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.
I have found another photo of Dr Norman Bethune taken in France in 1937 which I hava added to my Album no. 49. We must not forget this great Canadian hero from the 1920s and 30s. He had a Verdun connection for having treated poor patients in Verdun in the 30s at the YMCA on Gordon street. Aside from the video made to honor Bethune, I was unable to find any mention of his connection with Verdun in the Guardian of that period.
Guy
The photo of the Bannantyne school on the home page brings back fond memories of my growing up in Verdun in the 30s, 40s and 50s. We lived just across the street at 857 Galt facing directly across the school on the left of the photo and we played in front of, on the door steps, in the yard, even inside the school as sometimes they would forget to lock one of the doors and you know when you are kids, and when opportunity knocks, we took advantage of the situation and played in the gymnasium. Bannantyne street is on the foreground of the photo. Thanks Les for posting it. Here is a photo of the building that I took a few of years ago from my album no. 7 that replaced the school
Guy
<a href="http://shgverdun.multiply.com/photos/album/7/Album-No.-7-Verdun-Schools#34"><img border="0" src="http://multiply.com/mu/shgverdun/image/2/photos/7/500x500/34/photo-34.jpg?et=nw26EN5das1ne00uSTaeAg&nmid=143644939"></a>
I wouild like to mention that at the sunday at the opening of the "Old Stone House", while I was at our booth, I greeted a gentleman whom I seemed to recognize, it was Charles Elliott who came to Verdun by bus as he now lives in Dorval. Of course we had a long chat about old Verdun. I gave him the address to purchase his ticket to the VHS reunion. It's a small world.
Guy
I thought I would re-post this article by this former Verdun resident, E.G. Montgomery:
Guy
ARTICLE IN THE VERDUN GUARDIAN OCTOBER 21ST 1959
VERDUN RESIDENT RECALLS VERDUN'S EARLY YEARS
When the Twentiethg century was just around the corner, E G. Montgomery of Hampstead, lived on a farm in Verdun. To this day, his fondest and most vivid memories are of early Verdun.
Mr Montgomery remembers when they got the idea of developing Verdun and built a bicycle track for the purpose of having bicycle races. There was only one road in Verdun during Mr Montgomery's youth. It was Lower Lachine Road (now LaSalle). They had'nt put Wellington street through yet.
U.H. Dandurand, who had the distinction of owning the first automobile in Montreal, was the man who organized the building of the bicycle track, Mr Montgomery remembers, and had Verdun first subdivided for building purposes.
Mr Montgomery attended the first school in Verdun wich was situated where LaSalle and Gordon are now located. At the same time there was a tollgate across the road from the school. Horses and buggies coming from Montreal on their way west on LaSalle Road paid tolls wich kept the roads in repair.
At the back of the school (where the boardwalk is now), they built a dike, the first protection they had against flooding in the spring. The dike ran from where the Grand Truck Boating stood to Riel avenue and from the fields to the high lands.
But one spring, the water broke through the dike and flooded Verdun. Travel had to be done in boats. Everyone living downstairs had four feet of water in their flats. The wooden sidewalks, wich had been sitting on wooden cross-pieces without being nailed down, were floating around Verdun.
Mr Montgomery remembers Charlie Baker, probably the first policeman in Verdun, who worked for the city of Verdun for about half a century.
He remembers too, Henry Hadley, City Engineer for Verdun, whose father had a farm wich gave some of the streets around Côte St Paul their name.
He remembers the family of Montheiths, the family of the present Federal MP for Verdun, (Old Johnny and young Johnny) who had two dairy farms and who delivered milk to houses in the city.
He still has a newspaper photograph of the children who went to the first Verdun school with him in 1895.
Mr Montgomery remembers Verdun as few people do.
Our society (SHGV) had a display booth at the inauguration of the Maison Nivard-de-Saint-Dizier (Old Stone House) yesterday for the inauguration of the museum. The opening was a great success and as you can see from the photos, the landscaping is magnificient. More work is to be done on the landscaping which should be completed this summer.
Unfortunately we where not permited to take photos of the interior of the museum.
Opening hours:
19th of may to the 23rd of june: wenesday to sunday, 10am to 5pm.
24th of june to 2nd of september: tuesday to sunday, 10am to 5pm.
3rd of september to 9th of october: wednesday to sunday, 10am to 5pm
Guy
Our display booth (SHGV):
Demonstration on how to make arrow-heads:
Military costume of the french period of the colony:
Articles fo the period:
Same, notice antique rifles:
Line-up waiting to enter museum:
Coureur de Bois:
Terrace:
Maggie,
I have some good news for you. I was able to contact Charles (C.E.) Elliot as I kept my files on the Verdun Memories group. I even had his phone number and he now lives in Dorval. He was not aware of the reunion and he will pass the word around. I gave him the address to purchase his ticket. I took the following picture which was a V.M. reunion at the Dawson Cultural Center in 2007 and he is on the left. He unfortunately does not have the internet. I also took the opportunity to tell him about the grand opening of the Old Stone House as a museum on the weekend, the 27th of may.
Guy
Here are more old photos of the boardwalk facilities:
The Bandstand which was also called the Sing Song according to the article although I never heard of that expression.
Also shown is the dance pavillion. The article mentions that Oscar Peterson played there.
Guy
Photos: Fonds d'archives de l'arrondissement de Verdun
Archives SHGV
Here are the hi-lites of the article that appeared in the Verdun Diamond Jubilee 1896-1936 publication depicting life in Verdun in the 1890s:
1890:
Artillery practice refused.
Théo. St Germain, chief of police, thanked for his efficient service.
1892;
Complaint for fast driving on Lower Lachine Road (horse)
1893:
Delegation to federal government to request bridge at Atwater.
1894:
First water pipes and drains laid in.
Penalty of $20.00 or 30 days in jail for first case of fast driving in Verdun.
1895:
Actual works begins on the Dyke.
Accused found guilty of selling goods on sunday.
Omnibus making 5 trips a day.
1896:
A salary of $8.00 a week provided for policeman.
1898:
Railway commission formed to negotiate and provide a tram service in Verdun.
Guy
Seeing the above photo of the boardwalk which Les has posted reminded me of the velodrome that was situated in this general area in 1899 to host the World's Meet.
I am still doing research on the Queen's Park velodrome that was constructed in 1898 in Verdun to host the 1899 World's Meet International Bicycle races. I have recently discovered a plan showing that the velodrome was situated as follows:
South: Chermin de Lachine (LaSalle Boulevard)
East: Rielle Avenue
North Wellington Street
West: Dike (between Willibrod and 1st avenue)
Willibrod street ended at Wellington in 1899.
I have some photos of this international sporting event but I am convinced that other photos must be around somewhere since this was an international sporting event and surely dozens of reporters where at this important event and since it was the beginning of the moving pictures, there surely must be some 8mm or 16 mm films hidden somwhere in some old shoe boxes or museum yet to be discovered.
Can you imagine Verdun with only an app. 2000 population hosting such an international sporting event, with a 12,000 cap.velodromeon the boardwalk,its mind boggling. .
I have brought up this subject before but i'm at it again as this subject just fascinates me and I am appealing to MVC members to help me in this research. Finding some films wouild be like finding the holy grail, but who knows, you never know.
Guy
Guy
The Verdun Messager reports that the City of Montréal will completely renovate the Jolicoeur bridge this summer including the sidewalk which will be enlarged. It is mentioned that the bridge was built in 1932.
Guy
I have found in our archives (SHGV) the following year books:
Lindsay Place High School, Eighth Edition, 1970 year book (Address ?)
James Lyng High School, 1987 year book, 5440 Notre Dame St. West, Montreal Qc
If any MVC members think they are in these yearbooks and would like a copy of the page showing their name or photo, let me know and I will post them.
Guy
My notes indicate that I had recently posted this photo but I don't see it so here it goes again.
Although there are no cars on the photo of the Wellington bridge dated 1906, there is plenty of horsepower.
Guy
ARCHIVES SHGV
I was in Verdun yesterday and took these photos at the S.W. corner of Bannantyne and Allard streets. The building that blew up in 1958 has no. 6200 Bannantyne.
Guy
Explosion 28th May 1958
New building at 6200 Bannantyne
General view same as old photo
ARCHIVES SHGV
Explosion Photo: Verdun Police Dept. May 29th 1958
New Photos: Guy Billard Oct. 15th 2012
ARCHIVES SHGV
I found the Guardian article dated May 29th 1958 concerning the gas explosion at the corner of Bannantyne & Allard which follows in it's entirety:
Guy
THE GUARDIAN, MAY 28, 1958
EXPERTS SEEKING EXPLOSION CAUSE
4 TRAPPED IN DEBRIS AS GLASS, WRECKAGE SHOWER ON HOME
Experts today are probing for the cause of one of the worst explosion in the history of Verdun, which burst upon residents yesterday afternoon, as a duplex on the corner of Bannantyane avenue and Allard street erupted with a blast that could be heard over the entire West End of the city. Four persons, all in the building when the blast occured were taken to Verdun General Hospital after police and firemen pulled them form beneath the debris. One of the casulties, A. Boisclair, of 6200 Bannantyne, still remains in critical condition in hospital.
Others injured were Rolland Loiseau age 28, 1208 Stephens St. who was working in his office, Loiseau Realties, in the downstairs corner flat; Alexandre Dulude, age 62, 6237 Bannantyne, also in the Realty office; Paul Émile Messier, age 42, 72 Lafleur St., Ville LaSalle, who was delivering mail in the building. Mrs William Lippiath, who occupies an adjoining flat at 6204 Bannantyne, fainted in the arms of Const. A. Simoneau when she feared her daughter was in the house. She was also taken in the Verdun General Hospital and treated for nervous shock, then taken to relatives. Dr A. Coutu,, chief surgeon in emergency ward, treated all the casualties.
FIRE TRUCKS ARRIVE
The alarm was set off at 3 pm by Const. C. Noël and within minutes three fire trucks were on the scene. Detective Lieut. Jim Martin of the Verdun force was on hand to direct the operation. Only a small fire blasted in the wreckage, and firemen extinguished it promply. They continued to pour water on the smouldeiring ruins to prevent fire from breaking out.
First policemen to arrive on the scene were Constable W. Daniels, A. Simoneau and G. Bonin. They immediately set to work searching the debris. More police, firemen and volunteer workers arrived shortly to dig out the injured. Three Woodland ambulancees were called in.
INJURED FOUND
Within 10 minutes, Loiseau was found under planks, plaster and crumbled furniture. He was placed on a stretcher, and rushed to hospital. He was severely battered with lacerations to his face and body. He was x-rayed for a possible head concussion,
Next person to be pulled form the debris was Dulude at about 3.30 pm. He was found under the wreckage in front of the building, where the blast had knocked out the front wall. He was burned about the arms and legs, but x-rays revealed no serious internal injury.
Messier was found near Dulude shortly after. He was treated in hospital for an injury to the top of his head, as well as body lacerations. Dr Coutu found other injuries, Boisclair was the last to be located. He was pulled from the wreakage in the rear of the second sttory flat abou 4 pm. He was severely battered and bruised and suffered serious second degree burns. Dr Coutu was unable to determine the severity of the internal injuries. A priest was on hand to give him the last rites of the church when he was taken from the ruins.
The Quebec Natural GAs Corp. arrived promptly to check the gas intallations in the blasted building, and also to check installations in the neighborhood. Ken Lucas, vice-president of the coorporation, said it could not yet be determined wether gas fumes were responsible for the explosion. The firm is conducting a thorough investigation.
GREAT FLASH
Neighbors said the first thing they saw was a great flash - then the shattering blast was heard and parts of the building flew in every directions. The debris was falling like rain, remarked on of the nerve shattered viewers. For nearly half a block in all directions, windows were shattered and nearby dwellings were ruined inside.
Mrs F. Thompson, who lives directly across the street, at 6696 Bannantyne, said her home was filled with smoke after the blast. All her windows were blown out and much of her furniture was demolished.
Jay's Handy store, across the street on the opposite corner, was only slightly damaged, The front windows were destroyed but nothing in the store was harmed. Four customers were in the store when the nearby building erupted, but non suffered anything, but shattered nerves.
Mrs A. Farnham, at 6203 Bannantyne said she thought an airplane had craashed on her home "a few windows were shattered" she said, "and pieces of wood flew right onto my balcony. The house was shaking so much I was absolutely terrified".
WINDOWS BLOWN OUT
The barbershop adjoining the demolished block was damaged considerably. All the windows
were blown out, the plaster cracked at the ceiling and the foundation weakened. Proprietor P. Soucy said he was sitting on the front balcony when he was shattered by the blast." As soon sa i could gain my senses, I grabbed my wife by the hand and we scuttled across the street as fast as we could. I was afraid of falling bricks, or that the place would explode again."
Mrs R. Henry who lives in the house neighboring the realty from Allard avenue was actually "saved by a rotten apple", as one of her friends noted. "I had been sitting on the balcony and I decided to go back in the house to throw away the rotten apple I had chosen to eat." Mrs Henry said.
Just as she got in the house, the neighboring duplex exploded. The door to her balcony flew off and pieces of it went through the chair she had been in only a moment before. Mrs Ernest Mills, several doors away at 6146 Bannantyne, said she thought a plane had crashed in her back yard "Im still frightened to death" she said over an hour after the explosion.
Verdun police are still trying to determine the cause of the explosion. They believe it originated in the dodwnstairs flat occupied by the realty firm. Traffic was jammed in the blast ares late last nite, as debris still littered the streets as incredulous spectators lingered at the scene
ARCHIVES SHGV (13 Mars 2012)
Here is another old photo I pulled out of our archives. It was originally the property of the City of Verdun and is dated Nov. 19 1969, no. 1095/69.
We can see the boating club (VMBC ?) on the river bank, the Champlain bridge and Nun's Island showing the excavation earth along the shore. The development of Nun's Island had alrteady begun transforming the whole area, for good or bad.
My guess is that the photo was taken behind the hospital with the Auditorium on the right. Can anybody confirm this.
Guy
These 2 photos may seem just another typical accident in Verdun but they have a story to tell. These photos where taken by the Verdun Police Department on the 7th of August 1955 at the corner of Bannantyne and Church. The police department decided to make a clean up in their archives and they where donated to us ()SHGV) for safe keeping by one of our loyal members. I was on duty today and decided to go through our albums and wanting to share the photos with MVC members, i took them home and scanned them.
First of all we can see the tramway tracks which as we all know where removed in 1959. The photo showing the Pontiac against the Steel post is looking towards the south east and on the right is Bannantyne going towards Hickson and on the left is Church going towards the Aqueduct. The building in the background was replaced by a more modern building and I will take a photo on my next trip to Verdun.
The other photo showing the Pontiac's front end smashed against the steel post was taken looking west on the right towards LaSalle and on the left is Church street looking towards the river.
This is the same corner where the lady who garded the school children crossing the street was killed about 2 years ago and was mentioned on this site.
Also I have a personal reason for my posting these photos is that I also was a gardian helping the school children crossing the street in the early 40s when I went to the Notre Dame du Cénacle school which was just down the street between Church and Hickson. which was replaced by a residential complex.
Another incident that happened in the early 40s on a cold slippery winter evening when me and one of my friends where crossing the street, my friend was hit by a car and ended up under it. He was taken to the hospital with severe head injuries and spent several weeks in the hospital but survived with no permanednt damage as far as I can remember. You can't keep those Verdun boys down.
Isn't it amazing the story a photo can tell.
Guy
What better way to mark the new year by posting these photos of 4 Verdun hockey greats who marked the history of our national sport, Scotty Bowman, Denis Savard, Dollard St Laurent and Don Marshall.
Guy
Guy
Billy Munro was born in Grenada, in the West Indies, in March of 1894. As a youth, he lived with an uncle in London and studied piano at the Royal Academy of Music and University College School. He immigrated to the United States around 1910 and worked as a silent-movie pianist in a number of American cities before settling in Montréal in 1913. While he continued to play the piano in silent-movie theatres, Munro also performed at the Jardin de Danse in 1917. He lived in New York from 1918 to 1920, where he played in the celebrated Ted Lewis Orchestra. He composed several songs with this group, including "When My Baby Smiles at Me," written for the review Greenwich Village Follies of 1919. This song became a smash hit throughout North America and was featured in the films Hold That Ghost (1941) and Behind the Eight Ball (1942).
Billy Munro returned to Montréal in 1920 and joined the Melody Kings. The ensemble recorded a number of musical selections in 1923, for Herbert Berliner's Apex label. These recordings included Munro's own compositions "I'll Be Here When You Get Back" and "Music Makes the World Go Round." From 1925 to 1929, Munro played with the Melody Kings at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Montréal. He later formed his own dance orchestra and inaugurated the cabaret Le Frolic (renamed the Faisan doré 15 years later). His orchestra held extended billings at various cabarets, including Chez Maurice, the Lido and the Gatineau Country Club. Billy Munro turned to freelancing in 1941. He hosted his own radio program on CKAC in 1944 and became the music director at CKVL, a new radio station that began broadcasting from Verdun in 1946. His program, "Les découvertes de Billy Munro," was one of the most popular on French-language radio for a dozen years. From 1947 to 1950, he held the post of music director for the program "Le fantôme au clavier" (CKVL), hosted by Jacques Normand. The artistic collaboration between the two men continued for 15 years, first at the Faisan doré (1948-1950) and then through most of Jacques Normand's cabaret shows, until the mid-1960s.
Billy Munro passed away in Montréal on October 16, 1969.
Unfortunately, the pianist made few solo recordings. Munro's Jardin de Danse Orchestra recorded "Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes" in 1922 (HMV 216357). As well, a recording of "When My Baby Smiles at Me" and "My Blue Heaven" (CH-505) was put out by the Quebec label Alouette in 1952.
For more information on Billy Munro's recordings, please consult the Virtual Gramophone database.
Robert Thérien, music researcher, Montréal
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