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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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Up the Gatineau! on shelves now

By Hunter Cresswell

"For almost two centuries, the building now best known as the Parkway General Store was the beating heart of Old Chelsea. It began life as a store and post office; later became a tavern and inn and then a combined dépanneur, gas station, post office, and bakery; and now faces demolition to be replaced in the next year by a hotel and high-end grocery market. This is a place where rowdy loggers once drank beer, where teenagers gathered on the steps to flirt, and where prime ministers stopped for ice cream en route to Harrington Lake.

Up the Gatineau! Volume 48 — (From left) Susan Courage, Mary Lou von Schaik, Michael Cooper, and Fergus Maclaren outside Les Trois Erables B&B on May 24. Courage, Cooper, and Maclaren presented von Schaik with Gatineau Valley Historical Society's Arthur Davison Award for her outstanding article in volume 46 of Up the Gatineau! last year. Von Schaik's article, "You can't say 'no' to Norma," profiled the life of longtime Gatineau Hills resident Norma Geggie. Cooper presented von Schaik the award outside of Geggie's former Wakefield home, which is now a boutique B&B. Hunter Cresswell photo.

"If the walls could talk, they would probably start with the early 19th century when Thomas Brigham and his nephew Thomas Brigham Prentiss arrived in the area from Chelsea, Vermont. (And now you know where the name 'Chelsea' came from.) Brigham operated a gristmill and a sawmill at the creek flowing through what is now old Chelsea. Thomas Prentiss ran a store and post office and was the first postmaster of Old Chelsea. It is not known exactly when the building was erected..."

That's all you get for free. To read the rest of the fascinating story by Susan Trudeau on the historic Old Chelsea building that locals will soon bid farewell to, pick up a copy of the latest "Up the Gatineau!" volume 47.

Other stories and articles in the 113 page book include subjects such as local mysteries, the steam train heyday, and profiles of historic locals.

"All the stories are really good," editor Louise Schwartz said.

She said she was particularly intrigued by the stories on local mysteries, including odd plaques in rocks in Cantley and an out-of-place stone wall in Gatineau Park.

The newest volume of the book, which is put together yearly by the Gatineau Valley Historical Society, is on shelves now.

Despite just going on sale, work on volume 48 has already begun, Schwartz said.

The book is on sale for $15 at a dozen retailers throughout La Pêche, Cantley, and Chelsea. It can also be purchased through the GVHS website, gvhs.ca, or by emailing publications@ gvhs.ca.