Low Down Articles
Echoes from the Past
Article 16 of 111
This article first appeared in the "Echoes from the Past" column of the The Low Down to Hull and Back News.
Reprinted with permission. Search complete list of Low Down Articles.
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Digestion
There is in existence a photograph, taken at one time by Wayne Cuddington of "The Citizen", in which there appears two stone towers, both of which belong to the Federal Government, or at least to one or more of its agencies which control them. One of the two edifices is the Peace Tower, familiar to most Canadians, either at first hand or by picturization.
The second tower is of much less impressive construction. In fact one could say it is positively ugly and decrepit. However, it was not built to be pleasing to the eye; quite the reverse, it was designed for a utilitarian purpose.
The picture does not show the Ottawa River which flows between the two towers. This means, of course, that the second of the two towers must be situated in Hull, in the Province of Quebec. This ugly duckling piece of construction is the neighbour of the new Museum of Civilization. This particular tower is under the jurisdiction of the National Capital Commission (N.C.C.) and it still stands owing to the efforts of conservationists. The building is known as a Digester Tower. It was the brain‑child of Ezra Butler Eddy, the innovative owner of the Hull pulp and paper mill. One may recall the huge white swan, illuminated at night, on the roof of one of the plant's buildings, which advertized one of the Eddy products.
The background story of the digester tower is fascinating. Towards the end of the 1800's a process was developed in which sulphide was used to produce pulp from wood ‑ the Gatineau River has carried millions of pulp logs down to Hull for a century or more, a practice, it has been decreed, will soon be ended. But to return to digestion.
Unfortunately most paper manufacturers all over North America, as well as those in the National Capital Area, had difficulty in withdrawing the pulp from the early sulphide digesters, all of which were constructed horizontally. E.B.Eddy hit upon the idea, in 1900, of building his digester as an upright building, in other words, a tower of stone. It worked so well that its operation lasted until 1972. And there it sits, looked upon, somewhat, with an askance frown by its wealthy neighbour, the Museum.
Nobody knows what to do with it now that it has 'indigestion". Whatever the decision, it will take a great deal of money to make it both safe and functional. An enterprising couple in Montreal has suggested that it be used as a Camera Obscura. This is a device in which, by a system of mirrors set at different angles and levels, reflects a scene outside the tower, from its top to the bottom, inside the tower. This operates in the same fashion as a periscope on a submarine. I am told that a version of this phenomenon serves to bring daylight to illuminate paintings in the new National Art Gallery.
By the way, the Montreal Camera Obscura enthusiasts addressed the Historical Society of the Gatineau a few months ago. Their presentation, illustrated by slides and a model which they brought with them was well received and applauded. The question is will the idea end in obscurity. It seems fated to do so unless private 'enterprise can be persuaded to come to the rescue.