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Up the Gatineau! Article

This article was first published in Up the Gatineau! Volume 12.

“A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words"

Lillian Walton

This is a typical country scene taken in the early 1900's at Cascades, Quebec. There are many things to observe in the picture.

At the very front, left, over the railroad tracks is a narrow path through the low lying bushes, trodden daily by the summer residents (we called the cottage people) and village people, to one of the nicest sandy beaches on the Gatineau River. Each spring's high water would leave a few clean logs stranded on the beach where they remained all summer as the water receded. A welcome place to sit down and remove walking shoes and leave your towel.

Beyond the beach, seen through the tall elms, is a clump of bushes that never seemed to grow taller or bushier. Perhaps this was because the inner rooting system was bared and trampled on and the inner branches were broken off. However, this inner sanctuary provided the best changing room for kids who carried their bathing suits to the beach.

Now we come to the gravel country road that ran along the railway. At the front of the picture can be seen faintly horses‘ hoof marks in the centre of the road. There were no automobiles in those days! The gravel was deep and the most solid footing could be found where the wagon wheels had passed over the gravel. You can see two ladies walking in these two paths, in the long wearing apparel of that era. There was no need to keep on the side of the road here for traffic was negligible.

Further down the road can be seen a horse and buggy which could be a two-seater or an express wagon. It had just passed through the toll gate. You can see the roof of the toll-gate-house extending over the road. A gate was opened to allow passage after paying the sum of 15 cents.

The Cascades railway station can be seen to the left of the tall Hydro pole. In front of the station are railway sidings with freight cars on one of them. Cottages were built around the water-front area including the original Cascades Club. On this side of the toll gate, to the right, was a steep road we called the “Gully Hill". At the top was the one-room red brick school house. Many families lived along this gravel road.

In 1926 the Gatineau Power expropriated all these properties when building the dam at Chelsea. This raised the water level. The road and railway were rebuilt on higher land.

This picture along with my memories of the beautiful Gatineau, the serenity and solitude of the country way of life, is truly worth a thousand words.

Cascades
A country scene at Cascades, Que., in the early 1900's. Photo courtesy of Lillian Walton. (GVHS 124.1/2)
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A closer look at the top of the picture above. Photo courtesy of Lillian Walton. (GVHS 124.1/2)

Volume 12 table of content.

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