Low Down Articles
Local History
Article 20 of 111
This article first appeared in the June 28, 2023 issue of the The Low Down to Hull and Back News.
Reprinted with permission. Search complete list of Low Down Articles.
o o o
Language cops and building bridges
90's a hotbed of news
By Nikki Mantell and Matt Harrison
With the country in turmoil before and after the nailbiter 1995 referendum that narrowly missed launching Quebec's separation, it was no surprise that language politics dominated Low Down front pages in the 1990s. The sections of Bill 101 relating to commercial signs were hotly debated on the streets and in the courts; and some local businesses found creative ways to protest, such as Wakefield's Earle House who put up large signs in Swahili and other languages other than French. In 1998 it was our turn, and, boy, did The News make news when we stood up to the Office de la langue français' threats to turn over our photos of a ruler-wielding language cop "or else." Nikki Mantell was only five months into her role as the new publisher and she and her father Art had the time of their lives fielding calls from reporters from Ottawa to Japan. Some called it "a David vs Goliath story" or "government gangsterism" but it was certainly an issue of freedom of the press. "That is my all-time favourite story," says Mantell. "I learned a lot from my dad about how to treat a hot story, and have fun doing it!" Today, language issues remain just as hot a topic now as ever with Bill 96. Plus ça change...
When the Hills wasn't being harassed by tongue troopers, the '90s was a decade that saw a few major milestones in transitioning it from the past into the future - first up was the removal of deadheads. Grateful Dead fans were not expunged from the Hills, rather a cleanup operation got underway in '92 to clear out partly or fully submerged logs, which were remnants of the once-bustling logging industry that operated for 150 years along the Gatineau River.
A 13-day manhunt for the convicted murderer Robert Hamilton ended thanks to tips from locals in '93. Hamilton, who murdered two women in '79, roamed the Wakefield-Lac Wolf-Masham area, after escaping a correctional officer during a visit to his mother.
Apartments, golf courses, hotels - even a zoo. There was much ado about what to do with the picturesque Meech Creek Valley for years, but in the end the land was mostly saved from development after a decision in '98 to dedicate half as NCC parkland, some towards pastureland, and only a small percentage for development.
Who knew that The Black Sheep Inn would become a premier spot for musicians to play live in Canada for decades? Maybe Paul Symes, Susan Sabiston, and Jennifer Nesbitt, the triumvirate who took over the old Chateau Pearson hotel in Wakefield in '94 and made the fateful decision to keep live entertainment going on the weekends - something locals expected, according to Symes at the time, which was maintained and expanded until the pandemic.
A pair of skis and a vision - two Winnipeg brothers, Robert and Peter Sudermann, became the new managers of the Camp Fortune resort in '94, promising to bring 200 jobs and new lodges to the area with their ambitious plans to "bring the ski resort into the 90s" - a promise they've most certainly kept decades later, and then some.
Choo Choo uttered its last chuga-chuga in '94, when the train company operating the steam train from Hull to Wakefield filed for bankruptcy and was replaced by the Hull-Chelsea-Wakefield Railway company. The HWC's first run wasn't exactly auspicious, however, as old engine 909 sputtered out on its first outing under HWC.
For years, Hwy 105 was considered a deathtrap. Those anticipating the arrival of the A5 to alleviate traffic on the 105 were dealt a blow in '94, when work was halted on the stretch from Tulip Valley to Wakefield - for up to 15 years at the time - in order to prioritize Hwy 50.
Five out of seven - that was the number of municipalities police force - the first of its kind in Quebec - in '94. (Pontiac and L'Ange-Gardien voted against). The new force, which would go into action in December '96, replaced the Sûreté du Québec in the region, and the MRC des Collines Police is alive and well today.
"Hallelujah" - Wakefield children won't have to drink polluted water! This sentiment was expressed by some Wakefielders at the decision by La Pêche councillors to green light a $5.7 million sewage and water treatment system in October '94.
Just five days - that's how long it took for teacher and volunteers to create a makeshift school in the Kazabazua's community centre for 60 students left stranded after the Queen Elizabeth Elementary school burned down Nov. 12, 1995.
In another sign that the 90s marked distinct changes from the past, the $5.6 million Gatineau Memorial Hospital opened in July '96 near the Vorlage Ski Hill. The two-storey, threewinged "transfer centre" was called "progress" by David Geggie, son of the late Dr. Harold Geggie, who had had plans to replace the old hospital in Wakefield (later to become Le Manoir retirement home) since 1960.
"We've never seen anything like it in Low" - That was how Father Bruno Godbout expressed the appearance of more than 1,000 people for the funeral of three people who "touched the hearts of so many": Guy and Cathy Monette, and their 17-year-old son, Michael, all died after a car accident in November '96. Holy Cross Church in the tiny hamlet of Fieldville was so overwhelmed by people wanting to attend the funeral that the vast majority had to stand in the cold.
In response to the "worst weather to hit the Hills," the Low Down dedicated an entire issue to covering the '98 Ice Storm, which included documenting the arrival of 150 soldiers from the Canadian Armed Forces and a brief appearance in Chelsea by then Minister of National Defence, Art Eggleton, who told a single journalist and one Chelsea resident, "Hang in there" - guess everyone else was busy coping.
What does one say to James Bond? You talk about the weather, of course. "Beautiful day, isn't it?" asked a 19-year-old Kirsten Taylor-Bosman when she got a chance to meet Pierce Brosnan on the set of "Grey Owl", a film being shot in Cascades in '98. The star's presence had the Hills swooning, whether you were a 007 or "Remington Steele" fan.