Issue No. 147 - Jan 2015 - The Historical Society of Ottawa

The Historical Society of
Ottawa ews
ISS 1207-1838
President’s Report
by George Neville
The 32nd annual HSO Christmas
Luncheon took place on Wed. 3rd
December 2014 at St. Richard's
Anglican Church Hall in the City View
area of Ottawa. Thanks to the diligent
canvassing by Board member Mary
Edwards, 74 persons had committed to
attending; however, of these, five were
'no shows' and two had expressed
regrets with good reason thus reducing
the attendance to 67 for which the HSO
had committed to 71 servings by the
caterer, Rachel Ayoub of the Whitehorse
Restaurant on Tremblay Rd. at Belfast.
As attendees gathered, they partook of
fruit punch prepared Mary Anne Dancey
(a past President, 2000/01) and
dispensed by Barbara Whitfield, former
Board member and continuing
refreshment host at our meetings. While
hot turkey with dressing, mashed
potatoes, broccoli (or coleslaw), corn,
gravy, cranberry sauce was liberally
dispensed by Rachel Ayoub on warm
plates, Patricia Marshall played festive
music on her Irish harp. As folks
partook of a choice of carrot cake or
chocolate squares along with coffee or
tea, a series of introductions and
presentations were made as follows:
In the absence of our Col. By
Awardee in History, Mary McGregor,
A partial view of attendees at the 2014 HSO
Christmas Luncheon. Photo courtesy ofG. eville.
Issue o. 147
who had an important Master's class
conflict for the afternoon, Prof. Bruce
Elliott, when called upon, paid tribute to
Mary's research paper given over to a
large urban area that later gave rise in
part to Carleton University, land
speculation, as well as a major garbage
dump in Ottawa. It is hoped that Mary
will be able to join us at next year's
Christmas luncheon.
Stephanie Miles, the HSO Awardee of
the Applied Museums Studies (AMS)
Program of Algonquin College,
enthusiastically
expressed
her
appreciation of the HSO support in the
absence of her supervisor, Prof. Michael
Wheatley, who along with other AMS
staff were all committed to classroom
activity that afternoon.
Next, Jill McCaw, Chair of the Ottawa
Regional Heritage Fair (ORHF) and
Cliff Scott, ORHF Treasurer (and a
former HSO President, 2001/03), were
called forth, and after each had
addressed a few remarks for the ongoing
support of the HSO as the official
sponsor of the ORHF, a cheque in the
amount of $1,500 was presented to Jill
who turned it over to Cliff.
At this point the President recalled
that it was in 1996 that the HSO decided
to withdraw itself from the running of
the Bytown Museum and to set its
January 2015
operation up under an independent
Board of Directors. During the
intervening 18 years, the HSO was first
preoccupied for several years with
appropriate placement of its massive
number of museum artefacts.
Fortunately, the Museum sought to
retain some 2000 of them, and after
Board member Dave Mullington
arranged placement of various items
with other museums, he was successful
in getting the City to take the remainder,
many of which are with the City
Archives. Two years ago, the HSO was
able to have its Rare Book Collection
removed to the custody of the City
Archives, and this year on 25th August,
the HSO was successful in having its
some 3,000 volumes of its former
Library on the 3rd floor of the Bytown
Museum likewise taken into the archival
custody of the City Archives. It was as
a result of these accomplishments, that
the HSO this year decided to invite a
number of persons associated with both
the City Archives and Bytown Museum,
especially their respective students who
were engaged in packing and lugging
the boxes of books down 2 staircases to
a van. (There is always the possibility
as the students age that they might in
In This Issue:
. . . . . Cont'd page 11
President's Report-------------------------------------------------------------------------------1
Coming Events: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------2
HSO Speaker Topics & Profiles for Jan. to Mar. 201 5------------------------------- 3
Rick Turcotte - Collecting and Recording Ottawa's History ---------------------- 4
Peter Ryan - History of Fires & Fire-Fighting Methods in Early Ottawa ------ 4
Report on Autumn Excursion to Osgoode Twp. - Kemptville Areas ----------- 5
Historia Poetice Aperta - Topley's Autumn 1 881 ------------------------------------- 9
Michel Prévost - St. James: Oldest European Cemetery in the NCC -------- 1 0
Website Resource for Federal and Ontario Historical Plaques ---------------- 1 0
Book Review by Jen Stelzer To be Continued... A Short History
ofthe HSO ------------------------------------------------ 11
Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville, the Valiant in Havana and Ottawa ---------------- 1 2
HSO ewsletter
Page 2
January 2015
The Historical Society ofOttawa
Patron: His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, C.C., C.M.M., C.O.M., C.D.
Governor General of Canada
The Historical Society of Ottawa was founded in 1898 (as the Women's Canadian Historical Society of Ottawa).
Its objective is to increase public knowledge of the history of Ottawa by its publications, meetings, tours, outreach
and participation in local heritage events and also by its co-operation with the Bytown Museum, a store of
artifacts reflecting Ottawa's history from Bytown days and into the present century. Its headquarters is in the
Bytown Museum, Lt.-Col. By's Commissariat Building, constructed of stone in 1827 and located at 1 Canal Lane
by the Rideau Canal between the Château Laurier and Parliament Hill.
Board Of Directors
President: George Neville [email protected]
Secretary: Margaret Back [email protected]
Treasurer: Kery Peterson-Beaubien
[email protected]
Awards: Alan McLay (Penultimate Past President)
Don Baxter
[email protected]
Ed Bebee
[email protected]
Mary Edwards
[email protected]
Grace Lewis
[email protected]
Dave Mullington
[email protected]
Don Ross
[email protected]
Committees
Awards
Library/Archives
Membership Chair
Nominations
Newsletter
Publications
Telephone
Tours Coordinator
Web Liason
Webmaster
Coming Events
61 3-729-0579
61 3-236-71 66
61 3-565-0277
61 3-730-2264
61 3-745-3430
61 3-741 -7838
61 3-824-5490
61 3-294-2860
61 3-829-8430
61 3-592-2539
Alan McLay
Grace Lewis
Don Ross
Alan McLay, Don Ross, Mary Edwards
Arthur Beaubien ([email protected])
Ed Bebee ([email protected])
Barbara Whitfield, Pat Richardson
George Neville
Dave Mullington
John Reeder ([email protected])
All general correspondence should be addressed to:
The Secretary; The Historical Society of Ottawa
P.O. Box 523, Station “B”
Ottawa, ON K1 P 5P6
HSO Email: [email protected]
HSO Web Site: http://hsottawa.ncf.ca
A note regarding Membership renewals ­ For regular members of
The Historical Society of Ottawa, your renewal date is shown on your
address label on this newsletter. Please check it and see that you are
up­to­date. If not, a renewal form is available for you to photocopy on
the last page of this newsletter, or just send us a cheque that shows
your current address and phone number.
Friday, January 30
Speaker: James Powell
"A History of the Canadian
Dollar"
Routhier Community Centre*
1:00 p.m.
Friday, February 27
Christine Jackson
"The Ottawa Valley's Pioneering
Cowley Family"
Speaker:
Routhier Community Centre*
1:00 p.m.
Friday, March 27
Bob Garcia
Speaker:
"The Best Laid Plans of the
Royal Engineers: Proposed
and Lost Fortifications of
Kingston 1827 - 1903 "
Routhier Community Centre*
1:00 p.m.
OTTAWA REGIOAL
HERITAGE FAIR
(Official Sponsor- The HSO)
Wednesday, 22nd April 2014
9:00 AM – 2:30 PM
Site: Canadian War Museum
Come to view wonderful exhibits
and chat with youthful exhibitors.
Today’s youth need our support!
*Parking at the Routhier Community Centre - from Cumberland Ave., between St. Patrick St. and Guigues Ave.
January 2015
HSO Speaker Profiles for Monthly
Meetings, January - March 201 5
30 January 2015 - HSO Speaker:
James Powell - "A History of the
Canadian Dollar"
Abstract. The history of Canada’s
money provides a unique perspective
from which to view the growth and
development of the Canadian economy
and Canada as a nation. A History of
the Canadian Dollar published by the
Bank of Canada traces the evolution of
our currency from its pre-colonial roots
to current times. Highlighted on this
journey are the currency chaos of the
early French and British colonial
period, the sweeping changes ushered
in by Confederation in 1867, as well as
the effects of two world wars and the
Great Depression.
The book chronicles the ups and
downs of the Canadian dollar through
150 years against its U.S. counterpart. It
also examines the forces that led to the
adoption of the dollar as our currency
during the nineteenth century, instead of
the pound, as well as the factors that led
Canada to move from the gold standard
in the 1920s, to the Bretton Woods
system of fixed exchange rates in the
1940s, and ultimately, to a flexible
exchange rate regime in 1970.
The book also examines the
establishment of the Bank of Canada as
our country’s central bank in 1935, and
describes its quest for a monetary order
that best promotes the economic and
financial welfare of Canada.
Profile. James Powell is a former senior
officer of the Bank of Canada. Born in
Bermuda, and educated at Wilfrid
Laurier University and the University of
Alberta, James joined Canada’s central
bank in 1978, retiring in 2006. He was
Chief of the International Department
and member of the Monetary Policy
Review Committee and the Financial
System Review Committee. While at
the bank, he authored A History of the
Canadian Dollar, first published in
HSO ewsletter
1999, with a second, expanded edition
released in 2005.
Since retiring, James has been a
consultant for the Bank of Canada, the
Department of Finance, and the Group
of Twenty countries. He has also
written two books, The Bank ofCanada
of James Elliott Coyne, Challenges,
Confrontation and Change, published
Page 3
in England, where she developed a
special interest in historical geography.
She is a retired federal public servant
(Elections Canada) and former
freelance editor and writer, who has
lived and worked in Canada since 1968.
Christine is a long-time family
historian and active member of the
British Isles Family History Society of
Greater Ottawa (BIFHSGO). The
400th anniversary in 2013 of Samuel
de Champlain’s voyage up the Ottawa
River prompted her research into a
pioneering Canadian family with deep
roots in England, who gave their name
to the Champlain Park area street on
which she has lived for nearly 30
years―Cowley Avenue. See also
http://champlainpark.org/our-history/
by McGill-Queen’s University press in
2009, and (with Jill Moxley) Faking It!
A History of Counterfeiting in Canada,
published in 2013 by General Store
Publishing House. He has recently
embarked on a new project, writing a
blog on Ottawa history. While the blog
is still very much a “work in progress,”
his stories can be found at
todayinottawashistory. wordpress. com .
James is a member of the Historical
Society of Ottawa.
27th March 2015 - HSO Speaker:
Bob Garcia - "The Best Laid Plans
27 February 2015 - HSO Speaker:
of the Royal Engineers: proposed
Christine Jackson - "The Ottawa
and lost fortifications of Kingston,
Valley's Pioneering Cowley Family” 1827-1903"
Abstract. Daniel Keyworth Cowley, a Abstract. The presentation will give an
pioneering Ottawa Valley riverboat overview of the efforts of the Royal
captain, was the patriarch of a family Engineers to provide suitable fortiwhich produced significant contributors fications to protect Kingston, the
to the area’s history and economic military depot for Upper Canada, the
development. These included another Royal navy dockyard, and the southern
riverboat captain, an educator-cum-land entrance to the Rideau Canal in case of
developer who founded the Ottawa a war with the United States. The exesubdivision now known as Champlain cution of their plans was often affected
Park, several medical doctors—and an by the political situation back in Britain.
NHL Hall of Famer.
Christine Jackson will touch on the Profile. Bob is a historian with Parks
Cowley family’s English origins, trace Canada’s Cornwall office, with
the 19th century Ottawa Valley history research responsibilities for Parks
of ‘Captain Dan’ and his connection operated national historic sites across
with Champlain’s iconic lost astrolabe, Ontario. He joined Parks Canada in
and look at the family’s role in 1991as a member of the interpretative
developing Ottawa, as well as their staff at Fort Malden National Historic
great contribution to Canada’s national Site. Bob has a bachelor’s degree in
winter game. And what, she wonders, history from McGill University and a
would Captain Dan have made of that?! Master’s in library and information
science from the University of Western
Profile. Born and educated in the U.K., Ontario. He is a past president of the
Christine Jackson obtained a B.A. Essex County Historical Society and
(Hons) in Geography from the has had a long-time interest in
University of London’s King’s College Canadian military heritage.
Page 4
Report of September Meeting:
Rick Turcotte – Collecting and
Recording Ottawa's History
Reported by Margaret H. Back
On Friday September 26 Rick Turcotte
presented an informative and
entertaining talk describing many littleknown aspects of the history of Ottawa
and Bytown. He first explained the
methods he used to find information on
sometimes obscure recordings of
events. He emphasized three steps:
collect, read and record. Collection
involved visiting bookstores in small
towns, as well as barns replete with old
books and antiques. Reading was
important to verify the source of the
information and its accuracy and when
this was done, all details were carefully
recorded. He showed us the volumes
of data he had so far collected. Some
of his collection was displayed on the
front table and as he proceeded he
showed these to us, outlining the story
behind each book.
Rick Turcotte admidst his displayed reference
materials. Photo courtesty ofMyrna Collins.
Among the stories he described was
the account of the gold medal for
rowing won by Frank Amyot at the
Olympics in 1936 and its subsequent
loss. First beginnings were the Ottawa
bicycle club, begun at Lisgar Collegiate
in 1882 and the Elmwood school for
girls, founded in 1915. He described
the accident that happened to Lady
Aberdeen on her return from a visit to
HSO ewsletter
the church of St. Francis-de-Sales.
Apparently her horse slipped on ice and
the carriage fell into the river.
Fortunately the quick action of some
men bystanders saved Lady Aberdeen.
In gratitude for this heroic deed Lady
Aberdeen presented a bell to the church
in Gatineau.
Rick then showed an early book
describing the Rideau Canal and
another involving contemporary
portraits of historical figures. Also
important were accounts of big fires of
1870, the great fire of 1900, and of
Parliament in 1916. Of special note
was the opening night of the new
National Arts Center when the
magnificent curtain, specially made for
the occasion, was raised before the
concert. Rick noted that the standing
ovation following the raising of the
curtain was a unique event and showed
the appreciation of the audience for the
dedication of the artist.
In 1930 a British Air ship made the
crossing of the Atlantic and was
reported to circle around the
Parliament buildings in Ottawa. A
picture showing the air ship coming
close to the Peace Tower was,
however, exposed by Rick as a fake.
These are just a few of the stories
regaled to us with much enthusiasm and
humour by Rick as he described the
results of his collect, read and record
efforts over the years. The discussion
following his talk clearly showed the
interest of the audience in the events
described. George expressed the thanks
of all of us for an excellent talk.
Report of October Meeting:
Peter Ryan – History of Fires &
Fire-Fighting Methods in Early
Ottawa
Reported by Don Baxter
On Oct. 31 we were taken on a tour
through an aspect of Ottawa history
which was not well known by many of
us. Peter Ryan described the history of
January 2015
Peter Ryan began by explaining the origin and scope
of the Bytown Fire Brigade. Photo courtesy of
George eville.
fire-fighting in Ottawa and a Museum
which now exists to ensure that its past is
not forgotten. He is a long-time,
founding member of what is now a
registered charity here – the Bytown Fire
Brigade, and is a retired Ottawa firefighter. The Brigade was incorporated in
1983 and their gradually expanding
museum occupied a series of old and
restored fire stations and is now located
on old (#2880) Sheffield Road. They
now have acquired and mostly
reconstructed some 20 old fire-fighting
engines of various shapes and sizes and
another 10 waiting to be tackled. Their
ages go back as far as an 1840 pumper.
Many of these units are now quite
drivable and they make visits to local
schools, museums and other
organizations to inform them of this
interesting aspect of our past. They also
exhibit their antique fire-fighting
equipment in events across the area to
assist in local fund-raising events.
Restoration is time-consuming and
expensive. They spent $25 thousand, for
example, on just the nickle-plating on
parts of one old engine and its large
dome. Wonderful pictures of their fleet
can be seen on their web site
(www.bytownfb.com/#!bytown-fire-brigade),
including two restored beauties from 1885.
A significant and challenging event in
their starting up and interest-raising in
the subject, which Peter described, was a
cross-Canada, Millenium-grant sponsor-
January 2015
ed tour in 2000 driving three of their
newly re-constructed engines, one from
1939. They visited 100 communities
and it took them 3 months. Peter was
one of the main organizers and one of
the 7 or 8 participants. They dipped
their wheels in the Atlantic and Pacific
oceans. Quite an achievement with such
old machines, and they were wellreceived all along the way.
In terms of fire-fighting in
Ottawa/Hull he pointed out that this was
a commercial operation until 1874.
House- or store-owners paid the
companies for protection. Their museum
has a sign from the outside of an insured
house which shows it had contracted for
private fire-fighting in 1870 for 3 years
for the grand sum of $13. After 1874,
fire-protection started to become a
municipally-funded activity.
He reviewed some of the large fires
which had afflicted us in the past – the
1870 fire which destroyed the area from
Arnprior into Ottawa’s Experimental
Farm area, and the 1900 fire which
devastated Hull and left about 15,000
homeless.
One attendee asked the amusing
question of why there was a long
connection between fire-fighters and
Dalmation dogs. Peter’s answer was
that they were regularly kept as pets
around fire stations and, when the
alarm sounded, the dogs would noisily
lead the response with their white
colour leading the engines on their way,
particularly at night calls when the firerigs carried no road illumination.
If you are interested in more on this
topic, note that there is a display on
this subject at the City of Ottawa
Archives, James Bartleman Centre, 100
Tallwood Drive. It is called “Ashes A City Shaped by Fire” and runs until
March 21, 2015.
HSO ewsletter
Report on Autumn Excursion
to Osgoode Twp.- Kemptville
Areas, 8th October
By George Neville
Page 5
construction business and owning a
front-end loader and a bulldozer, Lyle
began the cranberry venture in 1978 by
creating a large rectangular basin to
become a cranberry marsh from
cuttings scattered about. The next year
he cleared 9 acres and created several
additional basins that he planted with
cuttings of Stevens variety obtained
from Wisconsin. The cranberry plants
require an acidic medium (pH 4.8);
they bloom from mid-June for a
couple of weeks, and harvesting lasts a
couple of weeks having been started on
25th September this year. For
cranberry harvesting, the basins are
flooded (Lyle pumps water from Grey
Creek for which he has 10% water
rights) and uses a high balloonwheeled, (home made) horizontal
rotary beating vehicle to shake the
berries from the plants; the berries float
on the surface of the water. The
It had rained the two previous days and
through the night until 5:30 AM of our
day of departure when hints of
sunshine began to show as 13 persons
boarded the Healey coach at St.
Richard's Anglican Church parking lot
on Merivale Rd. At the parking lot of
St. Thomas the Apostle Anglican
Church on Alta Vista Dr., 20 persons
boarded the coach, driven by Ray
David of Smiths Falls. With everyone
having been punctual and Mary
Edwards having effected the
collections at St. Thomas before arrival
of the coach, we were able to depart by
9:00 AM south on Alta Vista Dr. and
Bank St. (Hwy 31) to South
Gloucester, then west a short distance
on Mitch Owens Rd. to pick up the Old
Prescott Rd. south to Herbert Corners
where the road changes name to
Stagecoach Rd.
The entrance to Upper Canada
Cranberries is at 2283 Stagecoach Rd.,
on the east side roughly a football field
distance south of the Corners. One
follows the gravel road into the centre
of operations of the property, and there
we met the proprietor, Lyle Slater (Tel. Lyle Slater's home-made cranberry bush shaker.
613-798-6232) who boarded the coach Photo courtesy ofGeorge eville.
and guided it into the setting of his
artificially created cranberry bogs half cranberries are scooped up into hopper
of which had already been flooded for cars and taken to a processing and
harvesting. Having been in the sorting conveyor system. As a thin
layer of berries is carried up a wide
perforated conveyor belt, air is forced
through them from below to blow off
A ripe cranberry field ready for flooding and
harvesting, with flooded & harvested one at left.
Photo courtesy ofGeorge eville.
Harvested cranberries undergoing forced-air drying.
Photo courtesy ofGeorge eville.
Page 6
leaves and any surface moisture so that
the berries will not stick to one another
when packaged and frozen. Before
being packaged they are subjected to
automated colour sorting with white
and discoloured berries being rejected
and a final visual inspection when any
damaged or unacceptable berries are
removed manually. The organic
product is labelled "Grown Without
Pesticides". The group was led by Lyle
Alistair Fraser (left) talking with Lyle Slater (right)
amidst the cranberry sorting and processing
operations. Photo courtesy ofGeorge eville.
throughout all these sorting and
processing operations and then visited
his outlet shop for anything from
packaged berries, to juice preparations
and cranberry fruit jams, e.g.
blueberry, peach, etc. It was a
wonderful exposition of this local
cranberry operation that everyone quite
enjoyed and marvelled at.
From Herbert Corners, the road south
changes name to Stagecoach Rd. until
reaching Reids Mills where it becomes
the Reids Mills Rd. (or Co. Rd. #1) on
which we continued the southern
journey through Hallville and
Mountain. A short distance south of
Mountain, one passes on the east side
the Van Camp Rd.; then the next road
to the east is Pepperville Rd. that one
follows to its very end to find #10755
Pepperville Rd., site of Mountain Path
Certified & Natural Products whose
proprietor is Robert Hogg (Tel. 613294-6914).
Robert Hogg appeared a couple of
minutes after our arrival, and we
gathered around him (with the bus
HSO ewsletter
January 2015
buckwheat) with an on-site sales outlet
in addition to wholesale distribution.
About 10 years ago, Robert retired
from Carleton and devoted full time to
his avocational business interest, but
with advancing years and declining
strength to lift the bags of grain and
flour, he sold the wholesale distribution
to a wholesaler on Parisienne St. off St.
Laurent Blvd. in Ottawa this summer
(closing his on-site sales outlet). He is
Robert Hogg addressing the HSO excursionists in the
courtyard of his Mountain Path certified & natural
in the process now of trying to find a
products operation. Photo courtesy ofGeorge eville.
purchaser for his Stone (granite) Mill
engine stopped) outside surrounded by (originally obtained from an operator
his buildings and storage silos. His in McDonalds Corners, ON) and his
parents had a small steer farm in B.C. seed-cleaning mill, originally obtained
that planted the agrarian seed in him. from MacLaren's Mill at Wakefield in
After gaining undergraduate education the Gatineau, QC, from the NCC who
in English studies in B.C., he obtained wanted it removed. It was a fascinating
a doctorate in American literature at
the University of Buffalo and later
secured a position with the Dept. of
English of Carleton University. He and
his wife purchased their 138 acre farm
at the end of Pepperville Rd. where in
1975 he began to cultivate organic
cereal crops (certified organic since
1987) at a time when there was not
much interest or demand for 'organic'
product. With more 'head scratching', The Hogg seed-cleaning mill (to the right of Mary
at rear of photo) obtained from MacLaren's
he decided to create a niche market of Edwards
Mill, Wakefield, QC. Photo courtesy ofGeorge eville.
'organic flours' milled from his organic
cereals (wheat, rye, oats, spelt, and informative visit overshadowed by
the realization that our group may well
be the last to have seen his milling
equipment and operation intact.
Robert's impact on us was all the more
intriguing and enchanting with the
realization that he is an accomplished
and well published poet.
At 11:45 AM we departed from
Mountain Path C & N Products
returning to Hallville and thence west
via Hwy 43 to Kemptville, the largest
community in North Grenville Twp.
with a population of 3,532 in the 2011
census down from 3,667 in the Canada
2001 census. It is located on
Kemptville Creek, historically the
South Branch of the Rideau River.
Bob Hogg's Stone (granite) Mill obtained in
North Grenville Twp. was established
McDonalds Corners, O. Photo by George eville.
January 2015
1st January 1998 by amalgamation of
Oxford-on-Rideau Twp., South Gower
Twp. and the Town of Kemptville. In
2003, the municipal council of the
amalgamated township adopted for the
area the designation of 'municipality'.
Arriving on the campus of the
Kemptville Agricultural College,
formerly Kemptville Agricultural
School (KAS), by 12:05 PM in front of
the Administration Bldg., we were
directed to park the bus in the large lot
behind the Purvis Bldg. in which
washrooms plus a library were
available on its second floor. Because
our cafeteria lunch was scheduled to
begin at 12:30 PM after students and a
small group of KAS alumni finished
eating, many took advantage of the
time to stroll about the campus in the
sunlight before congregating in front of
the Cafeteria (in the Alumni Bldg.) just
east of the Admin. Bldg. The cafeteria
fare ranging from choice of 2 soups, to
pizza, spaghetti & meat balls, fish
cakes, spring rolls, hot mixed
vegetables, a copious salad bar, various
dessert bowls plus a selection of 6
flavours of ice-cream, and a range of
beverages from regular & chocolate
milk, 4 carbonated drinks on tap, hot
water for tea, and coffee (then on the
weak side) appeared to be generally
pleasing, especially since one could try
a little of everything, there being no
limits on food designed for hearty
student eaters! Being one of the last in
line for food, I took my plate and soup
and sat on an end bench of remaining
students. Engaging the student beside
me in conversation, I was surprised but
delighted to learn that he was at
Kemptville from London, ON, where
his home farm is exclusively hay
operation, primarily for horses for
which much of it is shipped through
the winter to Florida. He did not want
to go to U. of Guelph, and was very
happy with the program at Kemptville
College.
By 1:30 PM, we were back on the
HSO ewsletter
coach with Tom Beach, Operations
Manager for the College at the
microphone as we set off for a grand
tour of the College property consisting
of 800 acres, 300 of which are
cultivated and 40 given over to the
campus proper. As we passed Gibson
Hall (the dairy bldg.), Tom remarked
that his father had taught KAS students
in that building from 1956-1980. It
soon became obvious that Tom Beach
was very familiar with the campus, its
history, and an ideal personality for the
position of Campus Operations
Manager! We criss-crossed various
roads on campus to have various
buildings pointed out to us: the new
Engineering Bldg., 2 Residences side
by side (Bell Hall & Rorke Hall)
[incidentally with the reduced
enrollment this year due to the
uncertainty of the College's future,
each student has a room to his/her self;
no need for the usual doubling up], the
W.B. George Conference Bldg., the
A.M. Bar Arena, the Animal Health
Lab (used more for autopsies, etc.), the
Power & Equipment Bldg. (automechanics, etc.). We were taken
through a section of the ~150 acres of
College bush, then across old Hwy 16
to see plots on the opposite side of the
campus one of which was of
switchgrass, a high growing, dense
grass of many uses from bedding, feed,
to biofuel.
Visitor's warning at entrance to the Dairy
Innovation Bldg., KAS. Photo by George eville.
Page 7
Part ofKAS robotically milked Holstein herd, free to
roam and feed as desired. Photo by George eville.
Towards the end of the College tour,
we were taken to the 'Dairy Innovation
Bldg.' to see its 'robotic milker' for a
herd of ~40 Holsteins. When this
technology became available, it was
acquired by the college for
~$200,000.00 thanks to several
generous donations by local dairymen
who wanted to see its performance
before investing in it for their own
operations. Now there are several
'robotic' milking operations in the
greater Ottawa area. In the foyer to the
'robotic' milking station, there is a large
TV screen divided into 4 quadrants
showing different views: cows waiting
in line for their turn to pass
individually through the computer
controlled turnstile to the 'no-hands
milker', a view of a cow undergoing
'robotic' milking, and two views of
different areas of the loafing quarters
where cows are free to lie down on
beds of shavings when so inclined or to
partake of copious daily rations of hay,
corn ensilage, etc.
Tom explained the 'robotic'
operation: the cow enters the milking
stall of its own desire enticed by a
small high protein mixture; there an
imbedded computer chip identifies the
cow, records her temperature, milk
delivery, somatic cell count, etc. during
the milking. Before the milking cups
are robotically placed on the teats, the
udder is subjected to a brushing action
wash from a tray moved into position
not only for cleanliness but more
importantly to massage the udder to
Page 8
HSO ewsletter
Mills for ~4 km. Just after the RR
tracks, the location of the Hollyhock
Hill Alpacas at 1920 Co. Rd. 18 is the
2nd home on the left (east side) whose
proprietors are Paulette and Brian
Wells (Tel. 613-258-4806). When we
arrived, Paulette entered the coach to
give words of welcome and some
background on their Chilean alpaca
operation, and as she ended and we
were disembarking, Brian was bringing
Close-up view of cow being milked by the robotic
a large black alpaca up the hillside
milker, KAS. Photo courtesy ofGeorge eville.
the barn, leading it with a rope
promote the release and flow of milk. from
halter.
animal drew a lot of
When the 'milker' detects the declining attention This
and
was
receptive to petting
milk flow, it removes the cups and
releases the cow from the stall, thereby
avoiding the situation of over-milking
suction that is conducive to
development of the condition of bovine
mastitis. The cows are truly contented
with the availability of such automated
milking that permits them to be
'milked' when and as often as each
desires, some as often as 4-5 times in a
24-hr period. Before going into the
milking area, everyone donned blue
plastic, knee high 'booties' that were
Ackerman entranced by the black alpaca led
discarded later. Our final pass on the Yvonne
by Brian Wells. Photo courtesy ofGeorge eville.
College tour was the two, side-by-side,
horse barns where the College leases providing the nose was not touched.
area horses (and boards them) as Alpacas have very sensitive noses and
instructional subjects for the students, react (may even spit) if touched on the
and with that, we arrived back in front nose. The most wondrous sight of
of the Cafeteria for a quick 'washroom' some 20 alpacas was to be found,
break before departing the campus.
From Kemptville, we proceeded
south on Co. Rd. 18 (really Cloutier St.
out of Kemptville) towards Oxford
January 2015
their product, skeins of natural
coloured (no dyeing) woolen yarn and
woolen socks was set up for
examination and sale of goods. It was
difficult to part ways with the alpacas
because they were found to be so
endearing and engaging, but we parted
ways at 3:20 PM to head for Bishops
Mills.
Bishop's Mills, located further south
on Co. Rd. 18, now with a population
of only about 135 persons, was once a
thriving village whose name was
derived from a grist mill and saw mill
built on a branch of the Rideau River
by Chauncey Bishop (1796-1877) and
his brother, Ira (1803-1883).
Descended from Loyalists originally
from Connecticut, Chauncey and Ira
founded Bishop's Mills in the 1840s on
land acquired from King's College,
now the University of Toronto, that
was part of Lots 2 & 3, 9th Concession
of Oxford Twp., Grenville Co, then in
Upper Canada. Co. Rd. 18 through the
village is Main St. where midway
along on the west side we found a
stone church (34 Main), St. Andrews
built as a Presbyterian Church in 1906
by Billy Johnson who also constructed
St. Matthews in East Oxford. The
stone was brought from Deeks Quarry
in the northern part of the Twp. The
congregation voted in favor of church
union, and it became a United Church
in 1925. To the right of the church is
the Temperance Hall (38 Main), built
in 1878 by the Independent Order of
Some ofthe Hollyhock Hill Alpacas. Photo, G. eville.
Folks relaxing in the sun on the unique KAS shopmade extended rocker outside the Dairy Innovation
Bldg. Photo courtesy ofGeorge eville.
however, within the barnyard corral,
alpacas of various colours and sizes, all
exceedingly curious and intelligent
animals. A small table with some of
The Temperance Hall at 38 Main St., Bishop's Mills,
now its Community Hall. Photo by George eville.
January 2015
Good Templars that served as a
meeting hall until the turn of the
century. In 1926, ownership was
conveyed for use of the building as a
Community Hall. The building is a
temple-fronted institutional structure
with segmental-arch headed windows
and door. It is built of common red
brick with contrasting marl-brick
detailing. In 2007, the building was
designated under the Ontario Heritage
Act.
There were several other buildings of
note within the village, but time did not
permit finding their locations. We did,
however, proceed to the village crossroads and turning right onto Mill St.
about 0.25 mile to the river where on
its south side beside the roadway we
found a plaque marking the site of the
mills. On leaving Bishop's Mills and
heading towards Oxford Mills, about 1
mile north on the right (east) side of the
road we saw the historic Bishop's Mills
cemetery with its many old tombstones
and monuments. From Oxford Mills,
we returned to Ottawa via Hwy. 416
arriving at St. Thomas parking lot at
5:10 PM and at the St. Richard's lot at
5:40 PM.
Plaque found on the south side of Mill Street by
Middle Creek, part ofthe South Branch ofthe Rideau
River, providing history of the locations of the mill
sites for Bishop's Mills. Photo by George eville.
A parting alpaca 'look'. Photo by G. eville.
HSO ewsletter
Page 9
Historia Poetice Aperta
Autumn (1881)
Bleak Autumn comes with meadows sere,
That breathe of gloom and night.
The forests stripped by winds severe,
With moaning voices great the ear
So helpless in their might.
Fit emblem of my broken heart.
My hearthstone desolate –
Nor can this life new joys impart –
E’en while I pray the tear drops start.
O heart disconsolate.
Dear long ago! What skies aglow
Begirt our vision bright
Dear sunset glow, Deep hidden woe,
Lay neath thy golden light
Life’s ebbing years, Love’s flowing tears
Find Sunset changed to Night.
William James Topley
Commentary
“Autumn 1881” is the last in our series
featuring four seasonal poems
composed by William James Topley,
photographer of landscapes and high
society. The series was sent to his
dying friend, William Pittman Lett,
first City Clerk of the City of Ottawa.
Although they were sent as a package,
they are reflections spaced throughout
the first half of Topley’s 82 years of
life. In “Spring 1851”, he was 6 years
old. “Summer 1871” was one year
before his marriage to Helena (Nellie)
DeCourcy McDonogh. By “Autumn
1881”, his once thriving business was
suffering due to a severe economic
recession. By “Winter 1891”,
photographic portraiture was in steep
decline.
The somber nature of “Autumn
1881” reflects a man under emotional
and financial stress. He is broken
hearted after the death of his second
son as a young child. According to his
biography in the Dictionary of
Canadian Biography, http://www.
biographi.ca/en/bio/topley_william_ja
mes_15E.html, “he had apparently
severed his relations in 1875 with his
mentor Notman and decided to open a
studio under his own name, two blocks
away in an opulent Italianate-style
building he had constructed at Metcalfe
and Queen. Although it included an
apartment for Topley and his family,
the deepening economic crisis in
Canada made the location financially
untenable and by 1878, he had moved
to the former residence of a dentist at
104 Sparks Street, where he remained
until 1888, when he went to 132
Sparks, his final location.”
He uses interesting metaphor to
describe his loss of a child, “My
hearthstone desolate”, and the bleak
economic landscape, “meadows sere”
and “forests stripped by winds severe”.
He longs for the happier times of his
youth and marriage; times that cannot
be recovered, “Life’s ebbing years,
Love’s flowing tears/Find Sunset
changed to Night.”
I hope that this series has shown that
W.J. Topley was a sensitive artist who
painted as well in rhyme as he did in
albumen and ambrotype!
Bryan D. Cook - Ottawa, 9 Sept. 2014
Page 10
Report of November Meeting:
Michel Prévost on “St. James:
the Oldest European Cemetery
in the National Capital Area”
Reported by Grace Lewis
Background on Michel:
Michel Prévost has been the University
of Ottawa Chief Archivist since 1990
and the President of the Outaouais
Historical Society since 1997. He has
dedicated his energies to spreading an
awareness of history and preserving the
heritage of Ottawa, Gatineau, Eastern
Ontario and the Outaouais over the past
35 years.
According to his web site
(www.racontemoiottawa.com), Michel
got his Master’s degree in history from
the University of Ottawa and published
his thesis which dealt with the lost glory
of Caledonia Springs, the largest spa in
Canada.
His unflagging commitment to
preserving the historical integrity of this
region's heritage has been the foundation
for an abundance of published articles as
well as numerous appearances on radio
and television.
Presentation:
First used in 1820, St. James Cemetery
is the oldest European cemetery in the
National Capital Area. Three years later
the cemetery was taken over by the
newly established St. James Anglican
Parish.
The cemetery started with four acres
and was later gifted a further eight acres
by a thankful family. This small
cemetery on Taché Boulevard in Hull
faced devastation by construction, but
through the vigorous work of Michel
and other like-minded people, the
cemetery received the designation of an
historical site recognized by Quebec’s
Heritage Law.
Because St. James was the first
Anglican cemetery and church in the
area, the congregation was drawn from
both sides of the Ottawa River. Bytown,
HSO ewsletter
January 2015
Website Resource for Federal and
Ontario Historical Plaques
Just thought your historical society
may be interested in a website called
"Ontario's Historical Plaques" which I
created in 2004 after retiring from my
job as an elementary school librarian.
Currently the site contains 1458 pages,
each with a photo of the plaque, a
location map, the plaque text, links of
interest and comments from visitors.
Located at ontarioplaques.com, the
plaques can be located through an
index, a subjects list, a locationslist,
and by a Search box.
Michel Prévost in presentation of St. James
All the plaques on the site are ones
Cemetary, Gatineau (Hull), QC. Photo by G. eville.
erected either by the provincial
which had been established in 1826, government's Ontario Heritage Trust or
buried many of their prominent the federal government's Historic Sites
Anglicans in St. James Cemetery. and Monuments Board of Canada.
Although there are very few plaques to
highlight the eminent people buried at Thank you
St. James, you can find tombstones and Alan L Brown
memorials for John Scott, the first ontarioplaques.com
Mayor of Ottawa; Robert Bell, founder [email protected]
of the Ottawa Citizen (which used to be
the Bytown Gazette); Philemon Wright,
his wife Abigail Wyman and their
descendants; Nicholas Sparks; Reuben
Traveller; plus several others.
In 2006, the Anglican Diocese closed
the church, and the Cemetery is now a
heritage site.
Approximately 1000 people have been
buried at St. James Cemetery, and their
memorials were documented by the
Ottawa Branch, Ontario Genealogical
Society.
Michel gives walking tours of St.
James Cemetery which are normally
presented in French, but will give tours
in English for those groups requesting it.
Many questions were put to Michel
concerning the cemetary and its Example of a Federal Plaque from the Ontario
operation resulting in informative and Historical Plaques website pertaining to the "Public
of the Parliament Buildings - Les Jardins
insightful responses. There was much Grounds
du Parlement" located on the west side of
appreciation for his many historical Parliament Hill under a flagpole near the
photos that were displayed and Parliament buildings. This site is now inaccessible
to extensive renovations to the West Block and
circulated among attendees during his due
the presence of equipment and construction
presentation.
materials in the immediate vicinity.
January 2015
HSO ewsletter
Book Review by Jen Stelzer
. . . . . Cont'd from page 1
due time be drawn back to membership
in the HSO through these associations).
With that background, the following
personnel of the City Archives were
introduced: Paul Henry (Archivist),
Stuart Clarkson (Archives Assistant and
Leader of the Moving Team), and
former summer students, now all
Archives Assistants, Candace Vanskiver,
Julie Parent, and Francis Babin. In
addressing a few words, Paul paid
tribute to the long history of the HSO
and of its role in preserving so much of
Ottawa's past artefacts and history.
Finally but not least, senior staff of the
Bytown Museum were introduced:
Robin Etherington, its Director, who
arranged for the lower staircase between
the ground and first floor to be opened
to allow for direct access to the van
parked at the rear of the Museum; Grant
Vogl, who assisted with some of the
heavier items in particular a metal
storage case for oversized artefacts by
taking it down the elevator to the ground
floor, Sandy Truman and Megan
Bocking who checked in from time to
time to offer help, additional boxes as
boxes ran short, and complimentary
coffee or lemonade. In speaking for the
group, Robin expressed appreciation for
the long association of the HSO with the
Museum, and of the availability of the
former Library Room which will now be
used as a badly needed meeting room.
By this time, harpist Pat Marshall had
had time to eat and was prepared to
change her persona and treat us to some
poignant reflections of Mrs. Thomas
D'Arcy McGee. She pined the loss of
her husband by assassination, and
reflected on his radical beginnings in
Ireland, later transferred with residence
in the USA to promoting annexation of
Canada, only to be later rejected by
himself when he came to realize how
badly the Irish were being treated in the
former, his later running for office in
Canada and having become a most
eloquent speaker and supporter of
Page 11
To Be Continued... A Short History
of the HSO by D. Mullington, 2013
Pat Marshall seen impersonating a pining Mrs.
Thomas D'Arcy McGee wistfully recalling her
husband's arduous past. Photo by G. eville.
Canadian confederation, even on that
late eve of his death. It was obvious that
Pat had undertaken considerable
research for this impersonation, and she
was invited to answer a few questions in
that regard. It was a fitting and
impressive feat to an enjoyable
Christmas gathering.
Your President apologizes for
forgetting, but fully intending at the
luncheon, to announce the following
Honorary Life Memberships:
To Ronald Elmer for assisting the HSO
in providing a power-point projector,
laptop connection and operation of the
same as well as for continuing to
prepare historical DVDs for the
Society's sales.
To Mary and Don Baxter, both long
term members; Mary for having grown
up in Ottawa and bringing so much of
that recollection to discussions at our
regular meetings to which she has also
frequently brought refreshments; and to
Don, our computer and IT wizard who
was the first to set up computing
operations for the HSO and arrange for
digitization of artefact records, the Rare
Books, the HSO Library Holdings,and
to prepare spread sheets of the same for
all our delibertions with both the
Bytown Museum and the City Archives,
a task that would have been virtually
impossible without his expertise and
long service that continues as a Director
of the HSO.
I recently joined the HSO and soon
discovered the book “To Be Continued”
by Dave Mullington. I thought it would
be a good way to get to know a little about
how the group began and its role over the
years. I sat down to read it and soon found
I had finished the book and had a cold cup
ofcoffee sitting next to me!
What a great introduction to the history
and some of the amazing
accomplishments and challenges that
have brought the Historical Society to its
present form. It was very interesting to
read about how the women of the day
formed the group and how it evolved
over the years.
At times, I felt the swirl of names I was
not familiar with to be a little
overwhelming, but I suppose those in the
know, or who have lived in Ottawa for
many years would be more knowledgable
about the who’s who and who did what. I
would have liked a little more
information about the people behind the
names, but perhaps that would take
another book!
I think what fascinated me most was
how economics, war and politics can
have such influence over even the most
enthusiastic and well intentioned
volunteers. Times have not changed
much in that regard! I smiled to myself
when the author was explaining a
difficult period that was faced but was
inclined to note that monthly meetings,
guest speakers and the annual Christmas
dinner went on regardless of the
circumstances. The perseverance and
sense of community shined through in
those remarks.
I think this book is a great resource and
should be recommended reading for all
new members. The faces of the HSO
may have changed over time, but it
appears the love of learning and the
sharing of history is a great lineage that
has been continuous since 1898. To Be
Continued. . . was a great place to start!
Page 12
HSO ewsletter
January 2015
The Historical Society of Ottawa
gratefully acknowledges the financial
support of the City of Ottawa and the
Ministry of Culture of the Government
of Ontario.
Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville commemorated as a Valiant in Ottawa
(middle), and in Havana (left)
alongside the Malecón at the entrance
of Havana Bay. A celebrated hero of
New France, Admiral of Louis XIV's
fleet, died 9 July, 1706, on his ship Le
Juste, anchored in the port of Havana.
He is considered to be the first soldier
of New France and of Canada today.
Membership Renewal Form
The Historical Society of Ottawa
Date_______________________Renewal/New________________No. Members______________________
Name_______________________________________________________________________________
Name (for mailing)______________________________________________________________________
□ Address Unchanged(Show Changes Below)
Street________________________________________________________________________________
Postal Code________Phone (res)________________Phone (work)________________E­mail
Address___________________
Interest
(Activities?)________________________________________Volunteer?__________________________________
Membership fees
Single $35/year
Student $10/year
Family $50/year
Single Life $350
Payment
Membership
Donation
Total
$____________________________
$____________________________
$____________________________
Charitable receipts for federal income tax purposes will be issued for donations.
Please photocopy and complete this form and mail it with a cheque, made payable to The Historical Society of Ottawa, to:
Membership, The Historical Society of Ottawa
P.O. Box 523, Station B.
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 5P6