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In This Issue:Past President's Report: 1Coming Events: 2Speaker Profiles for Sept. to Nov. Monthly Meetings 3A Store Older than Ottawa 4Report of Sept. Meeting Ottawa's Pioneer Radio 5Poet's Pathway Final Unveiling, William Pittman Lett 6Kudos for Krug's Panphlet 102 7Report of Oct. Meeting Ottawa's Weather History 8Speaking Engagements to be Given by James Powell 8Report of Nov. Meeting 1930's Ottawa & Birth of the Bank of Canada 9Mama Teresa's Restaurant, Somerset St. W. 10The Chaudière in Verse Charles Sangster (2) 111st Ottawa Bicycle Film Festival14
Past President’s Reportby George Neville
All members of The Historical Societyof Ottawa (HSO) received with theJune HSO Newsletter a copy of GlennWright's Controversy, Compromise andCelebration: The History of Canada'sNational Flag, the colour illustratedbilingual Bytown Pamphlet No. 101(Controverses, compromis etcélébrations: L'Histoire du drapeaunational du Canada). In addition tobeing a challenging and costlyundertaking, it was the Society's firstbilingual pamphlet publication, and forthat reason and the colour illustration,the Board of Directors approved a pressrun of 1,000 copies since most likelythere would not be any second printing.
Personally, I had great hopes for thecommercial uptake of this importantpublication of Canadian historicalinterest and chronicling. From previousexperience, whenever I had approachedany of our federal museums in Ottawawith a publication of historical interest,the unanimous reaction was, Oh! Wecannot stock that because it is notbilingual! I therefore thought that wehad an irresistible winner in thisbilingual Flag publication with colourcontent and covers to boot and bearingthe sought and approved usage of theCanada 150 logo!
On 17th June, well before CanadaDay, I visited the Canada War MuseumBoutique and spoke there by telephonewith Chantal Demers, Manager ofRetail Operations and ProductDevelopment for both the CanadianMuseum of History and the WarMuseum, and left a complimentarycopy for her examination. Later thesame day, I visited the Boutique of the
Museum of Nature and left anexamination copy of the Flag bookletfor its manager's consideration. On27th June, I received emailacknowledgment from Chatal Demersthat the Flag booklet will be evaluatedby the 'Retail Operations Section' (aprocess valid for 90 days), but haveheard nothing further!
Similarly there has been no responsefrom the Museum of Nature.
On 7th July, I visited World of Mapsat 1191 Wellington St. where one of thecoowners immediately agreed to takefive copies of the Flag bookletgenerating a cheque on the spot for thetotal less the usual 40% discount toretail outlets. With joy, I extended to himthe complimentary examination copy.
In midJune, I visited Kelly Bouffard,Manager of Carleton U. Bookstoreleaving her an examination copy of theFlag booklet. When I sent her an emailon 27th June inquiring of outcome,Kelly responded “that our 'company'would have to be entered into theiraccounts payable system to be able topurchase books with company name,address, telephone number, etc.”, but allsuch information could have beenprovided at first visit if she had asked!
During a visit on 21st July to West
Nepean MP, Anita Vandenbeld, who,being a history student, was ecstaticover the Flag booklet, suggested that Isee the Hon. Ahmed Hussen, Ministerof Immigration, Refugees andCitizenship Canada (IRCC). A latervisit to the IRCC building on LaurierAve. was fruitless because access to theMinister's Office is only byappointment. When I emailed MinisterHussen on 25th July about the matter, Ireceived S. Langlois' secretarial reply,“the Minister's schedule is unable toaccommodate your request for a chat”.It's time, obviously, for another visit tomy MP, Anita Vandenbeld!
On 28th July, I visited BoutiqueAssistant, Martin, of the Parliament ofCanada with a complimentaryexamination copy and followed it uplater that day with an email to itsBoutique Manager, Denis Léonard, withno results todate. That same day, anexamination copy was left withBoutique Assistant, Rob, at the NationalGallery of Canada, later followed by anemail to Andréa Meloche,Merchandising Officer – Books of theGallery, with no results todate. QuoVadis? Membership agitation andendorsement is greatly needed!!!
The Historical Society ofOttawa News
ISSN 12071838 Issue No. 159 January 2018
Coming EventsFriday, January 26
Speaker: Dave Allston"Death, Illness & Squalor: CaveCreek & Primative West Ottawa"Routhier Community Centre*1:00 p.m.
Friday, February 23Speaker: J. Andrew Ross"How Ottawa Lost its HockeyTeam: The Story of How the 1stOttawa Senators Went South"Routhier Community Centre*1:00 p.m.
Friday, March 23Speaker: Dan Mackay"Lillian Freiman : The Poppy Lady"Routhier Community Centre*1:00 p.m.
Friday, April 27Speaker: Randy Boswell"Ottawa's Original RenaissanceMan: Dr. Edward VanCourtlandt"Routhier Community Centre*1:00 p.m.
A note regarding Membership renewals For regular members ofThe Historical Society of Ottawa, your renewal date is shown on youraddress label on this newsletter. Please check it and see that you areuptodate. If not, a renewal form is available for you to photocopy onthe last page of this newsletter, or just send us a cheque that showsyour current address and phone number.
The Historical Society of Ottawa was founded in 1898 (as the Women's Canadian Historical Society of Ottawa).Its objective is to increase public knowledge of the history of Ottawa by its publications, meetings, tours, outreachand participation in local heritage events and also by its cooperation with the Bytown Museum, a store ofartifacts reflecting Ottawa's history from Bytown days and into the present century. Its P.O. Box is shared with theBytown Museum, Lt.Col. By's Commissariat Building, constructed of stone in 1827 and located at 1 Canal Laneby the Rideau Canal between the Château Laurier and Parliament Hill.
Page 2 HSO Newsletter
The Historical Society of OttawaHSO Patron in transition: His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, C.C., C.M.M., C.O.M., C.D., relinquishedhis appointment as Governor General of Canada on Tues. 18 July 2017. Patronage by the new Govenor General is pending.
Board Of DirectorsPast President: George Neville [email protected] 6137290579Secretary: Grace Lewis [email protected] 6132942860Treasurer: Erik Foisy [email protected] 6132347539Ronald Elmer [email protected] 6132254465Karen Lynn Ouellette [email protected] 6133013744James Powell [email protected] 6137231978Don Ross [email protected] 6135922539George Shirreff [email protected] 6136929080Jennifer Stelzer [email protected] 6134628848
CommitteesArchive Liason Grace LewisAwards George NevilleMembership Chair Don RossNominations George Neville, Don RossNewsletter Arthur Beaubien ([email protected])Publications Christine Jackson ([email protected])Refreshment Host Karen Lynn Ouellette
([email protected])Telephone Tree Barbara Whitfield, Pat RichardsonTours Chair Jennifer Stelzer ([email protected])Web Liaison James Powell ([email protected])Webmaster John Reeder ([email protected])
All general correspondence should be addressed to:The Secretary; The Historical Society of Ottawa
P.O. Box 523, Station “B”Ottawa, ON K1P 5P6
HSO Email: [email protected] Web Site: http://hsottawa.ncf.ca
*Parking at the Routhier Community Centre from Cumberland St., between St. Patrick St. and Guigues Ave.
Moving???Please notify the MembershipChair of your change ofaddress for mailings andcontact information.
January 2018
HSO Newsletter Page 3January 2018
HSO Speaker Profile for MonthlyMeeting of January 2018
HSO Speaker: Dave Allston Death,Illness & Squalor: Cave Creek &Primitive West Ottawa
Abstract. Dave Allston will examinethe problems west end residents facedthrough the 19th century and well intothe 20th century in dealing with CaveCreek, which ran throughout theentirety of Kitchissippi. This small, yettroublesome creek was attributed as thechief cause of the typhoid feverepidemic of 1911, and also stunted thegrowth of west end neighbourhoodsuntil proper sewage systems could beinstalled. The presentation will featuremaps, photos, and many anecdotesfrom media reports of the time.
Profile. Dave Allston is a lifelong westend Ottawa resident, with a passion forlocal history. A sixthgeneration westender, Dave’s focus is strictly on theKitchissippi Ward, which encompassesHintonburg west to McKellar Park. Hewrites a regular column for thecommunity newspaper KitchissippiTimes, and runs his own website, theKitchissippi Museum, along withregular contributions to mainstreammedia as well. Dave established aKitchissippi history and heritage groupin 2016, with a goal to promote localhistory, knowledge share, andcontribute to the identification andprotection of heritage buildings. He ismarried with three kids, and works fulltime with the Department of NationalDefence, while also acting as ReturningOfficer for the district of Ottawa Centrefor Elections Ontario.
HSO Speaker Profile for MonthlyMeeting of February 2018
HSO Speaker: J. Andrew Ross: HowOttawa Lost its Hockey Team: TheStory of How the 1st OttawaSenators Went South
Abstract. Despite being the mostsuccessful of the early NationalHockey League teams, with the mostStanley Cup wins in the 1920s, theOttawa Senators often struggled toattract fans. My presentation discusseshow the building of a new rink, theOttawa Auditorium, was seen as thesolution to Ottawa's woes, but couldnot fight the economic tide that waspulling NHL hockey to largerAmerican markets.
Profile. J. Andrew Ross holds a PhD inhistory from the University of WesternOntario, and taught economic history atthe University Guelph before joiningLibrary and Archives Canada as anarchivist in 2015. He is the author ofJoining the Clubs: The Business of theNational Hockey League to 1945(Syracuse University Press, 2015).
HSO Speaker Profile for MonthlyMeeting of March 2018
HSO Speaker: Dan Mackay LillianFreiman: "The Poppy Lady"
Abstract. Lillian Bilsky Freiman(18851940) nicknamed “The PoppyLady”, was designated a Person ofNational Historic Significance by theCanadian Government. During theFirst World War, Lillian workedtirelessly for the benefit of our soldiersoverseas by setting up sewing circleswhich would become a DisraeliChapter of the Daughters of theEmpire. She also cofounded The GreatWar Veterans Association which wouldbecome the Royal Canadian Legion.Lillian crafted the first Canadianpoppies in her living room in 1921.This presentation will look at thisfascinating woman.
Profile. Dan Mackay has had anextensive career in the military, and isnow a Friend of the Canadian WarMuseum, and as a volunteer, isguardian and custodian of the military
artifacts in the Museum. He has beendeeply engaged in conserving thehistory of our Armed Forces holdingsuch positions as Army HeritageOfficer at NDHQ; Deputy Director,Directorate of History and Heritage atNDHQ and, in earlier days, served insenior positions as a geographer andcartographer with Energy, Mines andResources and on secondment to theDepartment of External Affairs.
HSO Speaker Profile forMonthly Meeting of April 2018
HSO Speaker: Randy Boswell Rediscovering Ottawa's OriginalRenaissance Man: Dr. Edward VanCortlandt
Abstract. For more than 40 yearsduring Ottawa's transformation frombackwoods Bytown to burgeoningcapital of a new Dominion, the pioneerphysician, naturalist and polymathicpublic intellectual, Dr. Edward VanCortlandt, helped shape the city, itsfounding institutions and coalescingcivic culture. Recent research hasrevealed the remarkable depth andrange of Van Cortlandt's contributionsto early Ottawa and illuminated hisenduring imprint on the history of thecapital and the country.
Profile. Randy Boswell is a professorat Carleton University's School ofJournalism and Communication, wherehe conducts historical research whilecontinuing to work as a freelancewriter and editor. During a long andvaried career as a journalist with theOttawa Citizen and Postmedia News,Boswell developed a unique nationalhistory beat that pushed edgy storiesabout Canada's past onto front pagesacross the country. Among his recentwritings were an Ottawa Citizen frontpage feature on the history of themarble cornerstone of the ParliamentBuildings — which kicked off thenewspaper's special coverage of the
Page 4 HSO Newsletter
A Store Older than Ottawa –The Bellows & Stacy LedgerIllustrated Exposition by Prof.Bruce S. Elliott, 16th Oct./17,Nepean Centrepointe LIbrary
Reported by George Neville
Before Bytown existed, there was theVillage Town of Sherwood, datingfrom 1822 and located at ChaudièreFalls. One of the stores that flourishedthere was Bellows & Stacy [notStacey], from 18241828 when thevillage vanished. At the same time theBellows & Stacy account book alsovanished until recently brought to lightby a small museum in Vermont thispast February.
In a tour de force presentation,Bruce Elliott, Professor of History atCarleton University (and author of TheCity Beyond: A History of Nepean,Birthplace of Canada's Capital) for105 minutes followed by 15 minutes ofquestions and further elaboration,conveyed how much the Bellowsaccount book has to tell us about thelocal economy and about the earliestsettlers on both sides of the OttawaRiver, from Quyon to Cumberland andsouth to North Gower.
The coming home of the ledger wasinitiated by the a Vermont local historymuseum when its curators sawreference therein to 'Nepean Point' andcontacted the Nepean Museum here inOttawa as a more appropriaterepository for this artefact. As Elliottexplained, the 'Nepean Point' reference
is not to our present day Nepean Pointon which the statue of Samuel deChamplain now stands, but to that lowprojection into the Ottawa River fromits south shore that came to be knownas Richmond Landing following the1818 commencement of the RichmondMilitary Settlement. A subdivision ofthat 'Nepean Point' came to be knownas Sherwood Village, The Town ofSherwood was a subdivision attemptedby retired British naval Capt. JohnLeBreton and Livius P. Sherwood ofBrockville on what is now known asLeBreton Flats.
The account book itself is a ledger ofdiversified goods and materials boughtlargely on credit by settlers far andwide with settlement of accountstaking place late in the year or early
new year when grains could bethrashed and brought in that in turnwere mainly processed throughPhilemon Wright's grist mill to obtainflour that Wright then sold to thelumbering camps as staple provisions.It is hoped that Bruce will publish hishighly informative analysis of not onlythe Bellows and Stacy family originsand outcomes, but also of the manypersonages extracted from the ledgerenriched with genealogical detail,cemetery tombstones, and localhistorical detail.
Bruce Elliott in presentation of revelations of theBellows & Stacy Ledger. Photo by George Neville.
January 2018
Canada 150 anniversary — a scholarlyarticle revealing the origins of the 19thcentury sawdust pollution controversyon the Ottawa River, published by theacademic journal HistoireSociale/Social History, and a magazinepiece that solved the mystery behindElvis Presley's 1956 megahitHeartbreak Hotel, published by RollingStone.
A close view of open pages of the Bellows & Stacy Account Book, 1824 1828. Photo by George Neville.
Report of September Meeting:Al Uhryniw Ottawa’s PioneerRadio
By George Shirreff
Those tuning in to the first H.S.O.General Meeting of 201718 weretreated to the story of our city’s firstventure into radio. The speaker was AlUhryniw, a professor of Media Studiesfrom Algonquin College and formerjournalist and broadcaster.
The National Capital today hostssome 32 radio stations, five AM (onebeing francophone) and 27 FM. Welearned that the dawn of radio came in1919 when the Department of Marineand Fisheries granted two experimentallicences. One went to the MarconiCompany in Montreal, the other wasoperated by a Royal Canadian NavyMorse code operator in Ottawa.
David Hayman set up the first stationever called OA. Then on 20 May 1920a special experimental broadcast fromXWA in Montreal was made availableto a radio receiver at the ChateauLaurier for a lecture by Dr. A. Eve,Head, Physics Dept., McGill U. toRoyal Society of Canada members.Over the next seven months, interest inradio grew and the Ottawa AmateurRadio Association was born. Those wholistened were known as “bugs” and theyhad to have proper receiving equipment,including head phones.
Not to be outdone by our rival XWAin Montreal, OA presented a shortconcert, again from the Chateau Laurierhotel, using a 150watt transmitter.Coverage was estimated at about half amile from the Chateau. Nonetheless, itwas on that spring day in Ottawa, April18th 1921, that the first “publicbroadcast” was heard. Many broadcastsfollowed from these pioneer stations.The broadcasts were sporadic, beingonly a couple of hours long and rarelytwo days in a row.
Another first occurred on March 27th1922 when OA broadcast through loudspeakers at Lansdowne Park where
HSO Newsletter Page 5
people had gathered to hear a concert.These patrons also were treated tosignals from as far away as Pittsburgh,Chicago and, according to thenewspaper, “some place in NewJersey”. With the help of lumbermagnate J.R. Booth, George L. Gilbertbegan broadcasting three shows a weekfrom his home on Flora Street onJanuary 19, 1922 with a range of 435metres. CHXC was born. Apparentlythe call letters GBY were used duringdaylight hours.
By now, shows consisted of naturalresources, news bulletins, dramaticreadings, safety first announcementscourtesy of the Ottawa Electric RailwayCompany, and even a visit from Santa atStation OA on Christmas Eve 1922.The Booth Station soon dominated withconcerts, choral groups, piano, clarinetand banjo before moving from FloraStreet to its new location at the GreatWar Veterans’ Club on Cartier Street inJanuary 1923, with more equipment andan antenna array. Tube sets werereplacing crystal mechanisms.
Dr. George McKinley Geldert beganC.K.C.O. from his home at 272Somerset St. W. and, with 200 watts,was the first to broadcast a religiousservice live from Chalmers Church.Then things moved faster on theairwaves when Canada’s beleagueredrailway system was reorganized andthe Canadian National Railroad wasestablished. Wanting to lure passengersonto trains, they started their own radionetwork C.N.R.O. in 1923 withlistening cars that could also pick up the
more powerful American stations with a500watt transmitter and towers on theroof of the Jackson Building in Ottawa.In 1929 they moved to the ChateauLaurier where they broadcast for 75years.
Amid concerns of American takeovers and a rapidly growing market dueto advertising, a Royal Commission wascalled. The Aird Report led to theCanadian Broadcasting Commissionwho would purchase the C.N. network,eventually becoming the C.B.C. in1936. A year later the Havana Treaty putin place a structure known as the AMband. Instead of a freeforall, Canadaacquired six ‘clear’ frequencies.
Radio dominated the war years [withlicensing]. There was mounting pressurefrom private stations to set up a secondnetwork for commercial sponsorship. In1945 Dr. Geldert’s C.K.C.O. became theaffiliate of the newly formed C.B.C.dominion network. C.B.C. Ottawa waspart of a TransCanada network. TheC.B.C. also had a FM station.
One of the most successful radioventures was led by Frank Ryan whoacquired both an AM and a FM licence.C.F.R.A. was officially born in the fallof 1947 with a gala that attracted 8,000people to the Ottawa Auditorium. PercyFaith and his orchestra played while a450voice choir sang.
Some key developments followed: • 1958 saw a new regulatory agency
responsible for radio – the Board ofBroadcast Governors
• 1962 witnessed C.B.C. merging bothnetworks.
• 1970s saw C.F.G.O. (formerlyC.K.P.M.) become the city’s firstTop 40 radio station
• 1976 saw the start of CHEZFM byHarvey Glatt
• 1984 was the year C.F.R.A. was soldto the CHUM Group
Today controversy rules as many seeradio dying due to the advent of newtechnologies. Or it could be arguedthat radio is undergoing anothertransition with HD
Al Uhryniw presenting with his vintage radio athand. Photo by George Neville.
January 2018
.....Cont'd page 8
Page 6 HSO Newsletter
Poet's Pathway FinalUnveiling, 9th Sept. 2017
by George Neville (InvitedRepresentative of the HSO)
The unveiling ceremony of thefourteenth and final plaque of thePoet's Pathway, initiated well over adecade earlier, began at 12:30 PMoutside the front door of the JamesBartleman Archives, 100 Tallwood, atthe corner of Woodroffe Ave. This lastplaque mounted on a large rock wasunveiled to honour William PittmanLett, Ottawa's first City Clerk, an editorand family man, the Bard of Bytown,and for decades (36 continuous years),the most important official of the City.
For the Unveiling Ceremony, CityArchivist, Paul Henry, acted as MC andfirst introduced Mayor Jim Watson tosay a few words, followed by remarksfrom Jane Moore, Ben Glossop, JeanYves Pelletier and Councillor andDeputy Mayor, Mark Taylor. Next,Centrepointe Community AssociationPresident, Ron Benn spoke followed byPoet Susan McMaster who read herpoem composed for the occasion.William Pittman Lett III, fromPeterborough, then commented brieflyon Lett family history and paid tributeto Bryan Cook for the immense amountof work and enthusiasm he put intopreparing his anthology on theConfederationera poetry of WilliamPittman Lett (18191892). Ottawa'sCity Clerk and Solicitor of the pastdecade, Rick O'Connor, concluded theintroductory program by remarking on
aspects of current duties of the Clerk incomparison to those of WilliamPittman Lett.
The Unveiling
Prior to unveiling the plaque, twopoems were read: first Oft fromMemory read by William Pittman LettIII, followed by Souvent de memoireread by Andrée Lacelle.
Oft From Memoryby William Pittman Lett
Oft from memory breathes a sigh,When retrospection's light appearsAlong the maze of scenes gone by,
Revealing joys of other years.And when the blisses of the pastCrowd recollections like a dream
It seems as if indeed too fastWe've glided down life's turbid stream.
Following the unveiling and photosession, a reception and lunch was heldwithin the foyer of the City Archives atwhich there were dramatic poetryreadings introduced in succession byChief Archivist Paul Henry as follows:
Poet Laureate George Elliott Clarke(Canada's seventh Poet Laureate, Orderof Canada 2008.)
Susan McMaster (A supporter of thePoets' Pathway from the very
beginning, and past president of theLeague of Canadian Poets.)
Ottawa Poet Laureate Andrée Lacelle(She was the first to receive theTrillium Prize for French Literature forher Tint de vie s'égare, Editions duVermillon, 1994 [2007].)
Armand Garnet Ruffo (Of Ojibwayheritage and a Band Member of theChapeau Fox Lake First Nation, hecurrently lives in Kingston where he isthe Queen's National Scholar inIndigenous Literature at Queen'sUniversity.)
January 2018
Mayor Jim Watson opening the Poets' Pathwayfinal unveiling ceremony. Photo by George Neville.
William Pittman Lett III, gtgdson of the poet,reading Oft From Memory. Photo by G. Neville.
A closeup view of the bilingual plaque and outlineof the Poets' Pathway. Photo by George Neville.
Ottawa Poet Laureate Jamaal JacksonRogers (He is an awardwinning PoetLaureate, arts educator, socialengagement officer, andrecording/performance artist.)
History of the Poets' Pathway
The Poets' Pathway is a child of theGreenspace Alliance. Its first cochairswere Erwin Dressin and Steven Artelle,who established Poets' Hill with RogerBoult. It incorporated as a Not ForProfit (NFP) entity in 2011. JaneMoore has been the Chair of the Poets'Pathway since 2007. For 38 years, shetaught English Drama and CreativeWriting in Ottawa high schools. BenGlossop is a professional bassoonist, aguitar player, a music teacher and a
HSO Newsletter Page 7
composer. He has been an integral partof the Pathway since 2007. He bikes itregularly. Chris Woodward, retireduniversity professor, was an invaluablemember of the Pathway from 2010 to2016. Jodie McNamara, eventsplanner, now living in Toronto, joinedthe Pathway in 2015. Carolyn Malchy,Arts Teacher, joined in 2016. Both BillRoyds, enthusiast and dreamer, andGeorge Wilson, walker and poetrylover, were lost to cancer in the earlyyears of the Pathway.
January 2018
Kudos for Krug's Pamphlet 102by Bryan Cook
Elizabeth's Bytown Pamphlet #102 onMartin O'Gara is a tourdeforce on the
religious, social and political intriguesof 19th century Bytown and Ottawa.Particularly compelling is herdescription of the evolution of ourCatholicProtestant pluralism throughtthe lives of the early champions forCatholic ascendency such as O'Gara. Itis very readable in a fashion that letsone see both the forest and the trees! Itis a small historical textbook in itsown right.
I trust that there is a process to see itplaced in libraries accessible to futurestudents of our Capital. Furthermore, itreinforces the need to have aretroactive digital search capability notonly for the HSO Newsletter but alsofor titles, subtitles or chapter headingsof the Bytown Pamphlet series.
Page 8 HSO Newsletter
Digital Broadcasting and Internet radiodominating radio listening.
The presentation was followed by alively Q&A session with Al sharingmany stories concerning the events andthe personalities that shaped theairwaves in the Nation’s Capital. Manyof our members recounted their ownexperiences.
In closing, Al’s advice to all was…don’t touch that dial!
January 2018
.....Cont'd from page 5
Report of October Meeting:John Reid Ottawa’s WeatherHistory
By James Powell
If there is one thing all Canadiansenjoying doing it’s talking about theweather. The reason for our fascinationis clear. We get a lot of it. Whileforeigners have defined Canada by itsharsh winters—Voltaire disparaginglydismissed our nation as “a few acres ofsnow” while Rudyard Kipling calledCanada “our Lady of Snows”—the factis our weather is subject to wideextremes in temperature, precipitationand wind. Consequently, it’s very hardto ignore.
This meteorological banquet wasserved up to Society members by theHSO’s own Dr. John Reid who hasmore than thirty years’ experience as aweather forecaster, researcher andpolicy director with the MeteorologicalService of Canada. Starting withSamuel de Champlain in 1613, whoprovided us with the earliest knownmention of weather in the Ottawa area,John documented Ottawa’s weatherextremes to the present day. Using hisconsiderable experience, he also gavehis best forecast of what Ottawa islikely to experience in the future givenglobal warming and climate change.
Longtime Ottawa residents willcertainly recall the record snowfall thatfell during the winter of 197071 whenthe nation’s capital received 171.4inches of snow. Our oldest Society
members might even recall Ottawa’srecord high temperature, a sweltering38.9°C recorded on September 11, 1931or the city’s record cold temperature,coincidently a frigid 38.9°C, just overtwo years later on December 29, 1933.Other weatherrelated stories Johnrecounted included the drought of 1870that contributed to the huge fire thatstretched from the Rideau Lakes in thesouth to Wakefield, Quebec in the north,and the HullOttawa Fire of 1900 thatwas fuelled by the massive piles oflumber stacked by the Chaudière. Onlya fortuitous change in wind directioncaused the city centre to be spared inthat blaze. More recent weather storiessurveyed included the F3 tornado thathit the Alymer area in 1994, and, ofcourse, the ice storm of 1998 whichcoated a great swath of the country fromOntario to New Brunswick in up to 11centimetres of ice. John also noted that2017 is shaping up to being a bannerweather year as the wettest on record inOttawa.
One of John’s most entertainingweatherrelated stories was “Wigginsstorm,” the prediction by the “notrespected Ottawa weather prophetEzekiel Stone Wiggins” that a massivestorm would sweep in from the Pacificin March 1885, crossing North America,hitting Ottawa on March 11th, beforetraversing the Atlantic to hit Britain, andEurope. He prognosticated that “no
smaller vessel than a Cunarder will beable to live in this tempest.” News ofhis forecast circled the globe. Sometreated the story as a joke, others tookhim more seriously. So when no stormmaterialized, Wiggins became theinternational butt of jokes. This setbackdidn’t deter Wiggins, however, whocontinued to make weather predictions,even expanding his “expertise” to coverearthquakes.
John noted that while Ottawa’saverage monthly maximumtemperatures have held steady overtime, there has been an upward trend tothe City’s average monthly minimumtemperatures owing to the “heat island”effect of Ottawa’s many buildings andcars. Looking ahead, the longtermtrend is for increases in averagetemperatures due to global warming, theextent of which will depend on whatsociety does about the buildup ingreenhouse gases in the atmosphere.Here in Ottawa, John forecasted that weare likely to experience warmer winters,which might threaten Winderlude, lesssnow, but more rain, including freezingrain. We should also be prepared formore weather variability, includingmore droughts and downpours. UnlikeWiggins, however, John played safe anddidn’t volunteer any dates.
John Reid recalling notable weather events ofOttawa from past centuries. Photo by G. Neville.
Speaking Engagements to beGiven by James Powell
Jan. 9, 10.30 am at the Morning BreakProgram, Carlingwood "Y", St. Martin'sChurch, Prince Charles St., topic:History of Counterfeiting in Canada.Jan. 17, 1.45 pm at HyfieldApartments, 5581 Dr. Leach Drive,Manotick, Rural Ottawa South SupportServices to Seniors and Adults withDisabilities, topic: History ofCounterfeiting in Canada.Jan. 30, 10.30 am at the "Seniorswithout Walls" program of the GoodCompanions. Topic: Ottawa FirstsFirst Telephone, First Electricity, FirstRadio and First Television.
HSO Newsletter
Report of November Meeting:Ian McKercher 1930’s Ottawaand Birth of the Bank of Canada
By George Shirreff
On Friday November 24th, 2017 wegathered for what would be theHistorical Society of Ottawa (HSO)’slast General Meeting not only in 2017but also in Canada’s 150th year. Ourspeaker Ian McKercher took us on atrip through one of Ottawa’s mosttumultuous decades: the 1930s.
He began by explaining thecomplicated relationship between thevarious levels of government. Ottawawas caught in its dual role as a focuspoint of the still relevant lumberindustry and as the Nation’s Capital.Ian summarized this very effectivelywhen he stated that Ottawa’s role was acombination of indifference, subservience, hostility and finally cooperation.
One of the defining parts in theopening section of the presentation wasa question posed which asked: was thedecade a cohesive unit? It started in adepression so severe that its effectslasted ten years. This was followed bythe outbreak of World War II. Thisdecade was also the one in which therelationship between the citizen and thestate changed forever. We still live withthese complexities.
Some interesting statistics emergedsuch as, in the early 1930’s, Ottawa’spopulation was 130,672 souls, 11,766of which worked for the federalgovernment. An inescapable fact wasthat while the city budget was a modest$5,900, the federal government boostedrevenues up to $500,000. The city’sfate was linked to the vision anddirection of the federal government.Other facts included that exports fell bytwothirds between 19281932 whilefederal civil servants were forced totake a 10% cut. Relief camps were setup in Brewer Park and at the RockliffeAir Base.
Ottawa’s four mayors at this time were:• 1930: Frank H. Plant – responsible
for the Public Baths: Plant andChampagne Centre
• 19311933: John J. Allen – initiatedsewer repairs to provideemployment
• 19341935: Patrick Nolan – firstelected to city council in 1922
• 19361948: J.E. Lewis – Ottawa’slongest serving mayor
One of the highlights of Ian’s talk wasthe use of old city maps as we exploredthe city’s boundaries between 1925 and1929. I found the map of old OttawaSouth quite interesting as members ofmy family lived there for sixty years(19291989) and saw the ‘fringe’neighbourhood change from “out pastthe streetcar line” to one of Ottawa’sfinest ‘inner city’ communities.
Urban planning had its beginningsduring this period. One idea was for theOttawaGatineau area to become afederal district similar to WashingtonD.C. The Province of Ontario was keen,but Quebec was not; the concept wasdropped. Ian also discussed the OttawaElectric Railway and its impact oneconomic development. One of hisphotos was of the McKeen Grocerystore founded in 1911 that continues tothis day, run by the same family as theGlebe Metro. The photo dates to 1931.
The presentation then focused on thetwo Prime Ministers of the period: R.B.Bennett (August 1930 – October 1935)and Mackenzie King (October 1935 –November 1948). To his credit Iandefended R.B. Bennett who is oftenthought of as not having been aneffective leader during the crisis of thedepression. He accurately reported thatBennett had enacted many measures toassist Canadians. He also created theCanadian Radio BroadcastingCommission, the Wheat Board andfounded the Bank of Canada. It shouldbe noted that Bennett was PrimeMinister during the worse of thedepression in 193233. When King
took office, the economy was starting toslowly improve. Under King, the Bankof Canada would become nationalizedand the Canadian BroadcastingCorporation would succeed theCommission. King would also enact theUnemployment Insurance Act.
After a brief technical setback, whichwas corrected by both Ron Elmer andDavid Jeanes, the presentationconcluded with the story of the Bank ofCanada. Bennett initiated the effort dueto the shattered economy and weakenedbanks which were mired in debt. TheMacMillan Report concluded thatCanada might be better off with onecentralized bank. Its purpose was to (1)regulate foreign exchange and (2)control monetary policy. GrahamTowers was the first governor of theBank of Canada.
Later King would nationalize the newcentral bank and go on to create theWoodlands Preservation League. Thedecade concludes with the NationalCommemorative War MonumentProject which had its beginnings in1925. Delayed by the onset ofeconomic depression, the formerConnaught Place spanning the canalwhere Lower Town and Upper Townmet gradually would be transformedwith the building of a new post officeand the inauguration of the NationalWar Memorial by their majesties KingGeorge VI and Queen Elizabeth duringthe Royal Visit of 1939.
All in all, a splendid presentation byIan McKercher, a fine way to bring2017 to a close.
January 2018 Page 9
Telephone Tree Appeal
by Barbara Whitfield
This consists of calling ten membersonce a month to tell them about themonthly meeting or we now have theoption of emailing. Anyone interestedcan call me at 6137222209 or emailme at [email protected].
Mama Teresa's Restaurant300 Somerset St. W.by David Jeanes
300 Somerset Street West, MamaTeresa's Restaurant, was almostcertainly designed between 1875 and1878 by the prominent Ottawaarchitect, James Mather, who was thefirst person to live there. He alsoowned other houses in the next blockto the west.
He also designed Laurier House inSandy Hill and many other residential,institutional and commercial buildingsthat I have written about.
He later moved to Chapel Street inSandy Hill to live with relatives. Thehouse was subsequently the home ofFred Carling who was an entrepreneurand the founder of the CarlingBrewery. He also gave his name toCarling Avenue. His father was theAgriculture Minister, Sir John Carling.A later occupant was Thomas W.Fuller, fourth Dominion Architect atthe Department of Public Works.
I don't have all the occupancy dates,but James Mather was there by 1881until 18912, but gone by 1893. FredCarling was there from 1893 to at least1899 but gone by 1910. Thomas W.Fuller was there by 1939 until his deathin 1951. It was rental apartments frombefore 1957 until after 1963. It becameMama Teresa's Restaurant sometimebetween 1984 and 1986.
One confusion in researching thehistory of this house is that it wasoriginally numbered 340 butrenumbered in 1896 to 298 and stilllater to 300, with the renumbering ofother houses along Somerset Street.
Its plan is close to the "pinwheel"which was used on a number of stonehouses between the late 1850's and theearly 1870's. including Earnscliffe onSussex Drive, Stadacona Hall in SandyHill, Abbotsford in the Glebe, andothers. Each wing of the house has agable end and roof ridge facing in adifferent compass direction forming arectangle, (usually flat), in the centre ofthe roof.
In the 1911 and 1915 Directories theoccupant of 300 Somerset was WilliamP. Shannon. In 1911 he was presidentof Motor Transit Ltd. at 80 Queen St.with a garage at 342 Queen St. (The"Peerless Garage" between Lyon andBay). In 1915 he was a "capitalist"with office at 80 Queen St.
In the 1923 Directory the occupant of300 Somerset was William Crain,physician. His office was at 239O'Connor, (the side entrance to 300Somerset).
A search of other City Directories atthe Ottawa Public Library, Library andArchives Canada or the City of OttawaArchives would fill in other occupantsor adjust the years for the ones I havelisted.
I had not recognized before howclosely this house fits the Pinwheelplan, though later additions have partlyhidden this. Bruce Elliott also pointedout to me that Laurier House, alsodesigned by James Mather around thesame date, was a pinwheel as well.
The 1923 Doctor's office withentrance on O'Connor appears to be a1storey addition in the original garden,eliminating the rear bay window. Therewas also additional construction of athird floor in the southeast corner and afire escape along the east wall.
HSO Newsletter
Footprint and rooftop viewof 300 Somerset St. W.
Source: LAC: ID 54369, A.S. Woodburn, 1881.
Mama Teresa's Restaurant at 300 Somerset St. W.Photo taken by George Neville, Oct. 8, 2017 at noon.
Page 10 January 2018
HSO Newsletter Page 11January 2018
Historia Poetice Aperta
THE CHAUDIÈRE IN VERSE*:Charles Sangster (2)
*Series by Bryan Cook
As promised, we saved CharlesSangster’s second and epic long poemon the Chaudière Falls for thisnewsletter. Remember that we are justat the end of the preindustrializationperiod, before sawmills and turbinesstarted greatly reducing the flow of thefalls and cascades.
Charles Sangster (18221893) wasmarried for two years when he lost hisyoung bride, Mary Kilborn topneumonia in 1858. However, heremarried on 30 Oct. 1860 to HenriettaCharlotte Meagher at Niagara Falls, andwas enjoying a steady income from acareer in journalism with the KingstonWhig and later the Kingston Daily News.He was also basking in literary fame andacclaim for his first poetry book, The St.Lawrence and the Saguenay, and OtherPoems, published in 1856 bysubscription. His second anthologyHesperus, and Other Poems and Lyrics,was published in 1860, again to criticalinternational acclaim and with six pagesdevoted to his complex and mature epicThe Falls Of The Chaudière, Ottawa.Such was Sangster’s stature that this andseveral others of his poems wereincluded in the 31 volume anthology ofPoems of Places edited by HenryWadsworth Longfellow and publishedbetween 1876 and 1879. Poems ofPlaces has been quite forgotten butmany of the volumes can be read forfree as ebooks on the internet and areworthwhile visiting for a poem on yourhome town or country of origin.Unfortunately only an excerpt forSangster’s epic was included inLongfellow’s anthology, which omitsmuch of its creative and multivoicestructure. We rectify this here.
The Falls Of The Chaudière, Ottawa
I have laid my cheek to Nature's, placed my puny hand in hers,Felt a kindred spirit warming all the lifeblood of my face,
Moved amid the very foremost of her truest worshippers,Studying each curve of beauty, marking every minute grace;
Loved not less the mountain cedar than the flowers at its feet,Looking skyward from the valley, openlipped as if in prayer,
Felt a pleasure in the brooklet singing of its wild retreat,But I knelt before the splendour of the thunderous Chaudière.
All my manhood waked within me, every nerve had tenfold force,And my soul stood up rejoicing, looking on with cheerful eyes,
Watching the resistless waters speeding on their downward course,Titan strength and queenly beauty diademed with rainbow dyes.
Eye and ear, with spirit quickened, mingled with the lovely strife,Saw the living Genius shrined within her sanctuary fair,
Heard her voice of sweetness singing, peered into her hidden life,And discerned the tuneful secret of the jubilant Chaudière:
“Within my pearlroofed shell,Whose floor is woven with the iris bright,Genius and Queen of the Chaudière I dwell,As in a world of immaterial light.
My throne, an ancient rock,Marked by the foot of ages longdeparted,My joy, the cataract's stupendous shock,Whose roll is music to the gratefulhearted.
I've seen the eras glideWith muffled tread to their eternal dreams,While I have lived in vale and mountain side,With leaping torrents and sweet purling streams.
The RedMan's active life;His love, pride, passions, courage, and great deeds;His perfect freedom, and his thirst for strife;His swift revenge, at which the memory bleeds:
The sanguinary years,When sullen Terror, like a raging Fate,Swept down the stately tribes like slaughtered deers,And war and hatred joined to decimate
The remnants of the race,And spread decay through centuries of painNo more I mark their sure, avenging pace,And forests wave where warwhoops shook the plain.
HSO NewsletterPage 12 January 2018
Their deeds I envied not.The royal tyrant on his purple throne,I, in secluded grove or shady grot,Had purer joys than he had ever known,
God made the ancient hills,The valleys and the solemn wildernesses,The merryhearted and melodious rills,And strung with diamond dews the pinetrees' tresses;
But man's hand built the palace,And he that reigns therein is simply man;Man turns God's gifts to poison in the chaliceThat brimmed with nectar in the primal plan.
Here I abide aloneThe wild Chaudière’s eternal jubileeHas such sweet divination in its tone,And utters nature's truest prophecy
In thunderings of zeal!I've seen the Atheist in terror start,Awed to contrition by the strong appealThat waked conviction in his doubting heart:
'Teachers speak throughout all nature,From the womb of Silence born,
Heed ye not their words, O Scoffer?Flinging back thy scorn with scorn!
To the desert spring that leapeth,Pulsing, from the parched sod,
Points the famished trav'ler, saying-'Brothers, here, indeed, is God!'
From the patriarchal fountains,Sending forth their tribes of rills,
From the cedar-shadowed lakeletsIn the hearts of distant hills,
Whispers softer than the moonbeamsWisdom's gentle heart have awed,
Till its lips approved the cadence-'Surely here, indeed, is God!'
Lo! o'er all, the Torrent Prophet,An inspired Demosthenes,
To the Doubter's soul appealing,Louder than the preacher-seas:
Dreamer! wouldst have nature spurn theeFor a dumb, insensate clod?
Dare to doubt! and these shall teach theeOf a truth there lives a God!'
By day and night, for hours,I watch the cataract's impulsive leap,Refreshed and gladdened by the cheering showersWrung from the passion of the seething deep.
Pleased when the buried wavesEmerge again, like incorporeal hostsRising, whitesheeted, from their gloomy graves,As if the depths had yielded up their ghosts.
And when the midnight stormEnfolds the welkin in its robe of clouds,Through the dim vapours of the cauldron swarmThe sheeted spectres in their whitest shrouds,
By the lightning's flash betrayed.These gather from the insubstantial vapourThe lunar rainbows, which by them are madeWoven with moonbeams by some starry taper,
To decorate the hallsOf my fair palace, whence I'm pained to seeThy human brethren watch the waterfallsNot with such rev'rence as I've found in thee:
Too many with an eyeTo speculation and the worldling's dreams;Others, who seek from nature no reply,Nor read the oral language of the streams.
But of the few who lovedThe beautiful with grateful heart and soul,Who looked on nature fondly, and were movedBy one sweet glance, as by the mighty whole:
Of these, the thoughtful few,Thou wert the first to seek the inner temple,And stand before the Priestess. Thou wert trueTo nature and thyself. Be thy example
The harbinger of timesWhen the Chaudière’s imposing majestyWill awe the spirits of the heartless mimesTo worship God in truth, with nature's constancy.”
Still I heard the mellow sweetness of her voice at intervals,Mingling with the fall of waters, rising with the snowy spray,
Ringing through the sportive current like the joy of waterfalls,Sending up their hearty vespers at the calmy close of day.
Loath to leave the scene of beauty, loverlike I stayed, and stayed,Folding to my eager bosom memories beyond compare;
Deeper, stronger, more enduring than my dreams of wood and glade,Were the eloquent appeals of the magnificent Chaudière.
HSO Newsletter Page 13January 2018
E'en the solid bridge is trembling, whence I look my last farewell,Dizzy with the roar and trampling of the mighty herd of waves,
Speeding past the rocky Island, steadfast as a sentinel,Towards the loveliest bay that ever mirrored the Algonquin Braves.Soul of Beauty! Genius! Spirit! Priestess of the lovely strife!In my heart thy words are shrined, as in a sanctuary fair;
Echoes of thy voice of sweetness, rousing all my better life,Ever haunt my wildest visions of the jubilant Chaudière.
Charles Sangster, 1860In Hesperus: and Other Poems and LyricsJ Lovell ( Montreal) and Jon Creighton (Kingston) published 1860pp. 5358.
Sangster elaborates extensively on the internal structure of hisprevious short ode Love’s Signet Ring (presented in our last HPAcolumn), with a structure of three voices: his own voice bookendingthe "tuneful secret(s) of the jubilant Chaudière" which in turnbookend a polemic by the Spirit of the Chaudière. These voices havebeen presented here in different scripts for ease of recognition.
He begins with an affirmation of his powerfully sensual bond withMother Nature and his love for the Chaudière, as a knight kneelingbefore his Queen of "Titan strength and queenly beauty diademedwith rainbow dyes".
As "Genius and Queen of the Chaudière", she recalls memories ofthe Chaudière: its geological inception and sculpture by the waters oftime; and the "perfect freedom" of the aboriginal (who gave offeringsto the great Manitou at the Falls) now decimated by intertribalwarfare and the Terror of the colonizing "royal [British] tyrant on hispurple throne". She bemoans the destruction and pollution of natureas "Man turns God's gifts to poison in the chalice that brimmed withnectar in the primal plan". However, her power can waken convictionof a greater power even in the heart of the atheist.
This spirit Queen of the Chaudière Falls and the anthropomorphicimages of nature, echo the aboriginal belief in the hierarchy of theManitou, where all things, animate and inanimate have a living soulgoverned by the will of the Great Manitou who expresses himself inthe major forces of nature including wind, sun, earth, fire and water.All poets of the Chaudière have recognized this either intuitively ordirectly as we shall see later in this series.
In the incarnation of the Falls, Sangster portrays Nature and thespirit Queen of Chaudière as beautiful, powerful women; in contrastto the Christian teachings from the Victorian pulpits. However, hehas no problem accepting this paradox and, as a third voice, helaunches the Queen of the Chaudière into a polemical confirmationof a living omnipresent God.
Then returning to her second voice, the spirit Queen describes theChaudière in powerful ethereal imagery of spectres arising fromgloomy graves, into lunar rainbows illuminated by lightning flashesand moon beams lit by starry tapers, much like candles and the whaleoil street lamps of early Ottawa. She laments those who cannot see or
feel the power of Nature and fears those "Too manywith an eye to speculation and the worldling'sdreams". The Falls are on the brink being developed,muted and polluted by the industries of lumbermilling and hydraulic power. Sangster even has herpraise himself as being "true to nature and thyself"!
Sangster awakens from his muse to find his ownvoice in the final two stanzas, committing to hismemory the "eloquent appeals of the magnificentChaudière". Note that the suspension bridge* over theChaudière is “trembling”, and the rocky island whichEvan MacColl had seen is still there, "steadfast as asentinel, towards the loveliest bay that ever mirroredthe Algonquin Braves".
The Chaudière of the Algonquin and of MacColland Sangster must have been truly awe inspiring.
* In the 1820’s, a hemp and wood pedestrian bridgewas literally shot by cannon across the Chaudièrewith its lowest point seven feet above the boil andrising 32 feet to abutments on either side. The intrepidviceregal Countess of Dalhousie was the first across!By 1828 a series of stone bridges across theChaudière cascades were built under the direction ofLt. Colonel John By to supply construction of theRideau Canal; at least one still exists. His woodenarch bridge, built with great difficulty over the mainchannel, lasted until 1835 when it was destroyed byMarch ice flows. In 1843, Samuel Keefer engineereda suspension bridge with stone tower piers holdingthe cables and a 20 foot wagon way stiffened bywooden trusses. This became inadequate and wasreplaced in 1889 by the "Old Union Bridge", a steeltruss bridge built by Messis, Rousseau and Mather.By 1914 the Old Union Bridge was considered tooweak for its loads and in 1919 the Dominion BridgeCompany of Lachine Quebec were contacted to buildthe current bridge and abutments.
Charles Sangster of Kingston, ON. UPenn Digital Library.
1st Ottawa Bicycle FilmFestival
by George Neville
Jennifer Stelzer organized the firstOttawa Bicycle Film Festival forSaturday evening, 9th September in thebasement of the St. Brigid'sCommunity Hall (formerly St. Brigid'sR.C. Church on St. Patrick St. atCumberland Ave. The programfeatured vintage bicycling filmcoverage – different exposures for eachof the three 1½hour sessions thatbegan a 5:30 PM, 7:30 PM, and 9:30PM. Many attendees socialized at theadjacent downstairs St. Brigid's Puband Lunch Bar before and followingthe first two showings. A gratifyingnumber, 3040 persons, attended eachof the film sessions including youngfamilies for the earlier showings. Oneyoung teenager and his family came allthe way from Buffalo, N.Y. to attendthe event crossing into Canada via theThousand Islands International Bridgeat Ivy Lea.
Jen had requested that the HSO have
a display of its publications, etc., tocomplement the adjacent Enviro Centretable facing the Pub, the only twoexhibitors at this 1st Bicylcle FilmFestival.
Page 14 HSO Newsletter
The Historical Society of Ottawagratefully acknowledges the financialsupport of the City of Ottawa and theMinistry of Culture of the Governmentof Ontario.
January 2018
Membership Renewal FormThe Historical Society of Ottawa
Date_______________________Renewal/New________________No. Members______________________Name_______________________________________________________________________________Name (for mailing)______________________________________________________________________
Address Unchanged(Show Changes Below)Street________________________________________________________________________________Postal Code________Phone (res)________________Phone (work)________________EmailAddress___________________Interest(Activities?)________________________________________Volunteer?__________________________________
Membership fees PaymentSingle $35/year Membership $____________________________Student $10/year Donation $____________________________Family $50/year Total $____________________________Single Life $350
Charitable receipts for federal income tax purposes will be issued for donations.Please photocopy and complete this form and mail it with a cheque, made payable to The Historical Society of Ottawa, to:
Membership, The Historical Society of OttawaP.O. Box 523, Station B.
Ottawa, OntarioK1P 5P6
The HSO publications sale table attended to by PastPresident Neville in the basement of St. Brigid'sCommunity Centre. Photo by George Neville.
First evening session of the Ottawa Bicycle FilmFestival with about 30 attendees. Photo G. Neville.
St. Brigid's Pub and Lunch Bar in the basement ofSt. Brigid's Community Centre. Photo Geo. Neville.
