Montebello, Quebec

2,736 miles

imperial overreach: La Nouvelle France
(Atlantic Ocean named Canadian Ocean)

Sept 26 – In several ways, Montebello reflects much of the history of Quebec.  European land rights in this region of New France were first granted in 1627 by the King of France.  This seems utterly absurd from our perspective today, since the area was already inhabited by Algonquins and neither the French king nor his lords had any relationship to this land.  But in Europe monarchs ruled by claiming a divine right from God, and French missionaries had already established relations with some tribes of First Peoples and claimed to have converted them to Catholicism.

typical land grant layout

In 1627, Cardinal Richelieu, King Louis XIII's chief minister, granted the newly-formed Company of New France all lands between the Arctic Circle to the north, Florida to the south, Lake Superior in the west, and the Atlantic Ocean in the east.  In exchange for this vast land grant and the exclusive trading rights tied to it, the Company was expected to bring two to three hundred settlers to New France in 1628, and a subsequent four thousand during the next fifteen years. To achieve this, the Company sub-granted almost all of the land awarded to it.  The “seigneurial” land grant system of New France was the semi-feudal system of land tenure used in the North American French colonial empire.  Seigneurs (“Lords”) were allotted land holdings and presided over the French colonial agricultural system in North America. 

Papineau family chapel

In 1674, François de Laval, the first Archbishop of Quebec, purchased vast property around Montebello, known as the Seigneury de la Petite Nation, from the French East India Company.  The Quebec Seminary inherited it from Laval. Agricultural settlement of this area began in 1801, when the land of the Petite Nation Seigneury was purchased by Joseph Papineau, a former anti-British rebel in Lower Canada, who operated a lumber mill at this site.  Papineau’s son, Louis-Joseph, inherited this Seigneury property and gave the name "Monte-Bello" to this location in 1854 as a tribute to Napoleon-Auguste Lannes, Duke of Montebello, a French diplomat and foreign minister, with whom he had become acquainted in France.  

Manoir Papineau

Starting in 1846, Louis-Joseph built a turreted stone mansion in beautiful French style, named Manoir Papineau.  After the seigneury feudal system was abolished, the Papineau seigneury was sold off and became the Seigneury Club.  The grand house was later designated a National Historic Site of Canada, and now functions as a museum which is open in the summer.

Château Montebello

This village of about 1,000 people is also famous for the Château Montebello resort, the largest log structure ever built. In the late 1920s, Harold M. Saddlemire, a Swiss-American entrepreneur, acquired the site that was formerly part of the Seigneury de la Petite Nation, situated on one of the last surviving land grants made by 17th-century French kings to early settlers of what was then La Nouvelle France.  Saddlemire envisioned a private wilderness retreat for business and political leaders.  He initially called this project "Lucerne-in-Quebec;" but it came to be known as the Anglicized “Seigniory Club”.  

impressive stone fireplace in hotel lobby

Despite the 1929 stock market crash, work on the planned wilderness retreat began as planned in early 1930.  The economic uncertainty did not delay the project, as it did so many others, due perhaps to the fact that the presidents of the Canadian Pacific Railway, the National Bank of Canada, the Bank of Montreal, and the Royal Bank of Canada, and the Premier of Quebec, were all club directors.  A special spur from the nearby CPR line had to be built to allow for the transport of red cedar logs and other supplies to the site. The log construction in a Scandinavian style was supervised by Finnish master-builder, Victor Nymark and construction manager Harold Landry Furst.  

Le restaurant Aux Chantignoles

The club was only open to an elite membership for its first 40 years of operation.  Among the members during this period were: former Canadian Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson, Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco.  Edward, the playboy Prince of Wales, heir to the British throne, visited the resort.  After he became King Edward VIII, then abdicated his throne to marry Wallis Simpson and become the Duke of Windsor, he visited the Seigneury Club again.  The resort has been the host for the NATO Nuclear Planning Group, a G7 Economic Summit, and a Trilateral summit conference (Mexico, US, Canada). 

luxury dining with a winter view

Château Montebello is a National Historic Site of Canada, set within a forested wildlife sanctuary with numerous lakes, but it now operates as a private hotel.  Its ownership has passed through the hands of the Canadian Pacific Railway, a Saudi prince, an employee retirement system, and a major Chinese real estate group.

Footpaths are laid out through the surrounding wildlife sanctuary, and to my amazement I discovered that they are accessible via Google Street Views!  Since Google has mapped most of North America using camera-laden cars on public roads, how was this maze of footpaths filmed?  Cameras on bikes?  On golf carts?  I’m grateful for this enhanced access, but I wonder why this little bit of strolling territory (complete with “Poison Ivy” signs!) was given this privilege.

Amnesia Rockfest

Since 2005, Montebello also hosts the Amnesia Rockfest at the edge of the Ottawa River.  It has become Canada's largest rock festival. 

Restaurant Le Napoleon

The main street of Montebello, along the edge of the resort property, is full of boutiques and bed-&-breakfast inns for tourists, built in charming French architectural styles.

info:  Wikipedia.com

Montebello:  http://www.montebello.ca/

Château Montebello:  http://www.coupsdecoeurpourlemonde.com/2014/07/le-chateau-montebello-canada-bois-rond/

images:  Google.com

Thurso, Quebec

St. Jean l'Évangéliste

2,721 miles

Sept 20 – This town was named after the town of Thurso in northern Scotland, and this region was settled later than much of Quebec, so it seems to be part of the railroad-building, Scottish-naming era of Canadian history.  The residents are overwhelmingly French-speaking as their mother tongue.

Thurso pulp mill

Because of its location on the Ottawa River, Thurso developed as a wood processing center.  Logs were floated down the river to Thurso’s paper mills, then the products were shipped to the cities.  Thurso was widely known for the stench of its pulp mills.  But in the 21^st century, as the market for paper declined, Thurso’s pulp mills struggled and two mills closed.  

processor from Finland

In 2010, Fortress Specialty Cellulose, of British Columbia, bought a mothballed mill in Thurso and imported large industrial equipment from Finland to transform its hardwood pulp mill into cellulose for making rayon.   

rayon fibers

Rayon is a synthetic substitute for fine cotton or silk.  Demand for rayon is increasing because cotton growers and silk producers are switching to less-expensive crops.  By filling this new niche in the market, the pulp mill may generate new prosperity for the town of Thurso.

A famous hockey player, Guy Lafleur,was born and raised in Thurso during the 1950s.  He got his first hockey stick at the age of 5, and in his teens played for the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.  He became the first overall pick in the 1971 amateur draft. 

Lafleur became known among English-speaking fans as "Flower" because that’s the literal translation of his surname.  Among French-speaking fans he was called "le Démon Blond" (the Blond Demon) for his offensive playing skills. 

Lafleur was the first player in the National Hockey League (NHL) to score 50 goals and 100 points in six straight seasons.   Over his career, he played for the Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, and Quebec Nordiques. 

Stanley Cup hockey trophy

Lafleur was one of only a few players who did not wear protective helmets after they were required, due to a grandfather clause in their contracts.  During the 1978 Stanley Cup finals, the Boston Bruins Head Coach ordered his players to put their sticks up and hit Lafleur whenever they encountered him.  At the end of the series, Lafleur's head was swathed in bandages after numerous slashes from Bruins players.  After Montreal won the Stanley Cup, he borrowed the trophy for the weekend without telling anyone.  He took it back home to Thurso and set it out on his front lawn for all his neighbors to see.

Lafleur played professional hockey for 17 seasons.  He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988 and the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 1996.  Even after being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, Lafleur return to the NHL for three more seasons. 

L'Aréna Guy-Lafleur de Thurso

In 1980 Lafleur was made an Officer of the Order of Canada, and in 2005, he was made a Knight of the National Order of Quebec.  In Thurso, a street and a sports arena have been named after him.  This bronze statue stands in front of his namesake arena in Thurso, and another is displayed outside the home arena of the Montreal Canadiens.

Horseshoe Curve

The Thurso and Nation Valley Railway was the last logging railway in eastern Canada.  It ran south into Thurso to bring lumber from the northern forests to the mills.  In its last years, a railroad enthusiast, Colin Churcher, rode along with an experienced engineer to describe the route out of Thurso, and some of the lore about this short line railway.  It is an interesting view of the area and another era.  

info:  Wikipedia.com

images:  Google Images

pulp mill:  http://specialtycellulose.com/globe-and-mail-%E2%80%9Cquebec-mill-sees-new-life-in-rayon-market%E2%80%9D.htm

railway:  http://www.railways.incanada.net/thurso/tnvrrout.htm

Rivière La Blanche,Gatineau, Quebec

Rivière La Blanche,
photo by Joanne McKinnon

2,708 miles

Sept 13 – The “White” River was explored, mapped, and described in 1815 by  Joseph Bouchette.  This seems late in the process of the great Quebec explorations.  Did it really take French explorers 200 years after Samuel de Champlain to get around to this little river?  Bouchette named the river from the whitish clay soils which tinge the water.  

On the eastern edge of Gatineau, the river meanders through residential areas as a greenbelt behind many houses and several parks connected by walking trails. It is a secluded parkland area screened from homes by a mature woods and train tracks. In a large area where no city streets cross the river, volunteers built three covered bridges for walkers and bicycles, and donated them to the city of Gatineau. 

The area’s city councilor, Jean Lessard said, “It’s unique in Canada to have three covered bridges over one river.”  It’s also an ecological area where the bridges are an important series of links for cycling and walking paths.  “It’s so beautiful and so practical,” Lessard said.

There were about 100 volunteers involved in the work, part of a group called the Corporation de la Rivière Blanche de Gatineau. All the wooden beams were cut in a factory with holes pre-drilled for easier assembly at the site.

bridge destroyed in 2011

One bridge, the Brabant-Philippe, was built by volunteers in 2007.  The second was completed in 2009.

On New Year’s Eve 2011, teenaged arsonists completely destroyed the Brabant-Philippe. 

bridge supports torched

In 2015, the first bridge was rebuilt by the volunteers, using steel girders this time.  That summer, someone used some kind of torch to burn the structure supports.  No one was caught.

And then one night in June 2016, a small blaze did serious damage to several 8x8 beams in the bridge’s foundation.  The fire department put out the latest fire, and the bridge was closed while engineers determined whether it was safe to cross.

City Councilor Lessard called for security cameras on the bridge.  “There’s no sense in letting vandals try to burn it again,” he said.

re-building the bridge

The executive director of the volunteer builders association, Eugene Boudreau, was understandably discouraged.  "It makes me wonder whether it's worth going through all the efforts we put together as a group of volunteers, to give our time ... to bring something to this community that, to me, is very important."

These bridges are charming and useful for the community.  Everyone wonders what unhappy person would be so determined to destroy this bridge.  What does it symbolize for this individual?

info:  http://www.ottawasun.com/2016/06/16/latest-covered-bridge-arson-prompts-calls-for-security-cameras

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/brabant-philippe-bridge-fire-no-4-1.3638593

images:  Google Images & Ottawa Sun
Joanne McKinnon art photography:  joannemckinnon.net

Plateau, Gatineau, Quebec

2,693 miles

Sept 4 – At the other end of the Chemin de la Montagne, I’ve discovered a planned community named Plateau, presumably built on a plateau, although I can’t tell from here.  It is a bedroom community of commuters to Gatineau, Quebec, and its neighbor city Ottawa on the other side of the river.  This section of town and its nearby big box stores has mushroomed since the 1990s, and most of the architecture reflects this era.

The main road through the community is sensibly named Boulevard du Plateau.  Each section has a different level of housing, from mansions on the eastern side to ordinary homes, duplexes, and apartments toward the west.  Perhaps the entire community was planned for luxury homes, but the lots didn’t sell that well and other sections were turned into multi-family dwellings.  Each area has its own park, and footpaths connect the different sections.  One long path wanders through the whole community along a stream named Ruisseau-des-Fées (Stream of the Fairies) and a footpath.

The planner seems to have had lofty goals for the place, because the street names are highly intellectual.   I thought that this plateau might have been planned as a site for a great university or an astronomical observatory.  One street is even named for “Civilisation” itself! 

Rue des Conifères

The streets on the eastern side were named for botanical species:

Conifères (conifer trees)

Grives (thrushes)

Noyers (walnut trees)

Sapinières (fir trees

Acajou (mahogany)

Pommiers (apple trees)

Pruniers (plum trees)

Genèvriers (junipers)

Cèdres (cedars)

Frênes (ash tress)

Rue de Prado

On the west is a group of streets named for famous museums of Europe:

Rue du Conservatoire (museum of arts & crafts, Paris)

Rue de Prado (Madrid)

Rue du Louvre (Paris)

Rue de l’Acropole (Athens)

Rue d’Orsay (Paris)

Rue de Glenbow (Calgary, Alberta)

Rue de Luxembourg (art & culture, Paris)

Rue de Pergame (Berlin)

Rue de Carnavalet (history, Paris)

Rue de l'Art Moderne

Some streets are named for styles of art:

Rue de l’Art Contemporain

Rue de l’Art Moderne

Rue des Beaux-Arts

Another bunch are named for great cities of Europe:

Europe, Dublin, Francfort, Moscou, Munich, Londres (London), Bruxelles

Rue du Firmament

One section of streets were named for beautiful features of sky and weather:

l’Atmosphere

Arc en Ciel (“arc-in-sky”, rainbow)

Cumulus (cloud)

Stratus (cloud)

Frimas (frost)

Rosée (dew)

Grésil (sleet)

Crépuscule (dusk)

Embellie  (I’m not at all sure of this one.  Literally, it translates as “embellished”.  The translation I’ve found is “upturn”.  It may refer to a celestial phenomenon I can’t identify.)

Rue de l'Automne

The Parc des Quatres Saisons (Park of the Four Seasons) is surrounded by the streets:

Printemps  (spring)

Été  (summer)

Automne  (autumn)

Hiver  (winter)

Rue de la Nébuleuse  & Parc des Deux-Ruisseaux

Many streets were named for astronomical elements of the universe:

Cosmos

Firmament

Galaxie

Zenith

Apogée

Zodiaque (Zodiac)

Étoile (star)

Astre (star)

Constellation

Orbite

Satellite

Comète

Éclipse

Planète

Équinoxe

la Petite Ourse (Ursa Minor)

Andromède (Andromeda)

Ganymede

Nova

Météore

Cassiopée (Cassiopeia)

Centaure (Centaurus)

Nébuleuse (Nebula)

Callisto

Amalthée (Amalthea)

Venus

Rue de l'Astrolabe

Several streets are named for earthly geography and navigation.

l’Equateur

Polaire

Méridien

Tropique

Hemisphere

Solstice

Gravité

Astrolabe (This last must be, of course, the famous astrolabe of Samuel de Champlain.)

Obviously, I was charmed by the idea behind the planning and naming of these streets, even if the homes themselves are more prosaic.

info:  Wikipedia.com

images:  Google Street Views