Meeting Fires Creative

Heading East for a visit was, in part, spurred on by my desire to connect a little more with family roots. In my case, those go back to Montréal – the city where my parents were born, raised, met and fell for each other. I won’t go into the extensive family history, but it certainly goes back a few generations. My folks gave me a list of addresses to check out, places scattered throughout the island of Montréal and extending into the suburbs across the river. I wanted to picture these places as they were back in the day and what was happening there now. Well, I didn’t make it to all the family spots but I put eyeballs on a bunch and for that, I am richer.

Leaving the city for a few days in the Eastern Townships, we crossed the Samuel de Champlain Bridge and the ‘burbs opened up before us. Brossard. A small town of about 90,000 and home to the Canadiens practice rink, among other delights I’m sure. We stopped for breakfast at one of the many egg-pun joints we’d come to see over the next week – Eggsquis. Not far away on a quiet block was the house my Dad spent his teen and young adult years. We drove by and took a pic, but didn’t lurk too long as this was a residential street and not one to feature many tourists. Dad said the sloped driveway had been filled in to make a level drive, but before that the winter’s snow would fill up the entire sloped entrance to the underground garage. The snow stories were something we all loved growing up – massive snowbanks and tunnels to houses, being snowed in and then shoveling out for a day. It was hard to imagine that much snow as a kid, and in Calgary, we got good dumps here and there, but not this.

Heading further south-east from Brossard, there is a tiny lake called Selby. It is quite close to the Vermont border, near Dunham – a sweet little town with a great microbrasserie, art shops, and cafes all along a quiet street. Very cute. Lac Selby itself must be a retirement community. It was spring and a nice day, so everyone was out – mostly old-timers doing garden work, lounging on a porch or strolling and waving to neighbours. So very cute! The lake looks great for swimming and summer shenanigans, something Dad has told us a little about as well. This is where his family went for vacation. Stories about swimming and playing with his sister while on holidays, relaxing in the heat of summer, and something about an outhouse and a bonfire… Being there made those stories come to life just a little bit more. I doubt the place has changed much in the intervening years.

The drive through the Eastern Townships was spectacular (Pt III of this post coming soon). Charming towns, rolling hills and lush forests in every direction. Orchards for cider and beer-making, lavender fields and black garlic, the land provides a lot here. We spent time in Mágog before carrying on to Lac-Mégantic, Saint-Georges and Québec City. More on that to come! This is the Family Tour after all.

We got back to Montréal later that week and coming into town I see we’re getting close to one of my Mom’s family spots — the red brick house she was born and raised, on Viau Street in Rosemont. We stopped on this bustling street, the duplex standing across from us with the small garage next door. The bus went by and I could picture my Mom and her sisters playing in the front yard, getting ready for school nearby or helping out with household chores. She lived there until her teens, before the family moved further west in the city. Mom told me about her school nearby, the apartment they rented out and the garage-top patio Oti, my busy Grandfather, never got around to finishing.

Not far from here and closer to the Latin Quarter is Rue De Bullion. Here, my Grandmother Omi migrated with her parents from Europe in the late 40s. She was soon joined by Oti and they lived here together, with extended family of course, for three years before moving to the Viau place I saw earlier. At the time, I hear this was a bit of a run down area, one where immigrants often found themselves with inexpensive housing and a like-minded community of newcomers to Canada. Visiting today, I was quite impressed with the stone brick apartment with the fancy roofs and the neighbourhood has a great energy and community feel to it. As things change, these places are gentrified and with that comes some good and some bad. Mom said it wasn’t a place her parents ever took their kids, a place best forgotten after they moved away and started the family. Years went by before they had a glimpse themselves. I didn’t get good shots with my film camera at either of these last two spots, included here are some digital images.

Last full day in town, the sun is out, the temp is rising and the locals are taking to the riverfront. Yes please! We jumped on a Bixi in Old Montréal and rode along the waterways towards Verdun. You can read all about that day here, but what I didn’t mention before is we also rode to Gordon Ave, the street my Dad’s mother, my Nanny, was born and raised from 1928 on. I had the Pentax along today and got a nice shot of this apartment, where she lived with her siblings, parents and step-siblings at times, too! I can’t imagine that many people in this little apartment, but those were the times. The front door is up the spiral stairs and the door reads ‘451’. Now, this is interesting…the first home my parents bought in Calgary when they moved in the early 1970s, the place myself and my brothers were all born and raised, was also 451. A very significant number! I am trying to think of other “451”s and all I get is the Ray Bradbury’s 1953 dystopian tale about a book-banning American society and those charged with enforcing this censorship. Geez, sounds a lot like today.

To put eyes on the places my Grandparents lived, almost 100 years ago in one case, was super fulfilling. I tried to soak it up, sticking around for a few pics and to get a sense of the, now very changed, neighbourhoods. I do wonder how much of Gordon Ave is different. It is still very residential, quiet and I have to say Verdun is one place I’d look to live if I was to relocate to Montréal. What a lovely place, I felt very at home here and the river nearby connects everyone. I just loved seeing where Mom and Dad spent part of their youth, again super fulfilling to daydream and think of them as kids here. We wanted to ride further south from Verdun to LaSalle to see where my Dad originally grew up, but we ran out of bikes and frankly, steam! It was hot and we rode a lot that day. Next time I hope to see these places I missed. Thankful to have the ability to go back in time in this way, standing in a certain spot I know my ancestors also stood upon – what a feeling.

Montréal, Québec, 2024.

Black frame images: Pentax Spotmatic II with Harman Phoenix 200 analog film
No-frame images: iPhone digital