November 25, 2018

People Circa 1900


from: Canada - A History in Photographs; Hall & Dodds; 1981; Hurtig.

German immigrant family at railway station, Quebec City, 1911.


from: Canada - A History in Photographs; Hall & Dodds; 1981; Hurtig.

L'Ange Gardien (near Ottawa), haying, Aug 1905.


from: Canada - A History in Photographs; Hall & Dodds; 1981; Hurtig.

Garment factory, Quebec City, 1905.


In the West, 45th and 47th Avenues, May 1981



Travelling west on Broadway near 36-37th Avenue,
I think you can see evidence (cracking) of the paved-over Montreal Tramways tracks
- at least in the eastbound lane.



100, 45th Avenue, May 1981
The street number is specific to the door behind the man in blue.
My room was right beside the main door - at his left shoulder.
Our apartment (#2) included the area associated with the six windows
and included a small rear exit.
Heat came from a small oil space heater.



The shopping area at the bottom of 45th Avenue. Beyond is Stony Point Park on Lake St Louis. At this shopping area (on the right) were stores including: a hardware and a drug store; a 'tunnel' from the rear parking area which was always remarkably cool in the summer; a shoe store; a Woolworth's and a restaurant. On the left side were a dépanneur (including the usual black delivery bicycle with a rack to hold cases of beer); a women's wear store; a barber shop ... and later a second barber shop; a record store, and the Bank of Commerce on the corner.



Above and below are views of our third residence in Lachine - the first that my family owned. My father replaced the small original 'galleries' - front and rear - which were a bit of a hazard when we arrived. In addition to oil heating, there was a fireplace in the living room. Broken hockey sticks from Carignan Park - collected during kids' skating mornings (Saturday or Sunday) - were my father's primary source of firewood.




November 22, 2018

Along the Old Lachine Canal - St Andrew's United, May 1981



Old Lachine Canal looking east from approximately 18th Avenue.



Old Lachine Canal looking west from approximately 15th Avenue.



St Andrew's United, Manse (in foreground).

This was the church of our maternal grandparents. After his service in WW1 and after a series of jobs in Quebec's north, our grandfather was employed at Stelco in Lachine - near this church. According to an article in the Gazette in 2011 regarding this church's closing, there were only 22 members left and they chose to go their separate ways, rather than join with another congregation.

from: St. Andrews in Lachine closes its doors; Dec 26 2011, Montreal Gazette.
The photo above is undated, the congregation had its first meeting in 1818
and the building dates from 1832.



St Andrew's United, Manse (in foreground).





Although I missed a proper overlap, you can see the halls extending from the church. To the north of (behind) the church building was a hall which took 'overflow crowds' and provided piped-in sound. The kitchen is the single-storey rectangular addition to the right (with stairs). The large hall at the right included a stage and was used for Sunday School as was the lower level. The St Andrew's Scouts 'The Best in the West' met in the lower level.



Saints-Anges de Lachine.
As we exited little St Andrew's (beyond the left margin)
there was often an impressive display of 
real Quebec bell-ringing from the spire of 'Holy Angels'.



This photo was hopelessly over-exposed when shot into the western sun, but it appears here because it provides a typical streetscape of Lachine - not including the replacement of the underground utilities and the torn up street. I remember taking this in the east end of Lachine. The firehall hose-drying tower resembles that near the City Hall on 18th Avenue. However, it was not possible to pinpoint the location via today's Google images.

After posting: Thank you to Gregory Prokopenko, a current resident of Lachine, who has located this photo at St Louis and 8th Avenue. It is great to hear from someone who enjoys these old photos!


November 21, 2018

Lachine Topographic Map 1952

An overview of the area is followed by two enlargements to show more detail.
Scrolling to the right might be necessary to see the complete image.
The map key is reproduced at the end of this post.

Lachine 31 H/5 East Half; Army RCE survey 1907, RCAF aerial 1930, updated 1952; Government of Canada

Lachine 31 H/5 East Half; Army RCE survey 1907, RCAF aerial 1930, updated 1952; Government of Canada

Lachine 31 H/5 East Half; Army RCE survey 1907, RCAF aerial 1930, updated 1952; Government of Canada

November 19, 2018

Robert Baldwin 1804-1858


Nos Grandes Figures - Galerie Historique; 1922 (no other data avail). 

Sir Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine 1807-1864


Nos Grandes Figures - Galerie Historique; 1922 (no other data avail). 

Ludger Duvernay 1799-1852


Nos Grandes Figures - Galerie Historique; 1922 (no other data avail). 

Lemoyne de Bienville, 1680-1768


Nos Grandes Figures - Galerie Historique; 1922 (no other data avail). 

East Settlement QC gatherings, no date



Mabel Rodger, Lizzie Rodger, Eleanor Rodger
?, Allan Rodger, Erskine Rodger, George Gagnon, Stanley Rodger.



Mabel Rodger



Mabel Rodger, Aunt Lizzie.



Uncle Charlie
LC Gagnon notes: He was named after Charlie.



George B Gagnon, Erskine Rodger, Douglas Rodger, Stanley Rodger.
Uncle Charlie is on the gallery in the background.



Uncle Charlie, Stanley Rodger.



Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville 1661-1706


Nos Grandes Figures - Galerie Historique; 1922 (no other data avail). 



November 18, 2018

Sieur de la Salle, 1643-1687


Nos Grandes Figures - Galerie Historique; 1922 (no other data avail).

East Settlement QC sugar bush



Charles Rodger, helper?, Bob Gordon, Erskine Rodger, no date, East Settlement QC.


Geneva QC Schoolhouse, 1910



Outside the Geneva schoolhouse on Lachute Road.
Grades 1-6 located there until 1915?
Teacher: Miss Walker later Mrs. Murray McOuat.
Girls at the right in the middle row are Bessie, Alice, and Mabel Rodger.
Two boys at the left in the front row (sitting) are Stewart Todd and Jack Fraser.

information from: LC Gagnon and Margaret (Rodger) and Stewart MacAdam, 1979.

Gagnon, Our Patrilineal Quebec Heritage


My grandfather, George Bennett Gagnon (1899-1964), researched our patrilineal history and had the Drouin Institute prepare a Genealogy of the family.

Below are two summary lists he prepared, along with photos of the Gagnon family plaque at Château-Richer during a visit in 1954.



Above: Jean Gagnon, Marguerite Cochon and children.



Jean Gagnon thru to George B Gagnon - 10 generations with spouse and place of marriage.



George B Gagnon and LC Gagnon (his son) with the Gagnon family plaque at Château Richer, June 1954.


CFCF 600 Radio, Ad and Dave Boxer Hit Chart, 1967


After putting together an Eaton's plastic crystal radio set for me, my father introduced me to CFOX and CFCF radio - as examples of stations to which I could listen. I was a regular listener of the latter. 

It wasn't until my late 30s (living in Kingston) that I discovered the dynamic francophone music scene I'd missed during those years. This revelation came via MusiquePlus.

One of the Dave Boxer phone-in segments I remember dealt with the issue that the Monkees had a TV show. Callers were concerned about the unfairness of the fact that the Beatles weren't given their own show. 


from: late 1960s; advertisement probably in Montreal Star.



Lachine, February 1961, Winter and Ice Storm

Ektachrome slides taken by LC Gagnon.


A view of the St Joseph apartments - at the foot of 48th Avenue at St Joseph Boulevard.
Looking east.



46th Avenue near René Huguet.



At the foot of 45th Avenue, a fire truck is travelling east on Broadway.
Notice the tire chains and the fact that the caution light (above) is out due to a power failure.
The truck was from the 44th Avenue fire station.

Quebec, Map from 1927 Showing Railway Lines


from: Western Canada Atlas; 1927; WJ Gage & Co.


Quebec region, August 1966. From a family vacation.



Gagnon family plaque at Château-Richer.



Château-Richer street scene.



Montmorency Falls


Gagnon family modelling various styles of rainwear
at Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré.

Lachine Peas

A label, from circa the 1980s, saved on file by LC Gagnon.


Below: Extract from a regional history, documenting the David Lord cannery.

from: Les étapes du développement agricole dans la vallée du Richelieu; Ludger Beauregard; 1970; Cahiers de géographie du Québec.