archive: Dorval Museum and "The Forest and Stream Club"

Wednesday, April 24, 2025 -- Dorval Museum visit and lunch at the Forest and Stream Club

Speakers: Liz Morgan, Prof. Daniel Boyer (great-grandson of Senator Louis Forget), Vicky Weil (message from John Angus).

The day started with a visit of the Dorval Museum. This was originally the horse stable for the Forest and Stream Club. Later we had lunch at the Forest and Stream Club.

John Angus

Stories from The Forest and Stream Club, by John Angus

John Angus grew up in Senneville and is the great grandson of R. B. Angus who was twice President of the Bank of Montreal and Vice President of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The CPR Angus shops, in the east end of Montreal, are named in his honour. R. B. Angus was one of the founders of the Forest and Stream Club, situated in Dorval, Quebec. Pine Bluff, R.B. Angus' chateau style house in Senneville, Que., was designed by the architectural firm of Edward and W. S. Maxwell. John has a keen interest in stories and events of the past especially concerning Senneville and Montreal. He has a treasure trove of his own memories formed by his experiences with his family and their associates. He is an entertaining speaker and conveys the humour of past events in a delightful way. He has given us a glimpse into the life of the Forest and Stream Club in the days of the Golden Era of our Canadian History.

In these rooms of the Forest and Stream Club the great men of the times, the men that helped shaped Canada as a nation, were as John says, "conducting tons of business but were often having a good time". Many of John’s stories reflect this.

The Name of the Club (there may have been some alcohol involved)

My Great Grandfather R. B. Angus, was a very private and quiet man, he so disliked being in the limelight that he even turned down an offer of a Knighthood and later a Peerage...he claimed that he had left that life behind when he left Scotland. Due to his love of privacy, R.B. naturally loved private clubs (RB founded the Mount Royal Club just around the corner from his house, but he was also a member of the St. James Club a little further downtown and a member of the Toronto Club and a great many others across the country).

When he built his summer house in Senneville, RB joined another small club that had been formed by Frank Stephens and other friends, located roughly half way between his house on Drummond Street in Montreal, and on what was then known as the Back River. There was a problem however, the roads on the North side of the Island were uncomfortably rough.

R.B. discovered that there was a toll road, on the Southern edge of the island, that was in much better shape, presumably due to the tolls that were collected for its maintenance. RB started looking for something to buy, again roughly half way between his house in town and Senneville. RB was delighted to hear that a fellow banker (RB was twice President of the Bank of Montreal), whose name was Alfred Brown, was willing to sell him his house on that old toll road. Currently described as being located at 1800 Lakeshore, it was almost exactly half way between houses...a deal was struck.

RB's friends found out about his purchase and once they had seen the house and experienced the much better roads, they asked if they too could participate and form a club. They were welcomed with open arms and asked to contribute. Some put up money, some put up a combination of money and things such as artwork, furniture etc., but Frank Stephen put up his large silver service...all marked with his initials, FS.

Dad told me that on one rather lively, alcohol filled evening, the new club members were here in this place,&spiritedly debating acceptable names, when someone observed that the initials FS was stamped on the silver service and just might hold a clue for an appropriate name. After some more "spirit" and discussion, the name, Forrest & Stream Club was suggested. There was however, a bit of a problem...the Club had a lake on one side and farm on the other. Notwithstanding this obvious conundrum, the Forest & Stream Club name was adopted that evening.

The Club's silver service, was duly sent to Montreal, where the silversmiths simply added an ampersand (&) between and in part over, the FS initials. Voila, problem solved.

The Silver Salver

On a visit to the Club when my brother Steve and I were very young, I remember my father asking a Steward to bring him the old Silver Salver ... we had no idea what he was talking about. The Steward eventually produced a very old, very large, very crumpled, Silver Salver (a very large silver serving tray) for our inspection. I can still remember Dad laughing at the look of puzzled amazement on our faces. This, my father announced, was the actual sled that was used for the stair racing competitions years ago! Apparently, competitors would sit upon the Salver, at the top of the stairs (to the attic), and were then timed as they slid all the way to the ground floor! You can just imagine the laughing, the shouts of encouragement, the betting and the wine fueled enthusiasm of the crowd gathered at the bottom of the stairs!

And I bet all of you thought that this Club was a quiet, stern bastion of conservative Victorian Canada!

The Cost of Cigars

One day I was killing some time ahead of a Board Meeting and I decided to go up to the third floor as that was where the Cub's original "books" were kept (the accounting term, keeping the books, actually meant an individual book or books, properly bound, that contained all of the Club's accounts). I picked one old one that was beautifully bound in red leather, found a quiet corner and had a unique peek into a bygone age. This account book was fascinating, but one thing popped out of a page and it was...the cost of cigars.

Around the turn of the last century, the total cost of cigars at the Club for that year, was higher than the total of all the salaries combined! Champagne was a very close second.

A Unique Heating System

Until roughly 20 years ago, there was a greenhouse attached to the kitchen on South East side of the Club building, but not many members ever ventured there. The old greenhouse had long ago ceased to be economical to operate, and in latter years, it fell into complete disrepair. I was looking around the ruined building one day, wondering what should be done with it, when the then Chief Steward , noting my interest, pointed out an unusual feature. There were two wood fired furnaces (in the greenhouse) and one was rather ugly...different, but it was very special indeed. The greenhouse of course, provided fresh herbs, vegetables to the kitchen, but the strange looking one provided a completely different service for the members...heat for the sleighs and carriages.

In the Club's early days, travelling by sleigh or carriage from Montreal to the Forest & Stream Club, and then on to points West, sounds wonderful even romantic. Families were bundled into their sleighs (or carriages), where they snuggled together under the heavy Buffalo Robes for warmth. The beautiful carriages, the robes, the smells and sounds of the horses, the sound of the bells, was the "romantic" part of the trip, but there were many days when the wind blew and the temperature dipped and things got cold, very cold. There was an ingenious solution to the cold and that was...hot bricks.

Hot bricks would be placed into shallow metal pans under the seats of the sleighs and carriages and these kept the passengers warm, at least until they got to the Club. Upon arrival, the Stewards would take the cooling bricks around to the back of the Club, place them in that very special 2nd stove, where they would be reheated ready for the drive out to Senneville.

I wish I was there to enjoy this wonderful luncheon with you at the Forest & Stream and I hope that these little stories have added something fun to your day.

Warm regards to all.

John Angus