Bout-de-l’Ile Historical society

Our neighbours and fellow-members, Atmo Zakes and Jim Katz, have lived for many years in a cottage which was once part of Bois-de-la-Roche, the estate which was established by the late Senator Louis-Joseph Forget in the 1890s. 

Atmo is a well known artist who has produced many fine paintings of various aspects of the estate. Atmo and Jim are going to share some of their memories with us.

Talk About the Lives and Architecture of Edward and W.S. Maxwell Mr. Henry Yates, is a descendant of the Maxwell family whose firm, Maxwell Brothers, Architects, designed many of the beautiful ‘heritage’ buildings in Senneville and elsewhere in the Montréal area. 

https://cac.mcgill.ca/maxwells/essay/01.htm

Mr. Yates will give a presentation about the famous Maxwell firm and some of their works.

Jason Bolanis, a well known local filmmaker, takes us back to the early days of the 20th century, when Valois was beginning to develop from a summer resort into a community of permanent residences.
Mr.Bolanis then recalls the career of Mayor Olive Urquhart who was the first, and so far the only, female mayor of Pointe-Claire. Mayor Urquhart’s forward-looking vision for her community enabled a sleepy summer resort to develop into the City of Pointe-Claire.

Peter McBride, a resident of Hudson, has pieced together his father’s amazing story from various sources and will share it with us at our February 22nd Historical Society meeting.

The Great Escape – Dad’s War

Life-long resident of Baie d’Urfé and Beaconsfield, Robert (Bob) McBride, enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force, CAF in September 1940 following completion of flight training in Canada. Bob went overseas in September 1941, winning promotion to Pilot Officer and Flying Officer in 1942, and to Flight Lieutenant in June 1944. He was shot down in a torpedo bombing mission over the Bay of Biscay on November 7, 1942, wounded and taken prisoner.  As a Prisoner of War, POW, Bob resided in the Stalag Luft III and took part in what became known as “The Great Escape” on March 24, 1944.  Recaptured at the tunnel’s mouth, Bob remained a prisoner until his release at the war’s end in 1945. Peter will provide a fascinating glimpse into his father’s wartime experiences.

Il y a une grande île au large de Baie-D’Urfé. Cette île appartenait autrefois à la famille Dowker et est toujours connue sous le nom de l’Île Dowker. C’était autrefois un lieu de vacances très populaire. 

Mme Marianne Roy will give a presentation about the family of Senator Louis-Joseph Forget, and the estate in Senneville called ‘Bois-de-la-Roche’.

Mr. Robert Wilkins will give a presentation about his latest book which is entitled ‘Grandad’s Montréal 1901’ which tells about his family’s arrival in Montréal. Mr.Wilkins, who is an authority on the history of Montréal in the early 20th century, has spoken to us on previous occasions about books which he has published on that subject.

Mr. Doug Ball will give a presentation about the history of his former property in Senneville, which was once part of Sir John Abbott’s estate.

Once again, you are invited to have a picnic lunch in the park if the weather is good.

We will show a film of an interview with Christopher Plummer, the late actor who spent his early years in Senneville. The interview can be found on the internet at the address shown below, but we plan to view it as a group, and have a discussion about Mr. Plummer”s life and career. You may recall that Mr. Plummer’s autobiography, entitled ‘A Man for All Stages’, was the subject of one of the issues of L’Espoir-du-bout-de-l’île.

You are invited to bring a picnic lunch and have lunch in the park before the showing. In case of bad weather, we can eat inside.