Les femmes sportives à Montréal au tournant du XXe siècle

Speaker: Valérie St-Georges

When:     Thursday, October 15, 2020,19:30 to 21:00

Where:    In virtual mode

Lecture in French, followed by a bilingual question period.

At the turn of the 20th century, more and more young women from the middle and upper classes were introduced to a variety of physical and sporting activities. In Montreal, many women practice activities such as tennis, golf, snowshoeing or skating, in a recreational setting. Some rare pioneers exploit instead their athletic abilities in private schools and universities or begin a competitive career. Yet, this enthusiasm of women for sports, a space dedicated for the building of male identity, is controversial. At a time when more and more young women are starting to claim their rights to vote and access male spaces, the emergence of the “New Woman” figure, this young sporty woman wearing lighter and masculine costumes (puffy panties/bloomers), tends to accentuate the anxiety around the disappearance of the “real woman”.
In fact, several issues underlie the practice of exercise and sports by women in the eyes of social actors of the time: how to promote exercise for general good health without risking its reproductive capacity? How to reconcile physical training and its potentially “virilizing” effects with the aesthetic ideal of feminity? Finally, how to encourage the participation of girls in certain forms of sports activities without exposing them to the public space? Fearful that they will develop protruding muscles, several social actors speak out against violent, brutal and unsightly physical activities such as boxing. Others are more particularly opposed to practices and gestures that can cause voluptuous sensations, such as riding a bicycle.

Still, in the 1920’s, women’s sports leagues are organized, and more and more women choose the competitive path. These inspiring and courageous athletes thus opened the door to the next generations.
Supported by various historical documents (photographs and extracts from articles published in medical, educational and feminine journals of the time), this conference will showcase some pioneers in the world of sports in Montreal and Quebec at the start of the 20th century and will highlight the difficult quest for the inclusion of women in a traditionally male sphere.

Valérie St-Georges
Currently a teacher at the Michèle-Provost Academy, Valérie St-Georges holds a master’s degree in history from the University of Montreal. Her master’s thesis, entitled “Strength, Grace, Flexibility”: Physical Education of Young French-Canadian Girls in Montreal (1860-1920), was supported by the Quebec Research Fund in Society and Culture and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Although her research focused more specifically on the history of female physical education in Quebec, Valérie St-Georges holds an interest for variegated aspects of women’s history. She presented at the UdeM Feminist Summer University (2019 Edition) and participated in the writing of the chapter devoted to the mayor Valérie Plante in Les Maires de Montréal .

(Ruelland, Jacques G. (dir.), Les Maires de Montréal. De Jacques Viger à Valérie Plante, Maison nouvelle fédération, 2019.)

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The First Black African Engineer, Great-Grandfather of Alexander Pushkin

Speaker: Jean-Pierre Raymond

When: Thursday, February 20, 2020; 19:30 - 21:00

Where: Centennial Hall,

       288 Beaconsfield Blvd, Beaconsfield, H9W 4A4

Lecture in English followed by a bilingual question period

February is Black History Month. Abraham Hanibal (Ganibal in Russian), born on the shore of Lake Chad in what is today Cameroon, was among the unlucky black to be made slave. But he got the unbelievable good fortune to become the adoptive son of the Tsar of Russia, Peter the Great, and will receive an engineer training in France.

The subject is presented by the retired engineer and history buff Jean-Pierre Raymond.

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Louis Lamoureux (1640-1717) and his descendants

Speaker: Jacqueline Lamoureux

When:     Thursday, January 16, 2020, 19:30 to 21:00

Where:    Centennial Hall,

                288 Beaconsfield Blvd, Beaconsfield, H9W 4A4

Lecture in English followed by a bilingual question period

Jacqueline Lamoureux will present Louis Lamoureux (1640-1717), first Lamoureux to set foot in Nouvelle-France, and some of his descendants.

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The Taché Family:

Designers throughout Centuries of the Canadian Society, Canadian Politics, Canada and the Québec Benchmarks

Speaker: Michel Fragasso
When: Thursday, November 21, 2019; 19:30 - 21:00
Where: Centennial Hall,
            288 Beaconsfield Blvd, Beaconsfield, H9W 4A4

Lecture in English followed by a bilingual question period.

The lecture will present some members of the Taché family over several generations. In the transition when Canada passed from the French to the English regime, Jean-Pascal Taché was involved. His grandson was Prime Minister and Father of Confederation Sir Étienne Paschal Taché. The son of the latter, Eugène-Étienne Taché designed the Québec City heritage icons and gifted us with the Québec motto "Je me souviens". This is the history of a principle driven family that designed, through their descendants, a part of Canada's history.Michel Fragasso is history buff, genealogist and speaker on different subjects related to history and genealogy. Michel Fragasso is himself a descendant of the Taché family. His experience as a lecturer at Université Laval and various CEGEPs has enabled him to give lectures on heritage subjects and various other topics in Quebec and abroad.

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The Valois family: from paddling to pleading

Speaker: Anne Collette

When: Thursday, October 17, 2019; 19:30 - 21:00

Where: Centennial Hall,

       288 Beaconsfield Blvd, Beaconsfield, H9W 4A4

Lecture in English followed by a bilingual question period.

The local Valois family has outstanding members. Discover a woman doctor in 1875, a lawyer at the US Supreme Court in 1909 and an early settler who saves a priest’s soul!

Anne Collette has always been interested in her family history. Her interests have grown to include history in general. She has participated in many heritage and historical projects in the West Island.

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Some of Beaconsfield's Old Farm Houses

Speaker: Pauline Faguy-Girard

When: Thursday, September 19, 2019, 19:30 to 21:00

Where: Centennial Hall,

       288 Beaconsfield Blvd, Beaconsfield, H9W 4A4

Lecture in English, followed by a bilingual question period.

Pauline Faguy-Girard introduces us to some of the old farm houses of Beaconsfield which are still standing. Some are almost identical to their original construction; others have been modified through time to suit the needs of the different owners. We will discover the buildings and some of the people who lived in these houses.

Pauline Faguy-Girard is interested in history and more specifically to Beaconsfield’s history since 2004 when she joined the historical society. Through the years, she has been secretary, treasurer and, since 2018, President of our historical society.

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THE LAKE DISTRICT, a Jewel in the British Crown

Speaker: Hélène Jasmin

When: Thursday, May 16, 2019, 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Where: Centennial Hall,

          288 boul. Beaconsfield, Beaconsfield, H9W 4A4

Lecture in English, followed by a bilingual question period

Join us on our travels through fabulous natural sites and recall tales and stories of the magnificent Lake District in North-West Britain.
This area counts 19 lakes and about 200 summits and valleys. So many things to catch our eyes in Lake District, so many pages of history: intriguing stone alignments associated with Druid gatherings, churches built in the 12th century, unique landscapes and wilderness camping, and walking routes still very popular today.
This beautiful region, which enchanted author and illustrator Beatrix Potter, poet William Wordsworth, artist and designer John Ruskin, and even Hercule Poirot, main character of Agatha Christie, traveling to Keswick to solve a case, dazzles us again and again. 

Hélène Jasmin, author and speaker, was educated at UQAM in Sociology; at École de radio-télévision Pierre Dufault in Montréal; and Violin private class with Master Eugène Bastien, member of MSO.
Her professional experience includes: freelance journalist for The Canadian Composer, The Medical Journal…; freelance radio program host, Radio-Canada FM, Montréal; assistant curator for the exhibits:
Images d’hier -- Saint-Laurent a 100 ans;
Génie en vol -- les 50 ans de Canadair-Bombardier (1994);
L’instinct du théâtre (60th anniversary of Les Compagnons), with Lorraine Pintal, director of TNM (1997).
She published:
Topics: THEATER
Les Compagnons de saint Laurent – une petite histoire (éditions Leméac, 1986)
Père Émile Legault, homme de foi et de parole (Lidec éditeur, 2000)
Topics: ART & ENVIRONMENT
Frédéric Back – La capacité d’enchanter (Lidec éditeur, 2015)
Elsie Reford, la grande dame des jardins de Métis (Lidec, 2015)
Topics: ART, GARDENING & HISTORY
A Journey with Elsie – Book of Days (La Belle Amérique publisher, 2018)

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LA VILLEGGIATURA

Speaker: Michel Belisle

When: Thursday April 18, 2019, 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Where: Centennial Hall,

           288 Beaconsfield Blvd, Beaconsfield, H9W 4A4

Lecture in English followed by a bilingual question period.

The great resorts locations of the province of Quebec became very popular in the mid 19th century with the development of railways. Wealthy businessmen and industrialists who were living in the Montreal Golden Square Mile began to stay in the country during summertime. This brought a social change for a new way of life.
They hired architects to build luxurious mansions with cozy interiors where they would escape from the city and reconnect with outdoor activities and fresh air, keeping on entertainment with garden parties and balls on the lawns.
No need to go as far as Murray Bay or Cacouna. This was the beginning of vacation and holidays spent in the West Island of Montreal. In the 1880’s, new developments outside the city of Montreal became favourite places for la villeggiatura : Dorval, Senneville, Beaconsfield, Baie d’Urfé, Dorion, Hudson and Ste Anne de Bellevue.

Michel Bélisle, author and lecturer, was born in Montréal. He studied Anthropology - Ethnology at Université de Montréal, and Design & Environment at UQAM. He worked as assistant-curator at McCord Museum, curator at Musée régional de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, curator at Trestler House in Vaudreuil-Dorion. He was curator for Special Exhibitions:
2007-2008 Vaudreuil-Dorion Public Library “Words and Images from our people”;
2004-2005 Trestler House, Historical Interpretation, in collaboration with artist and environmentalist Frederic Back
1999Trestler House, “A certain way of life”
He wrote several books and brochures:
« Elle s’appellera Kirkland – It will be called Kirkland » 2011;
« De l’île aux Tourtes à Vaudreuil-Dorion » 2007;
« À la pointe claire » 2005;
« La maison Génus au coeur de la Baie de Vaudreuil » 2004;
« Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, 300 ans de présence » 2003;
« Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Canal: the doorway to the Ottawa Valley » 2003
« La chasse à l'appelant des rives du Suroît au pays du Survenant » 1998;
« La maison des Trestler » 1998;
« La grosse île à l'ouest, Visages de l'île Perrot » 1996;
Best kept secret MTL West Island (West Island Heritage bicycle trail)
Brochure on Pointe-Claire Church
Touristic animation:
Guided tours by bus for Brébeuf College Cultural Association
Guided tours at Senneville Fort
Lecturer for different audiences: public libraries, historical societies...

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Explosions à LaSalle

Speaker: Denis Gravel

When: Thursday, March 21, 2019, 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Where: Centennial Hall,

             288 Beaconsfield Blvd, Beaconsfield, H9W 4A4

Lecture in French, followed by a bilingual question period

Denis Gravel will describe the explosions in LaSalle in 1956, 1965 and 1966 (Monsanto): causes, consequences, context of the time, etc. and more specifically the explosion of March 1, 1965 which had caused 28 deaths due to a natural gas leak.

Denis Gravel is an historian. As writer or co-author, he has been involved in the research and writing of about forty books or research reports. His specialty is the history of the municipalities whether they are rural or urban. Architectural heritage and Quebec society complement his main areas of interest.

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