Next meeting: Sunday, October 20, 2024 2:00 pm -- Walking Tour of Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue with Ryan Young
Note: REGISTRATION REQUIRED Location: 2:00pm Ste-Anne Catholic Church, 1 rue de l'Église, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Québec H9X 1W4
Speaker: Ryan Young
Fee: $5 per person
Important: Deadline for registration no later than October 16th
Contact Doreen Croll at
for reservations and details.
Wednesday, October 23, 2024 11:00 am -- A Grand Adventure!
Note: REGISTRATION REQUIRED Location: 1500, boul. Robert-Bourassa, Montreal H3A 3S8
Speaker: Bruce McNiven
We have an expert to guide us on the train and metro
to Montreal for lunch and a talk/tour at the newly renovated Eaton’s Art Deco 9th
Floor Île-de-France restaurant at 1:00 pm,
1500 Blvd. Robert Bourassa, Montreal H3A 3S8.
See also https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/eaton-centre-9th-floor-restoration-1.7179001
Important: Deadline for registration no later than October 18th
Contact Doreen Croll at
for reservations and details.
Wednesday, October 30, 2024 12:30 pm -- The John Little Retrospective of Urban Art
Note: REGISTRATION REQUIRED Location: Klinkhoff Gallery, 1200 Sherbrooke Street West H3A 1H6
Wednesday, November 27, 2024 1:30pm -- When Tobacco was King
Location: George-McLeish Community Centre, Senneville
Speaker: Paul Allen
An examination of the Canadian tobacco industry.
Allen explores the history of tobacco, how the industry came to Southwestern Ontario,
and investigates the economic impact of the "golden weed." A copy of his book will be
available.
Wednesday, January 22, 2025 1:30pm -- The Natural History of the West Island
Location: George-McLeish Community Centre, Senneville
Speaker: Ryan Young
A study of the plants and animals that
existed in the West Island for the subsistence of Indigenous communities and the early
settlers and the way in which the flora and fauna have changed over time.
Wednesday, February 26, 2025 1:30 pm -- Paradise Lost - The Canadian Dreams of Baron Empain
Location: George-McLeish Community Centre, Senneville
Speaker: Joseph Graham
Joseph will relate the intriguing story of Baron Louis Empain’s Art Deco resort
Domaine-Estérel that the Baron tried to create in the 1930s in
Ste-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson in the Laurentians as well as details of his other
holdings in of Canada and elsewhere. He will introduce us to the other fascinating
members of Baron Louis Empain’s family.
See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson
Wednesday, March 26, 2025 1:30 pm -- When Good overcomes Evil - Surviving the holocaust and bearing witness
Location: George-McLeish Community Centre, Senneville
Speaker: Eva Kuper
Wednesday, April 23, 2025 10:00am -- The History and Heritage of Dorval -- The History of The Forest and Stream estate and its halcyon days
Location: Dorval Museum 1850 Bord-du Lac, Dorval
Speaker: TBA and Liz Morgan
Important: Deadline for registration April 16th 2025
On April 23 we will first go to the Dorval Museum. A presentation will be given at the museum and then we walk over to the Forest and Stream club for lunch. During the lunch time there will be a presentation about the history of the Forest and Stream club.
Contact Doreen Croll at
for reservations and details.
Wednesday, May 21, 2025 2:30 pm -- The History of the Louis-Joseph Forget House, 1195 Sherbrooke Street West H3A 1H9
Location: 1195 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, H3A 1H9
Speaker: Prof. Daniel Boyer
Important: Limit 15 people Register ASAP
Contact Doreen Croll at
for reservations and details
Wednesday, May 28, 2025 Annual Dinner 6:00-10:00 pm -- Senneville, the Golden Years
Location: George-McLeish Community Centre, Senneville
Speaker: Peter Fialkowski
Peter's video offers a history of Senneville seen through the eyes of the Forget, Angus
and most of Peter's relatives, the Clouston/Todd/Fialkowski family, featuring the family
members and their colossal mansions.
Much of the story is told through old family photos, movies, and, of particular interest,
audio commentary from prominent Senneville citizens now long gone but not forgotten,
recorded some fifty, and in one case, eighty years ago.
Past meetings, 2024
Wednesday, September 25, 2024 1:30 pm -- Scottish immigrants and their contribution to the cultural history of Montreal
Wednesday, January 24, 1:30 PM - Ryan Young - The European Settlement in St-Anne de Bout de L'Isle to the Present
Ryan Young is a Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue City Councillor and a College Professor at John Abbott College who has done extensive research about the history of Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue. Every year he leads a number of historical walking tours in the old village of Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue. His talk will cover the beginnings of European settlement on the western tip of the island of Montreal and then all the way through to the present day. With the aid of historical photographs the old village buildings of Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue that still exist from the 1800s will be discussed along with the early history of Macdonald College in the early 1900s.
Wednesday, January 25, 2023, 1:30 PM - Guido Socher - Dowker's Island
There is a large island which lies off the shore of Baie-D'Urfé. This island once belonged to the Dowker family, and is still known as Dowker's Island. It was once the home of a thriving summer resort.
One of our members, Guido Socher, recalls the glory days of Dowker's Island.
Wednesday, February 22, 2023, 1:30 PM - Peter McBride - The Great Escape - Dad's War - The World War II experiences of Robert (Bob) McBride.
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, 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.
Location: George-McLeish Community Centre, Senneville
Slide deck: not available
Wednesday, March 22, 2023, 1:30 PM - Jason Bolanis - Mayor Olive Urquhart and Pointe Claire
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 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.
Wednesday, April 26, 1:30 PM - Steven High - The Deindustrialization of Montréal
Progress, in the form of improved transportation and industrial techniques, can be of great benefit to mankind but, at the same time, it can have a devastating effect on the workers and their families who are left behind in its wake.
Professor Steven High tells the story of the closing, in the mid 20th century, of many of the industries which were located in South West Montréal and beside the Lachine Canal, and the hardship endured by the families of the thousands of workers who lost their jobs.
Wednesday, May 10, 1:30 PM - Henry Yates - An Illustrated 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.
Annual dinner: Wednesday, May 24 Annual Dinner 6pm to 10pm - Atmo Zakes and Jim Katz - Bois-de-la-Roche: 30 years in the farmer's house
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.
Location: George-McLeish Community Centre, Senneville