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This article first appeared in the "GVHS Related" column of the "The Low Down to Hull and Back News". Reprinted with permission. See list of GVHS Related articles or search Low Down Articles.
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Secret society revealed in latest Up the Gatineau!'
By Matt Harrison
Whether men in the Hills were ever "wrapped in a sheet and kicked and tossed around and threatened with a gruesome death" if they divulged secrets, is speculative - considering the penalty, it's not likely that any who may have endured this "riding the goat" ritual spoke about their ordeal if they had.
But that more than a dozen Orange halls existed throughout the Hills, wherein such secret initiation rituals may have taken place, is perhaps a little known historical facet of the region, which the author of a recently published article in the most recent volume of "Up the Gatineau!" admits he was unaware of, until he moved into one of these halls or lodges.
Known as Loyal Orange Lodge No. 144, author Toby Sanger describes how he moved into this building on Riverside Drive in Wakefield in 2021 and became aware of its history as a hall, piquing his curiosity about it and the 19th century secret society it housed.
His article, entitled, "Orange in the Valley: The Reign and Remnants of the Orange Order in the Gatineau," uncovers a history of the activities of the secret Protestant society, which was founded in 1795 in Ireland to oppose the Catholic majority in that country. Though some have written about the Hills' Orange past, Louise Schwartz, editor since 2011, says that Sanger asks the "whys" regarding this order: why was it so popular; why did it involve such secret initiations, and rituals such as "riding the goat"; and why did it eventually decline?
Immigration brought waves of Irish protestants to Canada in the 1800s, Sanger notes, who established their presence in the area through lodges and other activities, including annual parades on July 12, which drew between 3,000 and 7,000 participants.
Sanger writes that the Order, which, at one time, had its own newspaper, and that "provided a place for men in a new land to meet with others of common heritage and 'get away from the humdrum burdens of breaking land and return momentarily to a realm of certain myth and tradition,' steadily declined after the 1930s" as the country became more "multicultural and secular."
Now, all that remains of a "curious beast...based on ageold sectarian conflict in Ireland" are the lodges - 20 or so that Sanger documents in the article; some that he personally visited and photographed, including his home in Wakefield.
Sanger's article is one of several historical profiles featured in the latest volume of "Up the Gatineau!" which is published every year by the Gatineau Valley Historical Society and promotes matters of historical or heritage significance in the general area of the Gatineau Valley.
With this 49th edition, readers will notice something new - for the first time, "Up the Gatineau!" features a Land Acknowledgement at the front of the book.
"There was some sense of awkwardness and discomfort that "Up the Gatineau!" has been solely representing a settler history...and ignoring the much older and original stories of Indigenous folks.... If we're telling a settler history; it's a settler history basically on stolen land and we need to acknowledge that," states Schwartz.
The Land Acknowledgement, which recognizes and pays respect to the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation, comes in the wake of the GVHS welcoming former band council chief Gilbert W. Whiteduck of Kitigan Zibi as president in March of this year.
"Clearly having Gilbert as our new president...he's gently pushing us in new directions. 'There's more than one perspective of your stories' - and maybe he's right. We can't represent those stories; they need to be told by Indigenous Peoples themselves," she says, acknowledging that finding those voices won't be easy or quick.
She explains that Algonquin tradition is one that is primarily oral, which isn't necessarily suitable to a print publication, and that Indigenous Peoples may not wish to contribute to a predominantly settler-focussed publication. However, she says that Whiteduck has suggested that a complimentary approach might work best; "weaving in another perspective" she says about the inclusion of an Indigenous perspective within the publication's stories.
This issue continues a trend of including a plethora of visual elements - photographs, maps and artwork. "That's been my objective from the beginning.... Images can tell the story just as effectively as words," says Schwartz, adding that the GVHS's image bank contains over 11,000 historical photographs, maps and drawings from which to draw on.
Highlights include a profile on Chelsea sign maker Joe Fleming, whose hand painted signs - a combination of artistry and magic, according to author James Milks - were once prevalent and recognizable throughout the region, including and increasingly on the sides of trucks.
The article provides stunning examples of Fleming's work over the course of his 50-year career, with Milks noting that there's been a resurgence of demand for hand-painted signs, which "Joe would surely have been happy about."
Tucked away in an old wooden chest, and "when, driven by advancing years, guilt, and curiosity," author Maryan O'Hagan writes about finally opening her parent's letters after waiting 30 years to read them and what she discovered in those letters - and about herself as well.
A love affair of a different kind, author Wayne Anderson provides an intimate portrait of Wakefield's Village Poet who's "always in suspenders."
"A very modest chap," according to Schwartz, Phil Cohen moved from the U.S. in the mid-70s to Wakefield, describing his life here in comparison to the country he left behind as a "much cleaner, more beautiful, less hateful world," writes Anderson. In the article, Anderson attempts to answer how Cohen fell in love with the village and how he became its poet - though a man who has the "energy of a dragon of old and the gentleness of a 'Happy Trails' poet may never be fully comprehended.
Other highlights include the history of a Cantley Bush lot; a First World War soldier's journey from Kirk's Ferry to Passchendaele, Belgium; and a profile of artist John Eaton are among the stories included in this year's edition.
Cost of the volume is $15, and copies are available from the society at publications@gvhs.ca or from local retailers later in June.