The Story of Westmount - City of Westmount

VIEW OF THEIR OWNThe Story of WestmountAline Gubbay

A ViewofTheir OwnThe Story of WestmountAline GubbayPrice-Patterson Ltd.Canadian Publishers

Printed in CanadaCover: Painting of Greene Avenue by James Duncan circa 1872Price-Patterson Ltd.Canadian Publishers, Montreal, QuebecBox 711, Victoria Station,Montreal, Quebec, H3Z 2Y7,CanadaE-Mail: 104414.3472@compuserve.comISBN 1-896881-10-6© Copyright 1998. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form (except by areviewer) without permission from the Publisher.

PrefaceAfter seven years as mayor, I still have some difficulty in putting myfinger on precisely what is the genius of this remarkable city. One thing is forcertain, it has everything to do with the resiliency, determination, andtolerance of the people who built it and cared for it over the past 125 years.Those who went before us wove an intricate civic tapestry in durable colours,in sometimes unpredictable patterns, using some pretty tough yarn. AlineGubbay's book goes a long way in explaining just how it all came about.This book, like its subject matter, is constructed in a more complex waythan what would first meet the eye. Through subtle interweaving andjuxtaposition, Mrs Gubbay helps the reader understand that the stereotypicalWestmounter, so beloved of the media, is an artificial construct. We don't takeanalysis too easily because we are a study in contrasts. We don't like thingstoo flash, and we do like things well done. We opt for both style andsubstance. So Mrs Gubbay deftly limns our gentle history and modestlyallows the places, characters, and buildings speak to the reader directly. Hercarefully-chosen illustrations round out this delicate work of love.We learn that those who went before us made sure their manifestenthusiasm for tradition never blinded them to innovation. This happy blendcarries on: when we had to demolish the lawnbowling clubhouse two yearsago, we built a faithful replica...and stuck a huge electrical substation rightunderneath!From a synergetic jumble of roots, religions, and cultures came theWestmount we love today. Enough differences to make us interesting;enough sameness to make us whole. This is the story of Westmount'sproud builders, soldiers, scholars, merchants, church and temple-goers,athletes, and, yes, even politicians. It's a good read.Peter TrentMayor of Westmount

ForewordNot only an honour and privilege to be asked by Aline Gubbay to contribute theintroduction to her excellent book, it also is an intriguing delight. Old journalists are notalways regarded as "serious" writers, fit enough to have had a hand, however small, in aliterary work.A career as an ink-stained press person, however, can sometimes help make acontribution where history is involved and of which one has some special knowledge asthe longtime local community weekly publisher and editor Tfie Westnioimt Examinerand as a resident of these parts over a significant period of the area's story.The work Mrs.Gubbay has done here is clearly a labour of love, which shealready has demonstrated as longtime president of the Westmount Historial Association.She has shown imagination in the range of persons she has attracted as speakers at themonthly WHA meetings. She has exercised this skill in getting informed persons torelate, from anecdote and experience, their knowledge of earlier Westmount days. Thedirect quotes which she has garnered for this book are proof for her readers of this talent.Fortunately, Westmount has an uncommon number of seniors, and other citizens,with uncommonly clear memory and capacity to relate well. It has been said that manyfamilies miss out by not recording the recollections of their older members. Mrs.Gubbay has, in a way, acted on such an opportunity to collect herein many significantmemories of members of the broader Westmount "family."Thus, she has done us all a great service; anyone who cares about thiscommunity's rich history should not only give themselves the pleasure of reading "AView of Their Own" but keeping it in a convenient comer of their home Library as aready reference and a means of enlightening visitors, more often than not from lessfortunate places.JohnW. Sancton

Photograph AcknowledgementsChapter number is followed by a number indicating the sequential position within the chapter.AJevisatos family: 13-3Abbott Phyllis. Sketch: 3-5Anglican church publication: 6-5,6-9Bank of Montreal archives: 7-7Boyer family: 10-31Canadian Heritage of Quebec: 13-13, 13-14Château Ramezay Museum: 3-3Concordia University Archives: 13-9, 13-10, 13-11(Pol6/P30,Pol6/P62)Congregation de Notre-Dame: 2-3; 7-22Dominion Illustrated: 5-6Findlay family: 7-16Gaby: 13-6Gazette: 12-12; 13-11Gazette Printing Company: 6-10Gubbay, Aline: 1-2; 3-10, 3-12, 3-13, 3-15,3-16, 3-18;6-7,6-8; 7-23; 8-10, 8-11, 8-14; 10-5, 10-7, 10-15, 10-16, 10-17, 10-19, 10-21; 11-4, 11-6; 12-6; 13-4, 13-6; 14-13Harrison family: 8-7Hochelaga Depicta: 2-1Lande Canadiana Collection, McGill University: 3-2Hutchison family: 12-6Lawley family: 14-9Leja family: 14-2, 14-4Lloyd-Smith family: 10-20, 10-22McCord Museum of Canadian History: 3-4McGill family: 12-1Notman Photographic Archives, McCord Museum: 2-5,2-6; 3-6, 3-7,3-«, 3-9, 3-11,3-17; 4-1 ; 5-1,5-3,5-4,5-9; 6-1,6-5,6-6,6-11,6-12,6-13; 7-2, 7-3,7-5,7-6,7-8, 7-11,7-19,7-24,7-26, 7-27, 7-29; 8-3,8-4,8-9, 8-15,8-16,8-17,8-21; 10-32,Onman family: 13-5Ouimet family: 14-19Paré family: 11-2Reddy Memorial Hospital archives: 10-15Roslyn School archives: 8-2Royal Montreal Regiment: 9-2,9-3,9-6,9-7Séminaire de Saint-Sulpice: 2-2Shaar Hashamayim Synagogue, Bulletin: 10-17, 13-810-18 (Drawing by Emest Neuman)St. Leon Church archives: 10-24, 10-25, 10-26, 10-27St. Matthias archives: 14-10Simard, Suzy: 12-5Szilasi, Gabor: 11-9; 13-2TiborBognor: 13-11The Montrealer: 14-1Temple Emanu-EL, Bulletin: 8-11Walker family: 6-15Ward family: 11-6Westmount Academy Magazine: 10-29, 10-30;Westmount City Hall: 4-3,4-4; 7-1,7-20,7-21, 7-22; 8-1,8-13; 10-1,10-4,10-6,10-8,10-9,10-10,10-11,10-12,10-13, 10-14,10-23,10-26,10-28,10-30,10-33;11-1, 11-7. 11-8, 11-10, 11-11; 12-3, 12-4, 12-10, 12-11,12-13, 12-14; 13-1, 13-7; 14-3, 14-5, 14-11, 14-1214-14, 14-15, 14-16, 14-17, 14-18Westmount Examiner: 8-19; 11-9Westmount Fire Department: 14—12Westmount High School, Vox Ducum: 14-6, 14-7, 14-9Westmount Historical Association: 2-4; 3-1 ; 4-2; 5-2,5-7,5-8,5-10; 6-3,6-4,6-14; 7-4, 7-9, 7-10, 7-12,7-17,7-18,7-25,7-28; 8-6, 8-7,8-20; 9-1,9-4,9-5; 10-2,10-3, 10-30, 10-34; 11-10; 12-8; 13-12; 14-5, 14-8Westmount News: 8-18Westmount Public Library: 7-13, 7-14,7-15, 7-16, 7-17-11-3, 11^Wolff family: 3-14401 25th Anniversary Publication: 12-2

Table of ContentsKawanote Teiontiakon 11La Haute Folie 13The New Landowners 17Notre Dame de Grâce 27Côte St. Antoine 1880-89 33Côte St. Antoine 1890-94 39Westmount 1895-1908 49The City of Westmount 67The Great War 81The Twenties 87The Thirties 105World War II 113The Post-War Years 123The 'Sixties' 133Epilogue 145Index 151

AcknowledgementsMany people have helped write thisbook. For specialized assistance with the Indianbackground I should like to thank Dr. TobyMorantz, Anthropology Department, McGillUniversity and Ms Kanahastatsi, Director,Kahnawake Mohawk Language Curriculum.For a picture of life during the early yearsof French-Canadian settlement, the lateRaymond Hurtubise offered his invaluableknowledge of the subject as well as his personalrecollections of growing up in Westmount.Others who gave special assistanceinclude: Soeur Bertrand, archivist of theCongrégation de Notre Dame; PatriciaSimpson, historian of the Centre MargueriteBourgeois; Sister Marie-Anne Mulclair, formerprincipal of St. Paul's school; Nellie Reis,Curator, Lande Canadiana Collection, McGillUniversity; Captain Vernon Murray, Curator,Military Museum, RMR Armoury; NoraHague, Ajinette McConnell and TomHumphrey of the Notman PhotographicArchives and Conrad Graham, Curator ofDecorative Arts — all of the McCord Museumof Canadian History; and Yolande Toussaint,Public Affairs, Bank of Montreal.Special thanks also to Pastor GabrielVillemure, formerly of St. Leon's Church andDr. Hélène Saly for her many consultations andfor permission to reprint excerpts from AliceLighthall's foreword to "Old Westmount."Along with dozens of personal interviewsI received invaluable information by letter fromcorrespondents from Quebec to Vancouver.My thanks to Westmount City ClerkMarie-France Paquet for her patience with myrepeated visits and endless questions; researchlibrarians Ann Moffat and Carol Gagnon of theWestmount Library, who so often turned upinformation I had despaired of finding; andAlison Ramsay, a former editor of theWestmount Examiner, for her knowledge of thenewspaper's archives and her courteous helpwhile surrounded by a busy newspaper office.First and last, my thanks to EdgarAndrew Collard for inspiring in so many of usa love for the personal byways of history.

IntroductionWestmount is a small, independentmunicipality covering some one and a halfsquare miles, entirely surrounded by the cityof Montreal. A brisk, 20-minute walk will takeyou from Westmount's eastern to its westernboundaries. Twice that will bring you from thesummit of its hilltop to the district's southernborders, for Westmount lies along the slopesof a mountain, an outcropping of Montreal'sMount Royal.It was in 1874 that a Village Council metto establish a fledgling municipality called"Notre Dame de Grâce," carved out of theamorphous region in the countryside west ofthe city of Montreal. Twenty years later, aftersome shuffling of land and changes of name, anew municipality took shape and was grantedthe name of "Westmount."Taxes were low, traffic minimal, the airhealthy, and there were generous green spaceswhere children could play and adults couldindulge in their favourite sports. Times change.Taxes have risen, traffic is a good deal heavierand the green spaces have shrunk, butWestmount still maintains something of theambience of a country town with its shadedstreets and parks, good municipal services,respected public schools and an accessible cityhall.All this did not happen by chance.Westmount's character was stamped early inits development by leaders with definitepriorities, rigorous standards and stern morals.For decades, no liquor was sold and no placeof entertainment licensed within its borders;this at a time when Montreal was the metropolisof Canada, the liveliest, most "wide-open" cityin the country.Westmount acquired a personality uniqueamong municipalities in Canada. Its nameevoked an image based on a mixture ofassumptions, some of them misleading.It has often been depicted as ahomogeneous area of mainly British background,old-fashioned, elitist and Protestant.This is quite simply wrong. The communityhas, from its beginning, been a complex society,its citizens involved in a broad range ofoccupations and interests, with religiousaffiliations ranging from Roman Catholic toJewish to Protestant, from Baptist to HighAnglican.This book is not a history of Westmount'ssocial, political or structural changes nor ananalysis of its urban growth and communityservices. These, and other facets of communitylife are seen, in large part, through the eyes ofpeople who lived through and were a part ofthese changes. It is more a collective memoirthan a recounting of historical facts.Perhaps the most striking component inthe pattern that is Westmount is its flexibility.Belying the critics who mock its supposedrigidity, Westmount has adapted remarkablywell to political change and municipal realities.In the hands of its mayor, Peter Trent, itcontinues to do so while affirming its traditionsand its heritage.

10A View of Their OwnEiJtartazl/Man/ pftae/Iaiancu of MontrealSnounnû, tlvy'hoUian/ of' Forù) JiuUuùtà andmoMicnatu'cnasiehKAWENOT« Ki-ntuke.(J.ttl.-itii'rft)Map of Montreal Island including Indian place names.

Kawanote TeiontiakonOn a quiet street at mid-level on the slopeof Westmount mountain there once stood alarch tree, its branches spread as if espalieredagainst a garden wall. Legend has it Indiansformed such trees as markers leading toimportant sites. If so, such a sign in this placeperhaps pointed the way to the free-flowingsprings of clear mountain water that gushedfrom the nearby hillside.These springs were known locally, well intothe 20th century, as the "Indian wells," andsections still remain of an Indian trail whichled up the slope of the hillside to the springs.This and other trails were formed in thedays when Montreal island was known by itsIndian name "Kawanote Teiontiakon," aMohawk word meaning an island torn orbroken by a ditch or fault in the earth's surface.At the time the island was heavily wooded withIndian pathways providing the only access tothe interior.The western part of the island wasdistinguished by a little mountainWestmount — some 600 feet high, formed byan outcropping of a larger rise, Mount Royal.Iroquoians had discovered that the slopeof the little mountain, facing south-east, wassheltered from the strongest northern winds, afactor which, together with abundant waterfrom the mountain springs, made for a richlyfertile soil where they could cultivate theirtraditional crops of beans and corn.The Iroquoians were known to move theirvillages every 10 or 20 years, often only a fewmiles at a time as fields or firewood becameexhausted. Several locations on the hillsidehave been identified as possible sites of theseIroquoian villages. One was the flat, grassyplace where Westmount City Hall now stands.This spot, long known as "Garden Point," wasbeside a broad Indian roadway known todayas Côte St. Antoine. At the juncture where thepath rose in its curve westward, there still stoodat the turn of the century "an ancient elm ofvast size" under whose shade, we are told, "theSection of an old Indian trail leading to the mountainsprings. (Arlington Lane)

A View of Their OwnIndians would gather to meet in compatibletranquillity."There are tales told of Indian pictographscarved on the trunks of trees. One stood in awooded gully far down the hillside, and bore acarving representing the forms of a man andan arrow.Dramatic tangible evidence of an Indianpresence appeared unexpectedly, late in the19th century, when a gardener working in thegrounds of St. George's Snowshoe Club onWestmount's upper slopes, unearthed skeletonsof two men and one woman.Immediately, James Harrison, Westmount'sPolice Chief, wrote to Montreal coroner, E.McMahon, the following account:July 22nd, 1898Dear Sir,I have to report that thismorning about 7.30 o'clock, James Quinn,gardener, 315 St. Denis Street, City ofMontreal, employed at St. George's SnowshoeClub, W., found the skeleton of a human beinglying about 18" below the surface of the earth,some 100 feet east and 60 feet south of theClubhouse I proceeded about nine thisa.m. to the Clubhouse with Mr. A.S. Wheeler,an officer of the Club and took possession ofthe remains which I have dispatched to yourmorgue in our wagon, driven by ConstableSmithers of Westmount, and await any ordersor instructions you may have to give.Signed Jas. Harrison CCIt soon became evident that this was not a policematter, but a mystery for historians andanthropologists to unravel if they could.Excavation proceeded with great care andover the following months more remains wereuncovered, dispersed over several blocks ofland. The discovery generated great excitementand interest. Puzzling questions were raised. Whowere these people and what did the finds signify?Among the first experts to be consulted wasWilliam Douw Lighthall, a Westmount residentand a leading authority on North AmericanIndian culture, whose interest in Indiantraditions had been recognised by the Mohawkswho had conferred on him the title of HonoraryChief of the Mohawks of Kahnawake.The number of artifacts unearthed indicateda community burial ground, possiblyAlgonkians, though Mr. Lighthall was cautiousabout closer identification. More than 100 yearslater, the finds remain classified under thegeneral grouping of "St. Lawrence Iroquoians."The method of burial did not conform tothe known practices of the Mohawks or Huronsin eastern North America. The shallow graveswere aligned in seemingly random directions,some to the north, others to the west. A fewskeletons lay under large flat stones set in aclear pattern of an inverted V.Similar graves, it was learned, had beenfound in scattered locations in the east but weremore common west of the Mississippi amongthe Illinois, to whom the Algonkians wererelated. Perhaps, suggested Mr. Lighthall, someof these extended kin had brought their burialpractices with them when they travelled alongthe Ottawa River to trade in the east.Mr. Lighthall also speculated that theWestmount discovery could indicate theexistence of an Indian settlement of which sofar nothing more was known. So the mysteryremains. An evanescent image of a communitywhich dwelt here long enough to leave a wellmarkedroadway and several efficient mountainpaths, carved symbols on trees, cleared andcultivated portions of the land, and buried itsdead with due custom and ceremony.

13La Haute FolieAil traces of Indian seulement had vanishedfrom the vicinity of the little mountain whenthe first Europeans, a group of Sulpician priests,arrived there late in the 17th century.led by Paul de Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve.By the mid-17th century, the Sulpiciansheld title to the entire island of Montreal whichFort des Messieurs de Saint Sulpice with the Priests ' Farm. In one of the comer towers a young Huronwoman taught a class of Indian boys and girls.The Sulpicians — les Messieurs de SaintSulpice — were members of an order foundedin France earlier in the century by Jean-JacquesOlier, who together with Jérôme de laDauversière, had dreamed of founding amission in Montreal. In 1642 their passionate— some said inspired — devotion to this causebecame a reality with the creation of "VilleMarie," a settlement located beside the St.Lawrence River at the foot of Mount Royal,they administered by granting land estates toseigneurs who in turn divided up their holdingsamong tenants - censitaires or habitants.One early grant of land, the Fief St.Augustin was ceded in 1650 by Maisonneuveto his co-pioneer Jeanne Mance, founder ofMontreal's first hospital, Hôtel Dieu, and theorder of "les Dames Religieuses de l'HôtelDieu de Montréal". This land lay close by thelittle mountain some three miles to the west of

14the settlement of Ville Marie in an area namedContrée-St-Joseph.Three other tracts of land were ceded hereby Maisonneuve. One of these was to JeanLeduc, a stonemason who received twelvearpents in Contrée St. Joseph in 1662 when itwas still considered la haute folie to settle sofar from the sheltering walls of Ville Marie.This view began to change with the arrivalof the Sulpicians when they established amission to the Indians here. A wooden palisadeenclosed their self-sufficient community,known as the Fort de la Montagne. Beyondthe palisades, just west of today's AtwaterAvenue, more ground was cleared for cultivationand became an extension of the priests' farm, aname that still clings to the area today.Within a few years, apple orchardsproduced a rich harvest. One very successfulstrain was the "Fameuse," a small, rosy redapple, the seed of which, it was said, had beenbrought from France by Jeanne Mance on oneof her journeys there to raise money andsupport for Ville Marie.Inside the fort, however, all was not well.The priests had gathered together some 160men, women and children from a number oftribes — Ixoquois, Huron, Loups, Sioux andAlgonkians. Old rivalries between the groupswere rekindled and friction grew.Twenty years later, the fort burned down andthe priests decided to move the troubled mission.It was relocated briefly on the north shore ofMontreal island and later across the river to Oka.The burnt-out fort was rebuilt on the samesite, but with its purpose and its structure changed.As the Fort des Messieurs or "Priests' Farm," itnow served as a retreat for priests of the order.Land and buildings were redesigned underthe supervision of l'Abbé François VicomteVachon de Belmont, Superior of the order fromA View of Their Own1700 to 1732. L'AbbéFrançois was of anaristocratic background— he is said to have beena page at the court ofLouis XIV — a man ofindependent means withan appreciation of thefine arts. The fortL'Abbé de Belmontbecame an elegant enclavecomposed of a small French château anda tranquil garden containing a narrow reflectingpool in the currently fashionable Persian style.Relations with the native peoples had alsochanged. Many Indian converts now lived andworked peacefully alongside the priests on theland, and in one of the stone towers whichmarked the corners of the fort a little schoolwas set up for Indian boys and girls.Their teacher was a young Huron, Marie-Thérèse Gounansagouas, a former pupil ofMarguerite Bourgeoys, the pioneer teacher whoestablished the first school in Ville Marie.Marguerite Bourgeoys herself visited theSulpician fort and the school in the stone towerin the year before she died. By this time shehad founded the order of the Congrégation deNotre Dame in New France, an order whosepresence became a significant component inthe future municipality of Westmount.The Sulpician fort with itscommunity of priests and itsproductive, prospering farmshone as an example to thenewcomers of what could beachieved on the land in a fewshort years. It also provided apossible refuge if hostilitieswith the Indians should growtoo fierce.Marguerite Bourgeoys

La Haute Folie 15One by one the families arrived, settlingalong the Indian trail now given the name ofCôte St. Antoine. They included names suchas Des Carries (sic), Prud'homme, Leduc,Pierre et Jean Hurtubise, and St. Germain.The settlers put up a milestone whichmeasured the distance from the Sulpician fort.They helped each other build sturdy homesusing the stones gathered from the fields asbuilding material. Built in a style they hadknown in theirnative France, thehouses were setclose to the roadsidefor easy accessin loading andMilestone. c. 1700. Itmeasured the distance fromthe Sulpician fort to the newsettlements. It remains todayat the N. W. corner of Côte St.Antoine and Forden.unloading theircarts and wagons.Most of the menwere artisans, recruitedfrom townsof northern Francefor their skills asstonemasons,millers, brewers, butthey soon acquiredthe new skills nec-essary to clear and cultivate the land. In winter,after the land had been cleared, the trunks ofthe trees were gathered, carried down to thewater and lashed together on the rim of a frozenlake, Lac St. Pierre. When the ice melted in thespring the lumber was floated through a short inletto the St. Lawrence River and rafted along theshore for sale at Ville Marie, now renamedMontreal.Côte St. Antoine Road proved an efficienthighway, in use for much of the year. Horsedrawnwagons carried farm produce east, pastthe Sulpician fort to the harbourfront inMontreal. To the west, it joined other pathswinding their way beyond the river rapids tothe western end of the island.After the historic Treaty of 1701 was signedby Governor-General Louis-Hector deCallières and delegates representing Indiantribes of the entire region, hostilities ceased andfreer communication and barter between nativepeoples and the settlers began to develop. Thefarmers and their families gained invaluableknowledge from the Indians that helped themsurvive through the long, hard winters and hotdry summers. They learned how to smoke andsalt meat for storage; which herbs and roots touse as remedies for a variety of ailments; howto tap maple trees in spring and the many usesfor the sweet flowing sap. They also discoveredthe comfort of moccasins and the usefulnessof snowshoes for tramping over deep snows.As the years passed, the farms prospered andfamilies grew. Lambert Leduc wed JeanneDécarie, Louis St. Germain married CécilePrud'homme. Other men brought home bridesfrom Montreal and Quebec. There were births towelcome, a successful harvest for which to givethanks, religious festivals to observe. A specialevent was the erection of a tall wayside cross,placed at the highest point along the Côte St.Antoine Road, where today it intersectsLansdowne Avenue. It stood in front of the St.Germain family home and its care andresponsibility became part of the St. Germainfamily tradition.There still remains one outstandingexample of the many farmhouses which oncelined the Côte St. Antoine Road. The Hurtubisehouse, at the corner of Côte St. Antoine andVictoria, was home to eight generations of thisfamily until the mid-1950s. The father of theline, Marin Hurtubise, a bold, impulsiveadventurer, died, as many of the men then did,comparatively young. His wife, Étiennette

16T7ie St. Germain home with wayside cross stood onCôte St. Antoine at present-day Lcmsdowne AvenueAlton, a woman of equal spirit and greaterendurance, outlived three husbands and diedat the age of 81.It was Pierre, son of Marin and Etiennettewho, with the help of his neighbours, built thisA View of Their Ownhouse. The rugged fieldstone walls, steep pitchof the roof, and irregular placement of doorsand windows are part of an indigenous buildingtradition. The basement, in particular, vividlyevokes the past when each house was bracedto act as its own defense post, with its loopholesin the outside walls through which guns couldbe fired. There have been additions. The porchis a later extension, an influence which came,it is said, from the West Indies, along with rumand sugar, brought by sailors who arrived withtheir cargoes during the hottest summer monthsand described the pleasures of a verandah, astandard feature of island homes.All the farms are gone now but thelandscape remains indelibly marked with theirlong straight property lines, and the fruit treesthat flourish in many a small back garden speakof a soil still richly productive after centuriesof cultivation.The Hurhibise house. Last remaining French-Canadian farmhouse in Westtnount. It homed eight generations ofthe Hurtubise family. Late 17th century. An addition to the right is from the 19th century.

17The New LandownersWith the end of the French regime in 1760 camea number of changes, notably the influx ofEnglish-speaking settlers. For a variety ofreasons, the pattern of the old French-CanadianHome of Ann and Simon Clarke, first English-speaking settlers in the district. Northeastcorner, Côte St. Antoine Road and Clarke Avenue. Demolished.farming community was breaking up.Sometimes the end of a family line was reachedwith none left to carry on the inheritance. Or afarmer fell on bad times and was forced to sellall or part of his property. Many farms, dividedand subdivided over the years, were too smallto be even marginally profitable.The buyers for this land were newimmigrants, mostly from the British Isles. Themajority arrived with little in their pockets butthey soon made their way to a modest fortunein commerce, industry or the professions,Among them were general merchants, retiredmilitary personnel, lawyers and police officers,Several were fur traders.On one level, the new immigrants stroveto acquire property for the same reason as theearly French settlers did. Being a land ownerin 18th-century England or Scotland, as wellas in 17th centuryFrance, was for most animpossible dream.There was, however, afundamental difference.While the French hadtaken up their concessionsin order to earntheir living from theland, the new settlers hadoccupations other thanfarming from which theyearned their livelihood.Despite that, newcomerscontinued to cultivatethe land and the arearetained its rural character.The first English-speaking settler in whatis now Westmount arrived in the early 1770s .Simon Clarke, a fur trader, was a member of aloosely linked organization of merchants in thefur trade, called the North West Company.Other members of the company included JamesMcGill and Joseph Frobisher, who built theirmansions on the slopes of Montreal's MountRoyal.Simon Clarke's Westmount home wasmore modest, but strategically sited. On landbought from the Décarie family, he built hishouse on the Côte St. Antoine Road shortlybefore it reached the Priests' Farm, whereIndians travelling east with their goods to the

18Montreal fur fair would be glad of a stoppingplace to rest. As a result, the Clarke homebecame the centre of constant activity, ameeting place for Indian trappers, merchants,members of government and a stream ofvisitors from across the continent.One of these was the American, John JacobAstor, an entrepreneur whose business interestsspread across North America and included thefur trade. The basis for the Astor fortune waslaid in a single generation by John Jacob whoarrived from Europe in 1783, so the legendgoes, with five pounds in his pocket, sevenflutes and two clarinets. By the time he died in1848 he had become the richest man inAmerica, leaving an estate worth $20 million.Astor had immigrated to America from thesmall Bavarian town of Waldorf, where hisHuguenot ancestors had settled after fleeingFrance in the 16th century. It was a backgroundhe shared with Ann Waldorf, the wife of SimonClarke, and Astor became a frequent visitor totheir home. When Clarke's son John chose tofollow in his father's footsteps, he wasencouraged to pursue his interests in New Yorkunder the direction of John Jacob Astor.John JacobAstor, anAmericanwith interestsin the furtrade. He wasa frequent,welcomevisitor in theClarke home.A View of Their OwnAstor, known as a shrewd, difficult man,looked favourably on young John Clarke andloaded him with expensive gifts, among thema diamond brooch, diamond studs, and a caneencrusted with jewels. He also commissionedan artist to paint John's portrait.After some years with the Astor enterprises,John Clarke left to become Chief Factor for theHudson's Bay Company following its mergerwith the North WestCompany. During avisit to a Hudson'sBay outpost he fell inlove with and marriedSapphira Spence, thedaughter of a Scottishemployee of the Bayand an Indian woman.Oil painting of John Clarkegiven by J.J. Astor to Jolm 'sfather, Simon.The marriagewas happy but brief.John brought Sapphirahome to his family where she was warmlywelcomed, but not many months after herarrival, Sapphira died. Was it a premonition thatguided her to point out to her new relatives theplace where, if she should die, she wished tobe buried? It was a place high on Westmount'smountain, under a spreading tree from which,she said, the view was so beautiful. Howstrange that her choice should fall on that areathat, many years later, was found to have servedas a final resting place for Indian men andwomen centuries earlier.Many months after Sapphira's death, JohnClarke travelled to Europe. In Neuchatel,Switzerland, he met Marianne Tranclar whobecame his second wife. After a sea voyagelasting two months, they married in Montreal.Marianne continued to travel everywhere withher husband, often under rugged conditions of

The New Landowners 19barely basic comfort, to Hudson's BayCompany outposts as distant as Labrador. Eightchildren were born during those rigourous years.When it was finally time to come home, aroad was opened uphill from Simon Clarke'shome and there, halfway up the hillside, backedby the rise of the mountain and with fine viewsdown to and beyond the river, John andMarianne built their home which they called"Edgemont." The house, considerably altered,remains standing today on Clarke Avenue.Simon Clarke died in 1832 at the age of84. The funeral announcement stated thecortège would travel "From his residence,Clarke Cottage, to the family ground at the footof the Mountain." This was the ground whereSapphira Clarke had been buried, and whichwas now consecrated by the Rt. Rev. GeorgeJehoshaphat Mountain, Anglican Bishop ofQuebec, to be the Clarke family cemetery.Recalling her in-laws, Marianne Clarkedescribed their house "with a great cherryorchard on the slope behind ... The orchard inseason was a mass of lovely white blossomsand on summer evenings an old lady in a highbackedchair sat under the wide-spreading treesintent on her knitting, while her husbandopposite busied himself reading to her."Marianne Clarke lived to the age of 104.She had known the reigns of five sovereigns- George III, George IV, William IV, Victoriaand Edward VII.Several new estates were established in theearly 1800s, reshaping part of the landscape.Among the straight lines defining the divisionsbetween farms established by the French, wereproperties with curving driveways and avenues,setting patterns for future streets.The design and size of the new houses werealso very different. The French-Canadianfarmhouses had evolved their own indigenousstyle, shaped by limited choice of buildingmaterials, a harsh climate and shared traditions.The homes of the new settlers appeared,by contrast, almost bizarre in their differencefrom one another and in their reckless disregardof the snowy winters and sweltering summersof the Canadian climate. The houses no longerclung to Côte St. Antoine Road but stoodsparsely scattered up and down the hillsidesurrounded byfields and orchards.To reachthem their ownershad to clear a privateroadway andbe able to maintaina carriage.Northeast of theClarke house JohnJohn Ogihy (Ogilvie) Ogilvie, anotherfur trader of theNorth West Company, bought a stretch of land in1805 and named it "Trafalgar," after the navalbattle fought and won in that year by AdmiralNelson. The property lay among the fields whereGeneral Amherst's troops had camped and where,in 1760, the capitulation was signed by theMarquis de Vaudreuil and accepted by GeneralAmherst. The area, near the summit of the littlemountain just outside present-day Westmountbordering along Côte des Neiges, still carriesthe Trafalgar name on streets and buildings.Vanished is the small hexagonal tower, builtby a protégé of John Ogilvie's, James Gillespie.The latter had served on Nelson's flagship, the"Victory" and was present at the battle ofTrafalgar. It was the high point of Gillespie'slife and to commemorate the event he built alittle tower, placed a small cannon on the roofand for the next 30 years, he fired the cannonevery October 21, the anniversary of the battle.

A View of Their OwnBecause of its isolation and its oddity,strange tales circulated about "the little greyTower peering fromthe summit of theMountain, beyond thePriests' Farm." It waswidely reported to behaunted by the ghostsof a pair of younglovers, murdered by arejected suitor whose'Trafalgar Tower', widelyreported to be haunted.ghost was sometimesseen nearby.There are tales ofencounters with these ghosts. One anonymousyoung man told of meeting the rejected suitor,"a fierce looking man sharpening a bloodstainedaxe" who poured out his fearful storyand showed the terrified listener a locket hesaid had belonged to his fiancée.In 1836, the Trafalgar property was boughtby Albert Furniss who remodelled the towerand, in 1848, built a grand Tudor-style summerresidence on Côte des Neiges, also called 'Trafalgar,"a substantial part of which still survives.In the same year that John Ogilvie wasacquiring his Trafalgar estates, WilliamHallowell, a fellow fur trader, was buying landto the south, along an escarpment today markedby St Catherine Street. This land formed partof the Fief St. Augustin ceded in 1650 byMaisonneuve to his co-pioneer Jeanne Mance,and it was in the parlour of Hôtel Dieu on St.Paul Street in Montreal that Hallowell, "merchantof Montreal", signed the deed of purchase, in1805, together with the Mother Superior of lesDames Religieuses de l'Hôtel Dieu de Montréal.William Hallowell married Martha Henry,the daughter of Alexander Henry who arrivedwith General Amherst's army in 1760. Afterthe troops were withdrawn, Alexanderremained in Montreal to become a fur trader,general merchant and bon vivant, one of thefounders of the "Beaver Club," dedicated tocommemorating the convivial traditions of theearly adventurers of the North West Company.Along the same escarpment as theHallowell house was the estate acquired byJudge Badgeley and later, in 1853, bought bythe Hon. George Moffat who named the house"Weredale Lodge." Moffat was a founder ofCanada's first railway, the Champlain and St.Lawrence, which had its terminus at Moffat'sIsland. The terminus was in plain view ofWeredale Lodge, with its open vista across theriver. Today, Weredale Avenue and thesweeping driveway which once skirted theimposing entrance to the house mark the siteof Moffat's estate.Among the most striking of the propertiesbuilt in the 1830s was "Forden." In 1826 theLacroix farm was in trouble and the upper partof its land was put on the market in a sheriff'ssale. It consisted of a broad swath of landrunning from the Côte St. Antoine Road up andover the mountain to Côte des Neiges. It wasbought by Charles Bowman, a wealthy Scottishimporter, founder of the community ofBowmanville, Ontario.Charles Bowman had travelled extensivelyin Europe and he chose to build for his newbride a house inspired by the Italian villas hehad admired. Situated on a rise at mid-level onthe mountain close by present-day MurrayPark, it was unlike any other house on the islandof Montreal. A central unit was flanked by twosmall side pavilions, set in a beautifullylandscaped garden surrounded by old farmorchards. Adaptations had to be made to adjustthe house to the Canadian climate and thepavilions were later linked to the main houseby enclosed loggias.

The New Landowners 21Elizabeth Bowman(Mrs. Robert Raynes)Bowman bequeathedthe estate tohis daughter Elizabeth.When shemarried, she and herhusband. CaptainRobert Raynes, livedon in the houseand raised a familyof eight children,five daughters andthree sons. Surprisingly,none of thechildren married. Inthe late 1940s, thehouse was sold and later demolished.Immediately west of Forden was theproperty of William Murray, head of the Beavershipping line and a keen observer of JohnYoung's ambitious plans for Montreal'sharbour. Murray bought the Leduc farmlandwhere he built an expansive Victorian housewith a broad welcoming verandah, set ingrounds landscapedto take advantageof theopen prospect tothe river and beyond.He called thefine house "WestMount" because ofits location, a nameso appropriate tothe area that manyyears later it wasadopted for the,. . Captain Robert Raynesentire district.Then William Murray's son, Alexander,built his own mansion to the west on the samerise of land. He married an American, a formerconcert pianist, and their home became a centreof musical activity where visiting musicianswere entertained and local musical interestsencouraged.Another large estate was "Rosemount," anexceptionally well-sited property, placed toForden, built circa 1830 by Charles Bowman for his bride, in the Italian style '. A unique building. Demolished.

11West Mount, home of William Murray. When the house was demolished inthe 1920s, the land was converted to Murray Park.catch the sun's maximum warmth and shelteredfrom the fiercest of the north winds. The housewas built for William McGillivray, a NorthWest Company director for whom Fort Williamin Ontario was named in 1807. He bought theland from the Bouchard family and built aprivate road leading from Côte St. AntoineRoad up to his mansion.In 1846, the estate was advertised for saleby its owner, Asa Goodenough,manager of theExchange Coffee House,Montreal's informal StockExchange. The announcementstated boldly that theproperty was "unsurpassedon this continentfor salubrity of air, fertilityof land and beauty ofposition." The land waspromoted as ideal fordevelopment into 36John Young Monument,Rue de la Commune.building lots, from one tofour acres each, leaving aprincipal lot of three acresA View of Their Ownwith its "three storey cutstone dwelling of 36 by 46feet, the whole estate beingonly three minutes walk fromthe St. Antoine tollgate."But an economic slumpcould produce no buyer forthis enterprising proposal andthe estate was left intact forits next owner. This wasRosemount's best knownresident, John Young, anengineer who helped propelMontreal into the front rankas a port. A statue of a frockcoatedJohn Young standslooking over the harbourwhere, as Commissioner for 25 years, hesupervised the progressive deepening of theriver to permit anchorage of larger and largerships with substantially greater loads ofmerchandise.John Young took great pride and interestin his Rosemount property. The grounds wereput in the charge of a head gardener, JohnArchibald, and under his guidance grapes,peaches, plums, apples, pears and cherries were'Rosemount' built early 19th century. Owned byJolm Young. 16 Severn Avenue near Mountain.

The New Landowners 23all brought to a high standard of quality. WhenWilliam Dawson, Principal of McGill University,issued an urgent plea for trees, saplings fromRosemount's fertile ground were transplanted tothe bleak fields of the college campus, newlyBraemar in the late 1840s. Tlie double gallery is a later addition. 3219 the Boulevard.established on the cow pastures of James McGill'sestate on Mount Royal.East of the Rosemount estate was"Braemar," reached by a steep roadway leadingup from Sherbrooke Street. It was built in thelate 1840s, possibly for the commander of theMontreal garrison. As originally designed byWilliam Footner, architect of Montreal'sBonsecours Market, Braemar was a largesquare stone house, simply and elegantlyproportioned, similar to other contemporarymilitary properties. Its aspect was completelyinto that of a southern plantation home ofconsiderable charm.One of the earliest of these country estatesand one with a dramatic history, was"Monklands," built at the end of the 18thcentury for Sir JamesMonk, Chief Justice ofthe Court of King'sBench. Monklands wasan impressive structureapproached by a fineavenue of stately mapletrees.The house was modelledon Monk's home inScotland, whose architectwas Robert Adam, theleading Classical Revivalarchitect of his day. Monklands,the core of whichremains intact as part ofthe Villa Maria school,recreates the balancedlines and elegant interiordecoration typical of an original Adam design.After Sir James Monk died, the house wasleased from his heirs to serve as a summerresidence for the Governor-General in the years1844-49, when Montreal reigned briefly as thecapital of Upper and Lower Canada.Successive holders of the office ofGovernor-General, Lord Sydenham, followedby Sir Charles Bagot, both died after brief termsin power. The next appointee, Lord Metcalfe,was the first Governor-General to make use ofthe beautiful house, but even this vigourousaltered over time, first with a single gallery, man died one year later, in 1845.then with a two-level wooden gallery wrapping In spite of his brief mandate, Metcalfe'sthe building on all four sides. Though ill-suited name was preserved in the name of a street andto the rigours of the local climate, the gallery in a terrace of four houses of unusual designtransformed the severity of the original facade built in the mid-1840s along the south side of

24Côte St. Antoine Road on land bought fromthe Sulpicians. Two of these houses still stand.The builder of the terrace was Moses JudahHays. His merchant father, Andrew, hademigrated from New York north to Montrealin 1763. In 1778, he married Abigail David,daughter of a prominent Jewish family, activein the fur trade, who had helped found the Bankof Montreal.Their son Moses and his family lived for awhile in one of the Metcalfe Terrace houseswith the Governor-General's aides-de-campbriefly occupying the others.Hays, a military engineer by training,helped improve and extend the network ofpipes bringing water to Montreal. He alsooperated a hotel andA View ofTheir OwnMoses Judah Hays, engineer, farmer, theatreowner, magistrate, and police chief.It was during the time Hays and his familylived in Metcalfe Terrace that one evening inApril 1849, a sad and sorry spectacle was to beseen limping its way to Monklands along the CôteSt. Antoine Road. The current Governor-General,Lord Elgin, was in his coach, its panels crackedand split, the carriage covered with filth. Elginwas returning from a disastrous Parliamentarysession where he had just signed into law the178 Côte St. Antoinetheatre, sat as a judge in the Court of SpecialSession and late in life was made Montreal'sChief of Police. When invited to become amagistrate, Hays and a fellow Jew, BenjaminHart, insisted on being sworn in on the OldTestament Bible, the first men in Canada tosucceed in doing so. When he died, inNovember 1861, Hays' obituary in The Gazetteread in part, "Mr. Hays was a gentleman whowas identified with and originated most of thegreat improvements which have helped the cityto its present maturity and high position."168 Côte St. Antoine. One of the four houses of MetcalfeTerrace built by Moses Judah Hays.

The New LandownersRebellion Losses Bill, a compassionatedocument indemnifying those residents,without regard to their loyalties, whoseproperty had been severely damaged in thespectacular series of events including, in1850, a "balloon ascension" — seats $1,standing 50 cents — claiming it to be the firstof its kind in Canada.25Monklands built for Sir James Monk, Chief Justice of the court of Kings Bench. Circa 1800.Vie house served as the residence for the Governors-General in the years 1844-49.uprising of 1837-38. Fierce opposition to theBill had exploded in riots and when Lord Elgin'scoach finally dragged its way to Monklands thehouse was put in readiness for a siege.But the rioters chose not to venture that far,contenting themselves with a rampage ofdestruction by the waterfront, including theburning of the Parliament buildings. In thewake of the violence Lord Elgin and hisentourage left the city and the capital wasmoved briefly to Toronto.Monklands changed hands and began a newlife as a country hotel. The owner, SebastianCampian, brought in as manager a popularcelebrity, Henry Hogan, whom he had luredaway from Montreal's best known hotel, St.Lawrence Hall.Campian tried hard to promote Monklandsas a family resort. He provided specialtransport from Montreal and presented aBut the roads to Monklands were in suchpoor condition, the vacation season so shortand the distance from the city so far, that theventure failed. In 1854, Monklands againchanged hands. It was bought by theCongrégation de Notre Dame, the religiousorder established by Marguerite Bourgeoys.True to their founder's vocation the Sistersestablished a school, the "Villa Maria," whichhas continued to grow, in numbers andreputation, to the present day.By the mid-19th century this sprawlingarea of farms and estates was beginning tocoalesce into a recognisable district but nofocal point existed around which its membersmight gather.It was in part to meet this need that theSulpician Fathers bought 30 arpents of landfrom Eustache Prud'homme, just west of the

A View of Their OwnStudents at the Villa Maria school, administered by the Congrégation de Notre DameThe Church of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, 1853.Decarie farm, and built a fine church in the heartof the farmland.The church was an outstanding landmarkin its rustic setting. Every fall, for many years,the riders, horses and hounds of the MontrealHunt Club would stream through the fields infront of the church and on through thecountryside many miles to the west.Notre Dame de Grâce met many of theneeds of the local French-speaking Catholics,but by now the district included a number ofEnglish-speaking Protestants. As the populationgrew, many secular matters — roads, lighting,schools required attention. It wasincreasingly obvious that the time had come forthe area to acquire the status which would allowit to administer to the needs of a legitimatemunicipality.

27The Village 1Notre Dame de Grâce 1874-79On December 9, 1873, a proclamationissued by René Edouard Caron, Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec, announced that fromJanuary 1 of the following year a new territorialand civic entity, to be named the "Village ofNôtre Dame de Grâce," would be establishedto the west of the City of Montreal. This newunit, detached from the municipality and parishof Montreal, measuring roughly 5,000 acres,was carved out of the sprawling territoriesknown as St. Henri des Tanneries. It wasbounded to the east by the City of Montrealand part of the property of the "Gentlemen ofSt. Sulpice;" to the north by the municipalityof Côte des Neiges; to the west by themunicipality of St. Laurent and Lachine; andto the south by little Lac St. Pierre, also knownas Lac à loutre.This proclamation signalled a profoundchange in civic management in Quebec. Underthe French regime and its seigneurial system,which was abandoned only in the 1850s, bothreligious and civic authority were invested inthe parish. The British system was based onthe separation of church and state, with secularlegislation operating apart from religiousaffiliations.There were now formalities to be observed,a mayor and council to choose, by-laws andagendas to discuss and define. ProsperSauvage, a farmer, offered the use of a roomon the upper floor of his farmhouse, near thejunction of Côte St. Antoine and Clarke Avenueas a council chamber for monthly meetings.The rent was $50 a year, and here on a brightwinter's day in February 1874, the villagemunicipality of Notre Dame de Grâce held itsfirst council meeting.As their first mayor the council memberschose the Hon. Eustache Prud'homme,descendant of Louis Prud'homme, Montreal'sfirst brewer and Captain of its first militia. Inrecognition of thefamily's honourableservice to the colonythe Prud'hommeshad received one ofthe early grants ofland along the CôteSt. Antoine Road. Eus-William Rutherford of the tache Prud'hommefirst village council in 1874 himself was a distinguishedpublic figure and a member of the firstCanadian Senate from 1867 to 1888.Others present at this initial village councilincluded William Rutherford, John Snowdown,Alexander Mills, and a representative of anotherlong established French family, Joseph St.Germain.William Rutherford's granddaughter,Elizabeth Gyde, later recalled the tradition inwhich her grandfather and others of hisgeneration were raised. "He was brought upyou had a civic responsibility and of course inthose days it was all for free so no matter howbusy you were you had to give so much timeto public affairs. You also had responsibility toyour church as well."

28Aside from the monthly council meetings,Prosper Sauvage's upstairs room was alreadywell utilised. In 1869, William Rutherford hadrented the modest space for Sunday servicesand a Sunday school to serve the few Presbyterianfamilies settled in the neighbourhood.Mr. Rutherford's venture was supported by theelders of the Erskine Presbyterian Church inMontreal, and by 1873 there were enoughchildren — fourteen — to fill a smallclassroom. A Miss Turnbull was engaged, asprincipal and only teacher, at a salary of $125a year, to be in charge of the first Protestantschool in the district. Shortly afterwards, asecond teacher, Miss Greenshields, was addedto the staff.In the same year, 1873, a group of youngmen, members of a YMCA branch at St.George's Anglican Church in DominionSquare, declared their wish to undertake aA View of Their Ownmission to one of the developing westernsuburbs. Their choice settled on Notre-Damede-Grâceand with St. George's Church assponsor, they began organising eveningservices and a Sunday school to which all non-Roman Catholics were invited.The group's enthusiasm was infectious anda nucleus of members soon formed. One oftheir number, Mrs. Robert Raynes, cameforward with an offer of a grant of land on theedge of her Forden estate and by 1875, a smallframe building, 40 by 25 feet, was built, with acapacity for 120 worshippers. The little churchwas fitted with a fine organ frequently playedby one of Mrs. Raynes' five daughters.The congregation grew so quickly that onlytwo years after it began, the mission wasdeclared self-supporting. St. George's Churchwithdrew its sponsorship and the new church,named St. Matthias, became the first Protestant.St. Matthias Anglican Church opened in 1875, the first Protestant church building in the village.It was built on laiul donated by the Raynes family fmm their estate.

30Grey Nuns, west of Greene Avenue. A largersyndicate with six members bought landrunning up from Côte St Antoine Road almostto the summit. An estate recently put up forsale was quickly advertised as "divided intocharming villa lots."But as quickly as it began, the bubble ofspeculation in Notre Dame de Grâce burst as itdid in Montreal. There were rumours of bribesto gain concessions connected with the greatrailway. The government of Sir John A.Macdonald fell and by the mid-1870s a severedepression had hit the area's economy. Someinvestors managed to ride out the economicstorm, but others lost heavily. In Montreal sixbanks closed and bankruptcies were common.In Notre Dame de Grâce, William Curry, aMontreal real estate agent who had paid a firstinstalment on an $8,000 parcel of land fromthe Monk estate, had no option but to transferit all back to its original owners. The Voligny-Drummond partnership, after spending some$36,000 on its newly bought property, wasforced to return the land to the Grey Nuns. Andthe six-man syndicate found itself left withmore than half its lots unsold.A View of Their Own32 inches in length. By-law No. 2 proclaimedstandards — unspecified — of "decency andgood morals." And By-law No. 6 set out thedivision of the district into three voting areasto ensure adequate representation.The strong temperance convictions of alarge part of the Protestant sector were reflectedin By-law No. 13 which prohibited the sale ofintoxicating liquors, a prohibition whichremained intact for almost 100 years.Several new streets were only halfcompleted. A major roadway. Western Avenue— now de Maisonneuve Boulevard — plannedto run for two miles along the horizontaldividing line between farms, was neverfinished.Throughout this period of volatile realestate activity, the Council quietly got down towork; establishing by-laws, arguing aboutbuilding standards and zoning, and debatinghow to finance a police force.The first by-law set out specifications forwooden sidewalks. These were to be threeplanks wide, three inches thick and not less thanThe Hon. J. K. Ward, Mayor 1875-83,provided leadership through the years ofwild land speculation and its collapse.A tree-planting programme was set up anda comprehensive municipal plan wascommissioned from Montreal engineer JosephRielle. This clearly showed the council's biasfor residential over commercial or manufacturinginterests, which were not prohibitedbut discouraged under restrictions thatdisallowed "the building of a hospital, slaughterhouse, soap factory or other work likely tocreate a nuisance."

The Village 1 Notre Dame de GrâceIn 1875, a new mayor, J.K. Ward, waselected and continued in office for eight years,providing leadership and direction to thecommunity. The same year, the school boardbought a house on Stanton Street, a small sidestreet running at right angles off the Côte St.Antoine Road.Stanton Street School was a two-storeybrick building with two classrooms on eitherside of a centre hall. There were 30 studentsand two teachers who taught all classes up tothe 7th or 8th grade. They were later joined bya third teacher, Miss A.Y. Ramsay.A fledgling police force was established,with P.C. Oliver as the community's first, andfor some time only, full-time police officer fora population of some 500 residents. But councilwatchdogs kept a vigilant eye on life andproperty. In 1879, Captain Raynes was ordered,by council, to fill in and fence the last of theIndian wells, lying at the western edge of hisForden estate, following complaints that thewells constituted a potentially hazardousattraction to children at play.The village's main activities were by nowclustered within a few short blocks. Councilmeetings were held in the Stanton Streetschoolhouse, only a block west of the oldSimon Clarke home. Nearby was the villagestore, run by Mrs. Martin and her daughters onthe ground floor of their home.Within sight of both school and store stoodthe Mackay Protestant Institution for DeafMutes. When it opened in 1869 it was the firstof its kind in the province. It was founded bytwo bachelor brothers, Joseph and EdwardMackay from Sutherland, Scotland, owners ofa flourishing dry goods business. The Institution'sfirst director was Thomas Widd, himselfa deaf mute, who had trained as a teacher inYorkshire, England. In 1877, when the Institutionran into financial difficulties it was rescued byJoseph Mackay who built a new facility onDécarie Boulevard, where the school still stands.This concentration of organised activity inthe east end of the village involved a smallpopulation, largely Protestant and Englishspeaking.Increasingly it attracted newcomersof similar background.Agitation grew to have this section of thevillage recognized as a separate entity.Recognition of a sort came in 1876 when 80per cent of the 5,000 acres comprising NotreDame de Grâce was given its own identity as"Notre Dame de Grâces (sic) West" and an areaof roughly 1,000 acres was sectioned off tobecome a new civic entity in the eastern end ofthe village. This set off a vigorous debate overthe new district's name. "Westmount" had itsupporters, but their motion did not carry andthe new acreage, recognizable as that occupiedby Westmount today, emerged as the "Villageof Côte St. Antoine."31

32 A View of Their OwnAt milking times droves of cattle could be seen plodding along the roadways.The area waschanging fromrural to urban.Church of St.Matthias on theleft.

The Village IICôte SL Antoine 1880-89By the early 1880s the Village of Côte St.Antoine was a rural community of 125 housesand 800 residents. Farms and estates stilloccupied large areas of land with orchards andmarket gardens. Cattle grazed in the fields andat milking times they could be seen, herded indroves, plodding along the roadways. Theirpresence was common enough to require a newby-law charging all owners of cattle with theresponsibility of preventing them from strayingand disrupting traffic on the roads.The continuing presence of tolls at theeastern and western edges of the villageencouraged the sense of being cut off from thebig city. The tollgates, one-storey octagonalbuildings stood at Sherbrooke and GreeneAvenue in the east and Claremont and Côte St.Antoine Road in the west.Some estate and farm properties haddisappeared, while others had been reduced insize in the real estate fever of the 1870s, butstreet development plans for the vacant landremained for the most part on paper. There werestill wooden planks for sidewalks and ditchesfor drains. No big city services such as a waterand sewage system or gas and electricity wereavailable, though Montreal's first telephonedirectory, issued in 1880 by the DominionTelegraph Company, listed four subscribers inCôte St. Antoine.One anonymous memoir from the late1870s and early 1880s records that "Our familymoved from the City to Côte St. Antoine whenit was only a country village ... Stanton StreetSchool facilities were spartan. The caretakerwho lived nearby brought a galvanised pail ofwater and a tin cup every morning, and thiswas used by anyone wanting a drink. No oneseemed to worry about germs then ... The PostOffice was on the Côte Road at Argyle Avenueand was kept in our day by two old ladies onthe ground floor of their house, and a very smallstore with it. This was the first and only storein the village, the nearest being otherwise inthe city at Guy Street. The mail was broughtby horsebus from the Montreal Post Office ...We lived in a house, one of only two, on Olivierabove Western, which was being extended tothe western end of the village at ClaremontAvenue. Ours were the last houses to get waterand gas from Montreal. Those living furtherwest had to depend on wells for water and oillamps for lighting."Residents above the Côte St. Antoine Roadhad access to mountain springs, the "Indian"wells. Below Côte St Antoine Road at thewestern edge of the village, homeowners gottheir water supply from a spring at the lowerend of the gully known as the "Glen," a wilddeep cutting with steep precipitous sides thicklycovered with trees, where, we're told, gypsieshad once established a campsite.A small pathway led from the springthrough a birch wood up to higher ground, andalong this path a dog cart carrying cans of waterbrought supplies to the few houses in theneighbourhood. A real estate company had builta wooden bridge across the gully, hoping to

34sell housing lots in the area. But they had metwith little success since public transportationhad not yet extended that far west.Homeowners ploughed the road in front oftheir properties. Sidewalks were non-existenton some streets but since traffic was minimal,pedestrians walked in the roadway with safety.When the roads were blocked after a heavysnowstorm and no deliveries of any kind wereavailable, "good old-fashioned oatmeal was asteady diet, often three times a day, till the roadswere open again."But the long snowywinters and open spacesprovided for many kinds ofsport. There was skating ona large pond south of St.Catherine Street where aprimitive hockey game wasplayed using sticks cut in thewoods. Any number could playand there were no special rules.Tobogganers on improvisedsleds found excitingnatural runs down the steepinclines of Clarke andMountain* Avenues. Councilminutes recorded the irritablereactions of some members of the public at theinconvenience caused by this activity,compelling ratepayers to make a long detourthrough the fields.Snowshoeing was the most popular wintersport of all and in 1886, St. George's SnowshoeClub moved into the district. This club wasfounded in 1874 with members drawn from St.George's Cricket Club in Montreal and a militiaunit, the No. 3 Company Victoria Rifles.Membership grew so quickly that a permanentclubhouse was built on the upper slopes of theA View of Their Ownvillage, its large verandah overlooking thepanoramic view to the far shore across the river.The location is now occupied by St. George'sElementary School.The following year, on Christmas Eve1887, the Heather Curling Club opened onKensington Avenue. A little wooden buildinghoused two sheets of ice that were kept inconstant use by a membership of almost 200.Another sport was organized in the summerof 1889 when a group of enthusiasts formedIndian Lacrosse team. An intriguing new sportlearned from the India/is.the Côte St. Antoine Tennis Club. On rented landat the corner of Kensington Avenue andSherbrooke Street they laid out four grass courtsand two cinder courts and were soon taking partin matches with other tennis clubs in the region.In 1887, the Montreal Amateur AthleticAssociation (MAAA) opened its new athleticgrounds on 10 acres of land bought from the

The Village II Côte St. Antoine 35Hallowell estate and the adjoining Irvine farm.Formed in 1881, the MAAA was a union ofthree sporting groups, the Montreal Snowshoe,Lacrosse and Bicycle Clubs. Snowshoe clubmembers began playing lacrosse matches withthe Iroquois teams from Caughnawaga(Kahnawake), and in 1856 they formed the firstnon-Indian lacrosse club in the world.In 1880, the snowshoe and lacrosse clubsThe Winged Wheel,emblem of the MAAAMAAA Clubhouse. This sporting club gave a greatimpetus to many kinds of sport all over Montreal.were joined by the Bicycle Club — the oldestbicycle club still in existence in North America.The bicycle became the inspiration for theAssociation's emblem "The Winged Wheel."The wheel represented the heart and hub of theassociation, the spokes its various branches,and the wings signified progress. Around therim ran the motto — Jungor et implear (I amjoined in order that I may be complete.)The MAAA grounds were ample enoughto provide for all the association's outdoorsports. There was a central playing field with abanked cinder track around its rim underlaidwith drainage tiles. The field itself held roomfor a cricket crease and nine tennis courts, sevenof grass and two of cinder.A roofed grandstand ran the entire northside of the field. There were seven tiers of seats,with a directors' pavilionslightly elevated in thecentre. Spectators seated inthe stands had a magnificentview beyond thegrounds over the river tothe south shore, with theLachine rapids to the westand the Victoria Bridge tothe east.Track and field eventswere organised everyspring and fall, attractingthe best athletes in NorthAmerica. A McGill professor,C.H. Mcleod, designedan electric timerand the MAAA becamethe first organization to usethis new instrument torecord lap and finishingtimes in track races. Therewere also bicycle races,ranging in distance from one half to fivemiles.And one was billed rather alarminglyas a "half clash on highwheelers withouthands."A clubhouse was fashioned beside the oldIrvine farm cottage. Strict abstinence wasobserved with no liquor available or permittedon the grounds. The MAAA grounds becamea major Montreal attraction and the Canadian

36The Côte St. Antoine Tennis Club was organised in 1889.Pacific Railway ran a special train fromWindsor Station to the grounds on days whenimportant ^sports meetings were scheduled./*' i JlTi 1 !Côte St. Antoine Acadenn; Stanton Street. 1886-93.A View of Their OwnThe MAAA proved a magnet fordevelopment in its neighbourhood. New streetswere opened up. Western Avenue and St.Catherine Street were soon extended to thewestern edge of the village at Claremont Avenue.The growing population included manyyoung children resulting in an increase inschool enrolment. To accommodate them, theCote St. Antoine Academy, a handsome brickbuilding with a capacity for 200 students, wasbuilt in 1886 on a parcel of land beside theStanton Street School.That same year, Alexander Hutchison, acouncillor, a member of the school commissionand a devoted Presbyterian, initiated thebuilding of Melville Presbyterian Church witha capacity for 200 members. Larger than St.Matthias', it stood a block away along the CôteSt. Antoine Road. Temperance was a majorissue at Melville, one that was later to erupt ina serious confrontation and split thecongregation in two.Meanwhile at St. Matthias' a new rector,the Rev. Jervais Newnham, was installed. Hisjournal records that "September 19, 1886 wasmy first Sunday as Rector and since there wasno Rectory, I built my own house and in thefollowing year the first Ladies' Aid wasorganised by my sister and myself."One parishioner recalled: "We attended St.Matthias', a wooden, clapboard building withtubular chimes in the belfry." These chimeswere saved from an ice palace built inDominion Square during a winter carnival.When the ice structure was demolished, thechimes were carried off and installed in St.Matthias' belfry. The chimes were a group ofhollow bars attached to a rope. When the ropewas pulled a hammer struck the bars in amusical sequence "which would be heard veryfar away on a quiet Sunday."

The Village II Côte St. Antoine 37Melville Presbyterian Church. Opened 1886, N. E. comer Côte St. Antoine Rocul and Stanton Street.Close beside the church grew the fruit treesof the Raynes' Forden estate. "Frommidsummer well through the autumn therewere for the picking St. Lawrence, Fameuseand Russet apples. Also we could duck out ofthe low church windows and pick sickle pearsand damson plums. Since the usual Sundayapparel was a sailor suit or dress, the blouse ofwhich was ideal for storing away fruit, theseThe usual Sunday apparel was a sailor suit or dress, theblouse of which was ideal for storing apples and pearspicked from the Raynes ' orclmrds.could be tucked out of sight to be eaten on theway home from church or choir practice."Another church, a modest affair, suddenlyappeared one Sunday in 1885 in a remote westerncorner of the village. One week earlier this hadbeen the site of an untended field of weeds andwild grasses. Now a steady file of worshipperswere seen entering a completed building.It transpired that a few Methodist familieshad recently arrived in the village and decidedto build their own chapel. The group was ledby the Rev. George Douglas, George Vipondand George Bishop. From the hauling of thelumber to the nailing of the last roof tile thelittle church was completed in the brief spaceof seven days.It was christened "The Tabernacle" but wasoften affectionately referred to as "the churchof the three Georges." From its modestbeginnings this little community went on toplay an increasingly important role in thereligious life of the whole district.

38A View of Their Own'The Tabernacle'opened in 1885. This little Methodist chapel, at the corner ofLansdowne andWestern (de Maisonneuve) avenues was completed in seven days. First fire ladder wagon in front.By now Montreal's economy was on therebound. Sir John A. Macdonald's party was back inpower, the great trans-continental railway was ontrack with Montreal the hub of the nation's business.By the end of the decade the population of the Villageof Côte St. Antoine had soared to over 3,000.This was gratifying, but it brought problems.Chief of these was the provision of an adequate watersupply, but as late as 1889, when the question wasraised in council — "In view of the lack of a readysupply of water what is to be done in case of fire?"- the lame reply was a suggestion that the Villagebuy a few fire extinguishers!The police force was still a solitary affair, thoughresidents contended that the current police officer,John Kerr, his big stick and his Newfoundland dogwere as formidable a trio as any three-man force.Residents complained loudly and often aboutthe state of the roads. In 1884, a Mr. Evans sued thecouncil for $ 1,000 for injuries to his son and his horsebecause of the appalling conditions of the roads. Notmuch later, he was suing again, this time for $250,after falling into an excavation site and then lateragain, he complained of a bad smell from all theroadwork constantly in progress.Real progress, however, was reported on otherfronts. A city hall staff member, Mr. Robertson, hadinvented a new piece of machinery for snow removal.In future, roads were to be ploughed and rolled byworkmen, paid at a rate of $3 a day, thus relievinghouseholders of this responsibility.In 1886, the tollgates were finally dismantled.They had proved a major irritant for some time toresidents who were required to pay a fee each timethey re-entered the district; five cents when on foot,10 cents if driving a two-wheel vehicle, and 25 centsfor a four-wheel wagon or carriage. In lieu of thedues, which had been collected individually, thecouncil agreed to pay the Turnpike Trust, whichmaintained the Côte St. Antoine Road, the sum of$600 a year, payable in quarterly instalments.Altogether the work of the council had soexpanded that it justified the setting up of separatecommittees to handle particular issues — roads,light, police, finance, and a Board of Health. Councilmembers began to talk hopefully of a new TownHall, but this was dismissed as an unnecessaryexpense and municipal business continued to behandled in the adequate, if unimposing, spacesof the former Stanton Street School.

39The Town ICôte St Antoine 1890-94"Any municipality with a population greaterthan two thousand may pass a resolutionauthorising the presentation of a petition to theGovernment to be incorporated as a city ortown. After certain formalities have beensatisfied such as declaring the name, limits andpopulation of the proposed city or town, theGovernment will issue letters patentconfirming such a petition has been granted."Cities & Towns Act, 1890, Quebec LegislativeAssemblyWell, here was the Village of Côte St.Antoine in 1890 with a population far abovethe required minimum and ambitious toimprove its municipal standing. Its police forcemight be limited, its fire department barelyexistent and its municipal buildings hard tofind, but still its hardworking council, meetingin the local schoolhouse, was busy with plansfor an expansion its members felt to beimminent.A petition was forwarded, the necessaryformalities posted, and in due course, letterspatent confirmed the new status of the village.A debate over the name stirred a livelycontroversy. "More euphonious and romantic"alternatives were proposed. Names such asGlen Royal, Avonmount, Mount Avon, GlenAvon, and Avon Glen, all had their sponsors, butin the end, Côte St. Antoine remained in place.A "Town" was expected to provide urbanfacilities, but the canny council aimed atkeeping taxes low, if possible no more than halfthose exacted in Montreal. As a beginning aremarkable contract for a water supply wasnegotiated with the Montreal Water and PowerCompany which set rates at 40% of thoseprevailing in the city. Even when certain otherobligations were added, the total was equal toroughly half the city rate.By 1893, land below Côte St. Antoine Roadwas subdivided, particularly in the eastern partof the town. All existing streets had water mainsand were lit by electricity; gas and telephoneservices were available soon after.A new by-law of 1890 established a faretariff for cab services. For 15 minutes or less,a one-horse cab ride for one or two personscost 25 cents. Prices rose if more people werecarried or if the cab had two horses. There wasa charge of 25 cents for trunks but travellingbags, valises, boxes or parcels carried by handwere free. This often led to an overflow ofcontainers of imaginative material and bulkwhich fell short of being called a "trunk."Canadian Pacific trains had begun to runwest, with a brief stop at the bottom of AbbottAvenue. But, as a resident of the streetcomplained, there was "nofacility for embarking ordischarging passengers, andespecially is this apparent inthe case of ladies who haveto climb on or jump carsfrom the level of the track. Asmall platform wouldobliterate the trouble withDavid McNicoll, CPRlittle expense."Vice-President

40Abbott Avenue station. It was unsatifactory and was moved west.This matter was already in hand followinga letter from David McNicoll, CPR GeneralPassenger Agent, to T.G. Shaughnessy, Vice-President of the CPR which read in part, "CôteSt. Antoine is growing in importance ... Myown opinion is that Côte St. Antoine will someday in the near future stand in the samerelationship to us in Montreal as North Torontodoes for Toronto business." As a result, the stopat Abbott Avenue acquired not just a smallplatform but a well-designed train station as well.Most important perhaps for the growth ofthe town was the extension of streetcar services.In 1892, a loopline was run through the lowerhalf of the district, adjacent to Montreal's citylimit. Service was frequent, with trams everyfive minutes during the day and even greaterfrequency in the mornings between six andeight a.m. and again in the evenings betweenfive and seven p.m. Fares were five cents aticket, 25 for one dollar.In 1892, the first electric street car causedgreat excitement. Its roar could be heard forAViewofTheirOwnwhole city blocks. Sparks shotclear across the road at certainpoints of contact, and a box witha transformer placed beside thedriver occasionally explodedwith a loud bang and a brightflash. Many an anxious parentcounselled their offspring:"Never get in one of those things,they're not safe."But with familiarity publicalarm subsided. Rides providedthe new experience of socialencounters in an informal setting.Men chewed tobacco, though abilingual sign across the front ofthe car strictly forbade spitting.In winter the car was heated by astove in the middle of the aisle, its chimneypoking through the car roof. Every now andthen the conductor, who collected the fares,would open up the stove and, cheered on bythe passengers, tip in a shovel full of coal.Housing development followed thestreetcars all along their route. In 1893, afteryears of delay, Sherbrooke Street waslengthened to run through the town from itseastern to its western limits and beyond. Thefollowing year streetcar tracks were laid thereas part of the loopline and Sherbrooke Streetbecame the town's main artery.As zoning regulations were eased to allowfor commercial development, stores began tocluster around the main streetcar stoppingpoints at the eastern and western ends of thetown. Grocery stores, a butcher, drygoods,stationery, candy and toy shops all opened forbusiness. In 1894, the Merchants Bank ofHalifax, later the Royal Bank, was set up atthe corner of Greene Avenue, the first financialinstitution in the town.

The Town I Côte St. Antoine 41A new street, calledThe Boulevard wasopened up and astreetcar lineinstalled to servicethe upper levels ofthe Town.Tlie first electricstreetcars caused greatexcitement and somealarm.

42A View of Their OwnMother House ofthe Congrégationde Notre Damebuilt on the groundsof the Villa Maria,1876-80. It wasdestroyed in acatastrophic fire in1893.Tfie Mother Houseafter the fire.Discouraged by theextent of the loss, theSisters returned totheir base in oldMontreal.

The Town I Côte St. Antoine 43All this activity was concentrated in thelower part of the town. It was time to giveattention to the upper levels. If this area wereto be made accessible a streetcar route therewas urgently needed. Negotiations with theSulpicians for permission to open a roadpart of the town. With support from the motherchurch, Montreal's St. James the Apostle, theCôte St. Antoine group built a charming"Chapel of Ease", later named "Church of theAdvent," at the corner of Wood and Westernavenues.On Advent Sunday 1892, thechurch was opened, with some 35families in the initial congregation. Therector was the legendary Canon JacobEllegood, "Patriarch of the AnglicanDiocese," who is credited with foundingseveral Montreal churches. Hiscurate said of him, "When he stood atthe altar to pronounce the benedictionone could easily sweep away thecenturies and fancy Moses or Aaronblessing the flock."Canon Ellegood's name is linkedwith another Westmount AnglicanChurch, St. Stephen's, which openedfor worship in January 1903 atChurch of the Advent, opened 1892 at Wood and Western avenues.Sponsored as a Chapel of Ease by Montreal's St. James the Apostle. corner of Dorchester and Atwathrough part of the Priests' Farm had been at a avenues. This congregation had a turbulentstandstill for some time. But finally the history beginning in the 1840s in Griffintownincumbent mayor, J.H. Redfern, reached an (Pointe St. Charles) near the waterfront, whereagreement with Father Leroux, theSuperior of the order, in 1895. The newstreet, called "The Boulevard,"provided ample passage for a streetcarline to service the upper levels of thetown.The growing population needednew churches. They were established,as before, under the sponsorship oflarger congregations based inMontreal.A few High Anglican familiesbegan holding services in a rentedroom on Staynor Avenue in the lowerSt. Stephen s Anglican Church had a turbulent history beforenwving from Pointe St. Charles to Atwater and St. Catherine.

44Canon JacobEllegood "Whenhe stood at thealtar one couldsweep away thecenturies andfancy Moses orAaron blessingthe flock "the Rev. Canon Ellegood was pastor. Throughthe terrible years of the plague, 1847 and 1848,he ministered tirelessly to the sick and dying.Later, during the worst of the recurring floodsto hit the low-lying area, he was seen wadingwaist high through the rising waters to get helpfor his marooned parishioners. Canon Ellegoodlater moved on to other ministries. St. Stephen'sA View of Their Ownrelocated to higher ground in Côte St. Antoine.Just beyond the Town's borders, on theVilla Maria grounds of the old Monkland Estate,the magificent Mother House of the Congrégationde Notre Dame, built in the years1876-1880, was destroyed by fire. Miraculously,the library's 4,000 volumes weresaved but the building itself was a totalloss.Pending a decision on a new location theOrder returned to its St. Jean Baptiste addressin Montreal.Another newcomer was the FrenchMethodist Institute which built an impressivestructure on Greene Avenue. This was aninstitution founded in 1888 in Montreal as ahome for French Protestant girls. When itmoved to Côte St. Antoine the following year,it had an enrolment of 60 boys and 40 girls.The institute had a distinguished faculty andmaintained a high academic standard until itclosed in the early 1920s.New Côte St.AntoineAcademyopened 1894around thecomer from theearlier building.FHK I,

The Town I Côte St. Antoine 45A sense of movement, of expansion, couldbe seen and felt everywhere. The Côte St.Antoine Academy, built in 1886, was quicklyoutgrowing its capacity. The school hadacquired a proud academic reputation.Academy students, male and female, weregiven every encouragement to continue theirstudies as long as possible. Its "Associate inArts" certificate was recognized by bothMcGill and Bishop's universities, and openedthe way to university admission and a Bachelorof Arts degree.Enthusiastic support for the best ineducation, available to all, reflected the deepconviction of many residents, especially thoseof Scottish background. Standards of educationin Scotland had reached a particularly highlevel since the 18th century when Edinburgh,with its philosophers, educators, writers andtheorists was looked on as the "Athens of theNorth." From Scotland, too, came the neweconomic theories that set commerce in theforefront as a civilising force in society,providing the wealth that would in turnstimulate the arts and sciences. The championsof these movements were to be the middlingranks of society, "being too rich to be servileto the great yet too poor to tyrannise thehumble."With scholastic horizons and studentenrolment expanding, the Côte St. AntoineAcademy was in urgent need of largerpremises. A parcel of land on the next blockwas acquired and a much larger buildingerected. The new school opened in April 1894.It had room for 600 students, three times thecapacity of the old academy, and cost $75,000.A few years later a former student, MurielBrodie, who had graduated from McGill witha B.A. in 1899, returned to teach in the newacademy.The old academy building was sold to thecity council and began a new life as a combinedtown hall and a police and fire station. James P.Harrison was Chief of Police as well as Chief ofthe Fire Department and Sanitary Inspector. Hiscomplement of two constables also doubled asfiremen when needed. Although theirequipment consisted of only one horse cart anda hose reel, they inspired greater confidencethan the hand-held fire extinguishers availableuntil then.Over at the MAAA sports grounds, nowaccessible by streetcar, a major new attractionwas developing. One winter's night when themoon was full, it was observed shining on apatch of glare ice, silvered like a mirror. Thenext day members laid ambitious plans for alarge skating rink. When completed the rinkmeasured 330 by 150 feet, bigger by far thanany rink in theneighbourhood.Twenty lightswere installed forthe nighttimeskating, and oncertain days twomilitary bands,those from theVictoria Riflesand the RoyalScots, played fordancing. If therink was to beclosed due to badweather or poorice conditions, ared light, visiblefrom a greatdistance, glowedfrom the top of ahigh pole.LOMIJ Rubenstein become worldspeed-skating cliampion in 1890.

46The ice rink proved sensationally successful,the association's biggest money maker.Other clubs were drawn to make use of thisexceptional facility. Montreal's Tuque BleueClub built a track around the outer edge of therink for speed skating, with seven laps equalin distance to one mile. It was open six days aweek and, with arc lights already installed,remained open after dark.The sport received a burst of publicity whenLouis Rubenstein, a well known Montrealathlete and member of the MAAA — he waslater president — became world speed skatingA View of Their OwnThe Tuque Bleue Club next went to workon a toboggan run for the town. The clubplanned a run which followed a hair-raisingroute down the steepest streets before shootingacross Sherbrooke Street to end in a haybankat St. Catherine Street. A turn at the bottom ofthe run acted as a brake but it remained a sportfor stout hearts and steady nerves.This generous use of land for sport in asmall municipality that still encompassedpockets of farmland, kept the town councilbusy balancing the demands of increasingurbanisation with those of an earlier rural lifestyle.MAAA skating rink It proved sensationally successful and helped substantially towards paying offtlw club's debts.champion in 1890. In 1894, the Canadian speed Some residents found the country imageskating championships were held on the too homespun and the contrasts embarrassing.MAAA rink. Attendance at the event was huge, On Mrs. Murray's property, Daisy the cow9,000 inside the grounds and 1,000 more could be seen cropping the rich grass, whileoutside, perching where they could, on roof- along the streets men were setting up poles andtops, in trees, and up poles along the CPR tracks, stringing wires for the installation of modern

The Town I Côte St. Antoinefacilities. Could we not, asked one residentplaintively at a council meeting, at least doaway with all cow stables in town?But others were distressed at the pace atwhich new roads, houses, shops and streetcarlines were encroaching on open land. Whenthe Côte St. Antoine Improvement Committeewas set up in 1890, its first major recommendationwas that the town acquire an optionon a 16-acre tract of undeveloped land southof the newly extended Sherbrooke Street, foruse as a public park. The advice was accepted,and the land, "pleasantly wooded, with athe area's gradual development from forest tocity park.Meanwhile, early attitudes entrenched inthe community's first by-laws were reinforced.Requests for liquor licences were regularlybrought forward and as regularly rejected. "Wedon't want saloons and we won't have them,"declared Mayor Redfern. "Whenever anapplication for a licence comes in we just throwit under the table!"It was during Mayor Redfern's tenure thatthe town's name again came up for discussion.47Speed skating at the MAAA rink. Hallowell Street in the background circa 1900.portion of the original forest, traversed by apicturesque glen," became the district's firstpark. James Robert Walker, who served in localgovernment for twelve years as councillor andlater as mayor, was prominent in helping guide"Westmount" was once more brought forwardas being the most appropriate but there wasvigorous opposition. One resident, Mr.Suckling, said he thought Westmount "a stuffy,starchy, self-righteous name, a poor exchange

48for beautiful Côte St. Antoine with its lovelyelms, maples, tree shaded roads and greenfields." A lively debate followed with"Westmount" emerging the winner by a slimmargin.A View of Their OwnIn 1894, Council was granted permissionby the Legislature to make the change and thefollowing year, with Mayor Redfern presiding,the Town of Côte St. Antoine officially becamethe Town of Westmount.Tire municipality's first park "pleasantly wooded,with a portion oftlie original forest, traversed by apicturesque glen. "Left: James Robert Walker, Mayor 1898-99. AsCouncillor he guided tlie development of the park.

49The Town HWestmount 1895-1908A new municipal badgeThe town adapted quickly to its new nameand adopted a new municipal badge."Westmount", it was generally agreed, accuratelyfitted the district's geography. It alsoreflected the changesthat, over the years, hadcreated an English speakingmajority.The Côte St. AntoineAcademy was renamedWestmount Academyand celebrated the occasionwith a concert inthe school's new assemblyhall, under the auspices of the Men's Guild of St.Matthias' Church.Residents were able to read all about it inthe first issue of a new publication, theWestmount Weekly News and WestendAdvertiser, which sold for one cent. The recital,the paper informed its readers, was variedand uniformly excellent. There was a pianosolo, "Reflections of Home," followed by arecital of well-known songs such as "Shewandered on the Mountainside." Then Mrs.Belle Rose Enslie of the Montreal School ofElocution, recited several items including, byspecial request, "Saunders MacGlashan'sCourtship." The report concluded that, "Theaudience got full value for its money sincethe programme found such favour, that afterthe opening pianoforte solo every number wasencored, and in each case the performer gracefullyresponded, so that it was in fact a doubleprogramme, one just as good as the other."At the police station, the constables weregiven smart uniforms modelledon those of the British "Bobby."The well-known helmet, with itstall rounded top, was issued inblue for winter wear and in whitefor summer — when it wasregularly whitened and placed onposts outside the station to dry.Town Hall staff 1897. Police and Fire Chief Harrison is standing flankedby four policemen wearing hats modelled on those of the British 'Bobby. 'Pure water was supplied bya Montreal company and amunicipal power plant wasinstalled using a remarkable newsystem, the first in Canada,which drew its power fromburning garbage waste. The

50whole plant was tucked discreetly in the hollowof the Glen.Major changes had taken place in theterrain all around the Glen. Lac St. Pierre andthe surrounding marshy swamps had beendrained. The former swampland was coveredby a huge train yard with 50 acres of track forshunting and stationing trains. The CPR trainstation, built in 1896 at the foot of AbbottAvenue, had been forced to balance on such asteep grade that the wooden platforms on thefar side of the tracks were built up on piles.This was too hazardous an arrangement for theWestmount CPR station at Victoria Avenue opened in 1907.long term and in 1907, the station was movedfarther west to a more accessible site at the footof Victoria Avenue.Regular public transport was making iteasier to reach Westmount from Montreal, andonce within the town it was possible to reachevery part of the district by streetcar. The looparound the lower town was proving to be "aservice better than contracted for," noted thecouncil minutes.A View of Their OwnAt the upper level, serviced by a secondstreetcar line, development moved moreslowly, with zoning restrictions imposing largerareas of open ground between houses andprohibiting commercial properties.It was the streetcars that brought shops andoffices crowding into the two main commercialzones at each end of the town, Greene Avenueto the east and Sherbrooke Street near Victoriain the west. Stores, for the most part, werefamily-owned and run and became familiarground to both parents and children.One of the earliest to open on GreeneAvenue was John Smithers' boot andshoe store. Smithers, the son of afarmer, opened for business in 1890and the store continued in familyhands for over 80 years. Wholefamilies, from the smallest child tothe oldest adult, were fitted with theirsummer and winter footwear there,and the store also supplied theregulation boots and shoes for themunicipality's police and firemen.Nils Ohman, a jeweller andwatchmaker from Sweden, wasanother whose Greene Avenue storebecame a local landmark. Everyonetook their clocks and watches to befixed there but, residents recall, "it was atreasure house just to visit and Mr. Ohman wasa wonderful gentleman, unhurried, courtly andcourteous."Mr. Senecal, the tailor, is also fondlyremembered. "He received customers sograciously in his narrow shop, carefully dustingoff a chair before he allowed a client to sitdown." Customers could also be seated at thegrocer's, the butcher's and the dry goods storeswhile giving their orders, which were delivered

The Town II Westmountwith dispatch by horse and cart, or perhaps bya young boy on a bicycle.Outstanding among the food stores werethe premises of Dionne and Dionne. In 1900,two cousins, Thomas, a grocer, and Georges, abutcher, each invested $500 — a large sum forthose days — in a joint venture. Their store,splendidly appointed, equipped and stocked,quickly acquired a reputation for the quality ofits goods and the efficiency of its service. Of the60 employees, three or four were kept busy justtaking orders which were processed to customersacross the country as far west as Vancouver.There was little pre-packaging of dairy andother products. Cheese and butter were cut asrequired, the cuts accurately measured by theeye. Vinegar, molasses and other liquids wereladled into pint or quart bottles which wereretrieved, washed, dried and re-used. Manyyears later Dionne and Dionne's store movedeast into Montreal, servicing a clientèle livingin the elegant "Square Mile" on Mount Royal.One long time employee, Georges Richard,then set up his own store in Westmount,"Westmount Grocery," at the corner ofSherbrooke and Grosvenor, drawing a faithfulWestmount following with him.More banks were opening. The Royal Bank— formerly the Merchants Bank of Halifax —now had two branches, one in each of the twoshopping zones, opened in the years 1903-04.At the same time a branch of the Bank ofMontreal was built at the corner of Greene andWestern avenues, with an impressive sculptureof the bank's crest over the entrance doorway."The bank was built after we came to live on ElmAvenue," recalled Westmounter Eva Vineberg."Sir Gerald Aylmer, he was plain Gerald Aylmerthen, was the first manager. He gave me thefirst numbered account at the bank. When wecame to live on Elm Avenue, it was all fieldsnearby, no houses, just open fields. In thesummer the military would bivouac there, pitchtheir tents and graze their horses in the fields.It was very exciting and colourful to see."51Dionne and Dionne opened 1900 and quickly acquired a reputation for superb goods and exceptional senice.

52Royal Bank opened 1904 on St. Catherine and GreeneThe post office was moved from the houseon Côte St. Antoine Road into a small brickbuilding on St. Catherine Street but, recalledA View of Their Ownone resident, it still retained a personalrelationship with many of its customers."That's where I did my first banking. The spacewasn't any bigger than a small room. Therewas a handle, not a knob or latch exactly, thatyou lifted to go inside. We stood on tiptoe atthe counter to hand in this cheque we got atChristmas from the family. We put some kindof mark on it and the postmistress, she knewus, she did everything else."Five of the "Indian wells" were still operating,each now ringed with a protective balustrade.Mrs. Alexander Murray, who lived at theedge of the Murray estate, which becameMurray Park, had refused to have water pipesinstalled in her home because she feared itwould unsettle her numerous cats, and couldbe seen each day coming to fetch her drinkingwater from one of the wells.There were still pockets of farmland andorchards as well asa few large estatesbut these wereshrinking year byyear, dissolvinginto streets of terracedhousing,semi-detachedhomes and smallvillas. Apartmentblocks, however,were frowned upon.Members of councilwere agreed that"the colonizationand gathering underone roof of manyBank of Montreal, opened 1904. Northeast corner, Greene and Western avenues.Insert: Gerald Aylmer.first manager of Bank of Montreal branch in Westmount.families should beprohibited

The Town II Westmountbecause it was "not in the interests of the cityas a whole to have more than one family under oneroof."The importance of parkland within anurban community had been a subject ofcontinuing debate for some years. The issuewas highlighted in Montreal by the discoveryof the dramatic erosion of Mount Royal, thecity's most distinctive geographic feature. Itmattered not at all that it was only 700 feethigh. It had been christened Mount Royal earlyin its history, and "royal" it remained in thehearts of Montrealers. When it became knownthat its trees were being cut down and sold forfirewood, public anger forced the Quebeclegislature to pass an act in 1869 authorisingexpropriation of the mountain for developmentas a public park. Development was entrustedto the Olmstead firm of landscape architectswhich achieved an outstanding result, deftlyblending the mountain's natural features withcultivated areas.Frederick Law Olmsted was the mostinfluential and imaginative landscape architectin North America and had become worldfamous for his creation of New York's CentralPark. "The possession of natural scenery in acity" Olmsted wrote, "is an influence of thehighest curative value, a form of wealth aspractical as that of wholesome air, pure wateror sunlight unobstructed by smoke or fog."Westmount also had its "mountain park,"a unique feature for so small an urbancommunity. To preserve this wild woodlandcrowning the summit of the town, the councilapproached the Olmsted firm, now in thecharge of Frederick's sons, John Charles andFrederick Law Jr., who submitted plans for aSummit Park, but though Councillor (formerlymayor) Redfern urged strongly that the planbe accepted, other councillors considered theinitial cost of $ 1,000 too high, and the proposalwas dropped.While Westmount's council debated thematter of the summit land, Sir WilliamMacdonald entered the picture. Sir William wasan eccentric millionaire who had becomeMcGill University's most generous benefactor.He had made a huge fortune in the tobaccoindustry though he himself did not smoke andconsidered it "a filthy habit."In 1895, he began to buy up land, farmsand estates on and around the Westmountsummit. He then presented the property toSir William Macdonald bought the "summit" ami gave it toMcGill University for the Lise of the Botany department.McGill University (officially called "The RoyalInstitution for the Advancement of Learning" )for use by the department of Botany.53

54The university found added uses for theterrain. McGill's Survey School set up the"Macdonald Observatory" on the summit andused the land as a base of operations with amess hall, several small shacks and a hightower, as well as a campground for students.Meridian telescopes were set up on large blocksof stone, several of which still remainembedded in the ground.Without William Macdonald's fortuitousand generous intervention the summit landwould quickly have been swallowed up byresidential development during the town'syears of expansion. The reprieve allowedcouncil to absorb some of the new concepts ofurban living that were surfacing in Europe andNorth America.Along with ideas of the "City Beautiful"promoted by Olmsted and others, there was the"Garden City." Ebenezar Howard claimed tobe the inventor of this concept. It evoked theideal of a small community of about 30,000living in an area roughly 1,000 acres in size,(the size of Westmount), with its own culturaland recreational facilities. "Town and countrymust be married," wrote Howard, "and out ofthis joyous unionwill spring a newhope, a new life, anew civilisation."Howard was convincedthat "mankindwas movingtoward a new era ofbrotherhood andthe Garden Citywould be the onlyfitting environmentfor the humanity ofthe future!"Chateau Claire, the Lighthall home at the eastern edge of the Murray estate.A View of Their OwnWilliam Douw LJghthall.Mayor 1901-03.In Westmount, William Douw Lighthallwas particularly responsive to these new ideas.He served as mayor of the town in the years1901-03 and was a participant in virtually everydecision involving aspects of Westmount'sdirection and growth.The Lighthall family, of Dutch descent,had emigrated from New York in 1830,with every succeeding generation educated tobe fluently bilingual in English and French. Asa novelist, poet, historian, lawyer, antiquarian,specialist in Indian lore and customs, championof veterans' rights and foremost authority onthe municipal law in theDominion, William Lighthalltruly merited the title of"Renaissance Man." He himselfrejoiced in Westmount'scountry pleasures, building ahome- "Châteauclaire" forhis family on the edge ofthe Murray farm. But he wasalso deeply involved withMontreal, its history, socialrelations and civic developments.

The Town II Westmount 55Firing the canon, Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, 1897, on St. George's Snowslwe Club grounds.The catalyst that provided the opportunityto carry forward some of these new ideas inurban planning was the imminent anniversaryof Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897.Communities large and small throughout theBritish Empire, of which Canada was a part,prepared to observe the occasion in some way;putting up a statue, renaming streets, squaresand publicbuildings,holdingcompetitions,awardingprizes.Westmountissued amunicipal"Jubilee"badge andcelebratedVictoriaDay withthe firing ofA children s Demonstration was partof the Jubilee celebrations, 1897.% cannon onthe open ground in front of St. George'sSnowshoe Club above the Boulevard, followedlater that night by a dazzling fireworks displayand a children's Demonstration in WestmountPark.But the council was interested in a morelasting project and a group was appointed toconsider options. The final decision ofWestmount's "Permanent Memorial of theGeneral Jubilee Celebration Committee" wasto build a free public library, the first publiclibrary in the province of Quebec.After careful study, a site was chosen atthe rim of the 16 acres of land recently acquiredby the municipality from a local farmer andtentatively named "Victoria Jubilee Park." Ithad proved difficult terrain for farming and wasleft virtually untouched, but it was a glorioussetting for the proposed library. An additionalasset was the Sherbrooke streetcar line whichran along the upper edge of the park andprovided convenient access to the site.The council, with its parsimonious

A View of Their OwnWestmount Public library, opened 1899. Vie first free public library in the province of Quebec.Interior ofWestmount PublicLibrary.

58A View of Their OwnRobert Findlay, architect of the Library, Victoria Hall and, later, of Westmowit City Hall.Plaster casts of theplaques tliat flank thelibrary s entrance.the project, a little more than for the library,but in view of the facilities to be provided,hardly lavish. Built on a site close to the libraryVictoria Hall, as the centre was named, wasopened to the public in September 1899.In addition to the facilities requested, therewas a dance floor, billiard room, drill hall, anda number of small assembly rooms which wereimmediately put to use by chess clubs, literary,debating and drama groups, a kindergarten,music and dance classes, and sports groups thathad no clubhouse of their own.Findlay built Victoria Hall to harmonizewith the library, using the same warm brickand Romanesque architectural style. The twobuildings and the park together provided aconcentrated focus for the town, a meetingground for people of all ages, giving themunicipality a centre around which thecommunity could revolve.These municipal facilities, set in a park,gave the town an urban-rural mix which provedespecially attractive to families with youngchildren. They were also drawn to Westmountby the very practical advantage of low taxes,never more than half, often less than a third, ofthose levied in Montreal. The older generation,living in Montreal, was less enthusiastic. "Doyou really think it wise," cautioned one father,"to go and live so far in the country !" And manyparents were reluctant to make the journey tovisit their children after they moved "such agreat distance away."But with improvements in public transport,the distance grew less formidable andWestmount's obvious advantages as a place toraise a family increased.Children required schooling and smallprivate schools mushroomed to supplement

' , •60mJ * •*• • •••Af/io/e «w/ Norma Shearer Norma and brotherDouglas had very successful careers in HollywoodPR!•"•-• . . • « -.«"**• jamejp1But at the public school, WestmountAcademy, resources were once again stretchedbeyond their limits, with enrolment well overthe 600 initially planned for. To meet thedemand for more space, branch schools wereset up in rented premises, some in Elm Halland some in private homes, all under thesupervision of the academy, but such arrangementswere obviously unsatisfactory for thelong term.Consequently, two new schools were builtin the area below Sherbrooke Street where thepopulation was most heavily concentrated. TheGlen School, later King's, with space for 350students, was built in 1896 at a cost of $25,000,at the foot of Roslyn Avenue. Three years laterQueen's School was built in the eastern sectorat a cost of $50,000, and accommodated 550pupils.Under the province of Quebec's confessionalschool system, these schools fell withinthe jurisdiction of the Protestant School Board.Catholic girls, English and French, attendedMont Ste. Marie in Montreal, run by theCongrégation de Notre Dame. When the Sistersof the order became aware of the need for anew girls' school in the growing west-end area,they acquired a large house, not far from• - 1A View of Their OwnWestmount Academy, with plans for classes tobe given in both French and English.Some parents found the location isolated,and even the Sisters who were to teach therewere not keen to move. But after the Sistershad toured their new premises, they quicklywarmed to the comfortable surroundings. "AhMother!" announced one happily, "it is just likehome", and from another "Que c'est donc joli!"At the official opening the Archbishop ofMontreal, Monsignor Paul Bruchesi, waspresent to give his blessing and the school,named St. Paul's Academy, began its firstsemester in October 1898.Glen School later renamed King's. Opened1896 at Roslxn and Western menues.Queens School, opened 1899, Olivier Avenue.

The Town II Westmount 61A few years later, a Catholic school forboys, St. Leon's, opened under the guidanceof the Christian Brothers in rented premises inElm Hall. Later the school was moved to ClarkeAvenue and teaching gradually transferred toa lay faculty under the supervision of theWestmount Catholic School Commission.During these years the Catholics ofWestmount, who had been attending varioussurrounding parishes, were accorded a parishof their own. In 1901, on farmland bought fromthe Grey Nuns, building began on a church tobe called Saint Léon de Westmount. While thechurch was being built, at the northwest cornerBethlehem Congregational Church wasestablished in 1896, by a group from CalvaryChurch in Montreal. Calvary was famous inthe city for having founded the Welcome HallMission, a unique facility for homeless men,providing them with food and shelter, as wellas with help and advice.Further west, the Methodist's clapboardTabernacle was replaced with a handsome brickbuilding and renamed Westmount MethodistChurch. But at Melville Church on Côte St.Antoine Road, controversy flared up. In thisbastion of the temperance movement, theminister, the Reverend T.W. Winfield, wasaccused of using intoxicating liquors in theSt Paul's Catholic Girls 'Scltool, administeredby the Congrégation de Notre Daine. Opened 1898.Monsignor Paul Bruchesi, Arclibishop of Montreal was present to give his blessing.of Clarke and Western avenues, services wereheld either in St. Paul's Academy or in thedance salon of Elm Hall. "Six days a week",observed Abbé Perron drily, "the salon isconsecrated to the devil, on Sunday to theLord!"There were other additions and somechanges in places of worship. Diagonallyacross Western Avenue from St. Leon's, theSacrament. The congregation was torn in itsloyalties between those who believed, andthose who rejected, the allegations. Finally, theminister left in 1900 to establish a new MelvilleChurch. This was built on the border of the newpark, on a street called Elgin, which wasrenamed Melville in honour of the church. Thegroup left in the Côte St. Antoine buildingrenamed their church St. Andrew's, and for

62many years each congregation was able tosustain its church and its membership.At this time, the Congrégation de NotreDame, their Mother House still not rebuilt,received a generous offer from the SulpicianSuperior who suggested the following solution:"Prenez donc une partie de notre propriétéangle des rues Atwater et Sherbrooke etreconstruisez votre Maison Mère".The Seminary offered an entire city blockof their land, at the price of $200,000. Sinceits true value was close to $500,000, the offerrepresented a gift of $300,000. Moreover, theSulpicians offered free building material fromtheir Westmount stone quarry, as well as helpin transporting stone from the wreckage of theVilla Maria Mother House.It was too magnificent an offer to refuse.An added inducement for this teaching order\•. • . ' •j•MMMBJKr-— *»•**• m MM- 9A View of Their OwnMelville church, opened 1900. Tire 'originalMelville ' changed its name to St Andrew s.St Léon de Westmount opened 1901, first Roman Catholic church in the town

The Town II Westmount63Mother House of the Congrégation de Notre Dame. Built 1905-08. Southwest comer Sherbrooke and Atwaterwas the location, a plot of land which lay infull view of the stone tower where theirfounder, Marguerite Bourgeoys had visited herpupil, Marie Ganonsagouas, over 200 yearsearlier.In 1905, the papers were signed. Asarchitect, the Sisters selected 30-year old OmerMarchand, a Montrealer and later a Westmountresident, who was the first French-Canadianto receive the Diploma in Architecture fromthe École des Beaux Arts in Paris.Marchand created a superb neo-Byzantinecomplex in the form of a huge H, using thenewest building techniques of reinforcedconcrete and brick. The dimensions of the sitewere so generous that the immense buildingwas able to rest comfortably in a spacioussetting of open ground which, over the years,developed into one of the finest park-likespaces in Westmount.The Mother House was opened in 1908,but for the sisters the more important momentin their new home came in September 1910,when the remains of their founder were broughtthere and the Papal Legate pronounced "Lareconnaissance officielle des Restes de MèreMarguerite Bourgeoys."In the meantime, sports flourished in everycorner of the town. In 1904, the Montreal SkiClub discovered the possibilities of thedistrict's steep streets and acquired the use ofa run down Clarke Avenue. The incline wassufficiently sloped to provide a very effectivetake-off for jumping, with a landing area onthe south side of Sherbrooke Street.For a few brief years, there was a golfcourse near the summit. Players could take thestreetcar along The Boulevard, then follow apath leading up to the course. But one sportsclub that did not win favour with Westmountresidents was a gun club that met occasionally on astretch of open ground below The Boulevard.Unwanted in the neighbourhood, it did not last long.Lacrosse was popular and was played ongrounds at the eastern end of the town. One team,

64A View of Their OwnTop - Westmoiuit GolfCube. 1901. It flourishedfor a few short yearsbefore World War I onland near Summit Park.Left- Westnioimt GunClub, c. 1900. It did notprove popular with localresidents.

The Town II Westmount 65the Shamrocks, played their way to a worldchampionship in 1899-1900. Later the sport fell outof favour and the grounds were taken over forbaseball, with the Montreal Royals drawing largecrowds for their home games and practice sessions.One sports group found itself squeezed outof its premises by the spread of real estatedevelopment. The Côte St. Antoine Tennis Club'sgrounds were sold in 1906 for building lots. Theclub, renamed the Mount Royal Tennis Club,relocated on land immediately west ofWestmount's borders. There, surrounded by thehay fields and apple orchards of the Decadefarmlands, the club laid out nine grass and sevencinder courts. The old clubhouse was conveyedintact to the new locale, via Western Avenue,blocking streetcar lines for hours. Since thestreetcar's loopline did not yet extend this far westand since none of the club members owned cars,a three-plank wooden sidewalk was laid down tothe new club grounds.The MAAA continued to flourish. In thewinter of 1897 the association was host to theWorld Skating Championship and from 1901 to1905 it regularly hosted the joint American andCanadian skating championships. In the summerof 1899, when bicycle racing was reaching itspeak of popularity, the MAAA welcomed theWorld Bicycle Meeting.The Lawn Bowling Club proved to be thelongest lasting of the sports associations. InAugust 1901, three friends, bowling enthusiasts,discussed leasing a plot of land on KensingtonAvenue near Sherbrooke Street. The lease wasfor a period of nine years, at an annual rental of$1,000. Membership was limited to 120, withannual fees of $10 with each member obliged tobuy three shares in the Club at $5 a share. By 1903the secretary, William Brown, son of the president,James Brown, was able to announce in his annualreport that ' the originators may take credit for havingestablished in Westmount in the short period of twoyears, a Club which is a credit to the Town."The club's facilities and its reputation forsportsmanship and hospitality were put to the testin 1906, when a group of 40 bowlers from Britain,accompanied by wives and children, arrived ontheir first stop in an itinerary organised by theOntario Bowling Club.The visitors, who won the tournament — 129shots to 93 — were royally entertained for threedays. There was a lavish lunch at Victoria Hallgiven by the mayor and council, and a convivialdinner at St. George's Snowshoe Club. Thesetting was a fine one. As the light faded the guestslooked down the slopes of the mountain on thedarkening panorama of the city below. In mellowmood, the mayor and other dignitaries madespeeches, climaxed by M. Decarie who welcomedthe Britons "on behalf of the whole Frenchspeakingpopulation of Canada".Dr. Russell, of Hamilton, Ontario, replied forthe visitors. He thanked their hosts for thebountiful welcome and generous hospitality. Hemarvelled at the development of the town whichhe had known 20 years earlier "when it was justa village," and he brought the occasion to arousing finish with his enthusiastic toast "toWestmount, the beautiful Town of Westmount."Within this prosperous, optimistic time therewere some dark days. In 1905,25 cases of typhoidwere reported resulting in two deaths. Residentswere warned to boil all water for drinking andcooking. Newspaper reports carried articleswarning that "Westmount is becoming a veryundesirable place wherein to build a house andraise a family."But only two years later, the council quoteda survey showing that Westmount was the idealmunicipality in which to live in all of easternCanada. It was praised for its municipal servicesand for its balance of town and country pleasures.

66Alice Lighthall, daughter of WilliamLighthall and as distinguished and talented as hercelebrated father, recaptured the memory of achildhood lived in this privileged enclave duringthese transition years when she wrote: "I was oneof the children who played in the Murray fieldsand the Raynes' orchard, who splashed in theA View of Their Ownoak wood above The Boulevard, beside one ofthe old Indian wells."In his valedictory address in January 1903,retiring Mayor William Lighthall noted theprofound changes that had taken place. Six yearsearlier Westmount had been little more than avillage. "Today, to all intents and purposes it is aLawn Bowling Club, established in 1901. In 1906 the club hosted a visit from a British group, shown here, of fortybowlers accompanied by their families.spring freshet that ran down the east side of theroad between the two. We watched Miss Murray'scarriage with the old coachman bringing her homefrom a sedate drive, while we gathered violets inthe field where the lily pond is now... We watchedfrom a respectful distance, while Miss Raynes,in gloves and net-veiled garden hat, tended herbeehives. We rode in the haycart in the uppermeadows and had picnic teas at the edge of theleading city in Canada although as yet itspopulation is a small one to have taken thatposition. As the chief residential suburb of thegreat and growing metropolis of Canada it hasan influence as wide as the Dominion, andcircumstances have frequently arisen which havethrown upon us the responsibility of representingthe English-speaking community of Montreal."

8The City of Westmount(1908 -1914)In 1908, the town became the City ofWestmount, and adopted a new municipalbadge. Its new title conferred no radical changesince under the Provincial Cities and TownsAct, "town" and "city" were virtually interchangeable.In the event it should wish to doso, however, Westmount could now annexother villages and towns. It could also establisha town planning commission to make recommendationson all aspects of development.67City Badge, 1908In Westmount, the population in the firstdecade of the 20th century leapt from 8,856 to14,579, and there was a boom in residentialbuilding and related service facilities. But strictzoning laws kept out "any work likely to createa nuisance."A citizens' group, the Westmount MunicipalAssociation, was formed and announcedplans to hold regular meetings in Victoria Hall.The group's stated objectivewas to encouragepublic discussion on everyaspect of municipal affairssuch as education, traffic,the environment, etc., andto inform the city councilof the results.Pockets of rural life. "The sound of cocks crowing was as familiar as church bells. "Montreal, the great metropolis on Westmount'sdoorstep, was booming. Expansion ofshipping and railway facilities had transformedthe economy, bringing favourable comparisonswith Boston and New York — both for itscommercial vitality and for the magnificenceof Montreal's mansions and institutions.There are many longlivedresidents who recalllife in these early decadesof the century, when themunicipality became a citybut country vistas persistedside by side with newlybuilt housing. "My parentsmoved into a new house, one of the first onAberdeen, in 1908. The area was just changingfrom farmland to residential. Across the streetthe family kept chickens and a cow in their backgarden."The sound of cocks crowing at dawn wasas familiar as church bells on Sunday. Several

The City of Westmount 69Roslyn School. One of the finest school buildings in the Dominion.opened in 1909, it was hailed as "one of thefinest school buildings in the Dominion."At Westmount Academy studentscontinued to be encouraged to extend theirstudies at the college level, though women werestill only grudgingly accepted at university.Alice Lighthall was an early McGill student,taking courses in English literature and Frenchbetween the years of 1911 and 1913. But hermother insisted Alice remain a part-timestudent as she wished her daughter to devoteher time to volunteer work. Consequently, Alicedid not graduate with a degree.One very earlyMcGill graduate wasMary Howard Henderson,daughter of theprincipal of Montreal'sDiocesan College.Her son, AlexShearwood recalls:"My mother was inthe first McGillMary Howard Henderson, anearly McGiU»v»u», gradate. University class thataccepted women. She graduatedin 1890 and her degree is signedby thirteen people, including SirDonald Smith - later LordStrathcona - a strong advocate ofwomen's higher education. Mymother was interested in manythings. She wrote a biography ofBishop Newnham, one-timeminister of St. Matthias'. Muchlater I found she had written somethirty articles, including one withthe title 'Concerning the right ofa wife to invest her own money,'which I should think was ratherradical for those days."As Westmount's populationgrew, so did the traffic. Bicycles, trains, electricstreetcars and automobiles were all in use, butALCOThe Montreal LocomotiveWorks{'c'a*?//5 * to **""* hi'Vgïïg/ phoni, Up 1J78 596 SL Catherine SL W. \jdelivery wagons were mostly horse-drawn, onwheels in summer, on runners in winter.Children knew most of the delivery horsesby name and drivers were tolerant about givingrides, especially towards the end of theirrounds. "There were stables to the east wherethe milk wagons were parked and sometimesyou could get a ride back and help unfastenthe horses and feed them. Another stable wasover to the west and it was quite a sight to seea long string of horses trotting homeward alongWestern Avenue at the end of the day."

70Streetcar rides, if no longer a novelty, werestill an adventure since there were alwayshazards to negotiate on the steeper descents.On very cold days, if the cars moved down hilltoo fast, the sand-spreading mechanism wouldnot work and the cars would slide quitealarmingly. "I remember one very cold winter'sday I was in a streetcar when it started slidingon the rails down Lansdowne Avenue. It wasn'tTouring car c. 1911. People riding in the car were much on view.able to make the turn east but continued, offthe rails, and shot straight across the road,entering the living room of the house on thesouthwest corner, to the great surprise of agroup of ladies who were seated having tea."The first private motorcars began toappear. "I remember the first car I ever saw,around 1910. It was what they called a'touring' car with a canvas roof which couldbe folded down. The running boards alongthe sides were quite high off the ground sothat people sitting in the car, which was asparkling green colour, were very much onview, rather like royalty. They waved to us andwe waved back."A View of Their OwnCommercial activity was also increasing,particularly in the west end, promoted as "thecoming business thoroughfare." It was hereWilliam Biltcliffe chose to build Westmount'sfirst department store, at the corner ofSomerville and Victoria Avenues. Biltcliffe hadbeen in the grocery business in Montreal since1893 but, as a strong Temperance advocate, hehad refused to handle liquor sales and decidedto move to Westmount where such saleswere prohibited by law. He enlarged hismerchandise to include hardware,crockery and kitchen tools and offset theexpenses of his large premises by leasingthe whole of the top floor to a badmintonclub.Outstanding among Westmount's commercialventures was the saga of DentHarrison's Bakery. Harrison was anengineer who had been raised by an auntand uncle who ran a successful bakery inYorkshire, England. In Montreal, youngDent encountered a nostalgia amongimmigrants like himself for the foods theyremembered and missed from "home."One of these foods was crumpets, apopular product in his uncle's bakery.Sensing a market opening, Dent Harrisonleft for England, learned the business andreturned to start up in the bakery business witha three-jet hotplate and Uncle Henry's crumpetrecipe. Together with a friend, Thomas Allât,he set up in Point St. Charles, mixing andbaking the crumpets - - which they named"Creampets" - at night and peddling themdoor to door by day.The product was an instant success.Moving to bigger premises in Westmount,Harrison drew on his engineering backgroundto adapt industrial machinery to his bakingneeds. His daughter recalled, "My father was

72surrounding area developed, so a new jump wasconstructed on the north side of the mountain,where no residential building was planned.Riding was another popular sport.Residents could stable their horses locally atCollyer and Hummel's Livery Stables, and ridingclasses were available at the Mount Royal RidingAcademy on Hillside Avenue, advertised as "thelargest and best ring in Canada."Sports were also prominent in theprogramme of Westmount's newly openedYMCA, on Sherbrooke Street across from thelibrary. Founded in London in 1844 by 22-yearold George Williams, the YMCA aimed atproviding physical recreation and spiritualcomfort to young men, like himself, comingfrom small country communities to live andwork in big cities. The message spread withamazing speed and only seven years later thefirst YMCA in North America opened inMontreal.The Westmount branch opened in 1912.Designed with a handsome neo-classicalfaçade, its interior opened into a comfortablereception area where a welcoming fire glowedin the large fireplace. Facilities included a gym,swimming pool and billiard room. Men'sdormitories were on the upper floor, togetherwith a lunch room for boarders.None of these facilities, however, wasavailable anywhere in the municipality onSundays. To the dismay of many, butparticularly the French, recreation of even themost passive kind was frowned on. As oneFrench resident vividly recalled, "Oh! theEnglish Sunday! Nothing to do but twiddleyour thumbs. One Sunday my mother boughtme an ice cream cone. It was from a shop called'Diana Sweets,' run by a Greek family. As Ibegan to eat it a woman stopped me and saidA View of Their Own'Aren't you ashamed of yourself, eating an icecream cone on Sunday!"'This sober aspect of Westmount lifecontributed to its image as something of anoddity among municipalities. Adjacent to thegreat metropolis of Montreal with which it wasclosely linked on many levels — work,transport, services — it neverthelessmaintained a distinct personality of its own,quite different from Montreal's reputation asthe liveliest city in Canada.Westmount's city council had for some timebeen dominated by Protestants whose outlookhad stamped the community with a certainpattern of morality. These men favoured stricttemperance laws and a rigid standard ofdecorum. Bylaw No. 196, passed in 1909,stated firmly that: "All gambling houses,bawdy houses, houses of ill-fame and housesof assignation are hereby prohibited andforbidden. Also every description of gaming,cards, dice, cock-fighting or dog-fighting."It also imposed speed limits. "No personshall ride or drive faster than at an ordinarytrot."In 1910, Mayor Rutherford in his inauguraladdress emphasised that Westmount was a"dry" municipality. "Any alderman who woulddare to ask for the granting of a licence inWestmount would only have to wait until thenext election to be asked to retire."This attitude was supported and reinforcedby businessmen, such as J.A. Patterson, whostrongly urged there should be no places ofentertainment in the district because "anythingthat tends to lower the moral standards of acommunity is a menace to success. If you havea theatre the money will go to it and not intobusiness."

The City of WestmountTemple Emanu-El. 1911, a favourite subject on postcards of Montreal.Still another aspect of the city's image wasthat of an island of middle class prosperity —homogenous, English-speaking and Protestant.The reality was more complex.French-speaking families with names suchas Hurtubise, Decary and St. Germain,continued to provide a continuity with thedistrict's earliest recorded history, while theirimpressive parish church, St. Leon's, servedan active and expanding congregation.Westmount's Jewish community, present insmall numbers since the 1840s, established itsfirst synagogue in Westmount early in the 20thDoorway detail, Temple Emanu-El.century. Named TempleEmanu-El, this was themother congregation ofliberal Judaism in Canada.The pioneer founders of thisrelatively new division ofJudaism included theindustrialist Sir MortimerDavis and the artist WilliamRaphael, one of the foundingmembers of the RoyalCanadian Academy of Arts.Temple Emanu-El wasdedicated in 1911, and itsimpressive Byzantine formbecame one of Montreal'sbest-known buildings,reproduced many times overon postcards and in illustrated books of the city.The Protestant community continued todiversify, with groups merging, moving,expanding or establishing a new presence here.In 1911, the Bethlehem Congregational Churchwas joined by a downtown group from CalvaryChurch, whose building had been expropriatedby the Canadian Pacific Railway Company.The combined membership soon outgrew itssite at the corner of Clarke and Westernavenues, and moved to larger premises atGreene and Dorchester avenues. The churchthey vacated was taken over by a Lutherancongregation, who renamed the building"Church of the Redeemer."Another newcomer was the First Churchof Christ Scientist which held services andBible classes in rented rooms in Victoria Hall.Later it moved to its own premises onLansdowne Avenue, where it still stands.The earliest Presbyterian congregation, thatof St. Andrew's on Côte St. Antoine, wasflourishing. Less than a decade after the defection73

The City of Westmount 75Along with its diverse religious beliefs, thebackground of Westmount's populationcovered a broad range of occupations, mostlywhite collar. There were railway employees,clerks and sales personnel, shopkeepers andsmall merchants, young professionals, lawyersand doctors, as well as many artists and writers.A very small number belonged to the reallywealthy class of top executives in the greatrailway, shipping, banking and commercialenterprises which were making Montreal thecommunications and financial hub of Canada.But for the most part, families in this higheconomic bracket lived within Montreal's"Square Mile" on the slopes of Mount Royal.the classic fairy tales which we loved, butadventure stories by newer authors such asAndrew Lang."Other municipal projects included FireStation No. 2, built on The Boulevard atVictoria, to respond to emergencies at the upperlevel. It was an elegant structure which, by thetime it opened for service in 1912, hadexceeded its original estimate of $26,000 threetimes over. Because of its striking design andcomparative isolation, the station had apersonality all its own. One firemancommented many years later that "it was ourhouse on the hill, our big family home. It had adifferent feeling from No. 1 Station which wasCity hall was busy with severalnew projects. Purse strings hadloosened considerably since thedays when the library's buildingcosts had been so minutelyscrutinised. Nevertheless, it tookChief Librarian Mary Saxe tenlong years to persuade the LibraryCommittee to add a Childrens'Room which, at her insistance, was"not in the basement, not in theattic, but in a wing, with a separateentrance, separate hours and itsown Librarian."The new room was a successfrom the day it opened in 1911. It was a wellproportionedspace with an attractive fireplace,faced with brightly coloured tiles of charactersfrom "Alice in Wonderland." The children'sprogram was very popular. "Story time in theChildrens' Room took precedence for us overevery other activity," remembers LawrenceLande. "Miss Jenkins, aunt of KatherineJenkins, who was to follow Mary Saxe as chieflibrarian in the Thirties, read to us. Not onlyFire Station No. 2, opened 1912. "It was our house on the hill,our big family home. It had a different feeling from No. 1 station. "more like a place of business. At one time wehad window boxes with flowers at everywindow and it was the junior man's job to waterthem every day."The horse-drawn fire wagons providedmoments of high drama. The ladder truck hadsix horses and the following wagon two horses.They went very fast when summoned to a fireand after Fire Station No. 2 was built, one ofthe big thrills for children living in that part of

76A View of Their Ownthe name of each horse."Another well-designedpublic building was the newpost office. A long time in theplanning, it finally opened in1914 on a corner lot at Greeneand Western avenues. Built ata cost of $70,000, it was verygrand indeed, a neo-Baroqueedifice topped by a centralcopper dome, with columnedand pedimented façades oneach of its two wings. A farcry from the village-styleoperation on St. CatherineStreet.Westmount Post Office. Opened 1914. A far cryfrom theWestmount Park was landscapedin 1908, the year thevillage-style operation on St. Catherine Street.town was to see the fire wagons thunder along municipality became a city. The forest of treesThe Boulevard, alarms ringing and the horses was thinned and a pond for sailing toy boatsgalloping along. "On sleighs in winter it was filled one corner on Sherbrooke Street. Regulareven more exciting and by the time they dashed band concerts in the park proved so popularpast the corner of our street they had reached that a special bandstand was built.what seemed like highly dangerous speeds. But An unusual addition to the park were twoon the daily exercise for the horses the firemen cannon, installed by the Westmount Lodgewould stop and talk to us children and tell us Sons of England. The cannon were identified,from their markings, as having been forged in1810, during the reign of George III. They werequickly commandeered as climbing apparatusby young children and as a background settingfor photographs in the park.Victoria Hall was in constant use, producinga modest revenue for the city. There wereseveral dance classes, considered a necessarysocial skill for young boys and girls. An adultwho attended these classes as a boy recalled,"It was all right when we learned to dance thehornpipe or some of the reels, but it was agonywhen we were supposed to cross the floor andCanon donated by 'Sons of England'. Popular photo backdrop, ask a girl to dance. We often tried to sneak aw

The City of Westmount 77to watch the men in the bowlingalley in the basement."Dances for adults, however,were very popular.There was a particularly largeturnout after an announcementin the local paper that,in the following month ofMarch (1912), "ProfessorFrank Norman of StanleyHall, Montreal, has beenprevailed upon to hold one ofhis popular Dancing Assemblies.He will bring the fullStanley orchestra with himand will also have the floorpolished with his famousRoller Wax."The image of young couples gliding acrossa dance floor gleaming with unaccustomedbrilliance may have alarmed an ever vigilantcouncil, since the necessary permit was issuedwith a stern caution that read, "There is a strongpublic opinion against certain dances now invogue, and if the officers now in charge ofentertainments do not see that such objectionabledancing is eliminated the permissionwill be cancelled."A few community projects remainedunrealised. One proposal, for a zoo, got off toa tentative start with the purchase of sevenfoxes "at a cost not to exceed fifty dollars, tobe placed in the park with provision made fortheir proper care and habitation." A residentdonated two young bears to what it was hoped"might be the nucleus of a Zoological Garden."And there was a further offer — not accepted— of a jaguar. But the project quietlylanguished, the animals were handed over tooutside keepers and the zoo never materialised.Westmount Park was landscaped. The pond was one ofthe new additions. 1908.Another failed project proved to beWestmount's loss and Montreal's gain. In 1909,a newspaper announcement read: "Council isconsidering a proposal to erect a Museum.Generous support is promised by Mr. DavidRoss McCord, K.C., well-known antiquarianwhose collection of historic relics is the bestand most complete on the continent." No furthernews items relating to the scheme are to be foundand McCord's collection later formed the basisof the McCord Museum in Montreal.\fetmou niNotice of a possible museum for Westmount. 1909.

78Cartoon, 1909, showing Westmount beingpursued by the 'villain' Montreal.Meanwhile, the pressures on Westmount toaccede to annexation by the metropolis werevery strong, as a cartoon of 1909 demonstrated.The incumbent mayor, William HenryTrenholme — the first to be elected in place ofbeing appointed by council — led the fightagainst the merger with Montreal. He hadvigorous backing from the local residents. Onecitizen, speaking at a public meeting, made hisprotest clear despite rather muddling hismetaphors."Don't go like a poor inoffensive sheep tothe slaughter with simply a Baaa," hedemanded. "Westmount, by being pirated intothe octopus Montreal, would be sucked dry asa bone in three years to swell the corporationbelly of that city."It was a sentiment overwhelminglyendorsed by other residents. Council minutesof 1910 record that "Westmount cannot, in viewof the unanimous opposition of its citizens tosuch a project, become a party to anynegotiations tending to such annexation." Theyadded, somewhat piously, that "Westmount isfirm in this matter not because of the possibilityA View of Their Ownof increased taxes but against the spread ofdecadent morals."It was these same sober councillors, shrewdand watchful, who guided the municipality'sfinancial affairs to the point where, in its firstyear as a city, Westmount was able to declareitself free of debt. Most other smallmunicipalities could not manage to achievesuch financial independence and, as a result,were annexed by Montreal.At the eastern end of Montreal, there wasthe sobering case of the town of Maisonneuve.This prosperous community had had ambitiousplans to create a "City Beautiful" At the turnof the century it billed itself as the "Westmountof the East" because of its pure air, healthyenvironment and good urban services. It hadalso managed to attract a broad range ofindustries, earning itself the title "Pittsburghof Canada," It had grown to be the third largestcity in Quebec, and its streets were graced withfine homes, stately boulevards and superbpublic buildings, garnering still another title asthe "Athens of Montreal." But in spite of theaccolades, Maisonneuve was unable to surviveas an independent community.When it became clear Notre-Dame-de-Grâce was in grave financial troubleWestmount's council, armed with its new citypowers, hastily debated the possibility ofannexing its neighbour. But the offer, when itwas finally made, came too late and in 1910Nôtre-Dame-de-Grâce became part of the cityof Montreal.It was W.D. Lighthall who helped providethe foundation on which Westmount and othersmall communities could build with somemeasure of security. He saw clearly thedirection in which society was moving in thisnew century. "The old order is changing," he

The City of Westmountwrote. "The little shop is being displaced bythe immense departmental store; private worksare giving place to great trusts; clusters ofvillage communities are being incorporatedinto greater cities."Some form of united action was needed,Lighthall argued, to protect the interests ofmunicipalities against the encroachments ofcentral governments or big corporations.Through his efforts a conference was held inDecember of 1910, "between representativesof the City of Montreal and of the othermunicipalities on the island of Montreal, forthe purpose of discussing the desirability of aunion or federation of the differentmunicipalities in a manner which will reserveto each the right of self government regardinglocal matters and affairs."From this and subsequent meetings, thereemerged the Union of Canadian Municipalities,through which small communities coulddiscuss common problems, and preparedefences against those forces eager to deprivethem of their independence.Meanwhile, the Westmount ProtestantSchool Board maintained a close watch on themunicipality's educational needs. King's,Queen's and Roslyn elementary schools wererapidly approaching capacity, but WestmountAcademy, the district's only high school, wasalready overextended.79Meeting, Union of Caiiadicm Municipalities. W.D. Lightliall, co-founder of the Union is seated second row, third from right.

80A View of Their OwnWestnwunt High School. Opened 1914. Extensions were added to right and left in 1929cmd 1931.A new high school, built at a cost of $500,000opened in 1914. It accommodated 1,200 -1,500students from grades seven to eleven — twicethe capacity of the old Academy.The year the high school opened,Westmount Academy sent its last class ofgraduates to sit for McGill University's entranceexamination, and then began a new lifeas Argyle School, handling primary andintermediate grades.One of the last graduating classes of Westmount Academy.At the same time, Westmount's city councilbegan renewed discussions on the need for acity hall building, separate from the fire hosesand ladders, policemen's equipment, andhorses' stables, all of which shared premisesin the old Stanton Street school.It was decided to hold a competition. Onlyarchitects from the island of Montreal wouldbe eligible. The jury was to consist of onearchitect, F.S. Baker, from Toronto, the mayorof Westmount, two or three councillors,and the city manager — a newposition in the city administration andan innovation in municipal affairs inCanada. A first prize of $750 wasoffered, with three follow-up prizes of$200 each.But such plans for the future wereovertaken by events beyond localcontrol. It was the late summer of1914. War was declared in Europe andfor the moment all plans, includingthose for a new city hall, were placedon hold.

81World War IThe Great WarIn August 1914, when war was declaredbetween Germany and a coalition of Alliesincluding Great Britain, a bitter debate eruptedin the province of Quebec. Canada, as part ofthe British Empire was inevitably involved inthe conflict, but many French-Canadians wereadamantly opposed to taking part in a Europeanwar. Even though France was the mainbattlefield the French people had little hold overthe sentiments of French-speaking Canadians,who had been forgotten and abandoned byFrance in the crucial early years of NouvelleFrance.At first, the Canadian government's callwas for volunteers only to join the Allied forcesin Europe, but as the war dragged on into itsthird year and the terrible toll of casualtiescontinued to climb, a Conscription Bill wasabruptly passed through Parliament, generatingfierce acrimony and antagonism betweenfactions for and against the bill.In Westmount, the question was neverseriously at issue. With its large Britishcomponent, Westmount staunchly supportedthe Allied cause. In the following monthsWestmount was reputed to have the highest percapita enrolment of combat forces of anycommunity of comparable size in Canada.Within days of the declaration of war onSeptember 3, 1914, Mayor John McKergowpresided at a meeting in Victoria Hall, initiatedby a group from the Westmount YMCA, forthe purpose of creating a "Westmount RifleBrigade."Fifty-one volunteers signed up that nightand Lt.-Col. Frank Fisher accepted a requestto head the unit. On November 2, 1914, theDepartment of National Defence designated the58th Westmount Rifles as a militia regimentavailable for home service.By now the ranks had swelled to severalhundred, including an enthusiastic older groupwho constituted a Home Guard. The men wereseen drilling every Saturday on the open groundin front of the new high school, or on landabove Westmount Avenue. Rifle practice washeld in the Victoria Hall bowling alley, "on thestrict understanding," warned the mayor, "thatno liquor be served or consumed on thepremises."Locations throughout the district werecommandeered for military use. The 21stWestmount Field Artillery began drillingseveral times a week at the Mount Royal RidingAcademy and the riding ring was used once aweek by a mounted unit, Westmount Squadron,the 13th Scottish Light Dragoons.As the war progressed, the MAAA placedits entire grounds and facilities at the disposalof the military, and its new clubhouse wasconverted into a convalescent home forreturning invalided soldiers.In the meantime, three units from Montrealmilitia regiments, which included a number ofWestmounters — the 1st Regiment CanadianGrenadier Guards, the 3rd Victoria Rifles ofCanada and the 65th Carabinières de MontRoyal — merged under a new name, the Royal

82A View of Their OwnVolunteers drilling above Westnwunt Avenue, circa 1915.Montreal Regiment, which was authorized foroverseas service as 14th Battalion, CanadianExpeditionary Force.The 14th Battalion,under the command ofColonel R.E.W. Turner,a veteran of the BoerWar, found itself placedin the 3rd CanadianInfantry Brigade. ThisRegimental badge: RoyalMontreal Regiment.brigade included astrong contingent ofkilted Scottish-Canadiantroops. In view of this impressive Scottishpresence it was suggested the newly arrived14th Battalion should don kilts. However, theprospect of Grenadiers, Carabinières andRiflemen in kilts proved too unorthodox tocontemplate and the project was quietlyabandoned.The 14th Battalion went on to earn the firstDistinguished Conduct Medal in the CanadianDivision, and emerged at the end of the war with373 decorations including two Victoria Crosses.One of the Westmounters who was awardedthe VC posthumously was Lance-CorporalFred Fisher, killed in action on April 23rd 1915.Fisher was a graduate of Westmount Academywhere he had been a leading figure in sports.A captain of the football team and winner ofthe Principal's Cup in Athletics in 1911, he hadhelped organise the school's athleticassociation. He enlisted in 1914 at the age of19 and was killed in action the following year.The citation in the London Gazette, June 22,1915, read in part, "On April 23rd 1915, in theneighbourhood of St. Julien, he went forwardwith the machine gun of which he was incharge, under heavy fire, and most gallantlyassisted in covering the retreat of a battalion.Later he was himself killed while bringing hismachine gun into action under very heavy fire,in order to cover the advance of supports."By the end of the first year of the war, the58th Westmount Rifles, growing impatient withhome service duty and giving military band

World War I The Great War 83concerts in the park, wereagitating to see serviceoverseas. A few months later,Colonel Fisher was givenpermission to organise thebattalion for active servicerenamed the 23rd WestmountBattalion, Canadian ExpeditionaryForce. Before leavingfor overseas, it paradedfor inspection by the Governor-Generalof Canada, theDuke of Connaught.Women became involvedfrom the first weeks of thewar. They raised funds, rolledbandages, collected clothesand nursed returningconvalescent soldiers. Theyalso served overseas. AliceLighthall, one of several Westmount womenwho trained for nursingduties, served on theEuropean front, nearRouen, from 1916-18.On the domestic level,homeowners noticed achange in their heatingfuel. "During the war weno longer got coal fromAlice Lighthall servedfor two years as a nursein Europe.Members, 3rd Canadian Infantry Brigade: Lt. Col. Dick Worrall, 14th Battalion,R..M.R, Lt. Col. Charles Bent, 15Battalion, 48thHighlanders, Lt. Col. Cy Peck, V.C.,16th Battalion, Canadian Scottisli, Lt. Col. Ken Pern; 13th Battalion Black Watch.Wales. It came now fromPennsylvannia. It wasdifferent and formedclinkers. It seemed to give less heat and thefurnace had to be cleaned out once a week."In 1916 a new girls' school, founded byMiss Amy Stone, was opened in an apartmentat the corner of Greene and Sherbrooke. Theschool was relocated several times as theenrolment grew, finally settling at 18 SevernAvenue on the old Rosemount estate.In other developments fire destroyed alandmark buildingwhen the Arena, alarge, interior exhibitionhall on St. CatherineStreet west ofAtwater, scene ofmany horse shows,Christmas pageantsand bazaars, wasswallowed up in ahuge conflagration."The fire went on forhours and the firemenbecame exhausted.We lived nearby andmy mother sent overjugs of coffee andplates of cookieswhich were greatlyappreciated."Lance-CorporalFrederick Fisher, V.C.A graduate of WestmountHigh. Vie V.C. wasawarded posthumously.

84January 1919. HRH Prince Arthur of Connaught presented theRMR with its first set of colours at UnterEschbach, Germany.Mid-way through the war, in October 1916,there was a sudden, alarming outbreak of infantileparalysis (polio) in the country. Westmount'shealth report for the year recorded "14undoubted cases, 6 suspicious ones and 5deaths."One resident remembers, "A girl I knew,Betty Davidson, was diagnosed as a poliopatient and was given up by her doctors. ThenHazel Moore, a physical education specialistwho taught in all the Westmount schools,helped her with a programme of exercise andswimming. Betty made a complete recovery andwas able to go on to hold a responsible positionat the Royal Victoria Hospital for many years."The polio outbreak subsided but wasfollowed in the fall of 1917 by an epidemic ofa virulent strain of influenza. The health reportrecorded 1,130 cases that year, some of themA View of Their Ownswept over the city muchthe same as in other citiesresulting in 31 deaths inthe month of October.Extreme measures weretaken to prevent thespread of infection suchas the closing of schools,churches and public assemblies.""We would see thesteady stream of hearseswinding up Côte desNeiges Road to thecemeteries on MountRoyal. The hearses forchildren stood out. Theywere white and drawn byponies." The flu epidemiclasted for severalmonths but the yearswhen "catching" illnesses was widespreadcontinued for a long time. "In those days ifanyone in your house had such an illness youput a bright red sign on your door, and if youwere out walking and saw such a sign youcrossed the street so as not to pass the house."On one occasion King's School was closeddown for a week because of five cases of scarletfever.There was a footnote to the terrible humanlosses reported weekly from the war front. Anitem in the local paper read, "We shall missnext spring the usual beautiful beds of tulips,as the shipment of bulbs from Holland wastorpedoed on the way."The war ended in 1918. The followingJanuary, HRH Prince Arthur of Connaught, sonof the former Governor-General of Canada,diagnosed as the Spanish Flu - "This scourge presented the Royal Montreal Regiment with

World War I The Great Warits first set of colours, at UnterEsbach, Germany.It was the first time such a presentationhad taken place on foreign soil following avictorious campaign. The colours were donatedby Mrs. E.A. Whitehead, whose two sons hadserved with the regiment. One son, CaptainE.A. Whitehead, was killed in action in June1916.The 23rd Battalion, which had made thetransition to an active unit from the old 58thWestmount Rifles, returned home to a hero'swelcome and set up its mess quarters overBrook's pharmacy on Greene Avenue.The Royal Montreal Regiment also returned toan emotional homecoming. Marching at the head ofthe parade was Lt.-Col. Dick Worrall, DSC, MC,with Major C.B. Price, DSO, DCM, second incommand, bringing up the rear.The regiment was reduced in numbers butgreatly strengthened in its sense of comradeship.It had participated as a unit in 12 majorbattles, received 281 decorations including twoVCs, and 12 decorations from France, Belgiumand Russia. Members of the RMR serving inother units had received a further 51 decorations.The war was over and the time had comefor the sad tally of faces missing from thefamily tables. Plaques appeared on high schoolwalls, in churches, synagogues and clubhouses,listing the names of those who had served andthose who had died. It was part of a worldwidelament for a generation decimated by a war ofunprecedented destruction.At Westmount High, a bronze tablet wasunveiled on November 11,1921, by Sir ArthurCurrie, Commander of the Canadian forces inFrance, On two side panels were listed the 384names of those who had served overseas. Thecentre panel held the 58 names of those whohad not returned.85Homecoming of 14 th Battalion, Royal Montreal Regiment. Lt. Col. Dick Worral in the lead. April 1919.

86A View of Their OwnLeft: Westmount WarMemorial. George Hillsclpt. 1922Below: Plaster casts of marblereliefs stwwing two aspects ofwomen in wartime.

10The TwentiesCanada suffered tragic human losses in thewar but its territory remained intact and thecountry as a whole emerged economicallyhealthy in the post-war years. Europe bycontrast was devastated, crippled both by theloss of huge numbers of its young men andwomen and by a shattered economy.A steady stream of emigrants began toleave Europe seeking opportunities elsewhere.The Canadian government specificallyencouraged immigration from Britain andmany of those who responded settled inMontreal, several in Westmount.The newcomers brought traditions andpreferences which reinforced an existingBritish presence. Plum puddings, oat cakes,teas, and jams from Britain soon covered thegrocery store shelves. Clothing, music andentertainment from Britain were all in demandHRH the Prince of Wales during a brief stop inWestmount,] 919.and there developed an emphasis on observingcelebrations connected with the British Crown.In Westmount schools British history andcustoms occupied a larger part of thecurriculum than those of Canada.When the young Prince of Wales, on a visitto Montreal in 1919, made a brief appearancein Westmount, he received an emotionalwelcome. "We lived on Roslyn Avenue," oneresident recalled. "I remember hearing talk thatthe Prince was going to be driving by. All of usran to Sherbrooke Street to see him pass. I recallhow young and handsome he looked, with thesun glinting on his golden hair."The demand for new building, pent upthrough the war years, was released in the wakeof peace. Streets were filling up with terraces,apartment blocks, detached and semi-detachedhousing.One of the first post-war municipal projectswas a war memorial designed by George Hill,sculptor of two major Montreal monuments,the Boer War memorial on Dominion Squareand the George-Etienne Cartier monument onMount Royal. Its cornerstone was laid inNovember 1920 and the memorial wasunveiled two years later. Hill's striking designincluded two bronze figures, a 12-foot highsoldier and guardian angel, and marble reliefson two sides of the high plinth.In 1920, an armoury association began toplan for the financing and building of apermanent home for the Royal MontrealRegiment. Plans started to take shape when the87

88Westmount Armoury. The only municipally fundedArmoury in Canada Opened 1925.City of Westmount leased a parcel of land onSt. Catherine Street to the armoury for 99 yearsfor $1.00. Westmount architects Ross andMacfarlane designed the building which wasto cost an estimated $180,000.Events now moved rapidly. Financing wasobtained from a mixture of private and publicsources. The first sod was turned on June 1,1925, and the building was completed withinsix months. There was justifiable pride at theoutcome that established the only municipallyfundedarmoury in Canada. A formal openingfollowed on December 28, 1925, in thepresence of the Honorable E.M. Macdonald,of the Canadian Ministry of National Defence.The ceremony was simple, a salute to thecolours and a religious dedication. It wasclimaxed by a militaryball which became a wellattendedannual socialevent for many years.In the same yearthat the war memorialwas unveiled, the cornerstonewas finally laidfor Westmount's CityDoorway, City Hall. Hall.A View of Their OwnRobert Findlay, architect of the libraryand Victoria Hall, the city hall was builtin the style of English medieval manors,reflecting the strong British influence inWestmount at the time. Findlay's finesense of craftmanship and design, and hiscareful financial management, made thebuilding an aesthetic and a financialsuccess at a cost of less than $150,000.One year after these new landmarksappeared, an older one vanished. In 1924,Victoria Hall burned to the ground in a massof flames, watched with fascinated horrorby crowds of residents. Many of them, thoughvery young at the time, remember it vividly. "Itwas frightening and yet so spectacular. Everyonecame running out of their houses to watch."Victoria Hall was so important to thecommunity that plans to rebuild wereannounced immediately. One year later, onJune 24, 1925, a new Victoria Hall opened itsdoors, with the Governor-General, Lord Byngof Vimy, leading the distinguished guests.Although the building was admired, itsrelationship with the community had altered.Outwardly its design was entirely new, the styleand materials resembling the new city hallfarther along Sherbrooke Street rather than theadjacent library.Designed by Westmount City Hall, designed by Robert Findlay and his son Frank.

The Twenties 89Victoria Hall after thespectacular fire whichdestroyed tlie buildingin 1924.Opening of the new VictoriaHall, with Lord and LadyByng as guests of honour.

90A View of Their OwnInside the Palm House the mostpopular section was this roomwith its pond of goldfish and acharming statue.In the twenties Victoria Hallprovided a fine setting forthe annual flower shows.

The Twenties 91Conservatory created a visual link with the Library and Victoria Hall.Inside, the range of facilities was scaleddown, changes which were inevitable in viewof the new resources established since the timeof Victoria Hall's opening in 1899. There wasno swimming pool, since one was availableacross the street at the YMCA. And the militaryunits which had drilled and exercised in thehall now had their own quarters in the newarmoury. Classes, performances and meetingsof all kinds continued in the new building, butthe central role Victoria Hall had played in thelife of the communitywas diminished.In 1927, a newbuilding appearedbetween VictoriaHall and the library,visually linking the two. This was agraceful conservatory comprising apalm house of moderately loftyproportions, backed by extensivegreenhouses in which bedding plantswere nurtured to be set out around thecity's open spaces in the spring.From its first year of operation thegreenhouse produced elaborate floralexhibitions that were at first held inVictoria Hall, and later in the palmhouse. These developed into a popularannual event with displays in the springand fall which continue to this day..Plants from the greenhouse alsowent into the making of an unusualnovelty. This was a floral clock, placed nearthe sidewalk on Sherbrooke Street. It was theonly one of its kind at the time in Canada andbecame a popular tourist attraction. A letter tothe local paper, signed by "a Traveller," statedthat, "Although I have travelled extensively inCanada and the U.S. east of the Mississippi,and in Great Britain and Europe, I have notseen on this continent or in Europe anythinglike the Westmount floral timepiece."The Floral Clock, theonly one of its kind inCanada at the time.

92Other new public buildingshelped define Westmount'seastern and western borders. Tothe east was the Mechanics'Institute, now known as theAtwater Library. The institute,originally established inMontreal, was a branch of amovement in Britain dedicated"to make the man a bettermechanic and the mechanic abetter man." From the time itopened its doors in the heart ofOld Montreal it had welcomeda stream of distinguishedvisitors who gave readings, lectured and leddiscussions on current affairs. Once moved toAtwater Avenue, it concentrated on providinggeneral library facilities, rare in Montreal.Two blocks away from the Atwater Librarywas Westmount's only hospital. Founded in1871 in Montreal as "The Woman's Hospital,"it had served as practical training ground formedical students in obstetrics and gynaecology.In 1886, Dr. Herbert L. Reddy becamephysician-in-charge. At this time, nursing as aprofession was struggling to establish itself, butwith the young doctor's enthusiastic support,The Institut Pédagogique' offered excellent courses andwas housed in a fine classical award-winning building.Atwater Library, formerly the 'Mechanics Institute ' of Montreal.A View of Their Ownthe hospital succeeded in breaking new groundin the treatment and nursing care of womenpatients.The hospital's policy was that "no woman,poverty stricken or otherwise, was ever turnedaway while there was an empty bed." Standardswere high; in 1899 it was considered "thelargest and best equipped obstetrical hospitaleast of Toronto."In 1927, the hospital moved to TupperStreet, within Westmount's borders. Serviceswere expanded to include male patients and abroader spectrum of treatments. When he diedin 1936, Dr. Reddy had given 50 years of hisprofessional life to the service of thisinstitution. Later, the hospital's name waschanged to the Reddy Memorial Hospital.Marking the district's western border onWestmount Avenue, was the InstitutPédagogique Teachers' Collegeadministered by the Congrégation de NotreDame. Designed by Orner Marchand, itoccupied a city block and won a silver medalfor its architect in a Paris competition in 1925.The Institut also functioned as a collégialschool, equivalent to a private junior college,

The Twenties 93offering pre-university general courses. Inaddition to the formal curriculum the Sistersgave classes in cooking and sewing open tothe general public. "Like everything theCongrégation supervised these classes were ona very high level," commented one formerstudent. "They were very popular, especiallywith brides-to-be and young homemakers."CONGREGATION SHAAR HASHOMAYIMA 1846-1946 AV (J 607- 5 707) yQ) ©Shaar Hashamayim Synagogue, opened 1922. Homeof the second oldest Jewish congregation in Montreal.The religious profile of the municipalitywas considerably altered in the 1920s. As theCity Hall was being built a new congregationarrived from downtown Montreal to take upresidence nearby, forming, with St. Matthias'and St. Andrew's, a triangle of houses ofworship of three denominations. The latestarrival was the Shaar Hashamayim (Gates ofHeaven) synagogue. This was the second oldestJewish congregation in Montreal; the oldestbeing the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue,founded in 1768.The "Shaar," as it was popularly known,was founded in 1846 as the "Congregation ofEnglish German and Polish Jews," but changedits name in 1918 after moving into newpremises on McGill College Avenue. When thisarea grew crowded with commercialdevelopment, the search began for a move to amore residential district. The synagogue,which opened for worship in 1922, was a wellproportioneddesign marked by the domes ofmiddle eastern architecture combined withother symbolic forms and classical details.The rabbi who guided the congregationthrough these years of change was HermanAbramowitz. The Shaar was RabbiAbramowitz's first and only ministry. DuringWorld War II he was appointed chaplain to theJewish servicemen in the Canadian army andcontinued to serve hiscommunity until the yearbefore his death in 1947.Among Protestantcongregations dramaticchanges were under way.In 1925, Methodists,Congregationalists andPresbyterians were giventhe option to join together Rabbi Abramowitz.in a "United Church ofat the 'Shaar' for45 yearsCanada." Some Westmountchurches chose to join the Union, othersopted to retain their independence.Presbyterians from Melville in favour ofunion transferred their allegiance to theMethodists at Westmount Park church. Theresult was an enlarged congregation which wasable to afford to replace its old building with agraceful Gothic structure on the same site. Thechurch interior was greatly enhanced with someof the finest stained glass windows in the city,designed by a Westmount artist, CharlesKelsey.

94A View of Their OwnWestmount Park United Church at deMaisonneuve and Lamdowne Avenue.In 1925, the Dominion Methodists, whohad worshipped in a modest hall on TheBoulevard since 1913, were joined by anotherMethodist group from Montreal's DouglasChurch. In 1927, the joint congregations builtthe new Dominion-Douglas United church, astriking Gothic revival building high on thehillside between Roslyn and LansdowneAvenues.Four years later a new minister, the Rev.Dr. Alfred Lloyd Smith was inducted andremained to serve Dominion-Douglas for 28years. Df. Smith guided the church through thedifficult years of the Depression and World WarII. It was duringhis ministrythat Dominion-Douglas Churchbecame knownas one of thegreat UnitedChurchcongregationsin the region.Rev. Alfred Lloyd Smith ofDominion-Douglas ChurchDominion-Douglas United Church.A strikingly beautiful Gothic Revival building.Dr. Smith was a great preacher, able tocommunicate his total commitment to the faithto every parishioner. "He had the ability," wroteone member, "to gather strength from themountain top and interpret it for themarketplace." During World War II, Dr. Smithundertook to write once a month to everyservice man and woman of his parish servingoverseas. One recipient remembered, "Oftenthe letter from Dr. Smith was the only mailmany of us ever received while we were away.None of us ever forgot that."There were other developments indenominations outside the United Church. OneinvolvedWestmount'sBaptists, whoplanned to movetheir modestbrick home onWestern Avenueto larger premiseson Sherbrookek Street.Canon Gilbert Oliver. At St. MatthiasChurch the congregation quadrupled

The Twenties 95Turning the first sod for a new Baptist church. David Lloyd George was the honoured visitor.The first sod was turned in 1923, in a highlypublicised ceremony attended by the Rt. Hon.David Lloyd George, Britain's charismatic andcontroversial prime minister — and an ardentBaptist — who was visiting Montreal at theinvitation of the Welsh Society. Lloyd Georgehad led his country through the last two yearsof the Great War and had gone on to lead theBritish delegation to the Peace Conference in1919. But three years later, unable to hold avolatile coalition of forces together, he hadresigned as head of government.Lloyd George, a striking figure familiarfrom a thousand newspaper photographs, madea dramatic addition to the assembly ofdignitaries. A great speaker, he thrilled anaudience that had patiently sat through tediouspreliminaries in order to hear him.At St. Matthias' Anglican Church anotheroutstanding religious leader arrived in 1927 tobecome rector there. Canon Gilbert Oliverserved at St. Matthias for the next 28 yearsduring which time the congregation quadrupledin number.

96St. Léon s Church. Both exterior and interiorwere dramatically changed.His active social work took him beyond thechurch into many fields including service asProtestant chaplain at St. Vincent de Paulpenitentiary, and Protestant chaplain to theQuebec Society for Crippled Children. Heserved in both World Wars, earning a MilitaryCross in World War I and serving as squadronleader and command chaplain of #3 TrainingCommand in World War II.Another transition was taking place at St.Leon's, where Abbé Gauthier had launched anambitious programme. The façade of thechurch, which since 1901 had been left in atemporary state, was transformed to include acampanile and narthex in the Tuscan tradition.There followed a grand design for thechurch interior, financed it was said, from AbbéGauthier's private fortune. Guido Nincheri, anItalian artist from Prato, on the outskirts ofA View of Their OwnFlorence, was at work on several churches inMontreal when he received the commission tosupervise and co-ordinate the work at St. Leon's.It proved to be his most demandingassignment. The result, achieved over the next15 years, was a rich composition of design andmaterials — marble, wood, stone, ceramicsand paint — worked into a cohesive whole.The quality of workmanship and wealth ofdetail, some of it completed in Florence butthe greater part carried out in the basement ofthe church under the supervision of craftsmenfrom Italy, created an interior unique inWestmount and not matched in all of Montreal.St. Leon's church had been planned to serveboth the French and English communities andfor some time sermons were given in bothlanguages. By the mid-1920s, however, therewere enough English-speaking RomanCatholics in Westmount to justify their ownparish, the Ascension of Our Lord, establishedin 1926. The church was built on land belowSherbrooke Street bought from the Grey Nuns.When finished, in 1928, it moved Westmount'sunofficial poet, C.E. Benedict, to praise its ...Four graceful pinnacles, as white as snowWestmount has nothing to compare with theseGleaming — a dream in stone.Abbé Gauthier made St. Léon sone of Montreal's finest churches.A local resident,the ReverendWilfred EmmettMcDonagh, wasinstalled as itsfirst parish priestand remained toserve the churchfor almost 30years.

The Twenties97Ceiling murals in St. Léon 's.An example of the magnificent wood carvings in St. Leon's.

98Westmount's churches played an additionalrole in the 1920s. Although Westmount'scouncil refused to permit any cinema to operatewithin the municipality, churches were allowedto show films, and those that did attractedaudiences from outside their own parishes.Children could go every second week toDominion-Douglas to see movies. Later St.Matthias' also had shows. Entry cost a nickelor 10 cents. The serials were highly dramatic.Every episode ended with a "cliff-hanger" sothat one had to go the following week to findout what happened. "Was it strange weswitched so readily from one churchcommunity to another?" mused one resident."We all did it and I think it didn't occur to ourparents to object."There were still plenty of horse-drawnvehicles in use both for recreation and fortransportation. A resident of lower Westmountrecalled, "My great-aunt lived on theBoulevard. Her birthday was on the 17th ofJanuary and invariably there was a snowstorm.We could usually get a sleigh to take us therebut we had to walk down afterwards."There were also organised sleigh rides."The big long sleighs were called'Kingfishers'. You could hire them forbirthdays. Two long seats faced each other andyou kept your feet buried in the straw on thefloor. When we caught sight of Lumkin's Hotelwe knew it was time to begin the return journey.Hot cocoa or chocolate and baked beans werethe favourite foods when we got home."When the first motorised taxicabs beganaccepting fares they often ran into difficulties,especially at the upper level. "We lived at thefoot of Argyle Avenue. Sleighs, cars, wouldoften end up in the snow bank in front of ourhouse as they came sliding down the slope. OneA View of Their Ownwinter a taxi driver collected an elderlypassenger at the top of the street but was waryof driving her down in case of an accident. Sohe placed her on his car rug and pulled her allthe way down to the Côte Road. Then he lefther with us while he went to collect his car,drove down, picked up his fare and went off."Cars were no longer the novelty they hadbeen only a few years earlier but there weresome strange experimental models on the streetwhich still caused heads to turn. "There werecars you never see now. One had a gas pumpon the dashboard. Another was the StanleySteamer. It had a boiler in the back. Youcouldn't miss it when it came huffing andpuffing along the street. Our family owned aFranklin. It had a wooden chassis, an air-cooledengine and windshield wipers you operated byhand."Most cars were used for pleasure, not as ameans of getting to and from work. Few carswere used at all in the winter and "putting thecar up on blocks" was a November ritual.Coach houses were being converted intogarages or, if there were space enough, a garagewas built beside the house.Cars were changing people's lives. Forsome it brought a sense of freedom, similar tothe sense of liberation that came with thebicycle. The Weekly Examiner ran a columnin praise of the car which read, in part, "Hewho owns a car is a free man, free from thelaw of gravitation that tied men to one spot untilthe automobile came."But there was another side to its socialimpact. "Cars were exciting but they isolatedpeople one from another. When you took thestreetcar or train you invariably met someoneyou knew. You chatted about the news of theday and about family matters. All that stoppedwhen you were shut off in your private car."

The Twenties 99In education, Westmount continued tomaintain an enviable standard of scholarship.All the public schools were crowded. Classesat every level averaged 30 to 40 pupils, thenumbers boosted by new immigrants and byan increase in the birthrate since the end of thewar. Still, scholastic standards remained highand in 1921 Westmount was declared "the mostliterate city in Canada."At Roslyn School, new ground was brokenwhen a young Jewish teacher, a McGill graduate,was hired to teach French. Miss Seidenwas the first non-Protestant teacher to beengaged by the Westmount Protestant SchoolBoard and though she remained for only threeyears, from 1920-23, the way was opened to afreer hiring policy in the future.Reminiscing about their high school daysin the 1920s, the Lande brothers, Bernard andLawrence, recalled, "Mr. Howe was thePrincipal in our time. The teachers were veryindividual characters, and in spite of largeclasses, they managed to hold your interest. Mr.Wordsworth, the Latin teacher, was anenthusiastic climber and would bring inpictures and tell us about his climbs in EuropeG.P. Smith coached the High School teams toa phenomenal ninety-eight championships.Mr. Howe, popular Principal of Westmount High.and South America. I remember Mr. French,who taught English, which we thought veryfunny. And Mr. Anderson, the History teacher.He would wave his tie about and announce ina rolling Scottish burr, This is the Anderrrsonplaid my boys, the Anderrrson plaid. ' " AnotherScotsman was C.S. Allan. He introduced intoCanada, very successfully, the Allan toffee barfrom Scotland, and made a fortune."Then there was Mr. Wells. We all calledhim 'Bombardier' after a famous fighter of theday. Our Mr. Wells kept bees in his garden atNotre Dame de Grâce and would invite us outto see the hives and learn how to take care ofthem."In sports, the director of physical educationwas G.P. Smith who, during his tenure, coachedthe high school teams to a phenomenal 98championships.In 1927, many schoolchildren and severaladults took part in an event staged inWestmount Park. It celebrated the diamondanniversary of the confederation of Canada,established in 1867. In a synchronised display,

100participants were placed standing, kneeling,bending, to form the letters of each Canadianprovince. "I was there with my parents. At asignal those taking part moved into positionand suddenly the letters could be read withgreat clarity."Young children were comfortable shoppingin the local stores, clutching their weeklyallowance. In middle Westmount this wasusually five cents. "Some kids had betterfinancial resources from odd jobs, likeshovelling snow from front lawns in winter andmowing lawns insummer. Therewas also a groupof boys whosang in the St.Matthias' churchchoir. They werepaid ten cents foreach service —morning and eveningon Sundays— and fivecents for turningout for practiceduring the week.They were paidA View of Their Owntwo for one cent. Sometimes we spent hoursdeciding how to spend our few pennies,'Honeymoons', a chocolate covered caramel,were a favourite at two for one cent.""There were also 'jawbreakers'. Thesewere hard round balls of indeterminate sweetmaterial almost impossible to crack with yourteeth, but when sucked for what seemed hours,finally revealed a tiny nut, which didn't tastevery good. Licorice whips, black or red, werealso very popular at a cent a piece as you couldtear off a piece to share with a friend."If youwere not savingup forsomethingspecial such asa bicycle, youcould movebeyond the candycounter tothe back of thestore where therewas a largetable on whichwere spread theten cent comics,Cheers, Boy'sOwn Paper, Chums, The Thriller. These arrivedonce a week from England aboard the"Drunken Duchesses." These were the Duchessships — Atholl, York, Richmond and Bedford- which earned their nickname because theywere said to pitch and roll so alarmingly."High school students were drawn to anotherattraction. "When we came out of school wecould smell the wonderful aroma of fresh bakedbread. It came from the Canada Bread bakeryin a lane off Melville Avenue. We would goand buy a fresh loaf for ten cents. It was so hotyou had to toss it about in the air to cool it off.The Decarie farms still cultivated the wonderfully sweet musk melons.once a month with 'shin plasters', 25-centbanknotes which were then not uncommon."Fry's novelty shop on Sherbrooke Street nearVictoria Avenue was a popular meeting place. Thepremises were divided in two. On one side Mrs.Fry sold ribbons and laces and on the other Mr.Fry dispensed stationery and candies.In winter a pot-bellied stove filled the storewith warmth. "I spent all my allowance at Fry's,When I opened the door and walked down thewooden aisle all I could smell was 'DoubleBubble' which I bought ten of - - they were

The Twenties 101Children of Judge Louis and Mrs. Boxer. The youngestwere identical twins, Louis and Alphonse.For a while longer, the Murray family'slands remained untouched. The Lande familylived on Strathcona Avenue, close by theMurray estate. "My brothers and I had the runof the Murray farm. The stable boy was ourfriend and let us help with some of the farmwork. You felt you were deep in the country,not in the city at all."Also on Strathcona lived the family ofJudge Louis Boyer, a judge of the QuebecSuperior Court, who was responsible fordrawing up the charter for the municipality'schange of name toWestmount. Ofthe 12 children inthe Boyer family,the two youngest,Louis and Alphonse,were identical twins.Reminiscing abouttheir childhood, theyrecalled, "Our housewas at the top of thestreet just belowCôte St. Antoine, sowe grew up withThen we would eat the crusts and use the softinside to roll pellets for our catapults and loosethem on loving couples sitting on the parkbenches."By the late 1920s, most large open spacesin Westmount had disappeared in the surge ofurban building. In 1927 the last of the Sulpicianholdings that lay within the municipality weresold to the city and the area of the Priest's Farmwas developed with residential housing.The golf club at the summit gave way to amajor housing development. Cultivated landaround manylarge estateswas parcelledoff and newhousingencroachedclose to themansions ofRosemount,Weredale andForden.Some fewpockets of thefarmlandendured. Acrossfrom St.Leon's Church the Grey Nuns continued to just beyond our doorstep."work their diminished acreage until the 1950s."Even on the hottest summer days we wouldsee the Sisters, in their voluminous robes, bentover the rows of vegetables. At one corner ofthe field there was a small farmhouse whereM. Caron, the caretaker lived."Further west the Decarie farms stillcultivated fields of the wonderfully sweet muskmelons so highly prized by connoisseurs. Thesewere mostly shipped to the American marketwhere they reportedly commanded $1 a slicein New York restaurants.the open spaces ofthe Murray farmThen one day a large portion of the Murrayproperties was put up for sale, destined itseemed for yet another housing development.Mrs Eva Vineberg had just moved nearby."When we moved to Belmont Avenue, closeto the Murray land, they were going to put aroad through the middle of the open space andsubdivide it into lots. All the drains and serviceswere in place, but the people in theneighbourhood got together and said it shouldbe a park. We all signed a petition and took itto City Hall. The council listened and the

102people of Westmount have us to thank forgaining another lovely park for the City."Westmount bought the land for $75,000 anddeveloped it as a park and playground, namedfor the Murray family. Trees were planted andseveral thousand bulbs from the city'sgreenhouses were set out in new flower beds.The Murray house, backing onto the park,remained intact a few years longer. "Wechildren often climbed over the fence to pickflowers. We would see the [Murray] sisters onthe verandahknitting whitesocks 'for thelepers in India'we were told.There was abarn next to thehouse and oneday some boys,having gone infor a smoke,must havedroppedmatches. Thehay caught fireand the barnburned to theground."There was a pond for sailboats in the newly de\>eloped Murray partSoon after, the house itself was demolishedand residents were swamped with all kinds oflittle wild creatures after the Murray house andbarn were taken down.The days of roomy mansions, such as WestMount, seemed by now to belong to anotherage, but as the 1920s drew to a close, one lastmajor residence began to take shape on acommanding site at the upper level. This wasthe new house of Noah Timmins, who with hisbrother Henri, had been among the first to buildhouses near the summit. The Timmins family,A View of Their Ownin spite of their English name, had been Frenchspeakingsince the time Noah Timmins,patriarch of the family in Canada, left Englandand settled in a small town in northern Quebec.His sons, Noah and Henri, together with theirnephew Alphonse Paré, went on to becomehighly successful mining developers withworld-wide interests. It was the 25- year oldAlphonse Paré who, in 1910, travelled acrossthe lakes and forests of northern Ontario toinspect a new find, made by a 19-year old prospector,BennyHollinger, andhis partnerAlex Gillies.What Paré sawastounded him."It was as if agiant cauldronhad spatteredgold nuggetsover a bed ofpure, pure whitequartz crystals asa setting forsome magnificentcrownjewels." Thiswas the fabled Hollinger gold mine, in whichthe Timmins family bought a share for$330,000, and which went on to produce morethan a billion dollars in gold,In 1928 Noah Timmins commissioned hisnew mansion at 66 Belvedere Place, withsweeping views down to the river and beyond,It cost $ 1 million, a great sum at the time, andwas the last of the opulent homes built on thisscale in Westmount. The house was 175 feetlong and 75 feet wide. Among its many roomswere a magnificent ballroom, a billiard room,a library and a conservatory.

The Twenties103Earmarked for real estate development, local residents petitioned successfully to keep the open space for a park.The Timmins mansion became ashowplace but it was also a family home ofgreat warmth for the large extended Timminsfamily. Lucy Paré, Australian born wife ofAlphonse Paré, recalled the days ofwonderful Christmas parties at the house.They were parishioners of St. Leon's Churchat first, and then later of the Church of theAscension. On Christmas Eve, the familygathered together and crowded onto sleighs.Forming a long procession, they sped downthe hill to church, sleigh bells jingling, toattend midnight mass. Then home againthrough the frosty night for réveillon.The '20s were heady days of economicopportunity here as elsewhere in NorthAmerica. The horrors of war had begun to fadeand prosperity appeared to be just around thecorner for the average family as well as for thefinancier and industrial giant. There were fewwho would have foreseen that this rosy future,resting on an artificially swollen stock market,could vanish into thin air.But in the fall of 1929 the financial marketsin New York came tumbling down. A chainreaction of panic selling was set off which inturn prepared the way for years of hardship asthe Depression took hold.

104 A View of Their OwnLookout, Sunvnit Circle, 1932. One cf the 'make work'projects of the Depression years.

11The ThirtiesIn 1929 the level of unemployment inCanada stood at 2.9 per cent. Only four yearslater the figure had soared to 25%.The Wall Street Crash of 1929 cut deeply intopersonal and public life. Certain industries andindividuals proved particularly vulnerable, butfew escaped the hard times. Homeowners withno mortgages, and those who had investedmodestly, were the fortunate ones. Those whohad plunged and bought "on margin" in themonths when stocks were spiralling upwardsdaily, as well as those who undertook to sell allthey had to meet their obligations, were reducedfrom riches to poverty overnight. Values of bluechip stocks went plummeting like waterfalls.For those in low or moderate paying jobs itwas a devastating time, when worries over fallingsick and being out of work often brought on thevery misfortune that was dreaded. Even thelargest, most successful enterprises were layingoff workers. "I was in an engineering departmentwith about 50 men," recalled Alex Shearwood."In 1932 we were down to ten key people, andtheir salaries were all levelled at $90 a month,impossible for a family to live on. Three of us,who had graduated at the same time, were paid$50 a month. Total employment in the firm wentfrom 2,000 to less than 50, and the stock of thecompany fell from $141 to $5. My boss becameindebted to the Royal Bank for four milliondollars, but he knew they did not dare sell himout in the hope things would eventually improveand they would get their money back."Apart from the POM Bakery, which openedits new building in 1930, construction ingeneral was at a standstill. In a welcome move,105Westmount announced it would employ allqualified, out-of-work engineers living inWestmount. "Make work" projects wereinitiated. Wooden stairways at various levelsup the mountain were replaced with stone. Citysewers were renewed or repaired, and a fullsurvey of Westmount's terrain was undertaken."My father, Martin Wolff, was one of thosetaken on by the City," recalled his daughter."He worked on the Lookout, which was pavedand balustraded and he installed the metalindicators pointing towards distant landmarks."Manual work was available - - cleaningvacant lots, weeding the park lawns, choppingfallen branches or trees in the park for firewood.A Westmount branch of the Rotary Clubopened in 1930 and immediately launchedphilanthropic initiatives of its own.A relief system was established at CityHall. Between 1932 and 1935, 1,322 peoplewere helped with food, shelter, clothing andfuel. Grocery orders, to the value of $1.50 aweek were made available to the needy, as wellas supplements of 50 cents per person per week,tickets for bread and milk, and subsidies of upto $15 a month towards rent. There were freehealth services, which included eye glasses anddental work, for low-income families.Clothing was made and distributed, or madeand sold, for small sums by unemployed women."Make do" was the slogan of the day. Newspapercolumns were filled with advice on preparingcheap, wholesome meals, remaking old suits andcoats into children's garments, and ways toconserve heat and reduce household expenses.

106At Dionne and Dionne, the grocers,customers were ordering minimal quantities ofsupplies — tea by the quarter pound, eggs bythe quarter dozen, ham by the slice. "Peoplewho we knew kept no dogs were ordering dogmeat — "retailles." These were the trimmings,left over from prepared meats, which weretossed into a barrel and sold for pennies orgiven away."The librarywas verybusy. KathleenJenkins,who replacedMary Saxe aschief librarianin 1931 recalledthat,"People camejust to chat,A View of Their OwnAt the Church of the Ascension, FatherMcDonagh discovered that young mothersespecially, found the burden of financial andemotional troubles hard to bear. As a religiousminority in the municipality, they had fewpeople to talk to and share their anxieties.Father McDonagh turned to Lucy Paré forsuggestions on how to help these youngwomen.Lucy Paré organised the WestmountEnglish Catholic Mothers' Club, open to allmothers in the parish from the top of the hill tothe lower level below Dorchester Avenue.There were no membership fees. Together, theyarranged activities that suited their variousneeds, meeting in groups to make new friends,as well as arranging larger assemblies, such asbazaars and dances at Victoria Hall and St. Leon'sSchool. The Club was a genuine success, easingsocial barriers and the sense of isolation.Kathleen Jenkins, Chief Librarianfollowing the retirement of Mary Saxe.some to sleep or keep warm. Later oneman told me 'only the Library savedme from suicide.'"Nevertheless, throughout thedecade Miss Jenkins, an outstandinglibrarian and scholar, was able tooversee major changesreclassification of the library'scontents and a redecoration of thebuilding's interior. The rich red andcream walls were painted white andnew ceiling lights installed. "Theoriginal decor was beautiful," saidMiss Jenkins, "but it was sombre andhad become rather shabby. The changelightened and brightened the placeeven on the darkest days."Vie Mothers ' Club Bazaar Committee. Lucy Paré, seated second fromright, organized the Club and created this composite photography.

The Thirties 107Westmount Library. It provided a welcome refuge through the Depression rears.Everywhere, sales and raffles, concerts andperformances were raising money for theunemployed and the stage at Victoria Hallhummed with activity.Schools, however, functioned normally,with classes filled to capacity. Between 1929and 1931, Westmount High School wasenlarged with two additions, one to the east andone to the west of the original building. Anumber of new students came from WeredaleHouse, a charitable institution originallyfounded in 1874 as the "Boys' Home ofMontreal" and now a residence for Englishspeakingboys aged 10-18, built on the formerMoffat estate. These boys' integration into theWestmount school system created somedifficulties but managed to achieve a measureof success.In these difficult times, new home andschool associations, alumnae and Old Boysgroups were formed, involving parents andformer students in school affairs. Suchcommunity associations sponsored extracurricularactivities, organised volunteer helpwhen needed, and worked on specialfundraising projects.In 1934, Argyle School, with its woodenfloorboards, was declared unsafe. It wasdemolished and reconstructed in greystone,harmonizing with Westmount City Hall acrossthe road. Also at this time, the central sectionof St. Paul's school was modernised in thecurrently fashionable Art Deco style.

108A View of Their OwnNewArgyle School. Later Senior High School. Today Selwyn House School.With school activities functioning normallythrough the Depression, children were, for themost part, shielded from their parents' worries.Out of school, every season of the yearprovided opportunities for recreation at littleor no cost.In winter, snow and ice turned the wholedistrict into a playground. The newopen space of Murray Park, with itslong, gentle slope, was made toorder for children's toboggans."Another slide was constructed inWestmount Park," recalled oneresident. " We also tobogganeddown Victoria Avenue to QueenMary Road. The street was closedto traffic in the winter below the lasthouse on Sunnyside, There was nomoney for extras like sportsequipment so we improvised a lot.A garbage can lid made a greattoboggan and we made skis out of barrel staves.It was a challenge skiing on the sidewalks downMountain Avenue. Sometimes we walked overthe top of the mountain to watch grownupskiers at the ski jump which was by the cliffsat the back.The snow on the streets was left in huge'Red River coats, sashes and tuques, mittens and over-stockingswhich were worn over the shoes but under the rubbers. '

The Thirties 109piles beside the road. We made tunnelsthrough the piles with here and therean exit. An old apple barrel, if one couldbe found, made an excellent 'entrance'."Most of us still wore the dark blueRed River coats, which literally neverwore out and were handed down orhanded on as you grew out of them.They were worn with sashes, sometimesof plain red wool, but sometimeswith 'ceintures fléchées', beautifullywoven in traditional Indian patterns.Then there were leggings and tuques,mufflers, two pairs of socks and twopairs of mittens. All these were mostlymade of wool and got wet and heavyafter they were covered in snow. I stillfind the smell of wet wool brings backmemories of playing outside throughthe snowy winter."Of course there was skating. Youcould pay to skate at the big MAAArink, but there was free skating in all the parks.There were shelters where you could put onyour skates and warm up, with someone alwayson hand in case help were needed. There wasusually a rink close to someone's home whereyou could be with your friends and not havefar to go afterwards for hot chocolate or hotbovril made with milk — delicious!"At the upper level on a flat field there wasice-sailing. "This took place after a thawfollowed by a freeze up. It was all verymakeshift with boards for a base and sails madefrom old sheets."When spring came there was watereverywhere and we made lakes and dams inthe gutters all along the sides of the streets.When all the snow and water had gone, outcame the roller skates. It felt wonderful,whizzing down the Westmount hills with anChurch of the Ascension of our Lord at Clarke Ave. and Sherbrookeold broom handle as a pretty effective brake.Sometimes, on the small side streets or cul-desacs,the police would block off the entry andwe could skate with no fear of traffic."Then there were the trains. "It was a greattreat to go down to Westmount station to watchthe trains go by, or see them being shunted backand forth in the railway yards. We called theengine "the Big Hiss" because of the noise. Youhad to stand well back on the platform to avoidthe clouds of steam. As it grew dark, thelanterns carried by the men as they movedabout the tracks would waver and shine, whichmade them seem mysterious and magical."From the upper level where the view wasunobstructed down to the river, "We used toenjoy watching the "Rapids King" and "RapidsQueen" shoot the Lachine rapids."

110A View of Their OwnThere was free skating in the parks and shelters to put on your skates and warm up.In 1933, children were offered anotherattraction. Dorothy Davis and Violet Walters,two young women with a background inDorothyDavis andVioletWalters,directorsof theMontrealChildren'sTlieatre.English theatre, staged their first production,"The Cave of the Island King" at Victoria Hall.They also began drama classes for childrenaged five and up. "We wanted to offer not onlytheatre productions they could enjoy, but alsothe experience of participating in a show onstage," they explained. "We covered a big rangein our productions, from "Anne of GreenGables" to a "Life of Queen Victoria."These Children's Theatre productionscontinued for over 50 years, an astonishingachievement, accomplished with a minimumof financial support, aided on the productionside in later years by distinguished colleagues

The Thirties 111André Trudel and Marc de Gagné. One notablealumnus of the children's classes was WilliamShatner who went on to a very successful careerin television and the movies.One day in 1935, residents found anewspaper on their doorstep. It informed themthat The Westmount Examiner, "a Clean, IndependentNewspaper for the Home, Devoted toPublic Service, isdelivered to everyHome in the City ofWestmount."Other newspapershad appearedsporadicallyover the years,covering news ofseveral westernsuburbs, includingWestmount. TheExaminer was toprove more focusedand durable and isstill publishing today.LLMr. Duncan Oiatfield ofCliatfield's grocery, ' a streetcar, out ofcontrol, smashed the store window. People talked about it for years. 'Among its first reports was an article aboutFirefighter Milden who had won the highestfire safety education award in a contest opento all firefighters in the British Empire. Twoother Westmount firemen scored in the topten.One of the first dramatic incidents the paperrecorded involved the streetcars, which werestill having problems in winter. One Januarynight in 1936, the Number 14 streetcar camecareening down Claremont Avenue and landedup facing east-west, smashing into the windowof Chatfield's grocery store. Duncan Chatfieldrecalled the occasion well. "King George theFifth had just died and we had arranged amemorial window, empty except for a portraitof the King, which we had draped in black.The accident happened at eleven o'clock atnight. No one was hurt. The firemen came andcovered the window with canvas until themorning. People talked about it for years after.It grew into quite a legend, with people sayingsuch accidents had occurred regularly. Someversions had ourstore front beingsmashed everywinter!"Westmounterswere fervently attachedto the Britishmonarchy andfollowed the dramaticevents leadingto Edward VIII'sabdication withgreat interest. By1937, when the coronationof the newKing and Queen wasannounced, Westmount,with itseconomy beginning to revive and a cautiousoptimism emerging, declared its intention tocelebrate in style. The entire city assumed afestive air. Flags representing various parts ofthe Empire flew in front of City Hall and everyschoolchild received an Anointing Spoon, "analmost perfect replica of the original used inthe actual Coronation ceremony at WestminsterAbbey."Two years later, Royalist enthusiasm roseto fever pitch with the visit of the King andQueen to Westmount during their tour ofCanada. Grandstands were built in MurrayPark, one for each school and every buildingin the city was hung with flags and bunting.

112A View of Their OwnFinale to the fireworks display, Coronation Day; 1937."First Aid stations did not have a singlepatient," reported the Westmount Examiner,"though the streets were crowded, especiallyon the open ground around City Hall." A treeplanting ceremony took place and Murray Parkwas renamed King George Park.Also that year, an intriguing item was notedin the city's annual report. "A noticeablenumber of Europeans, mostly refugees, havebeen using the facilities of the Library, someto acquire a knowledge of the language andculture. Many of these people start withchildren's picture books and progress throughsimple stories to a higher standard."For Canadians, insulated by distance fromevents in Europe, it was difficult to appreciatethat the presence of "refugees" reflected a realitydifferent from that of the immigrants who hadbeen settling the country since the 16th century.But developments, huge and horrifying,were gathering momentum across Europe, andin the fall of the same year in which the Cityhad welcomed the springtime visit of Britain'snew King and Queen, the radio announced theshocking news that Europe was again at war.Their Majesties King George VI and Queen Elizabeth passing Westmount City Hall on their visit in 1939.

11312World WarïïWithin days of the declaration of warWestmount sprang into action. The athleticgrounds were turned over to the military foruse as barracks and a militia training centre.Some 600 bunks were stacked inside theclubhouse. Extra kitchens and toilet facilitieswere added and the area was declared off limitsto all but authorised personnel.At the armoury, preparations for active dutyhad been quietly going forward for someweeks, following a secret mobilization orderdated July 18, 1939. By August 30, the 1stBattalion (active) of the Royal MontrealRegiment, for the past three years no longer aninfantry but a machine gun unit, was ready toproceed overseas as part of the First CanadianDivision.The unit's departure later that year was inmarked contrast to the cheering crowds that hadwaved the men off in 1914. "Early onDecember 6th the men were astir: at 6 a.m. inthe light of the moon and in the cold ofapproaching dawn, they formed up on thesnow- covered parade square in the Westmountathletic grounds. There was no ceremonial ...All ranks knew that the 1st Division of theCanadian Active Service Force was on themove and would sail overseas from Halifax[though] the date of the sailing was still amilitary secret."Canada's support for the Allied cause wasnever in doubt. Conscription however,remained a thorny issue which the federalgovernment was reluctant to face. Finally, in1944, it resorted to a national referendum,asking release from its previous commitmentnot to introduce conscription and "seeking afree hand to enlist non-volunteers to send themoverseas to fight."In Quebec, 85 per cent refused to grant therequest, while in the rest of the country 80 percent were in favour. Nevertheless, thepercentage of French-Canadians who servedwith the Canadian forces rose to 19 per centfrom the figure of 12 per cent in World War I.In Westmount the majority of citizens,French and English alike, voted overwhelmingly,86 per cent, in favour of the moveto conscription: "I wanted to do so much formy country, Canada. It was a spontaneousfeeling, passionate and heartfelt."Radio, still rare during the First World War,was now bringing the war into Canadian homeswith daily broadcasts from Britain, trackingdevelopments on all fronts. It carried theimpressive oratory of the Allied leaders,Winston Churchill in particular, and madefamiliar the songs, singers and entertainers whohelped maintain morale through the worst daysof Allied reversals.Westmount's association with the RMR hadbeen firmly established by the end of WorldWar I. New for the city was its involvement withthe Air Force — due in large measure to one man.

14A View of Their Ownand went on to establish an astonishing record.In over 12,000 sorties it took part in virtuallyevery engagement in the European theatre ofAir Vice-Marslial Frank McGill. His careerparalleled the development of flight in Canada.Frank McGill — he rose to the rank of AirVice-Marshal - - had been inspired with apassion for flying by the pioneers of aviation.Already famous in Canada as an all-roundathlete, McGill joined the Royal Naval AirService in World War I and became a combatand test*pilot.His career went on to parallel thedevelopment of flight in Canada. In 1934, heinitiated flying training, in De Havilland TigerMoths, for a new unit, No. 15 (later 115)Squadron, Non Permanent Active Air Force(NPAAF) of the City of Westmount. Recruitingoffices were housed in a building at the cornerof Sherbrooke Street and Metcalfe Avenue,donated by the Bell Telephone Company.In 1939, the unit was ready for activeservice and was posted overseas. The followingyear it was absorbed by No. 1 (F) SquadronEmblem of the 401 (City of Westmount) Squadronwith types of aircraft used in training.operations, including the Battle of Britain, theonly Canadian and one of the few non-RAFsquadrons involved. It was after this decisivebattle that Churchill coined the memorablephrase, "Never in the field of human conflictwas so much owed by so many to so few."When the war ended, the squadron, renumbered401 (F) Squadron was reformed as areserve unit and adopted by Westmount as No.401 (City of Westmount) Squadron (Auxiliary).Many years later, on the occasion of its 50thanniversary, attended by several veterans of the"401," there was a moving ceremony at thecenotaph at which the names of those who haddied in World War II were read. "There werenames I hadn't thought of for years," said oneveteran overcome with emotion. "As theirnames were read, I could see some of the menleaning against the wings of their planes."

World War H 157 could see the men leaning against the wings of their planes.Westmount's name was also carried at sea.By 1942, German submarine attacks ontransatlantic convoys carrying desperatelyneeded supplies to Britain were causing seriouslosses to merchant shipping and its escortvessels. To help in the urgent need forreplacements, Westmount commissioned thebuilding of an escort vessel, a 699 Bangor classmine-sweeper. Christened the City ofWestmount, the vessel was adopted by the city'sresidents who donated radios, awashing machine, clothing and aquantity of sporting goods and games.The HMCS City of Westmountbecame part of the newly formed FirstCanadian Minesweeping Squadron andperformed escort duty for the remainderof the war. When she was retired atSydney, Nova Scotia, in October 1945,a naval representative from theDepartment of National Defence,presented the ship's bell to themunicipality. It is displayed inWestmount City Hall.In 1943, Westmount commissioned asecond ship to help replace continuing lossesin the wartime fleet, a merchantman built byUnited Shipyards Ltd., in Montreal'sBickerdyke basin. Christened SS WestmountPark, Mayor Walter Merrill presented thevessel with a walnut plaque, decorated in giltand sterling silver. The inscription read "Givenby the people of Westmount with their good'City of Westmount', an escort vessel commissioned to help replace losses in merchant shipping.

116Fl. U. Suzy Simard, one ofthe first women to serve inthe airforce.wishes for a happy and lucky life to the newship."The SS Westmount Park had a diversifiedcareer but its end was a mysterious one. Afterthe war, the ship was converted to civilian useand renamed Nordic Star. On December 12th1956, she sailed from Philadelphia bound forLe Havre, France, failed to reach herdestination and was never heard from again.In all three services women were involvedto a greater degree than ever before. First to beestablished were the Women's Royal CanadianNaval Services (WRCNS). Then followed theCanadian Women's Army Corps (CWAC),known inevitably as the "Quacks" and theWDs, the Women's Division of the RoyalCanadian Air Force.Suzy Simard, of Westmount, was one of150 women chosen from among many hundredapplicants fromacross Canadato serve with theair force. "Themotto assignedto us was 'Weenlist so thatmen may fly'.We were paid 90cents a day. Themen got $1.30.Why this was sowas never explainedto us.Most of us, includingmyself,wanted very much to go overseas, but becauseI was fluently bi-lingual I was told my serviceswere needed in Canada."Ms. Simard was assigned to establish a"School of English" at Rockcliffe, Ontario, forfrancophone women recruits. These womenA View of Their Ownwent on to work as transport drivers,photographers, hospital assistants, parachuteriggers, as well as stenographers and typists.Women went back to work in the shops,offices and factories as they had done in WorldWar I. They also took on less familiaroccupations. In 1942, Dorothy Barnes was thefirst policewoman to patrol parks in NorthAmerica. She was also the first uniformedpolicewoman in Canada on a beat, alone andon equal terms with her male counterparts. Ms.Barnes was 26 years old at the time. When sheretired, 31 years later, she was rememberedwith admiration by her fellow officers as wellas by the public as "the best park ranger weever had."Westmount women were leaders in theintensive volunteer effort at both the local andthe nationallevels. Mrs.Sam Bronfman,a longtimevolunteerworker whohad been activein communityprojectsfrom the age ofeighteen,established abranch of theJewish Red Crossin Montreal."DuringMrs. Sam Bmnfinan. Shewas awarded the OBEforher work during the war.the war," wrote Mrs. Bronfman, "there werethousands of women who wanted to participatein some way. They wanted to knit and sew forthe servicemen and also to offer themhospitality and help their families. I was on theRed Cross premises five days a week, all day

World Warn 117long. We had over six hundred people to coordinateand supervise."ander Hutchinsonwas anothervery rema r k a b 1 evolunteer.Actively involvedin awide variety ofcommunityconcerns, Mrs.Hutchinsonseemed cheer-Mrs. Alexander Hutchison.Among her many volunteer M ^ unawareactivities she served on the War °fner^WC-Finatice Committee promoting Some repUtathesale of Victory Bonds. tion as an organiserand her ability to engage her friends inher many projects. She was taken aback when,on inviting one of her friends to lunch the replywas, "Oh Helen, you don't have to give melunch. Just tell me what it is you want me todo."After the war, Mrs. Hutchinson co-foundedthe Women's Auxiliary of the Montreal GeneralHospital as well as that of the Douglas Hospital.Another Westmount volunteer, AliceWinslow-Spragge, helped start the first RedCross Blood Donor clinic in Montreal. Whenshe left to go overseas, other volunteers, manyfrom Westmount, took her place.Several volunteers worked on theprogramme "Bundles for Britain." The"bundles" contained non-perishable foods, toysand small items of clothing. Response fromBritain indicated the parcels were greatlyappreciated and the programme never lackedfor goods or for personnel to package them.Money for this project was raised in variousways, including the sale of an official pin,handsomely designedand engraved.Then therewere the "evacuees."When thebombs started tofall on London andother cities inBritain, womenand children wereadvised to leave ifthey could and goto the countrysideTlie 'Bundles for Britain ' pin,sold to raise funds for thispopular programme.or even overseas. Many came to Canada,several to Westmount. Some came to stay withrelatives, often distant ones they had never met.In one case "we had three generations whocame to stay, my father's sister, her daughterin-lawand two small boys. The boys went toRoslyn and had no major problems but thewomen had a difficult time adapting, whichmade it awkward all round.""The local schools took in 159 evacueechildren. Some children had a hard time of it.Their clothes were different, especially the boysin their short pants and none of them hadclothes suitable for a Canadian winter. Alsotheir accents were strange and they got teasedabout that. If they had come without a parentmany got homesick and unhappy. Othersadapted and loved it all and made friends forlife. But on the whole the experiment was nota great success and when one ship, the City ofBenares, carrying children evacuees across theAtlantic was torpedoed and sunk, the projectwas abandoned.

118Throughout the war years schoolchildrenwere buying War Savings Stamps. When thesewere collected in 1945, the accumulated sumfrom all the Westmount schools was largeenough to buy a Cornell airplane which waspresented by student representatives to theRCAF, to be used by them for post-wartraining. At the ceremony, in Westmount Park,the plane was christened City of Westmountwith a bottle containing water from the Atlanticand the Pacific oceans.Meanwhile with so many of its personnelvolunteering for active war services,Westmount's city council announced thatpositions of enlisted employees would be keptopen for them until they returned. If pay andallowances in the Services were together lessthan their regular pay from the city, WestmountA View of Their Ownwould make up the difference. Contributionswould be made to the pension fund on theirbehalf for the duration of the war and their yearsof war service would be counted as years inWestmount's employ.For a conflict waged so far from Canada'sshores, there was a high degree of preparednessat the local level. The basement of WestmountCity Hall was equipped as a control centrewhere the progress of the war could be closelymonitored. In the event of a direct attack, plans,with copious guidelines and procedures, wereprepared to protect Westmount's terrain, and aCivilian Protection Corps (CPC) was formed.Practice sessions were organised inWestmount by the CPC together with a RedCross unit. As one participant recalls, "We allworked hard at doing our part but it had itsEntrance lobby, wartime, City Hall.

World WarH 119comical side. Westmount Station wasdesignated a disaster area with a first aid post.'Casualties' usually volunteers from the CPC,were assigned an 'injury', given superficialtreatment, then picked up by volunteer driversand rushed up to the Casualty Clearing Station,established at Fire Station No. 2 at the top ofVictoria Avenue. Some drivers were carriedaway with enthusiasm and drove very fast.Since the stretchers were not fastened down afew 'casualties' claimed to be the real thing bythe time they arrived!"Schoolchildren and adults all took part insalvage campaigns. Paper, rags and metal ofevery kind, from toothpaste tubes to the railingsaround Argyle school, were gathered for scrapto be recycled and reused.A War Savings Campaign was launchedwith the mayor, Walter Merrill, as honoraryBasement Control Room, City Hall.chairman. One way to contribute was throughan "Honour Pledge." The signée received a sixinchsquare card with a maple leaf designsignifying a pledge to buy war savings certificateson a regular basis, no matter how smallthe contribution.In June 1941, a hugeSavings Loan rally tookplace in Westmount Park.Norma Shearer, a reigningHollywood film star, flewin from California "at herown expense," noted thelocal paper approvingly. Acrowd of over 60,000jammed every inch of thepark. The actress declaredthat she was "terribly happyto be here .... I rememberso clearly walking throughthis park, right where youare standing, and going toschool over there atWestmount High."Wartime Salvage Campaign posters.

12060,000 Hear Norme Shearer in WestmountMISS NORMA SHEARER, Wes• rmer FfiUcv* ot :•' •'• ' ' The | rure was takenin Wcstn .-•'•••l " J '•• cod 'tnr, refumc.-J hcme yesterday to be greeted by many thousft is AIR MINISTER POWER, ond on 'hç right MAYOR WALTER A MERRILLtie r olfgrm ot lha cpenmg of the Victory Loon drive .n Wcilmount lost evenincNonna Shearer, a reigning Hollywood star, returned to launch a War SavingsBond Rally. She had maintained her contact with Westmount over the years.The rally was a great success and thecampaign continued through the war years,repeatedly exceeding its target.Ration books were issued but therestrictions were not severe. Sugar was whatpeople missed most. Many gave up sugar intheir tea or coffee so that they could collectenough to make cakes or jams. Gasoline wasalso rationed for civilians, a situation thatboosted the use of public transport. TheMontreal Tramways Company announced itwas carrying over a million passengers a dayin Montreal. Bicycles were everwhere on thestreets. One year, 650 bicycle licences wereissued at Westmount's City Hall.A View of Their OwnThe shortage of private transportcould create personal dilemmas:"In November 1943 I wasexpecting a baby. When thecontractions began I called mydoctor. He told me to get tohospital as fast as possible. Taxiswere very scarce but the doctoradvised trying the Ritz Hotelbecause there were usually one ortwo taxis parked outside. He wasright. A taxi came and got me tothe hospital."May 1945 brought an end tothe war in Europe. In Julythere was a presentation of thesecond set of colours byGeneral H.D.G. Crerar CH,CB, DSO, GOC-in-C, 1stCanadian Army, to the RMR in the field atAmersfoort, Utrecht, Holland. The colours hadbeen rushed into readiness to replace a setstored in London that had been destroyed inthe Blitz. The first set presented to the RMR atthe end of the First World War was retired anddeposited in the chancel of the regimentalchurch, St. Matthias', where they were receivedby the rector, Squadron Leader, the Rev. GilbertOliver, MC.The conflict with Japan ended late in 1945and World War II was finally over. InSeptember came the news that after nearly sixyears overseas the Royal Montreal Regimentwas to sail home from Southampton on the

World Warn 121Old RMR Colours being hcuided over 'for safe keeping '. Westmount Park, September 1945.troopship, Pasteur, bound for Quebec City.Thereafter the Regiment's progress wasmonitored every step of the way. From QuebecCity the troops travelled by train to the old ParkAvenue Station in Montreal. "There followedthe maddeningly slow journey to WestmountStation where they arrived at 2.30 p.m. in theafternoon of September 22."It was a glorious autumn day. Over 50,000cheering people lined the streets. Escorted bythe 2nd (Reserve) Battalion of the RMR andRMR veterans of World War I, the Regimentmarched up Victoria Avenue, then alongSherbrooke Street, passing the saluting base atVictoria Hall, to Westmount Park.There, with due ceremony, the colours ofthe regiment were passed from the OverseasBattalion to representatives of the 2nd Battalion"for safe keeping." Now the Overseas Battalionwaited for final orders and without furtherdelay came the welcome:"Dismiss." The menbroke ranks and were soon caught up in thejoyful welcome of their friends and kin.

122A View of Their OwnGovernor-General Lord Alexander of Tunis at the unveiling of the Cenotaphwhere names had been added oftlwse who fell in World War II.Names were added to the memorial tabletsin place around the municipality. An additionwas planned on the parapet around the WarMemorial, linking memories of the two WorldWars, and the armoury was rededicated to thosewho had fallen in World War II. City Hall listedthe numbers; 2,804 Westmount citizens and cityemployees had enlisted, 281 died in combat.In 1946, Field Marshall Viscount Montgomeryof Allemein, KB, GCB, DSO, visited thearmoury. The following year the Rt. Hon.Viscount Alexander of Tunis attended theannual regimental dinner at the armoury. Laterhe returned to hold an investiture and helpunveil the extended War Memorial.

13The Post-War YearsWestmount's Coat of Arms which were registeredwith Lord Lyon, King of Amis, Scotland.The war years brought Canada out of theDepression as its factories worked overtime tomeet the Allies' need for supplies of every kind.After the war, the good economic timescontinued, with a shift in production to meetpeacetime domestic demands.But in Europe, the post-war years broughtcontinuing shortages and a depressed economy.A stream of emigrants left, seeking a new lifein Canada and elsewhere. The new immigrantschanged the demographic face of the country.Whereas before the war, 40 per cent ofnewcomers had come from Britain, thatpercentage fell to 18 per cent in the post-warperiod.The increase in immigration, as well as thenumber of young couples settling down to raisefamilies, sent Montreal's population soaring.A tidal wave of residential building poured allover the island of Montreal, creating newsuburbs that flowed around Westmount's123borders. Orchards, farm and open land wereswallowed up in the flood, which spreadswiftly, largely unplanned and unchecked.The existing handful of small independentmunicipalities, with their well definedboundaries limiting growth, emerged as islandsof stability. Among them, Westmount stood outby its unusual geography — a municipal islandsurrounded by the city of Montreal — and byits singular social standards. Although itspopulation now numbered over 27,000, the saleof liquor was still banned, there were nocinemas and a 1909 by-law still demanded a"modest decorum" in dress and behaviour onthe city's streets.Re-inforcing this somewhat archaic imageWestmount became the first municipality inCanada to register its Coat of Arms with LordLyon, King of Arms, in Scotland. The shieldwith its symbols was described in a city hallcommuniqué as follows:The devices symbolised the corporatehistory of the community.The arched division "per fess", representsMount Royal with the setting sun behindit, thus "Westmount."Rose branch emblem of Virgin Mary refersto the former Village of Notre Dame deGrâce.Small shield commemorates St. Anthony -legend of the ravens who fed him in the desert— and refers to former name, Côte St.Antoine.The motto Robur Meum Ci vium Fides translatesas "The faith of the citizens is my strength."

124A View of Their Ownmembers of theirfounder's families.Smithers' boot andshoe store on St. CatherineStreet was morethan 60 years old andhad been supplyingfootwear to Westmountfamilies, as well as tothe police and firedepartments personnel,since the time thoseforces had been representedby a singleindividual.George and Donald Smithers, second and third generationowners of Smithers shoe store which opened in 1890.Westmount's commercial stores werebuilding their own traditions. Several were inthe charge of second or third generationAround the corner onGreene Avenue wasTony's Shoe Store,opened in 1937 by Tony Fargnoli. Unpretentiousin decor, it carried both traditional andfashionable shoes for men, women and children.Further north onGreene Avenue,the Alevisatos'American stylesoda fountain, the"Maryland IceCream Parlor andConfectionery,"opened in 1922,had evolved into"Nick's Restaurant,"a popularneighbourhoodmeeting place.'Maryland Ice Cream Parlor and Confectionery' now 'Nick's Restaurant'

The Post-War Years 125And there wasOhman's jewellerystore, with its gracefulbow front window,modelled on Georgianshop fronts in Bath,England. Its founder,Nils Ohman, had diedin 1935 and the shopwas now managed byhis son Eric, a WorldWar I Air Force pilotand a multi-talentedman: artist, accomplishedcartoonist anddesigner of fine jewellery.His outgoingpersonality and sense ofEdward (Eddie) Eargnoli, second generation owner of the 'Real Tom'sShoe Store'. Founded by Gianantonio (Tony) Fargnoli in 1937.humour established afriendliness that allowed even a young child toenter the shop alone without feeling intimidated.Ohman's workforce reflected Westmount'snew demographic profile. It was a little"League of Nations." The head watchmaker,Ted Kawai, was Japanese. Jewellery repair washandled by an Italian, Bruna Catellani, and aHungarian, Genja Hermann, was the masterclockmaker. Another of Ohman's skilledcraftsmen was Lawrence Alexander, whoopened his own store in 1946.Above: Bracelet designed by Eric Ohman.Right: Ohman s, with its graceful bow-front window.

126Westmount's public schools, under theguidance of their own Protestant School Board,continued to maintain high scholasticstandards. At every level there were teachersof outstanding ability whose entire professionallife was spent in the Westmount schools. Oneof these was Elsie Gordon Dewey, who taughtat Roslyn for nearly 40 years, from 1921 to1959. She taught two generations of childrenand in 1954 was awarded the First Degree ofScholastic Merit. Another was Irene Nichols,who taught music in all four elementary schoolsfrom 1934 to 1975.The high school years were now dividedin two. Westmount High became WestmountJunior High School, teaching grades seven,eight and nine. Argyle School took over asWestmount High, handling grades 10, 11, and12. Later, grade 12 was dropped and graduatesentered a four-year university programfollowing grade eleven.A new Catholic high school was opened atthe western end of the city in a magnificent1930s mansion in the upper level, within sightof St. Joseph's Oratory. It was operated by theCongregation of Marcellines, an order ofteaching Sisters from Italy.A View of Their OwnAmong Westmount's places of worship,Temple Emanu-El was making a name for itselfas a centre of inter-faith experiment. RabbiHarry Stern, who arrived at the synagogue in1927, encouraged inter-faith understanding fromthe year he took up his duties. In 1928, heinaugurated the yearly Fellowship Dinners, andin 1934 the Forum Lectures, all with the aim ofRabbi Harry Joshua Stern, TempleEmanit-El's 'Ecumenical Rabbi '.drawing together representatives of differentfaiths to discuss topics of mutual interest.Villa St. Marcelline,815 Upper Belmont theformer residence ofAimé Geoffrion, aprominent Montreallawyer.

The Post-War YearsIn 1942, Rabbi Stern, already widelyknown as the "Ecumenical Rabbi," launchedan "Institute on Judaism for Clergy andReligious Educators," a unique academic andreligious forum in Canada.Three years later, Sylvia Stern, the Rabbi'swife, began a "Book Lovers' Forum," a studyand discussion group for "women of allreligious faiths for inter-faith study." LibrariansKathleen Jenkins and Norah Bryant gaveinvaluable advice on choice of books, giventhe guideline that "each book had to have depthand be both readable and understandable." Theseries opened with James Ramsay Ullman's"The White Tower" and continued unbrokenfor over 30 years.In 1953, the synagogue achieved another"first" with the opening of the Josef AronMuseum of Ceremonial Art Objects. Thiscollection of Jewish artifacts used in dailyliving was the only one in Canada at that time.Disaster struck the synagogue in 1957when the sanctuary was destroyed by fire. Thesympathetic response from all denominationsin the community was so immediate and sogenerous that it was possible to rebuild thestructure within two years.At Shaar Hashamayim, a young rabbi,Wilfred Shuchat, who had been appointedassistant to ailing Dr. Herman Abramowitz,succeeded to the full title of Rabbi to thecongregation in 1948. Dr. Shuchat's namebecame increasingly known to a wider publicthrough his weekly column in the Montreal Starcalled "A Jewish Message for our Times."Post-war life soon resumed its normalrhythm, with some changes in domestic routine.Oil and gas began to replace coal as a heatingfuel and coal carts gradually disappeared from127the streets along with the ritual of household tasksthat accompanied the coal furnace.Dances were in full swing at Victoria Hall.Dancing inVictoriaHall to themusic of theJohnmHolmesOrchestraJohnny Holmes was a notable personalityin popular music in Montreal. Passionate aboutmusic from a very young age he was largelyself-taught as a player, performing whereverand whenever he could.Gradually he gathered together a smallgroup of musicians which grew into anorchestra of fifteen players and two vocalists.However he continued working at his day job,as salesman to a pharmaceutical company, untilthe mid-Forties by which time the band hadbecome so popular he could concentrate fulltimeon his music.Holmes established a base for the bandin Victoria Hall. Saturday nights the Hall, with

128Most Saturday nights, from the early 1940 's, the Johnny Holmes orchestra playedat dances. Since only 800 tickets could be sold, two liour queues were normal.a capacity of 800, was jammed, with lineupsforming up to two hours before the doors wereopened. He produced the dances himself;renting the hall, personally guaranteeing themusicians' salaries which were regularly aboveunion scale and hiring personnel to sell ticketsand soft drinks (no liquor allowed).The orchestra had a repertoire and asound of its own with original arrangementsby Holmes himself. In spite of being only semiprofessionalin status it was one of the mostsuccessful of the big bands in Montreal.Professional musicians from other Montrealbands would crowd the balcony in Victoria Hallon their night off to watch and listen and learn.Radio played a big role in reaching a broadpublic for popular music and the CBCbroadcast the Johnny Holmes band regularlylive from Victoria Hall.Holmes' eye and ear for talent werelegendary. He hired a shy fifteen-year oldtrumpeter, Maynard Ferguson, after aninauspicious audition because he sensed theA View of Their Ownyoungster's potential, aninstinct vindicated byFerguson's subsequent brilliantcareer.But it was Johnny Holmes'collaborationwith aseventeen-year old OscarPeterson that gave theorchestra its unique distinction.Peterson becamethe orchestra's star attraction.Audiences were enthralledby his virtuoso playingbut he was also popularwith his fellow musicianswho were among his mostappreciative fans.Peterson was probablythe first black musician to work regularly withany of Montreal's big bands. Recognising hiscontribution to the band's success Holmes paidhim more than any other band member so thatPeterson was able to earn a living from theband, the only member, apart from JohnnyHolmes, to do so.Oscar Peterson whose career wouldtake him to the top in the music world.

129Summit Park,an area ofwildwoodlandThere still remained aspects of countrylife. The sisters of the Congrégation de NotreDame had a flourishing farm on the Villa Marialand and sold their excess produce to the public."Vegetables of many kinds were set out ontrestle tables in a great stone barn, which wasalways delightfully cool. When you took yourpurchase to be paid for, a Sister, seated at oneof the tables, would enter the transaction in aflowing script — the name of the item and theprice — into a large account book. If youwanted flowers a Sister would go into the fieldsand cut you a bunch. Dahlias and asters werefavourites. The whole experience was quiteunlike any other commercial exchange. It is amemory I will always cherish."Another country pleasure, unusual so closeto the heart of a big city, was Summit Park, thestretch of wild woodland crowning theWestmount summit. By great good luck thishad been left in its natural state during the yearsit had belonged to McGill University. When itwas sold to the city in 1940, it was with theunderstanding the area would be maintainedas a wild flower and bird sanctuary.

130In a spectacular gesture to publicise theCity's new acquisition, 50 Laurentianpheasants, hardy birds known to withstandbitter winter weather, were released among thetrees and undergrowth. They adapted well totheir new habitat. Visitors walking the quietwoodland paths were often startled anddelighted to be confronted with these large,colourful birds. The pheasants continued to nestover the next 20 years, but they were graduallystolen until all were gone.Meanwhile bird watchers discovered thatSummit Park in springtime was one of the finestbird-watching sites in the province. Itsrelatively untouched state and its location highon the hilltop, combined to provide a naturalA View of Their Ownresting place for dozens of migrating species,some moving on to other areas, othersremaining to nest and stay throughout thesummer.In 1944, a group of Westmounters, led byAlice Lighthall, concerned about preservationboth of areas of natural beauty, such as SummitPark, and of historic buildings, founded theWestmount Historical Association.One day, by chance, Miss Lighthall heardthat the Hurtubise farmhouse on Côte St.Antoine Road, owned by Dr. LeopoldHurtubise, the last of his branch of the family,was to be sold. The buyer was a contractor whoproposed to demolish the house and build onthe land. Alarmed, Miss Lighthall alerted theMIJJ Alice Lighthall onthe lawn in front of theHurtubise house whichwas saved from demolitionthrough her energeticintervention.

The Post-War Years 131media that one of the last examples of a French-Canadian farmhouse within the city was aboutto disappear.Members of the Molson family, who had along-standing interest in Quebec history, read therelevant article in the Montreal Gazette whilesummering in Tadoussac. "We got in touch withthe Hurtubise family and the contractor who wasto buy and demolish the house," relates ColinMolson. "A deed of sale had already beenprepared but signatures not completed."When the City refused to become involved,"this left only one course open to save the oldhouse — to buy it ourselves. This was done andthe three of us, Miss Mabel Molson, Mr. JamesBeattie and me, Colin Molson, found ourselvesowners of one of Canada's oldest historic houses."The Hurtubise property, bought in 1955,became the first acquisition of the group whowent on to establish "The Canadian Heritageof Quebec" in 1960, thus becoming a pioneerin the field of historic preservation in Canada.The dramatic rescue of the Hurtubise houseand the publicity surrounding Summit Parkadded to Westmount's attractions. The demandfor housing outstripped the supply and thosefew properties that came on the market werequickly snapped up. City Hall appeared to haveno difficulty coping with the needs of a growingcommunity and the years ahead seemed to offera vista of peace and prosperity. It proved to bethe calm before the storm.Right: Mr. ColinMolson inside theHurtubise house.

A View of Their OwnThe Changing Scene: "Triumphal Parade celebrating theformal surrender of Westnwitnt to annexation,"REPRINTED FROM THE MONTREALER". FEBRUARY, l?£lCartoon satirising the spectre of annexation to Montreal which was being raised once more.

14The 'Sixties'The decade began innocuously enoughwith the replay of a familiar theme. In 1961,Westmount's annexation to Montreal was againproposed and again rejected. A light-heartedcartoon on the subject in a Montreal magazineshowed portly Westmounters reacting withpanic and dismay to a Montreal "invasion."Residents found the cartoon hilarious. Butfor some indépendantistes, urging theseparation of Québec from Canada, Westmounthad turned into a symbol of detested133immoderate in its language and the threats ofviolence were suddenly made real when a bomb,planted in a downtown Montreal armoury,resulted in the death of its night watchman.Then on May 24, 1963, a day oncecelebrated as Queen Victoria's birthday, andchosen no doubt because of this association,14 bombs were placed in mailboxes in scatteredlocations across Westmount. "That morning apoliceman came to our door and said a bombhad been detected on our street and was goingto be dismantled." one resident recalled, "InSgt.-Major Walter Leja receiving the George medal for bravery, from Govenor-GeneralGeorges Vanier, at Goverment House, Ottawa Maivh 19, 1964.Anglophone superiority, with stereotypes ofprosperous matrons and upper class malescringing to dreams of "Empire." The municipalitywas constantly singled out as a target forinvective, its image a distorted caricature.Rhetoric grew heated. A terrorist group — leFront de Libération Québécois (FLQ) — becamecase it should explode before this could bedone, we were advised to leave our doors andwindows open to lessen the impact of theexplosion, and to stuff pillows along thewindow ledges and door sills."A bomb disposal unit, headed by Sergeant-Major Walter Leja of the Royal Canadian

134Engineers, raced from one location to anotherto de-activate the bombs. Several explodedbefore they could be reached. When one wasfound at the corner of Lansdowne andWestmount Avenues, near Roslyn school, therewas an agonizing race to defuse the mechanismbefore classes were dismissed and childrenpoured into the streets. As it was being takenapart however, the bomb exploded and WalterLeja was critically injured. Conrad Pelletier, afourth-year medical student at the Universitéde Montréal, living nearby on LansdowneAvenue, was on the scene within minutes andis credited with saving Leja's life. NeverthelessLeja lost one arm and the other was paralysed.One mother remembers: "I heard theexplosion and knew at once it was a bomb. Iran out of the house. Others were running, allof us headed for Roslyn. It was one of the worstmoments of my life. There was a police cordonaround the Lansdowne corner and Sergeant Lejawas lying on the ground. We were assured thechildren were safe, though we had to wait untilnearly two o'clock for police clearance, and onlythen were the children allowed out of school."For Walter Leja and his family the disasterremained a life-long tragedy, with Leja unableto regain ^independent mobility and forced toremain permanently hospitalised. A trust fundwas set up for the Leja family by the City ofWestmount. Later, Walter Leja taught himselfto paint with a prosthesis and presented one ofhis canvases, a landscape painting, to PeterMcEntyre, who as a councillor, had been incharge of the Leja Trust.Two years later, on June 30, 1965, therewas an attempt to blow up City Hall. TheExaminer account of the incident read in part,"The bomb was planted in the rear or west endof the Hall and exploded at 12:26 a.m. The blastA View of Their Ownbroke all the windows in the rear of City Halland several in the area. The Hall itself was notdamaged and the spot where the bomb wasplaced against the building is not even cracked.The walls at that part are almost two feet thickand solid stone."The frustration felt by Westmounters in thewake of the bombings was particularly gallingsince many parents with children at theelementary level had been agitating to find7965 bomb damage at the rear of City Hall.positive ways to respond to the changing socialclimate in Quebec, and to the demand forincreased use of French in the life of theprovince. By 1965, an active Home and SchoolAssociation at Roslyn initiated an extracurricularFrench programme for the primarygrades. This was followed, in 1968, with aFrench immersion kindergarten year, the firstin any school within the Protestant SchoolCommission. It proved immensely popular,attracting 110 pupils.

The "Sixties' 135While Roslyn was searching for innovativeways to integrate the teaching of English andFrench, developments at St. Paul's school hadtaken another direction, with students dividedinto separate French and English elementarystreams, each with its own principal. By thelate 1960s, jurisdiction over the school wastransferred from the Congrégation de NotreDame to the Montreal English Catholic SchoolCommission and its French counterpart. TheFrench sector was moved to Ecole St-Léon onPainting by Sgt. Major Walter Leja, presented toPeter McEntyre, aMayorofWestmount, whoorganised a fund for the Leja family.Clarke Avenue, while the English sector wasexpanded to become the English CatholicJunior High School for Montreal's west end.A decade later the school was closed downaltogether and classes dispersed among schoolsoutside Westmount.In another round of seemingly endlessshifts of the student population, Westmount'ssenior and junior high schools were mergedinto a single institution, Westmount HighSchool, built on part of the old MAAA fields,with the original track and facilities serving asthe school's sports ground. The junior high,originally Westmount's first high school, wasrenamed Westmount Park School, offeringelementary grades for the district belowSherbrooke Street. King's and Queen's schoolswere phased out and closed in 1963 and 1964.Roslyn was unaffected and continued tofunction as the elementary school for the areaabove Sherbrooke Street, its reputationmaintained at a consistently high level thanksto a teaching staff of exceptional quality. "Mrs.Ross, Mrs. Mayerovitch, and others, you feltthey got to know you and they took time toexplain things."With the opening of the new high schoolin the fall of 1961, the old high school, formerlyArgyle, was closed and later sold to a privateboys' school, Selwyn House. The wholesalerestructuring of the public school system left anumber of parents confused and uneasy. Inparticular the large size of the new high schoolraised doubts about the quality of instruction.The reputation of Westmount's public schoolshad always been high, but for the first timemany parents began to consider the possibilityof private schools for their children.Several alternatives were available withinWestmount. St. George's school had beenestablished in the district since 1930. This wasa non-denominational, co-educational schoolfounded by a group of Westmount parentsimpatient with a public school system they feltpenalised imagination. The school was run onprogressive lines, implementing new conceptsinitiated by education pioneers in England.Later, three more traditional schoolsrelocated from Montreal to Westmount. In1960, Selwyn House, a boys' school, movedinto the old Argyle High School on Côte St.

136Antoine Road. The same year, The Study, agirls' school founded in 1915 in downtownMontreal, settled on The Boulevard, in aspacious house built by Robert Findlay for Mr.Macaulay of the Sun Life Company.Another girls' school, Miss Edgar's andMiss Cramp's, which had been searching for apermanent location since their downtown GuyStreet property was sold, was re-established atthe corner of Montrose and Mount PleasantWestmount High School. Opened 1961. Sleeklyfunctional in the architectural style of the day.avenues in 1964. It was, however, forced toabandon its boarding school operation whenWestmount's City Hall refused to grant it apermit.Meanwhile the new Westmount HighSchool began to take its place in thecommunity. The public's negative reactionstemmed in part from the visual impact of thebuilding. Conforming to the 1960s architecturalstyle, it was sleekly functional with littleembellishment or flourish, indoors or out. Treesand bushes planted around the façade were tooyoung to soften the bare outlines, and thegeneral aspect remained dismayingly sterile.The "baby boomers," born in the early postwaryears and now entering their teens, filledthe new school and stretched its facilities to theA View of Their Ownlimit, with an initial registration of 1,282 studentsexceeding the projected enrolment of 1,200.There were innovations. A music class wasadded at the junior level. There were twogroups: "You had the choice of joining thestrings or the woodwinds. Morley Calvert wasour teacher. He helped us feel we could reallyplay though most of us were using theseinstruments for the first time. He later becamea leading Canadian composer. There was alsoa choir, directed byMiss Jamieson, whichshe developed into areally good ensemble."At the seniorlevel, a small groupof brilliant teacherscontinued to maintainWestmount'shigh standards. Onewas Angus Bernard,head of the Englishdepartment. He wasa fiercely individual personality, frightening inhis rigorous standards, inspiring in his studentsa love of the subject. One of his pupils, MichaelKabay, recalls: "I was the very first recipientof the Angus Bernard medal for English and Ihave kept it proudly.Mr. Bernard was aman who treasuredconciseness. Perhapsthe most importantthing he taught us wasthe joy of the wellwrittenclear simpleEnglish sentence. Hedespised humbuggeryand fancy languageused for effect."Angus Bernard, head of theEnglish département, WHS.Douglas Lou-ley

The 'Sixties' 137Dr. Hélène Saly, Frenchspecialist, and innovatorDouglas Lawley was another teacherremembered with pride by those in his class.His subject was Latin, but he also supervisedthe art class and was himself a versatile andcompetent artist. His paintings of horses, fromthe sleigh cab horses on Mount Royal to thewild horses of Sable Island, were particularlyfine and extremely popular. Several of hiscanvases now hang in the high schoolprincipal's office. "Each year Douglas Lawleywould set up hiseasel in the highschool gym andpaint a canvas whilestudents gatheredround him to watch.The finished canvaswas then donatedfor sale in the annualRed Cross Drive."Yet another teacherwas Dr. HélèneSaly, French specialistat the seniorlevel. Dr. Saly initiated an unusually creativeproject that ultimately went well beyond itsmodest objectives. The idea began as acomposition assignment focusing onWestmount as "Ma Ville et son Histoire." Theassignment generated so much interest that anOld Westmount Club was formed to continueresearch into Westmount's history in greaterdepth. Assisted by Latin teacher GéraldineLane, the final outcome was "Old Westmount,"a book which told the story of the city from itsearliest days to 1920, researched, written andillustrated by the students. It was the firstattempt to capture a coherent view ofWestmount's development and proved acatalyst for continued research on the subject.Elsewhere, interesting innovations weretaking root. At St. Matthias', a Men's andBoys' Choir was formed in 1960. This was aunique programme, demanding dedication tohours of practice from its members. Itsprimary value was a kind of musicaleducation not available elsewhere, with arepertoire ranging from Gregorian chant tothe work of contemporary composers. Undersuccessive choirmasters, the St. Matthias'Country road Quebec - Douglas Lawley.Choir earned a national and an internationalreputation through its recordings, recitals andtours in Canada, the United States and GreatBritain.Also at St. Matthias', a new social programme,'Meals on Wheels' was inauguratedby Phoebe Seely and Catherine Stavart of theWomen's Association. It introduced to Canadaa programme, also known as "Stew for a Few,"begun by the Women's Voluntary Service inEngland. Volunteers cooked, delivered andserved a hot meal once a week to elderly menor women living at home alone on limitedincomes. Along with the assurance of a wellbalancedmeal the visit of the volunteer

138Gwen Mousley, winner of the Rotary Volunteer awardfor 1966, with a consignment of 'Meals on Wheels'from St. Matthias Women's Associationprovided a welcome social contact. Theprogramme, launched in January 1966, was animmediate success and was soon adopted byother volunteer organisations.At the library, Norah Bryant, anotherdistinguished scholar, had succeeded KathleenJenkins as chief librarian in 1962. Under herdirection, meetings began with other chieflibrarians acrossthe metropolitanarea. "Librarieswere facing somany changes; itwas heartening toshare our problemsand ideas forsolving them. Wealso initiated reciprocalaccess to theChief Librarian Norah Bryant libraries in thein Library Centennial Room.A View of Their OwnRoyal and Laval, giving us expanded materialfor use, particularly in the French sector." Tocommemorate the centenary of Canadianconfederation in 1967, the library opened " TheCentennial Room," a new reading room andreference area.At City Hall, continuing a tradition ofinnovation begun in 1896, the Westmount FireDepartment, under Paul Motard, became thefirst in Canada to develop a Junior FirefightersProgramme "to give Westmount children theeducation necessary to help them avoid injury."The programme came to be widely copiedacross the country. In the same year, 1969,Captain William Timmons, officer in chargeof fire prevention, won the grand award forWestmount s FireDepartment becamea leader in theinnovation of newprogrammes. FireChief WilliamTimmons, one of thedepartment'slongest-servingmembers, was afamiliar and welllovedpersonality.Canada in an annual contest, judged in Boston,of the National Fire Prevention Associations(NFPA). William Timmons went on to becomedeputy-chief of the Westmount Department forsix years and chief, that is director, for anothersix. Fire fighting was "in the family," with Mr.Timmons and his two sons accumulating aremarkable record of 101 years of service.A welcome new recreational facility wasan outdoor public swimming pool built besidethe skating arena at the western end ofWestmount Park. The pool was a huge successTown of Mountwith an attendance of over 80,000 recorded in

The 'Sixties' 139its first full season of operation. Parks largeand small were being redeveloped. StaynerAvenue's small playground area wasredesigned to include a greater variety offacilities.Westmount Park itself underwent acomplete overhaul aimed at producing amaximum of visual variety and multiplerecreational uses. The objectives were laudableand the results generally hailed as a greatsuccess, but in the grooming process the parkinevitably lost the last vestiges of its originalwild landscape.with real syrup rather than the pre-mixed kind."In other changes, a familiar street namedisappeared when Western Avenue became deMaisonneuve in honour of the founder ofMontreal. And after years of unsuccessfullobbying, liquor sales were finally permittedwithin the municipality.Montreal was also changing, its central roleas a communications and transportation centrediffused by demographics and changingpatterns of trade. Colouring every move werepolitical uncertainties and the continuing threatfrom terrorists, whose strength could not be gauged.Another signAgainst thisof changing timeswas the fate of thegreat house builtby Noah Timminsin the late 1920s. Itwas sold in 1962and divided intotwo residences,each substantialbut more manageablebackground ofanxious uncertaintya majorpublic event wasneverthelesstaking triumphantshape in thearea. This wasExpo '67, thefirst internation-than theal exhibitionoriginal mansion,whose dimensionsreflected a way ofThe Timmins mansion becomes two large houses.staged in Canada.It was MontrealMayor Jeanlife rapidly vanishing by the 1960s.Another landmark closing, of a verydifferent kind, occurred with the sale of Macy's.The Old Colony Pharmacy and Restaurant,known to everyone as Macy's, had filled thenorthwest corner of Victoria Avenue andSherbrooke Street since the 1920s. It had anold-fashioned English tea room look, withwaitresses in dark uniforms with frilled whiteaprons and caps. An enthusiast recalls " It wasa treat. I remember eating chicken in the basket,hamburgers, and ordering cherry coke madeDrapeau's most ambitious and most successfulenterprise in publicising his beloved city andraising it to world stature. The exhibition'soverall theme was "Man and His World."Individual pavilions were filled withimaginative interpretations of the theme, withthe whole glittering fantasy brilliantly conjuredup on islands in the St. Lawrence River.In preparation for the expected crowdsvisiting Expo 67, Montreal's first subway line,"the Métro," was built running east and westthrough the city. Its western terminus was at

140Westmount Square, an elegant apartment complex built in thewake of new construction following the building of the Metro '.Atwater Avenue, with exits fanning out intoWestmount as far as Greene Avenue. This newtransportation system brought real estatedevelopment in its wake, just as the firststreetcars had done almost 100 years before.The most striking of the new structures wasWestmount Square — three austere high riseA View of Their Owntowers — designed by Mies van derRohe in the International Style hehelped make famous. In the process,several blocks of small buildings,many of them among the oldest in thevicinity, were demolished to providethe large tract of land needed for theproject. The final result was a fineexample of Mies' elegant architecturebut it was nevertheless an intrusion intothe scale of the neighbourhood andopened the way to future large projectsincluding Alexis Nihon Plaza, a multilayeredshopping mall, and severalhigh rise apartment blocks of mixedarchitectural merit.But Expo 67 was an unqualified success.Westmount contributed handsomely with a"Plaza of the Universe," an outdoor terrace withlighted fountains, a hexagonal pool and a 27-foot mechanical sculpture by Yves Trudeau.The Plaza was formally handed over to theExpo 67. Deputy Commissioner-General Robert Sliaw (left), Commissioner-General Pierre Dupuy andMrs. Dupicy with Mayor Michael Tucker and Mrs. Tucker on ' Westmount Day '.

The 'Sixties' 141Fair's Deputy Commissioner-General, RobertShaw, by Westmount's Mayor Michael Tucker,on Sunday afternoon, April 16. Strategicallyplaced in the heart of one of the main avenues onthe site, the terrace proved immensely popularthroughout the six months of the exhibition.Westmount also had its "Day." This tookplace towards the end of the fair in October.The weather proved unkind, raining hard formost of the day, but this failed utterly to dampenthe spirits of those taking part. Westmount'sreputation for reserved behaviour was quiteoverturned by the joyful enthusiasm ofparticipants and spectators. Expo officials laterremarked that never had the Place des Nations,the principal demonstration ground, seen suchspirited participation and such exuberantcrowds in such inclement weather.The demonstration began with aWestmount fire truck leading a parade ofantique cars into the Place des Nations to theaccompaniment of wild cheering from themultitude of youngsters who had been grantedthe day off school. Mayor Tucker, decked outin a silver fireman's helmet, rode in on the backof the truck. He then presented Commissioner-General Pierre Dupuy with a similar helmet,designating him Honorary Chief of theWestmount Fire Brigade. There followed aperformance tracing Westmount's history fromthe days of the Indian wars through its variousidentities up to the present.Commissioner Dupuy then spoke. "ForMontrealers" he said, "Westmount is the jewelin our crown. Whether we belong to it or notwe are all proud of its architecture, of its treesand flowers, of its way of life." It was a movingtribute, climaxing what one spectator reportedas "a very happy and rewarding occasion."In honour of Expo year, Rabbi Stern held aspecial convocation of his Institute at TempleEmmanu-El, gathering together four outstandingCanadian theologians, representingthe Roman Catholic, Protestant, GreekA historical pageant traced Westmount's history. The entire programme was an unqualified success.

142Rabbi Harry Stem with Cardinal Paul-Emile Léger,honoured guest at Rabbi Stem 's Fellowship Dinner that year.Orthodox and Jewish faiths. In the same year,the rabbi's guest at his annual Fellowship Dinnerwas the beloved and revered Cardinal Léger.Mayor Maurice Tessier ofRinwuski and Mayor MichaelTucker of Westmount, celebrate the 'twinning' of their cities.A View of Their OwnA year after Expo, in a lightheartedceremony at Westmount City Hall,Westmount was "twinned" with anothercity in the province, Rimouski. This accordof mutual good-will was signed by therespective mayors of the two cities;greetings were traded and promises madeof cultural exchanges to follow. In a timeof increasing hostility between thelinguistic factions of Quebec society, it wasa heartening move to link this perceivedAnglophone bastion with one of the mostvigorously nationalist cities in theprovince.But with the onset of the 1970s,Westmount continued to be a prime targetof the FLQ, with bombs exploding atrandom locations, including the main postoffice. Early in June 1970, five bombsexploded in a single day, with one in particular, on Sherbrooke Street near ElmAvenue, doing considerable damage.Following this incident, the effect onthe population was described in aWestmount Examiner editorial which read,in part: "There is no panic in Westmount."There was, of course, the immediate alarmand anguish for the affected households.There was shock, injury, material loss, andgeneral sympathy for those who, apparentlyat random, suffered it. But there was nopanic. "No community, " commented a latereditorial, "has suffered more through thisreign of warped thuggery, more bombincidents or more threats."At the next council meeting, "while lawnbowlers, like so many Sir Francis Drakes,quietly played in the summer heat on thegreens outside," the incumbent mayor, Peter

The 'Sixties' 14377;? Canadian Miltary on thestreets of Westmount depictedin Ttie Westmount Examiner ofOctober29, 1970McEntyre called the latest bomb incident "amost deplorable occurrence." Then, "Mayor,aldermen and city officials made their waythrough a fourteen point, largely routine agendafor this statutory June meeting."In October, the FLQ kidnapped two publicfigures, James L. Cross, a British official livingin Montreal, and a Quebec cabinet minister,Pierre Laporte, who was later murdered. Theseactions triggered the October Crisis when theWar Measures Act was invoked. Public reactionto this move was sharply divided, with somefeeling relief, others outrage, at the resultingsuspension of civil liberties.Westmount, still perceived as a possibletarget for further terrorist attacks,witnessed thesurreal spectacle of armed potective personnelon the city's quiet streets. At the opening ofCouncil on October 22, 1970, membersobserved a minute's silence in tribute to thedeath of Pierre Laporte. A constable stoodguard just outside the wrought iron gates ofthe council chamber, armed with an automaticFN rifle. Local officers, armed with automaticrifles and shotguns, and troops in battle gear,stood on sentry duty, while other heavily armedpolicemen patrolled outside City Hall.The tension continued for some time, andwas felt by all segments of the population.Special precautions were taken at schools, asone former student recalls: "Local bomb scareswere still frequent. Whenever one occurred, wewere marched over to the armoury for safety.It was kind of fun for us students but of courseit was disruptive too. It was a difficultenvironment in which to focus on schoolwork."Still, Westmounters remained calm,resolved to carry on in a spirit best exemplifiedby the mayor at that time, Paul Ouimet.Paul Ouimet, who took office in 1971, wasa championship athlete and a man ofintellectual distinction. His inaugural speechwas made in the wake of the worst days of theattacks on the community, yet his words werein striking contrast to the partisan rhetoricprevailing at the time."We have here," the mayor said, "a complex

144society, economically and in other ways. Wespeak both official languages and several others.We are involved in an immense range ofoccupations and personal services and interests."Some Westmounters have ancient roots inthis soil, others fresh ones but deep none theless. One of our problems in Westmount is that,wilfully or not, those who comment on us oftenmisrepresent us."These are not easy times. They are timeswhen specious answers to weighty questionsoften go unchallenged and when confrontationis put forward as the modern version ofnegotiation."Our first objective must be the bettermentof Westmount, but we seek to achieve this as partof the betterment of the entire metropolitan area."Let us then work as a team of citizens tokeep Westmount a bright example among othermunicipalities as well as a strong leader."A View of Their OwnMayor Paul Ouimet. 'Let us work as a team of citizensto keep Westmount a bright example. '

145EpilogueThe October Crisis passed. Challenges ofa different kind followed in the wake of a socialevolution that affected almost every aspect ofmunicipal life.Westmount's development as amunicipality had been formed by deliberatechoices of standards and institutions thatcontributed to a particular view of communitylife, emphasizing education and literacy,religious tolerance and diversity, theimportance of green spaces and sports, andmunicipal independence.Independence. Generation after generationeach incumbent mayor and council fought tomaintain Westmount's autonomy. But in thedrive towards bigger and more powerful urbanunits, local communities increasingly wereforced to cede authority. In this, Westmountshowed, and continues to show, a remarkableresilience.Alterations in the division of fiscalresponsibility weakened Westmount's planningcontrol, but each step was contested in avigorous and sustained fight. When policedepartments were removed from local controlto the centralised management of the MontrealUrban Community (MUC) over vehementpublic protests, the change was effected withcommendable harmony due to Westmount'scooperation.Most dramatic was the change in theeducation system, cornerstone of themunicipality's standards. In the 1970s,Westmount lost control of its school board andwas assigned to a district which included halfof Notre Dame de Grace and most of St. Henri.Many Westmounters were aghast but otherssaw a positive side. Joan Rothman, the lastchairperson — and the first woman - - topreside over Westmount's School Boardobserved that as a result, "the system wasopened up in a more democratic way. The newformula helped even out the disparities betweendistricts, those like Westmount with a soundtax base and others, like St. Henri, which wereless well endowed. Of course it was a shock.Westmount's schools were no longer restrictedto local residents. This was a big, a fundamentalchange."A dramatic population exodus began,largely of families with young children. Still,few were prepared for the WestmountExaminer's headline on September 24, 1987:"Westmount High School to close." Due toplunging enrolment it seemed the numbers didnot justify the school's survival. However, agroup of young parents, shocked andgalvanized into action, began meeting weekly,defining goals, establishing priorities,searching for solutions. By the fall of 1989,the school was declared safe from closure.

146A View of Their OwnNevertheless, as Principal Richard Meadesacknowledged, "It is a different school fromthat of a generation ago. We now have studentsfrom every continent and of every religiousfaith. It may not be easy for them but theseboys and girls are learning to get along witheach other and I believe it will provide arewarding experience when they move out ofthe school into the world outside."The dramatic demographic changesaffected commerce, from real estate to the localfamily-owned businesses. Some oldestablishedand well-loved stores such asSmithers' and Ohman's closed, but there werealso heartening signs of commitment andoptimism. On Greene Avenue, three youngwomen, Judy Mappin, Hélène Holden and JoanBlake, opened a bookstore, the Double Hook,devoted exclusively to Canadian books. Thewomen were judged foolhardy and misguided,but contrary to dire predictions, the DoubleHook has flourished and become adistinguished presence in the community.Henrietta Antony, whose modest store onGreene avenue was identified for many yearsby "the rocking horse in the window,"undertook an extensive renovation projectwhen she acquired the old Royal Bank buildingat Greene and St. Catherine and transformed itinto a treasure house of antiques. Today,Tony's shoe store, Nick's restaurant, Alexander'sand the West End Gallery, also remain to anchorthe old with the new on Greene Avenue.And on Victoria avenue, the Visual ArtsCentre, the only independent crafts and designschool in the province, took a great leapforward moving from the cramped quarters of"The Potters Club" in an old house into thespacious premises of the old Biltcliffedepartment store. The move was made possiblein large measure, by Virginia McClure, whosedevotion to the centre's concept helped carrythe project forward, providing a vibrantshowcase for the arts in this western sector ofthe community.In the early 1980s, a lively Westmount ArtsFestival was mounted, surprising many withthe range and depth of Westmount talent inevery field of the arts. The week-long eventincluded exhibitions of paintings andphotographs, chamber music concerts, danceand theatre performances, and literary eventsof poetry and prose readings.Late in the 1980s, Westmount took part in"Family Week," a federal government initiative"to celebrate the family in its many and variedforms as the fundamental unit of our society."Westmount fashioned its participation aroundthe theme, "Westmount: a Family of Families,"highlighting the ties that bind people at work,in school, at play, and on the street where theylive. Organized under the direction ofCouncillor Sally Aitken, the project was a hugesuccess. For many, it provided a rediscoveryof the sense of neighbourhood that makes thiscity such a remarkable urban community.

Epilogue 147One facet of Westmount's image remainedfirmly in place - - its concern and care forgardens and green spaces. In the third year thatWestmount entered the provincial "Villes,Villages et Campagnes Fleuris" competition,it emerged as the only municipality to win inthree categories: beautification in its populationcategory, greenest municipality in the provinceand the top regional award.Religious diversity continued to evolve. Inthe 1970s, when the Melville congregation wasunable to maintain its church it was taken overby the Holy Trinity Orthodox community. Aportrait bust of one of its founders, DoctorDrago Papich, stands on the grounds in frontof the church.At Stanley Presbyterian, the church fatherswere pleased to find a like-minded missionarycongregation, the Seventh Day Adventists, whohad worshipped in Westmount since the 1920s,to move into their fine building. The arrival ofthis mostly black Christian group whichattended services on Saturday instead ofSunday, caused some bewilderment in theneighbourhood. "At first the police werefrequent visitors," observed Pastor RobertSamms drily, "but the novelty soon wore off.It was obvious we wanted to care for andpreserve the church. It is such a beautifulbuilding, a very special place."St Andrew's, Westmount's first Presbyterianchurch, was sold to its neighbour, SelwynHouse School, and the remaining congregationfrom St. Andrew's joined the Dominion-Douglas Church on The Boulevard.Changes were also underway at the statelyMother House of the Congrégation de NotreDame. With only a handful of sisters left tocare for the huge building, it was clear the orderwas ready to move. But where was the tenantwith a need for so much space?A happy combination of circumstancesbrought together the Marguerite Bourgeoysteaching order with Dawson College, the largestof the English CEGEPs (Colleges of General andProfessional Education). The long and skilfulnegotiation by Dawson's DirectorGeneral, SarahPaltiel, resulted in the government's agreementto locate Dawson's new campus in the handsomebuilding and grounds of the order.Fears of vandalism which might follow astudent invasion proved unfounded. "Thebuilding," reported the new Director-GeneralPatrick Woodsworth, "has exerted its ownpositive influence. It has been unnecessary toimpress the students with the need to respect theirsurroundings. They have simply done so."The college drew Westmount into a largerurban orbit and underlined an evolution alreadyunderway in the municipality. At the officialopening, the college was praised by PremierRobert Bourrassa "for its cultural diversity andcontribution towards building a new society,"and Montreal's Mayor Jean Doré saluted "thiscosmopolitan institution".

148A View of Their OwnOne well-loved landmark disappearedwhen "The Reddy" was forced to close itsdoors. In spite of a sustained, passionatecampaign on its behalf, the hospital was sweptaway in the wholesale reorganisation ofmedical services throughout the province.The constant threat of losing cherishedinstitutions, a hemorrhage of population,particularly young adults, set against abackground of continuing political uncertainlyinduced a public anxiety and frustration whichfound an outlet in the 1987 municipal election.Westmount elections had traditionally beenlow-key campaigns with the mayor, by tacitconsent, invariably voted in by acclamation.But in the elections of 1987, in a whirlwind ofpublic participation, the popular incumbent,Brian Gallery, was defeated by an oppositioncandidate, May Cutler.Westmount's first woman mayor, with abackground in journalism and publishing, wasmaking her first entry into public life. The nextfour years were among the most controversialand stimulating in Westmount's history.Declaring she wanted to see a more "creative"city hall, the mayor set in motion a series ofevents in the arts.Stained glass panels in the windows of theCouncil chamber and paintings hung throughoutCity Hall showcased the work of Westmountartists. An "Author's Night" highlighted theremarkable number of writers in Westmount, andan Honours Committee celebrated Westmounterswho had made a significant contribution in manyfields outside the municipality.The mayor was also active on issuesbeyond Westmount. When Montreal rushedto rename Dorchester Boulevard for the latePremier René Lévesque, Mayor Cutlersteadfastly refused to rename that section thatran through Westmount, declaring there wereother ways to honour M. Lévesque withoutdiscarding a valuable part of Montrealhistory.In 1991, Mayor Cutler's term of officecame to an end. When urged to continue for asecond term she declined, admitting that it hadbeen a strenuous four years and that she wasanxious to step down. Former Councillor PeterTrent was nominated to succeed May Cutlerand, reverting to tradition, the nominee wasunopposed and later installed as Westmount's35th mayor.Under Mayor Trent's guidance, one of theenduring elements in the life of Westmount,the Library, the heart and centre of thecommunity for 100 years, has been lovinglyrenovated and extended. Now discreetlymodernised and computerised, yet reassuringlyfamiliar in aspect, it appears ready to welcomeanother century as the community's favouritemeeting place for all ages.Mayor Trent faced, and continues to face,many of the recurring challenges toWestmount's independence and institutions.But the city's long and deep-rooted traditionsand style, and its proven ability to adapt tochange while maintaining its essentialcharacter, augur well for the future.

Index149

IndexAbbe, Gauthier 96Abbott Avenue 39Abbott Avenue CPR Station 39,49Aberdeen Avenue 67Abramovitz, Rabbi Herman 93Adam, Robert 23Air Force 114Aitken, Councillor Sally 146Alexander's 146Algonkians 12,14Allât, Thomas 70Alton, Etiennette 16Amherst, General 19,20Anderson, Mr. 99Antony, Henrietta 146Archibald, John 22Arena 83Argyle Avenue 33,98Argyle School 107Ascension of Our Lord Church 96Association in Arts Certificate 45Astor, John Jacob 18Atwater Avenue 14,29Atwater Avenue 58Atwater Library 92Avon Glen 39Avonmount 39Aylmer Gerald 51Badgeley, Judge 20Bagot, Sir Charles 23Bank of Montreal 51,52Baptist 9Barnes, Dorothy 116Baseball 65Battalion, 14th 82Battle of Britain 114Beattie, James 131BeaverClub 120Beaver Shipping 21Belmont Avenue 101Belvedere Place,66 102Benedict, CE 96Bernard, Angus 136Bethlehem Congregational Church 61Biltcliffe, William 70Bishop Newnham 69Bishop, George 37Bonsecours Market 23Boulevard, The 41,55,75Bourgeoys, Marguerite 14,63,147Bourrassa, Robert 147Bowman, Charles 20Boyer, Judge Louis 101Braemar 23British "bobby" 49Brodie, Muriel 45Bronfman, Mrs Sam 116Brown, Francis 59Brown, James 65Brown, William 65Bryant, Norah 138Bundles for Britain 117Bylaws 30,72Byng, Lord and Lady 89151Calvary Church 73Calvert, Morley 136Canada Bread Bakery 100Canadian Pacific Railway 36,73Cannon in park 76Caron, Rene Edouard 27Caron Castle 25Caugnawaga(Kahnawake) 35Cenotaph 122Central Park, N.Y. 53Champlain & St. Lawrence Railway 20Chateauclaire 54Chatfield, DuncanIllChildren's Demonstration 55Children's Room 75Children's Theatre 110Christian Brothers 61Church of the Advent 43Church of the Redeemer 73City Beautiful 54,78City Council 69Civilian Protection Corps (CPC) 118Claremont Avenue 33Clarke Avenue 27,34,59,63Clarke, Ann 17,18Clarke, Home 31Clarke, John 18Clarke, Marianne 19Clarke, Simon 17,19Collyer& Hummel'sLivery Stables 72Congregation de Notre Dame 14,25,60,92,135C.N.D. Mother House Fire 42C.N.D Mother House Sherbrooke St 63Conservatory 91Contrée St. Joseph 14Cote des Neiges 19,27Cote St. Antoine 11,15,17,20,22,29,31,33Cote St. Antoine Academy 36

152Cote St. Antoine Improvement Committee 47Cote St. Antoine New Academy 44,45Cote St. Antoine Road 61Cote St. Antoine Tennis Club 34,36,65CPR Trains 39Crerar, General H.D.G 120Cross, James L 143Crumpets 70Currie, Sir Arthur 85Cutter, Charles 57Davis, Dorothy 110Davis, Sir Mortimer 73Dawson, College 147Dawson, William 23,73De Belmont 14De Callieres, Governor General Louis-Hector 15De Gagne, MarcIllDe La Dauversiere 13De Maisonneuve 13,14De Vaudreuil, Marquis 19Decarie Boulevard 31Decarie Family 17,73DecaneFarm 26Decane Jeanne 15Decarie Melons 65Des Carries 15Dewey, Elsie Gordon 126Dionne & Dionne 31,106Dominion Square 28Dominion Telegraph Company 33Dominion Douglas United Church 94,98Douglas, Rev. George 37DukeofConnaught 83Duncan, James 29Dunn, Danny & Mary 59Dupuy, Pierre... ; 141Edgemont 19Elgin, Lord 24EUegood, Canon Jacob 43,44Elm Avenue 51Elm Hall 57,60,61Erskine Presbyterian Church 28,73Evacuees 117Evans, Mr. 38Exchange Coffee House 22Expo 67 139,140,141"Fameuse" 14Ferguson, Maynard 128Fief St. Augustin 13Findlay, Robert 57,58,136Fire Station No. 2 75First Church of Christ Scientist 73A View of Their OwnFisher, Lance Corp. Fred 82,83Fisher, Lt. Col. Frank 80,83Floral Clock 91FLQ 133Flu epidemic 84Footner, William 23Forden 20,37Fort de La Montagne 14Fort des Messieurs 14French Immersion 134French, Mr 99Frobisher, Joseph 17Fry's 100Fumiss, Albert 20Ganonsagouas, Marie-Therese 14,63Garden City 54Garden Point 11Gentlemen of St. Sulpice 27George, David Lloyd 95Gillespie, James 19Glen School (King's) 60Glen, Royal 39Glen, Avon 39Glen, The 33,50Goodenough, Asa 22Gould, C.H 57Greenshields, Miss 28Greene Avenue 29,31,40,51Grey Nuns 30,61,96,101Griffin Town 43Grosvenor Avenue 51Gyde, Elizabeth 27Hallowell, Estate 35Hallowell, William 20Harrison Bakery 70Harrison Sons 70Harrison, Dent 70Hart, Benjamin 24Hays, Moses Judah 24Heather Curling Club 34,57Henderson, Mary Howard 69Henry, Martha 20High Anglican 9Hill, George 86Hillside Avenue 72HMCSCityofWestmount "I" 115Hockey 34Hollinger, Benny ]Q2Holmes, Johnny 127,128Home GuardgjHotel Dieu 1320Howard, Ebenezer 54Howe, Mr. 99

153_HRH Prince of Wales 87Hudson's Bay Company 18Hurons 12,13,14Hurtubise, Mann 15Hurtubise, Pierre 15Hurtubise, Jean 16Hurtubise, Road 68,73Hurtubise, House 130Hurtubise, Dr. Leopold 130Hutchison, Mrs Alexander 36,117Ice Sailing 109Illinois 12Indian Pictographs 12Indian Wells 11,33Indians 11,14,15Institut Pédagogique 92Institute on Judaism 127Iroquoians 11,12Iroquois 35Irvine Farm Cottage 35Jenkins, Kathleen 106Jenkins, Miss 75Jewish 9Jubilee Celebration Committee 55Kawenote Teiontiakon 10Kelsey, Charles 93Kensington Avenue 65,34Kerr,John 38Kingfishers" 98Kings School 79Lac a Loutre 27Lac St. Pierre 15,27,50Lachine Rapids 27,109LacroisFarm 20Lacross 63Lande Family 75,99,101Lawley, Douglas 137Lawn Bowling Club 65Lay, Miss 59Leduc, Jean 14LeducLambert 15Léger, Cardinal Paul-Emile 142Leja,Sgt. Major Walter 133.134Leroux, Father 43Les Dames Religieuses de L'Hôtel Dieu de Montreal 13,20Lighthall, Alice 66,69,83,130LighthaU, William Douw 12,54,66,78Lookout, Summit Circle 104Lord Montgomery of Allemein 122Lord Strathcona 69LordSydenham 23Loups 14MAAA 34,35MAAA World Skating Championship 65MAAA World Bicycle Meet 65MAAA Rink 45Macdonald, Sir John A 30,38Macdonald, Sir William 53Mackay, Joseph and Edward 31Mackay, Protestant Intitution for Deaf Mutes 231Macy's 139Mance Jeanne 13,14Marchand, Jean Omer 63,92Martin, Mrs 31Maryland Ice Cream Parlor 124McCord, David Ross 77McDonagh, Father 106McEntyre, Peter 135McGiU, Air Vice Marshall Frank 114McGill, James 17McGill, University 53McGill, University Survey School 54McGillivray, William 21McKergow, Mayor John 81McLeod.C.H 35McNaughton, Frances 59McNeill, Rev. John 74McNicoll, David 39Meals on Wheels 137Melbourne Avenue 59Melville Church, new 61,62Melville Presbyterian Church 36,37Merchant's Bank of Halifax 40Metcalfe, Lord 23Metcalfe, Terrace 23Metro, The 139Milestone 15Mills, Alexander 27Miss Edgar's and Miss Cramp's 136Moffat, Hon. George 20Mohawk 11,12Molson, Colin 131Molson, Mabel 131Monk, Sir James 23Monklands 23Monsignor Paul Bruchesi 60Mont St. Marie 60Montreal Royals 65Montreal Ski Club 63Montreal Water & Power Company 39Montreal 9,15Montreal Coroner 12Moore, Hazel 84Motard, Paul 138Mount Pleasant Avenue 59

154Mount Royal 9,11,13,53Mount Royal Riding Academy 72,81Mount Royal Tennis Club 65Mountain Avenue 34,108Mountain, Rt. Rev. George Jehoshaphat 19Mousley, Gwen 138Murray Estate 101Murray Park 20,102,108Murray, Alexander 21Murray, William 21Nelson, Admiral 19Newnham, Rev. Gervais 36Nichols, Irene 126Ninchen, Guido 96Norman, Prof. Frank 77North West Company 17Notre Dame de Grâce 9,78Notre Dame de Grâce Church 27,29Notre Dame de Grâce Mission 28Notre Dame de Grâce Speculation 30Notre Dame de Grâce Village 28October Crisis 143Ogilvie, John 19,20Ohman's Store 125Ohman,Nils 50Oka 14OldWestmount 137Olier, Jean Jacques 13Oliver Canon Gilbert 120Oliver, RC 31Olivier Avenue 33Olmsted, Frederick Law 53Olmsted, Sons 53Ouimet, Mayor Paul 144Palm House * 90Pare, Alphonse 102Pare, Lucy 103Pare, Park 47Patterson, J.A 72Pelletier, Conrad 134Peterson, Oscar 128Polio outbreak 84POM Bakery 105POM Logo 70POM Hall 70Pommobiles 70Post Office 33Price, Major C.B 85Priests'Farm 101Prince Arthur of Connaught 84Protestant 9Protestant School Board 60A View of Their OwnPrud'homme, Cécile '5Prud'homme, Eustache 27Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee 55Queen's School 60,79Ramsay, Miss A. Y. 31Raphael, William 73Rapids, King 109Rapids, Queen 109Raynes, Captain Robert 21,31Raynes, Elizabeth (Mrs Robert) 21,28Rebellion Losses Bill 25Red River Coats 109Reddy Memorial Hospital 92Reddy, Dr. Herbert 92Redfem.J.H 43,47Relief systems 105Richard, George 51Rielle, Joseph 30Roberts, W.J 71Robertson, Mr. 38Roman Catholic 9Rosemount 21Roslyn Ladies' College 60Roslyn School 68,69,99,134Rotary Club 105Royal Bank 51,52Royal Montreal Regiment 82,85,113,120Royal Visit 112Rubinstein, Louis 45,46Russell, Dr. 65Rutherford, William 27,28Saly, Dr. Helene 137Sauvage, Prosper 27Savings Loan Rally 119Saxe, Mary Solace 57,75School changes 135Seiden, Miss 99Selwyn House 135Senecal, Mr. 50Shaar Hashamayim Synagogue 127Shaughnessy, T.G 40Shaw, Robert 141Shearer Family 59,60Shearer, Norma 119,120Shearwood, AlexnoSherbrooke Street 29,33,40,51Simard, SuzyngSioux 14Skating free 109Smith G.P. 99Smith, Rev. Dr. Alfred Lloyd.... 94Smithers, George and Donald 124

Smithers, John 50Snowdown, John 27Snowshoeing 34Somerville Avenue 70Spence, Sapphira 18Squadron No. f(F) 114Square Mile 75SS Westmount Park 116St. Andrew's Church 61,73St. Catherine Street 20,34,36St. George's Anglican Church 28St. George's Cricket Club 34St. George's Elementary School 34St. George's School 135St. George's Snowshoe Club 12,34,55,65St. Germain 15,16,73St. Henri des Tanneries 27St. James the Apostle Church 43St. Laurent 27St. Lawrence River 13,15St. Leon de Westmount 60,61,62,73,103,106St. Matthias Church 28,31,36,69,74,95,98,137St. Matthias Men's Guild 49St. Paul's Academy 107,108St. Stephen's Anglican Church 43Stanley, Presbyterian Church 74Stanton School 33,36,80Stanton Street 31Staynor Avenue 43Stem, Rabbi Joshua 126,142Stem, Sylvia 127Strathcona Avenue 101Streetcar Services 40,41,50,55,70Study, The 136Suchat, Rabbi Wilfred 127Suckling, Mr. 47Sulpidans 13Summit land 53Sunnyside School 59Tabernacle, The 37,38Temperance 47Temple Emanu-El 73Teskey,J.S 71Tessier, Mayor Maurice 142Timrruns, Noah 102Timmons, J.H 71Toboggans 34ToUgates 33,38Tony's Shoe Store 124Town of Cote St. Antoine 39Townhall 38Trafalgar 19,20Tranclar, Marianne 18Transport, Wartime 119Treaty of 1701 15Trenholme, William 78Trent, Peter F. 148Trudel, AndreIllTucker, Mayor Michael 141,142Tuque Bleue Club 46Tumbull.Miss 28Turner, Col. R.E.W. 82Turnpike Trust 38Union of Canadian Municipalities 79United Church 93Victoria Avenue 15Victoria Avenue CPR Station 50Victoria Hall57,58,65,76,81,89,90,106,110,121.127Victoria Jubilee Park 55Victoria Rifles No 3 Company 34Victory, The 19Villa Maria School 23Villa St. Marcellines 126Village Council 9Village of Cote St. Antoine 31,33,38ViUe Marie 14,15Vineberg, Mrs Eva 101Vi pond, George 37Voligny & Drummond 29,30Waldorf, Town of 18Walker, James Robert 47,48Walters, Violet 110War Savings Stamps 118WardJ.K 31Wayside Cross 15Weir, William 29Welcome Hall Mission 61Wells, Mr. 99Weredale House 107Weredale Lodge 20West Mount 20,22Western Avenue 30,33,36Westmount "Day" at Expo 67 141Westmount Academy 49,60,69,79Westmount Annexation 78Westmount Armoury 88Westmount Avenue 81Westmount Badge 67Westmount Bonds 134Westmount Catholic School Commission 61Westmount Character 9Westmount City Hall 11,88Westmount, City of 67Westmount Coat of Arms 123Westmount Competition 80

156Westmount Control Room 119Westmount English Catholic Mother's Club 106Westmount Examiner 111,142,143Westmount Field Artillary 21 sr 81Westmount Gold Club 63,64Westmount Grocery 51Westmount Gun Club 63,64Westmount High School 80,85,107,136Westmount Lobby 118Westmount Lodge, Sons of England 76Westmount Methodist Church 61Westmount Mountain 11Westmount Municipal Association 67Westmount Park 55,76,108Westmount Park United Church 93,94Westmount Post Office 76Westmount Protestant School Board 79Westmount Public Library, 56,57,107Westmount Rifles 58th 81,82Westmount Squadron 81Westmount Square 140A View of Their OwnWestmount Town of 48Westmount War Memorial 86Westmount Weekly News and Westend Advertisers 49Westmount Y.M.C.A 22,72,81Whitehead, Mrs E.A 84Widd, Thomas 31Williams, George 72Windsor 14Windsor Station 36Winfield.T.W. 61Winged Wheel, The 35Winslow-Spragge, Alice 117Wolff, Martin 105Woodside Seminary 59Woodsworth, Patrick 99Worrall, Lt. Col. Dick 85Wykeham House 59Young, John 21,22Zoo 77

XTkline Gubbay was born in Egypt and raised in England, where she trainedat London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and subsequently launched asuccessful career as a portrait photographer. Marriage brought her to Canada,the raising of a family and new ventures, culminating in a Masters of SocialWork at McGill University. In the early 1960s she moved to Westmount,where she has lived ever since. A decade of service as a social worker wasfollowed by a return to first loves: a second Masters, in Art History, and acareer as a lecturer and author. She has been President for the last four yearsof the Westmount Historical Association and contributes a regular column"Know your Westmount" to The Westmount Examiner.,er M.A. thesis on public sculpture in Montreal wasfollowed by a series of histories of the city, illustrated throughoutwith her photographs of its architecture and public monuments.Publications include Montreal-The Mountain and the River;Montreal's Little Mountain-A Portrait of Westmount (with SallyHoof) and A Street Called The Main. In A View of Their Own,Aline Gubbay combines her photographs with originalarchival material.