the ship would enter one end,the traffic would be diverted over the other span,until the lock was filled or emptied (depending on ship's direction) ,and then Vice-Versa..............Although I do seem to Remember an event where the barricade for the diversion was not put back down or closed in time ,and a car sailed off the bridge and into the Seaway.........anyone else recall this mishap ? My guess would be it was around early 60's
I spent many weekends on the River as a boy fishing with old man Lawton from 433 Second Avenue. I lived at 457. He never owned a storage shed on the 5th Ave (?) dock so we had to transport the Evinrude by coaster. I spent more time fishing with him than his own boys. First we'd net some minnows off a small island up river, or dig worms in cow manure at a farm on the other side someplace. Then we’d settle in at a particular fishing spot he would decide on depending if we were after perch, bass, muskie etc. Once we trolled very close to the Victoria Bridge. Shallow and fast water and so I was the designated bow look out for rocks. We had a few close calls. I suppose we’d be in deep kimchi if we capsized; he an old man and me 10 years old. I loved him and that river growing up. The St. Lawrence and Nun's iIsland was the Amazon to me. Good times long long ago and far far away.
Second Avenue.
NICE PICTURE OF THE BRIDGE
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Les-F, My motor was an Evenrude or a Johnson, I can't remember, more likely an Evenrude. These were the only 2 motors you would see at the time although some more fortunate had a Mercury, there were no Japanese motors like the Honda in those days. When there were regattas in Verdun in the 40's or 50's, the Mercury motors would beat the other two to the point where they had to have races between Mercurys only. Guy
While were on the subject of boats, here is a boat I built in the early 60s from plans wich appeared in the Science and Mechanics magasine in early 60s. I sent them my photos and they published them in the November 1963 issue of wich I have a copy in my album. Guy
Hi Les, It is a Johnson 22, my father had one for racing exactly the same many yrs ago Harriett
Hello Guy that is a neat boat & a great story to go with it,.....the boat looks like a mini (sort of) houseboat,..with lots of room in it,.and a compfortable aft section to enjoy the sun,.......the relatively flat bottom would have been good on the StLawerance,.....with it's real shallow areas,......That is neat ,that you built it yourself,....one day you should post the article from the Science Magazin, I'll bet that boat could tell a few stories ............hahahahah Super pictures Guy,......that's what I'd like to see ,to encourage everyone to show us 'any old Verdun,...or just plain years gone by pics,.......they all have a story:
Thanks Harriet,......good eye there,.....I don't know boat motors very well ,unless I can read the name..........hahahaha Thanks for the info,......now are you referring to the picture of an outboard ,that I posted,...or can you tell ,from Guy's first photo of the motor on his boat ? It's funny you mention racing,.cause I Remember as a kid ,we could hear the noise of the outboards ,being fired up,and we'd all go down to the boat club behind the Auditorium (GrandTrunk ,..I beleive),.....where they had many different boats,..from rowing to motorboats .........but a lot of regatta type stuff used to start around there too.......(unless it was 2nd Av,.....LeBlancs ,that 's where you could rent row boats,......)
great pictures guy..
Use to be a guy we called the "RIVER RAT" because he
always spent his time on a the St.Lawrence river..he
had a boat.Think he always moured it in Crawfordpark,
or lasalle..His real name was Nicky Hollet..He knew
just about everyone one the river..
John
always nice to hear of some venture from Verdun past.
I think all of us when we were young boys and hung
around the river has good memories of it..Catching
your own minnows, frogs ,night crawlers,and worms for
fishing was the norm in those days..
John
Well just because this picture has the River in it,......and it's Night Time across this country (Canada ) and most of the USA, I thought I'd post this evening shot looking towards Montreal: Kind of a neat shot ,..colours are good............blah blah blah
nice
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Super black and white photos, Guy! Regards, Everyone, Jack
Hi Les, I recognized the motor by the squarish tank. My father had souped his up for racing so much it only lasted about 2 races and blew. I watched it blow up. He also use to build his boats for pleasure and racing. He had a boat he called the ANGRY BEE, it was a C hydro with an Alky motor and these long stacks out the back. It whined just like an ANGRY BEE, hence the name. He had built many racing boats and pleasure boats. He spent the majority of his life on the river or up at the first island ( I think it is Heron Island - always did get those mixed up. He had a place there up untilabout 2 -3 yrs before his passing. It was the picture of the motor that caught my eye. Have a great day Harriett
Hi Harriet,..........any possibilites of finding some old shots of your Dad's boats? An old shoe box full of Verdun treasures maybe ? Sure would be good to see some more pictures of the River,.....or the streets for that matter,.we're easy to please.........hahahah Hope you find some pics,or Remember some more story's like the one of the 'Angry Bee',.......these are the things that keep the site 'Buzzing',,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,hahahahaha Thanks for your update.
Les, That's a great shot of the bridge. As I recall the accident you mention involved two men and two women. The men in the front seat got out and the women drowned. Ed
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