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Sainte-Anne-du-Bout-de-l'Île Historical Society



Sainte-Anne-du-Bout-de-l'Ile corresponds today to the area of Senneville, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue and Baie-D'Urfé



Membership renewal for the 2023/2024 season

Please complete the Historical_Society_September_2023-24_Membership_form.pdf membership renewal form for the next season. Your existing membership ends in September.


September 2023 - May 2024 Programme

Next meeting: Wednesday, September 27, 1:30 PM - Robert Carswell - Senneville's Three Most Famous People

Location: George-McLeish Community Centre, Senneville

Wednesday, October 25, 1:30 PM - Janette Haggar - Lost Histories: The Story of Felix Brunet and 260 Chemin Senneville

Location: George-McLeish Community Centre, Senneville

Wednesday, November 22, 1:30 PM - John Angus - Bout-de-l'Ile in the Days Before Our Day

Location: George-McLeish Community Centre, Senneville

Wednesday, January 24 - To be announced

Wednesday, February 28 - To be announced

Wednesday, March 27, 1:30 PM - Robert Wilkins - Carnival, Flooding, Smallpox, and Beaugrand: 1885, Montreal's Annus Horribilis

Location: George-McLeish Community Centre, Senneville

Wednesday, April 24 - Henry Yates - History of Maxwelton Farm, Baie-D'Urfe

Wednesday, May 22, 6 PM - Annual Dinner (more details to come) - Jason Bolanis - Endangered Stories of the West Island




Past meetings, 2023

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.

Location: George-McLeish Community Centre, Senneville
Slide deck: Dowker presentation slides, pdf file, size: 9.2M

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.

Location: George-McLeish Community Centre, Senneville
Presentation material: Jason Bolanis, Endangered Stories

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.

Location: George-McLeish Community Centre, Senneville
Presentation material: Deindustrializing Montreal

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.

Location: George-McLeish Community Centre, Senneville
Presentation material: An Illustrated Talk About the Lives and Architecture of Edward and W.S. Maxwell

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

Additional information: Bois-de-la-Roche; 30 years in the farmer's house


Sainte-Anne-du-Bout-de-l'Ile Historical Society