Old Forum Inaugurated 9th November 1908

This article appeared in the November 10th 1908 edition of the "La Presse" newspaper, the following day after the inauguration of the Forum on the 9th of August 1908.

The article mentions that the open air interior contained 3000 roller skaters wich could be seen from the exterior through the many windows. You entered the large entrance similar to a theatre entrance, went up to the first floor giving access to the 12 foot wide roller skating rink wich surrounded the open air winter skating rink on the ground floor. The illustration shows a glass wall separating the roller skating rink from the open air ice skating rink on the ground level below. Obviously there was no modern artificial ice rinks in those days. The facility also could accommodate many other activities such as curling and a circus.

The total cost of the Forum was $300,000, a small fortune in those days, the cost of an average bungalow today.

Guy

Molson's Buy "Les Canadiens"

John Molson emigrated from England at age 18 in 1782 and was a formidable entrepreneur. He had the first steam boat built wich plied the Saint-Lawrence river, the beginning that would make this brewer the largest fleet owner in North America.

Here are some of his accomplishements as well as his descendents:

Lumberyard owner

Luxury Hotel owner

Founded the Molson Bank with 125 branches until the Bank of Montreal bought them in 1925. The building still stands today

Had the first theatre buiilt.

Had the second hospital built after Hotel Dieu Hospital.

Founded Molson's Brewery on Notre Dame Street wich is still there.

Owners of the "Canadien" hockey club.

Built the Percival-Molson Stadium.

Everyone is happy to see the hockey club fall into the hands of a Canadian family including the "Québéquois".

Guy

Truck photo about 1925.

Source: La Presse today (Condensed version) translated.

 

 

Ballad of Bordeaux Jail

                  Remember when they wrote a tongue in cheek song for Montreal's notorious Lucien Rivard

Here's the words:

THE BALLAD OF BORDEAUX JAIL
Anne-Marie Fauteux (1965)

The warden sat at sundown,
A busy day was o’er,
He’d just lit up a fat cigar,
When a knock came at the door.

“Entrez, entrez !” the warden cried,
“La porte she is ajar !”
And who walked in, to his surprise,
But Big-Wheel, Lou Rivard !

“How come, Big-Wheel, you promenade,
It’s curfew-time, n’est-ce pas ?
I warning you to prenez-garde,
Before you break the law !”

“Pardonnez-moi mon capitane,
I did not stop to think,
But with your kind permission,
I would like to hose the rink.”

“To hose the rink ? Why sacre-bleu,
You must be wan big fool !
The rink my friend she’s beaucoup d’eau,
Like outdoor swimming pool !”

Now Rivard, like the quick brown fox,
Who must outwit the hound,
He senses with his gambler’s ken,
That he is gaining ground.

“It’s true Monsieur that ce matin,
The rink was soft like slop,
Regardez – since après-midi,
The temperature go plop !”

“C’est vrai, fait chaud from where you sit,
Across the great divide,
But where I stand I feel a draft,
Bébé it’s cold outside !”

“Eh bien, voilà, go get the hose,
Permission you obtain,
Like my new boss, Claude Wagner say,
We must be more humane.”

“Merci Monsieur, au revoir, adieu,
Light up your cold cigar,
I will not bother you again,
Exit Lucien Rivard ! !”

“Exit ! Exit !” the warden muse,
“He make the big joke, no ?
Quelle difference, he safe behind
The walls of old Bordeaux !”

One hour she pass, the warden doze,
Then bingo, tout de suite,
The sirens wail, the guards aussi,
There’s panic in the street ! !

The warden freeze – like paralyze,
The joke he get trop tard,
“Certainement, mon dieu, c’est ça,
The hose – the rink – Rivard ! ! ! “

Trop tard ! He stagger to his feet,
No need to ask pourquoi,
“Certainement – mon dieu – c’est ça,
Lucien Rivard s’en va ! !”

He cry, Monsieur the warden,
Enfin he see it all,
Big hose not for the rink by gar,
Big hose for over wall ! !

He grind his teeth, he pull his hairs,
He’ll never smile again,
As he implore, encore, — encore –
“WHERE ARE YOU LUCIEN ! ! ! “

EPILOGUE

The search goes on relentless,
Through valley, hill and dell,
They seek him here, they seek him there,
That Gallic Pimpernel.

For years to come in Crooksville,
They’ll tell the epic tale,
How Rivard left his footprints,
On the walls of Bordeaux Jail.

Verdun Connections

An MSN group which ran for 6and a half years,then MSN decided to cease operating any groups ,they opted to turn the groups hosting over to a network known as Multiply, So if you want to make Connections with friends from your past days of living in Verdun/Montreal then feel free to checkout this 'New' Verdun Connections replacement site at this link: http://verdunconnections2.multiply.com/

Once your on the site ,you can read all the different blog messages,or look through the many photo albums ,mostly relating to Verdun or Montreal & Quebec,but not limited to just that. You can also choose to 'Join this Group' simply by clicking on those exact words once your on the Multiply newtwork.

Now Multiply will ask you to sign up to their network ( it's Free,so no problem there) then you would be given your own site ,which you can customise to your own ideas,etc etc after that you can checkout any of the other Groups hosted on the Multiply Network & Join them too if you like,

So checkout 'Verdun Connections' and hopefully you will join,& then hopefully you will share some of your own stories from your days in Verdun / Montreal etc .or perhaps you have that old 'shoebox' full of B&W photographs,you can start your own album on either the Verdun Connections site, or your own multiply site,or both. Hope we see you there,to help keep all our memories alive:

http://verdunconnections2.multiply.com/

Have Fun & Remember Verdun

Neighbourhood Bar in The Point.

Two women were sitting next to each other at a popular Point St. Charles' tavern.

After awhile, one looks at the other and says,'I can't help but think, from listening to you, that you're from Ireland .'

The other woman responds proudly, 'Yes, that I am!'

The first one says, 'So am I! And where about from Ireland might you be'?

The other woman answers, 'I'm from Dublin , I am.'

The first one responds, 'So, am I. Sure and what street did you live on in Dublin ?'

The other woman says, 'A lovely little area it was. I lived on McCleary Street in the old central part of town.'

The first one says, 'Faith and it's a small world. So did I! So did I!
And to what school would you have been going?'
The other woman answers, 'Well n ow, I went to St. Mary's, of course.' The first one gets really excited and says, 'And so did I. Tell me, what year did you graduate?' The other woman answers,'Well, now, let's see. I graduated in 1964.

The first woman exclaims, 'The Good Lord must be smiling down upon us!I can hardly believe our good luck at winding up in the same pub tonight. ; Can you believe it, I graduated from St. Mary's in 1964 my own self!'

About this time, Elaine walks into the bar, sits down and orders a beer.
Brian, the bartender, walks over to Elaine shaking his head and mutters, 'It's going to be a long night tonight.'

Elaine asks, ' Why do you say that, Brian?'

Brian answers, 'The McLaughlin twins are drunk again.'

 

The Gayety

One popular night spot in Montreal in the 50s was the Gayety where a popular striptease named Lili St-Cyr appeared on a regular basis to the dismay of the clergy. The enclosed add wich apperared in the 10th of May 1954 Guardian just below the Maynard Ferguson add I posted previously. Also notice who else appeared at the Gayety, none other than Dean Martin. Those 2 must have had many parties together.

Guy

 

Turcot Yards

Les,

Now that you brought up the subject of the Turcot Yards again, and I know that I am repeating myself, but I thought that I would post the above excellant aerial photo of the yards wich I think you posted previously and a 1733 map of the Petit Lac Saint-Pierre wich was situated roughly to the west between Angrigon Boulevard and to the east by Decarie Boulevard. The north by Pullman street (just below the hill) and to the south by the Lachine Canal. This lake would widen and even become a bog depending on the season. So when anybody in that area, make a a mental picture going back in time when the indians owned the country, they would be fishing in the Petit Lac Saint-Pierre also called lac à la Loutre (Otters), so called  because the lake contained Otters. The Petit Lac Saint-Pierre would run to Pointe à Carrière in old Montreal and also turn south to Verdun approximately where the Champlain bridge is situated.  Another bit of history wich I learned since being a member o f the SHGV. It's never too late to learn.

Guy

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