English corner

Welcome to “The English Corner”. Everybody has a story.

Verduners have a rich library of stories to tell of our history and of our present day lives, and that is what this new space in our community paper is meant to showcase.

As time passes, our stories have had no permanent record, no home for future generations to refer to.

Hopefully this new space will give them a home, reflecting our roles in Verdun’s vibrant past and in our continuing contribution to its success, for the record.

We all share stories of Verdun’s history with a certain amount of personal pride. It is these stories that we would like to remember the most, yet they are also the ones we more easily forget first.

We hope to use this “English Corner” to share our experiences of Verdun with our own children, so that they may also take pride in today’s Verdun, and in knowing their family’s contribution to this city we all call home.

Stories of heroism, such as the flights of Buzz Beurling, for which a High School and City Section are still named after. Stories of great civic accomplishment, as with Mayor, Edward Wilson and City General Manager, J.M. French, putting their differences aside and building our Natatorium, in the time of the great depression. Including “Gunny’s” Restaurant at the “Nat”, where on opening day on July 12th, 1940, you could get a “Peers-Rich and Foamy Cream Soda” for 5-cents. How a once-famous Tarzan, held his morning swimming practices at our “Nat” in preparation for his films, and of the hoards of fans that awaited his autograph through the fence.

Our smaller recollections are usually the ones we hold dearest. Simple pleasures such as our boardwalk, the multiple bandstands, and the pristine beaches we once had in Verdun. Soon we will only have the photos to look back on, photos which would almost seem foreign to our young. Our stories in this column could then fill in at least some of the blanks, that future generations may want to know. At one point in our history, Verdun was the second-largest city in Canada. We had over seven full-sized theaters, our own football arena, and our own gigantic outdoor mall, Wellington Street.

Today, we are but a large borough of the mega-city of Montreal. Yet, Verdun has still managed to keep its individual sense of uniqueness in many of our parks, riverfront venues, and in our styles of celebrations. We are still very proud of our many senior Service Veterans, their legions, and their families, for their sacrifices in giving us the opportunity to live free in Canada. The “Red Poppy” is only worn for 30 days per year yet we all enjoy the freedom they represent all year around. We need to respect their needs now. In that sense, we are all very proud to be Verduners!

We hope to use this column not only bring our own “stories” to life, but to use it as a local forum to keep our present affairs current, from a Verdun perspective (for example: new City Garbage rules, changes to municipal laws etc.).



We welcome your input, your stories, and your comments to the Verdun Messager’s “English Corner”.

What do you think of this column appearing occasionally in our Verdun community paper? Good idea?

Please send your comments or story ideas to:

VERDUN MESSAGER - ATTENTION : THE ENGLISH CORNER

Via email to: ATTENTION : THE ENGLISH CORNER

mathieu.robert-perron@transcontinental.ca

Via FAX to: ATTENTION : THE ENGLISH CORNER

514-363-3895

Via MAIL to: ATTENTION : THE ENGLISH CORNER

420, rue Lafleur, LaSalle, Québec, H8R 3H6



NEXT in the English Corner : “Our Social Paths: The Old Fire Lanes of Crawford”