The Verdun Spy Mystery - rerun

From: kristiangravenor <beaveroncrack@hotmail.com>
Subject: [MediainMontreal] Help with Verdun mystery
To: MediainMontreal@yahoogroups.com
Received: Tuesday, February 1, 2005, 8:33 PM

There's a good discussion forum about Verdun with a few neat stories
that I might use if I ever write another book about Montreal. Here's a
potboiler that maybe somebody knows the answer to ....
----
http://snipurl.com/cgug

Most of us 55 and older will have various memories of the Cold War and
spies.  But I suspect none of us knew just how close the spies were.

I recently bought a non-fiction paperback book in a second-hand book
store and while reading it, discovered the Verdun Cold War Connection.
The book is called "FOR SERVICES RENDERED" by John Sawatsky,
originally published by Doubleday & Company in 1952, and in 1953 a
paperback version was published by Penguin Books.   It is about RCMP
spymaster Leslie James Bennett.

The Verdun Cold War Connection described in this book is all too brief
- no more than a couple of paragraphs - but left me fasinated and
wishing I could remember more about the location mentioned.  In 1952,
a Soviet spy (code named "Gideon" ) set up operation in Verdun.  Here
I will quote directly from the book (remember, this is non-fiction and
the year is 1952):

"Weeks later word arrived (from his controller) to start setting up
shop as a photographer.  Gideon settled on a small shop on Bannantyne
Avenue ... in Verdun, a suburb near downtown Montreal.  The store had
previously been a one-woman beauty salon that succumbed to competition
from two other beauty shops within a block.  Low-income homes ...
mixed with the smattering of mom-and-pop outlets such as the Joe and
Alec Restaurant across the street dotted the neighbourhood... Before
he had finished purchasing photographic equipment he went out and
bought a short wave radio and propped it up in his living quarters..."

In 1953 Gideon contacted the RCMP and became a double-agent working
for the RCMP.  Gideon continued to broadcast to Moscow from his
photography shop on Bannantyne (sending material provided to him by
the RCMP) until he was recalled to Moscow in 1956 for the usual
briefing.  He never returned.

So, how are your memories?  Where on Bannantyne was this Cold War spy
located?  By the way, no other information is given in the book  - and
I no idea.

The only clues (some are quoted above; others from the book) are:


   1. In 1952 a photographers shop opened in a former beauty salon on
Bannantyne Ave.
   2. In 1952 there were two other beauty shops within a block.
   3. The Joe and Alex Restaurant was across the street.
   4.  There was a short wave antenna situated at the back of the
building.
   5. In 1952 he was a short blond man in his late twenties, with an
European look.
   6. While in Canada he used the name David Soboloff.

Can anyone help solve this Verdun Cold War Mystery?

Remembrance Day Coming Soon.......lest we forget

Just got this via email:  You may like it, maybe not,but it's a good reason to buy a poppy.........or at least Remember in your own way:

Her hair was up in a pony tail,
Her favorite dress tied with a bow..
Today was Daddy's Day at school,
And she couldn't wait to go.

But her mommy tried to tell her,
That she probably should stay home.
Why the kids might not understand,
If she went to school alone.

But she was not afraid;
She knew just what to say.
What to tell her classmates
Of why he wasn't there today.

But still her mother worried,
For her to face this day alone.
And that was why once again,
She tried to keep her daughter home.

But the little girl went to school
Eager to tell them all.
About a dad she never sees
A dad who never calls.

There were daddies along the wall in back,
For everyone to meet.
Children squirming impatiently,
Anxious in their seats

One by one the teacher called
A student from the class.
To introduce their daddy,
As seconds slowly passed.

At last the teacher called her name,
Every child turned to stare.
Each of them was searching,
A man who wasn't there.

'Where's her daddy at?'
She heard a boy call out.
'She probably doesn't have one,'
Another student dared to shout.

And from somewhere near the back,
She heard a daddy say,
'Looks like another deadbeat dad,
Too busy to waste his day.'

The words did not offend her,
As she smiled up at her Mom.
And looked back at her teacher,
Who told her to go on.

And with hands behind her back,
Slowly she began to speak.
And out from the mouth of a child,
Came words incredibly unique.

'My Daddy couldn't be here,
Because he lives so far away.
But I know he wishes he could be,
Since this is such a special day.

And though you cannot meet him,
I wanted you to know.
All about my daddy,
And how much he loves me so.

He loved to tell me stories
He taught me to ride my bike.
He surprised me with pink roses,
And taught me to fly a kite.

We used to share fudge sundaes,
And ice cream in a cone.
And though you cannot see him.
I'm not standing here alone.

'Cause my daddy's always with me,
Even though we are apart
I know because he told me,
He'll forever be in my heart'

With that, her little hand reached up,
And lay across her chest.
Feeling her own heartbeat,
Beneath her favorite dress.

And from somewhere here in the crowd of dads,
Her mother stood in tears.
Proudly watching her daughter,
Who was wise beyond her years.

For she stood up for the love
Of a man not in her life.
Doing what was best for her,
Doing what was right.

And when she dropped her hand back down,
Staring straight into the crowd.
She finished with a voice so soft,
But its message clear and loud.

'I love my daddy very much,
he's my shining star.
And if he could, he'd be here,
But heaven's just too far.

You see he is a Canadian soldier
And died just this past year
When a roadside bomb hit his convoy
And taught us all to fear.

But sometimes when I close my eyes,
it's like he never went away.'
And then she closed her eyes,
And saw him there that day.

And to her mothers amazement,
She witnessed with surprise.
A room full of daddies and children,
All starting to close their eyes.

Who knows what they saw before them,
Who knows what they felt inside.
Perhaps for merely a second,
They saw him at her side.

'I know you're with me Daddy,'
To the silence she called out.
And what happened next made believers,
Of those once filled with doubt.

Not one in that room could explain it,
For each of their eyes had been closed.
But there on the desk beside her,
Was a fragrant long-stemmed  rose.

And a child was blessed, if only for a moment,
By the love of her shining star.
And given the gift of believing,
That heaven is never too far.

............................Buy a Poppy  .hf&rv