Better Late Than Never (the Basta%^&s) Finally Save a House in the Griff

Well only 50+ years later & Drapeau's draconian direction to rid Montreal of unsightly neighbourhoods finally is halted & the last home in Griffintown is saved. I think this is a good thing but I also think there should be in every neighbourhood that was leveled by Drapeau ,a museum with the history of the areas affected clearly documented for anyone to see. Afterall we do have a lot of museums in Montreal so some dedicated ones to show the ignorance of some political whims ........We need to salvage & remember as much of history as possible , instead of leaving it to politicians to tell the story the way they want to spin it instead of actual documented stories & photographs to tell the real stories behind the neighbourhoods.  However I digress.......lol
So here is a story from today's Gazette about a Home in Griffintown Saved at Last.
 
                                                       

MONTREAL — A condominium developer has been refused permission to tear down a row of buildings that includes the oldest house in Griffintown.
The Sud-Ouest Borough’s Comité consultatif d’urbanisme (CCU) ruled unanimously Tuesday against a request by developer Maître carré to demolish three 19th-century buildings at 161-175 de la Montagne St.
CCU Chair Anne-Marie Sigouin said the buildings, facing a park that was once the site of St. Ann’s Church, are a rare surviving example of a typical streetscape in the former working-class neighbourhood.
“We have sent the architects back to the drawing board,” said Sigouin, the city councillor for the Saint-Paul/Émard district.
“We want to send a clear message on heritage protection,” she added.
The buildings covered by the decision include a tiny house at 175 de la Montagne that is the oldest house in the district, the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution in Canada. Dating back to 1825-35, the small house was originally built on a different site and moved to its present location in 1865.
The developer had offered to dismantle and reconstruct the tiny house and integrate it into a 12- to 14-storey condo project while demolishing the neighbouring buildings, which date back to 1862.
The CCU approved demolition of neighbouring buildings on Wellington St. just east of de la Montagne judged to have no heritage value. Sigouin said the borough would welcome a development project for the site if it integrates the historic buildings on de la Montagne.
Hugo Girard-Beauchamp, president of Maître carré, did not return a call from The Gazette.
mascot@montrealgazette.com

© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette

Toronto Star article re: Ted Grant Sixty Years of Legendary Photojournalism -by Thelma Fayle

Here is an article appearing today in the Toronto Star , some of you may find it interesting , as it relates to the last few posts on this blog re: The book written by Thelma Fayle about Ted Grant, and as mentioned previously the Leica Photo Gallery in New York City will have a 3 month display of Ted Grant's photos , and will host both Thelma & Ted this week as of Thursday in the Main Gallery on Broadway in  NYC.............the following is the article:

                

Canadian photojournalist Ted Grant finally gets his due: Goar

Thanks to an unlikely chain of events, a self-effacing Canadian photojournalist named Ted Grant has his own one-man show in New York.

                                     

 

Photojournalist Ted Grant took the iconic photo of Pierre Trudeau sliding down a banister in Ottawa's Chateau Laurier Hotel at the 1968 Liberal leadership convention. An exhibit of Grant's photos will be on display from April 24 to June 7, 2014, at the Leica Gallery in New York.

By: Carol Goar Star Columnist, Published on Mon Apr 21 2014

If you’re planning a trip to New York this spring, there is a treasure chest of Canadian memories at the Leica Gallery on Broadway.

The exhibit is called Ted Grant: Sixty Years of Legendary Photojournalism. It opens on April 24 and runs till June 7. The gallery’s directors, Rose and Jay Deutsch, call Grant “the father of Canadian photojournalism.”

You’ve seen his images, including the iconic shot (at the top of this column) of Pierre Trudeau sliding down a banister at the 1968 Liberal leadership convention. But you probably don’t know the photographer.

Grant never sought the spotlight or looked for accolades. When people praised his work, he’d say he was lucky or he just happened to be in the right place at the right time. But his “good luck” kept occurring. His portfolio includes some of the best candid photographs of Ronald Reagan, Jackie Kennedy, Margaret Thatcher and David Ben-Gurion ever taken.

The story of how his work ended up in one of the world’s top photo galleries is as interesting as the man himself.

I can’t tell it dispassionately because I like Grant very much (and had a trifling role). But it is worth hearing.

Throughout his career, Grant made time to share his knowledge. At the height of his professional prowess, he would slip away to Carleton University once a week to teach an undergrad course in photojournalism. I was lucky enough to be one of his students.

I have no photographic talent whatsoever. I didn’t have the right kind of camera and couldn’t afford a better one. I was awed by his professional stature. But Grant was so encouraging and so determined to find something good in the ham-handed pictures I took that I finished the course with a passing grade and a huge debt of gratitude to the man who helped me see the images around me, understand the play of light and watch how a master of the craft frames his subject.

I thanked him as well as a 22-year-old could and kept in touch with him when he moved to Victoria, where he now lives.

On the west coast, he continued to teach photojournalism. One of his students was a freelancer named Thelma Fayle. Like me, she was struck by his generosity, his eagerness to share his knowledge and his total lack of pretension.

Twenty-five years after she took his course, Fayle sent a letter to Grant asking for advice on a magazine profile she’d been assigned. Not only did he respond to her letter, he came to her house with his wife Irene. They chatted at her kitchen table for three hours. Without being asked, he accompanied her to the interview, stayed in the background and took some of the most evocative photos she’d ever seen.

Fayle asked Grant if he’d consider letting her write his biography, interspersed with some of his finest photos. He agreed.

It took her almost four years. She spent many hours at the National Gallery and Library and Archives Canada, poring over 300,000 of Grant’s photos to choose the 100 that appear in the book. She conducted more than 100 hours of interviews. She sought anecdotes from friends, colleagues and former students. And she wove it all together, highlighting his photos.

She learned about the improbable source of his skill: a childhood condition known as amblyopia or lazy eye. A doctor tried to treat it, giving him a patch to put over his good eye so the weak one would strengthen. But his elementary schoolteacher, thinking he was trying to be a clown, made him take it off. So his visual imbalance was never corrected.

But Grant trained his good eye to do the work of two. He became one of a handful (2 per cent) of left-eyed professional photographers. On assignments, he positioned himself differently than his competitors and shot from a different angle.

Slowly at first, then with gathering momentum he rose through the ranks. Successive editors discovered there was something special about the pictures he brought back.

Although Grant’s reputation grew, his practices didn’t change. That is clear from the list of “Ted’s tips” at the end of the book. There are 37 of them. Here are a few of my favourites:

I always carried a large bag of Thompson raisins. They were a quick hit of something to eat if I was working the oilfields or the Olympics or with a prime minister. The other guys always knew I had raisins and would share them with starving photographers.

Always be the first to arrive and the last to leave.

Don’t pose people.

Study the eyes of the person you are photographing.

Never say no to helping someone out.

“If you walk into any newspaper in the country, they will know Ted Grant’s name because of his reputation for giving back,” said former colleague John Harquail.

Fayle’s manuscript was rejected by a dozen publishers before Heritage House Publishing took a chance on an unknown writer. Since then, its staff has thrown itself into promoting the book and Grant. They arranged the one-man show in New York.

If you can’t get to New York, the book is an excellent alternative. If you can visit the Leica Gallery, you’ll see Grant’s most memorable photos showcased as they’ve never been before.

Carol Goar’s column appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Leica Gallery New York Show April 24th

This is an invite reminder sent from Leica announcing the upcoming show commencing this Thursday April 24th Opening Reception from 6pm-8pm.
Duration of the complete time frame to display many of Ted Grant's photographs, will be from April 25th until June 7th , 2014
Opening hours Tue-Fri 12-6pm , Sat 12-5pm
   ........many of Ted's photographs that will be on display in the Leica Gallery are also carried in the book , written by Thelma Fayle (ex-Verdun / Montrealer) titled:
  TED GRANT
Sixty Years of Legendary Photojournalism


 Here are some shots of the invite , (please don't shoot the cameraman , it was me.....LesF)
      you can click on each photo to enlarge then you might be able to read the print inside the card ,
 after you click on a photo you can then hold the Ctrl: button & then use your wheel on your mouse to make the photo even larger, but then again you most likely knew that didn't you.

I get to include this invite notification card with my copy of the book, if you are close enough to New York City , then you may want to take in the Lecia Gallery show in person.

 

Cheers & good luck to Ted & Thelma

 Have Fun & RememberVerdun       -LesF

Salut Marois Don't Let the Door Hit Your Arse on the Way Out

                           .............................................................................................'NUFF SAID.......

Update from Dolly on her book Loddy Dah !

 

                                                                                                                                                              One of our other gals from Verdun ,who will be having her book launch shortly just sent me this quick email update..........If you live in the Montreal area and can attend ,then you might just get to meet Dolly yourself, . let's encourage & support all the talented friends we can from our native Verdun / Montreal:               
                                                        

   Here is a copy of her email: (permission granted by Dolly to post this)

Hi Les,

Just to bring you up to date. Attached are images of my novel: front cover, interior, and back flap plus the acknowledgement page which includes YOU and the Verdun Connections Group! Hope you can read it. 

It's been a long journey but it's out now on Amazon.ca, Amazon.com, Amazon.co.UK, Barnes and Noble and Indigo. BUT ask your bookstores to order the book because I believe in supporting indie book stores. Also ask your library to stock it as I get paid for every book borrowed.

I am excited that my novel will debut in Montreal at the Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival where I will be reading last day of the festival May 4 at the Hotel 10, corner Sherbrooke and St. Laurent Blvd, in the Jardin Room with the other new releases from Guernica including Lorne Elliot. Remember him? Reading some time between 4 and 5:30 pm. You can google the Festival April 2 when the site goes live and see what it's all about. I believe there is a link for launches. Yep, I'll be rubbing elbows with international authors, publishers, agents, illustrators, poets, etc. I'm not a literary groupie but even I can be impressed! Haven't been to Montreal since 1998 so it will be emotional. A lot of things have changed. I always wanted to write about that time in Montreal, the late sixties before it was forgotten and I did. Thank you to you and VC Connections for sharing their memories.

Then May 25 I head off to Toronto for the second launch at the Supermarket Restaurant and Bar, reading at 4 pm

June 12 is the Edmonton launch at Audreys bookstore between 7 and 9.

June 24 reading at the Glass Door Coffee House Reading series here in Edmonton.

Beginning of November I will be reading in Calgary at Owl's Nest with another Calgary author and a short book tour en route stopping through Red Deer and Lethbridge. Hoping to get to BC in the new year.

I have also been invited to talk about my novel at a book club April 8 and another in the fall. The fall gig dates are still to be determined. 

How is your sister and her book doing?

Take care,

Dolly

Ted Grant ....(aka:) the father of Canadian Photo Journalism

Next month in NYC at the Leica photo gallery , there will be an exhibit of some of Ted Grant's photo's ,  Here is a snapshot ( pun intended ) from Ted Grant's website:
Most of us know his photos , but rarely do we know the photographer behind the pictures.
 Here is one page  from this link:     http://tedgrantphoto.com/

Photojournalist-Author-International Lecturer

Regarded as Canada's premier living photographer,Ted Grant's career covers 60 years as a photojournalist,
He's captured news, sporting events and important people throughout the world
for Canada's newspapers and magazines. He is the award winning photographer behind the images
of Pierre Trudeau sliding down the banister, and Ben Johnson becoming the fastest man on earth.

Ted Grant is known in the trade as the "father of Canadian photojournalism"

Awards:

In 1999 Ted Grant and Yousuf Karsh were both presented with the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award

from the Canadian Association of Photographers and Illustrators in Communication.

In 2008, Ted Grant was honoured by the University of Victoria with an Honorary Doctorate of Laws Degree.

Ted Grant is the only photographer to hold both Gold and Silver medals presented by the National Film Board of Canada

for Photographic excellence.

National Archives of Canada:

The National Archives of Canada have a dedicated "Ted Grant Photo Collection"

within its National Photographic collection. This work includes assignments covered during the past 60 years.

Over 280,000 images are organized illustrating this photographer's unique understanding and vision of Canada's history.

This impressive collection is enhanced by 100,000 additional images in the National Gallery of Canada.

The total collection by a single photographer is the largest in Canadian history.

Books Published:

• * 2009 Real Photographers Shoot Black and White. Sometimes Colour.
  * 2006 Victoria As I See It.
  * 2004 Women in Medicine. A Celebration of Their Work. Co-Author Sandy Carter.
  * 2003 Doctors' Work. The Legacy of Sir William Osler.
  * 1994 This is Our Work. The Legacy of Sir William Osler.

International Lecturer:

* 1993-2009: Leica International Seminar, USA.

* 1997: Yale University-School of Medicine, Photography in the Medical Profession.

* 1983-1994: The Magic of Light in Photojournalism Photography, Camosun College, Victoria, B.C.

* 1990-2000: Kodak Canada. Amateur and Professional organizations.

* 1972-1980: An Appreciation of Photojournalism. School of Journalism, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON.

 

Editorial Assignments:

* Chernobyl Children-Russia/Ukraine

* Hawaii-The Islands

* Bullfighting-Spain, Weekend Magazine

* NATO exercises-Norway, National Film Board of Canada

* Oil Airlift-Congo/Zambia, The Canadian Magazine.

* Six Day War-Middle East 1967, Star Weekly Magazine

* Vietnam 1968, Weekend Magazine

* Industrial Empire-Japan, National Film Board of Canada

* Summer Olympic Games- Munich 1972, Montreal 1976, Los Angeles 1984, Seoul 1988, Barcelona 1992

* Winter Olympic Games- Lake Placid 1980, Sapporo 1972, Calgary 1988, Albertville 1992

* The French Riviera-Nice, France, Weekend Magazine

* Oktoberfest-Munich,Germany, Weekend Magazine

* Rome/Athens: Cities of the Old World. Canadian Pacfic Airlines

* The Right to Die: Sue Rodriguez, This Country Canada Magazine

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  .and of course if you want to get to know  not only who took the photo but also who the man was ,then you may also be interested in either going to New York in April at Leica Photo Gallery , or check your local library or favourite bookstore for the recent book titled:
 Ted Grant : 60 Years of Legendary Photojournalism.  written by Thelma Fayle
the book lends insight to the man behind those great photos, Ted incidentally has over Three Hundred Thousand (300,000) photographs in the National Archives of Canada,  in Ottawa , Canada
    Here is some info about the book          

Ted Grant: Sixty Years of Legendary Photojournalism by Thelma Fayle Foreword by Maureen McTeer Foreword by Joe Clark 9781927527351 BISAC: BIO001000 BISAC: PHO011000 BISAC: PHO015000 ebook $19.99

You can buy the ebook edition of this title from:
          
                                         Cheers ! Have Fun Remember Verdun - LesF

Verdun Girl doing alright: "Leica Photo Gallery" on Broadway in NYC for 6 Weeks will showcase Ted Grant's photos as well as Thelma's book about him.

Thelma Fayle ( grew up in Verdun/Montreal) after having a successful Canadian book launch this past fall at the University of Victoria auditorium which was filled to capacity .Will now have the American launch of her book in New York City on Broadway no less , at the famous Leica Galleries.
-her book titled    "Ted Grant 60 years of Legendary Photojournalism" will be showcased along with many of Ted Grant's actual photographs ( many of which are in the book as well) Ted & Thelma will be there too. Here is the cover of the book :

 

the following is an article written this past November re: the book.

 

Ted Grant: Sixty Years of Legendary Photojournalism

Posted on November 16, 2013 by Robert

Sixty Years – a book about Dr Ted Grant and his photographs

Vancouver November 16, 2013. PHSC member Dr Ted Grant sent me a note today mentioning his recent book Sixty Years of Legendary Photojournalism. Written by Thelma Fayle with a forward by two prominent conservatives, ex-Prime Minister Joe Clark and his wife Maureen McTeer. The book is available in either traditional paper format or the new eBook style. Both are Published by Heritage House.
I looked up a cover shot of the book and who was featured, but none other than Liberal ex-Prime Minister, the late Pierre Trudeau sliding down a banister! So if you have tired of the shenanigans here in Toronto (where Ford is a four lettered word…) then take a read and peek at this wonderful paperback – 8×10 inches in size and  224 pages long.

“In 2014 Ted Grant’s one man exhibition from the book and a launch to the USA photo community will be opened in the LEICA GALLERY in New York, 25 April 2014 with a 4 month gallery showing! At this point in time the book is a smashing success with well over 300 copies sold in a single hour at the book launch! :-). 
“The book will introduce this photographer who basically unknown by name, but many can recall  his famous photographs like that of Pierre Trudeau sliding down the stair case railing of the Chateau Laurie Hotel in Ottawa, or Ben Johnson’s winning moment  at the 88 Seoul Summer Olympics (as fleeting as it was)!”

To learn more about Dr. Ted Grant ,and his exhibition in the Big Apple next year, visit Heritage House. PS. it is a real pleasure to see three PHSC members, each with a book related to photography and in print at the same time!
           the following info is from this blog Verdun Connections:
 

   Also here is a link to the LEICA GALLERY website, if some of you are in the big apple at that time you may want to see there exhibits or see the Ted Grant photos on display in the Main Hall.
      670 Broadway , New York , New York 10012
      1-212 -777-3051            http://en.leica-camera.com/culture/galleries/gallery_new_york/

    Conratulations to both Thelma Fayle & Ted Grant  we hope the rest of your tour is a great success.

      Let's try to support another talent from Verdun / Montreal & read her book ,also learn about the man behind some of the worlds famous ( at least very recognizable to many of us)  photographs,

                                                       Cheers ! Have Fun & Remember Verdun ......-LesF
 

link to the "In Memoriam" page I will repost this periodically, to make it easier to find

                       

                                                                                                                                                                 It seems many people stop by & look at our old "In Memoriam" page , so I am posting this quick refereance via this link, which will bring you right to the ever growing list. I hope family & friends of those that have carried on ahead of us, will at least get a chance to remember their loved one & maybe just smile & recall all the neat things they learned from those that have passed.


                https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=6464100720604662734&postID=2788904602431753871&page=1&token=1393430153779


 now the above link is just a bit quicker , and every so often I will post it again just to bump it to the top again ,However if you look in the top left hand corner of this blog site ,you will see a little search window ,where you can type in things like "In Memoriam" and it will lead you to that blog, type in Natatorium or whatever words you think may be here & it just might make things quicker for you, or you can select at the very bottom of the opening page for thios blog any year listed & that will allow you to see some older posts.....from the old Verdun Connections site (which was on the MSN network originally , then on the now defunct Multiply network) many of the stories came through but many of the pictures/photographs have not successfully made the trip over to here. I do have a lot of the old photographs saved over the years ,but I just have not got around to going through every story and repost the appropriate photo. besides logistics of the job ie: time wise, it would rely heavily on my being able to remember what picture went with what story.
                                                              Cheers ! & I hope you enjoy cruising through the stories, this blog doesn't require membership like the old VC site did, & I get to see the daily traffic (which is quite surprisingly active) but some people have joined which I thank you, by joining you just get notified when I post something instead of just by surfing by & finding us by happenstance.
 Anyway you choose is fine by me,.....all comments await me having to Ok them before they are posted, this is just to keep the site clear of the cyber-ads, & lunatics mass posting to everywhere.
                                              So Have Fun & Remember Verdun

     I still do not rule out ,opening another site one day or at least expanding this one, but I hate FB, and it seems there are no real decent alternatives that allow you privacy as well as provide good features like storage of Photos ,or videos etc etc   \so what you see is what you get for now, Thanks - LesF

HER MAJESTY THE SOW...................THE REAL LOONIE

Can't argue with that ,they even got the value right on the currency:

                  What an ignorant clown she is, especially after her latest comments.

I always wonder when people will have had enough of the separatist agenda , clearly they f&^%$ed the province for near 40 years, and now that some economic stability has somewhat returned , She & her ilk are determined to ruin it for themselves .Too bad .

Ex- Verdun girl ,update on Her First Book "Loddy Dah! "

Dolly has been working on her book for a longtime & she never quit , writers face a lot of negativity whether it be by publishers or people who figure "oh ya sure ,your writing a book......" Well Dolly didn't let any of that stop her & she now will be appearing at the Montreal Blue Metropolis  for the official Launch of her Book " Loddy Dah! "
 Read her book folks , for Montrealers who lived through the 60's they will no doubt be able to relate to the book & it's story.........................Congrats Dolly now sign those books....Cheers ! LesF

Here is a screen shot all about the book.........let's all support a fellow Montrealer

Loddy-Dah

Dolly Dennis

Guernica Editions, Spring 2014

310 pages

Trade Paperback

ISBN13: 9781550718317

ISBN10: 1550718312

English

$25.00 Canada, $25.00 US

       

We follow Loddy and the troupe from The Garage Theatre as their lives unfold against the backdrop of political events in Montreal starting with EXPO 67 and ending in 1970 with the October Crisis. With the city as background, Loddy-Dah explores issues of self-identity and self-acceptance, the magic of friendship and love, and the power of resilience in the face of adversity.

When Loddy moved into the three-storey walk-up near McGill University, she painted her basement apartment the colour of a boiled egg, and then for the hell of it, stencilled a wide China Red semi-circle across the living room wall, top to bottom, and called it the Rising Sun. Red. Her mother, Alma, hated red. She said it was the colour of communists and blood -- the colour of pain. So Loddy wore only red.

Set against the political tumult of the 1960s, Loddy-Dah takes the reader on a wild ride through the life of Montreal theatrical troupe. Tender yet buoyant, Dolly Dennis’ debut is an absorbing love letter to a time and a city that once was.

Billie Livingston

Loddy-Dah is a lively and, at times, heartbreaking social history of Montreal in the late 1960s. Dolly Dennis’ heroine is an outsider: a daughter of immigrants, a victim of violence, an artist, an obsessive, a sensualist. Loddy is unforgettable.

Todd Babiak, author, Come Barbarians

                          excerpt from the book:.    When Loddy moved into the three-storey walk-up near McGill University, she painted her basement apartment the colour of a boiled egg, and then for the hell of it, stencilled a wide China Red semi-circle across the living room wall, top to bottom, and called it the Rising Sun. Red. Her mother, Alma, hated red. She said it was the colour of communists and blood -- the colour of pain. So Loddy wore only red.

          

                                        ........Dolly will be at the Blue Metropolis Festival:

here is the link:       http://bluemetropolis.org/