August 22 – Lost Village of Cascades Historical Walk
Saturday, August 22, from 10h-12h, Cascades Water Aerodrome & VVC
We would like to extend our warmest thanks to Betty Pavey for guiding us on a fascinating walk on Saturday morning, where she provided many insights into the history and heritage of the lost village of Cascades. Betty is a very knowledgeable and engaging guide: as the author of Cascades Club: 1920–2020, she has quite literally written the definitive work on the subject!
Around forty people joined Betty and SCT at the Cascades Club and along the VVC on a beautiful day, where we shared an enriching and enjoyable experience together. Many thanks to Betty and all the participants!
Event Details
Join us for a hike back into the early pioneer days of Cascades. Led by local author Betty Pavey, this walk will explore the pre-flooding and flooding history of the lost village of Cascades along today’s Voie Verte de Chelsea. Many stories of the farms, the early Cascades clubhouse and the local baseball team, of moving homes, rising waters and a lot of mud.
LOCATION: See attached map.
BIKING: For those who cycle, please plan not to bring your bike on the hike. It may be locked along the VVC.
**PARKING is available at the Cascades Club at 100 ch de la Rivière. It is about a 10-min (550m) walk down along River Road and right on Campbell, towards the Aerodrome. A shuttle ride down to the Aerodrome will be available for those with mobility challenges. The walk itself will be about 2.5km.
SCT HIKE 2: KIRK’S FERRY
About 40 people participated in the historical walk at Kirk’s Ferry last weekend, led by Harold Reid and Sentier Chelsea Trails board member, Alain Piché. The walk focused on the transformation of the Gatineau River valley, from primal forest inhabited and traveled by the Algonquin Anishnaabeg people to the clearing of the land by settler families and the establishment of what has become, the lost village of Kirk’s Ferry. The village disappeared under the Gatineau River with the creation of the Chelsea and Farms hydro dams and the flooding of the valley in 1927. In its time, the village counted 60 permanent residents, a post office, a school, a tavern, a butcher shop and the Fairy and McAlister hotels. The tour visited the site of the former ferry crossing at Hellard road. We laughed about how Harry Hellard changed the name of the Ferry Hotel to the Fairy Hotel as a result of the sign painter’s misspelling. Various buildings were relocated before the flooding and were identified, including the original Reid farmhouse and what is now the Maitland/Troop house.
Our very special thanks go out to Harold Reid, a respected long-time resident, for sharing his family history and his detailed knowledge of the area. Thanks as well to David Maitland and Donna Troop for detailing the history of their home, a building moved from the now lost village. Thanks as well to Jim Washbrook and Janine who live in the original Reid farmhouse.
Our next hike will be on Saturday, 22 August, from 10h – 12h. It will also be along the Voie Verte Chelsea, covering the history of the Cascades area. For those who cycle, please be prepared to lock up near the VVC. Parking is available at the Cascades Club at 100 ch de la Rivière. It is about a 10-min (550m) walk down along River Road and towards the Cascades Club. A shuttle ride down to near the Cascades Club will be available for those with mobility challenges. The walk itself will be about 2.5km.
Hike 1: June 13 Biodiversity in Forests and Wetlands
Past Events
We had a very successful first hike of the season yesterday, well-attended, in perfect weather, and hardly any bugs! Dr. Carolyn Callaghan from the Canadian Wildlife Federation led a group of about 20 participants along the trail off Terrace du Dumoine, in Chelsea Park. We discussed tree and plant identification, birds, trail and bridge building and mudslides. Local resident, Sue Toller, gave an explanation of landowner agreements from the point of view of the landowner. It was very inspiring. The hike was an excellent community event, with others sharing plant knowledge and stories. Special thanks to Carolyn for her wonderful interpretation, and the dragonflies for their mosquito patrol.
Hike 4: Geology Hike with Dr Rob Rainbird
Past Events
It was a perfect fall day for our last hike in the Chelsea 150 series. Geologist Dr Rob Rainbird led about 50 people through the remarkable and diverse geological story of the Musie Ponds area.
Visiting various rock formations, we travelled back over a billion years to the creation and breakup of supercontinents, the formation of Himalayan-sized mountains, and more recently evidence of the Wisconsin glaciation, of erratics and striations. Who knew this story is written right in our backyard?!
Thank you to Dr Rainbird for his very compelling interpretation, to the municipality for their support, and to SCT’s president, Heather MacDonald, for her organization & timely leaf-blowing, making the hike available to many people.
For more info: GEOLOGY OF THE GATINEAU STRIP: CHELSEA, QUEBEC
Hike 3: Three Cemeteries Hike
Past Events
A big thank you to the interpreters who helped make our 3rd SCT Hike a huge success – as well as the weather! Our hike started at the Protestant cemetery where André Renaud described the foundation of Chelsea and the lives of early pioneers such as Thomas Wright and Asa Meech. A short hike from Paden along a new SCT connector trail brought us to St Stephens where Suzanne Gibeault and André Michaud told stories of the early Catholic residents and veterans. Barb Hendricks brought her family’s pioneering stories to life: long work days followed by hauling logs and stone for the church’s construction, community barn buildings and family life. At the Pioneer cemetery, Marc Cockburn described the pioneering families of Maxwell and Church families, of the heydays of the Gilmour Mills and the story of Private Richard Thompson of the Royal Canadian Regiment, a medic in the Boer War and recipient of one of four scarves made by the Queen Victoria. Cockburn explained the importance of this award, the significance of the Cenotaph, and invited everyone to return for Remembrance Day.
Thank you to the municipality for supporting this event. Thank you to Gregoire Crevier for his wonderful photos and, of course, thank you to our participants.
Don’t miss the final hike of the series on October 18, where geologist Rob Rainbird will help decode the stories written in the earth around the Musie Ponds. 9:45am to noon.
Documents:
Protestant, Eng: https://docs.google.com/.../1U0LSXX6dpnfUpDHLEgfIrDj.../edit
Protestant, fr: https://docs.google.com/.../1upAgE8sM9N9uKbRku6oPGhp.../edit
Pionnier/Pioneer, Eng & fr: https://docs.google.com/.../1ni1RBddJmJcPpTIzbTK3lS3.../edit