Do You Remember...
(contributed by Art Dockrill and John Kempson)
People
Mr. Charoni - Butcher
Mr. David - Butcher and beer
Walter Treagus - Green grocer
Jack Hall - Dry cleaner
Jim Hall - Coal and oil
Joe Carmel - Coal and wood
Alex Carmel - Ice
Albert Brosseau - Grocer
Donat Brassard (alderman) - Grocer
Places Lost to Fire
The Barn
Pepper's
Noble's
Other Places
Brosseau's Quarry: Days of swimming, picnics, and fishing for catfish.
Baillargeon's Quarry: Same as above. No fishing but lots of mushrooms.
The Pond: Located across from the school, the pond saw many a game of hockey in winter and many a homemade raft in the spring.
More...
Roads
In East Greenfield there were no roads... only deep wagon ruts. The first gravel road was Wesley Blvd., circa 1930. In winter, a large steel roller was drawn by horses over the roads to compact the snow.
Events
Floods and Lots of Blizzards
Every spring would bring bad floods. For three weeks the Richelieu River would overflow, and East Greenfield would be covered with two feet of water. Springfield would have three feet. Memories of the old wood sidewalks still persist. To get to work, men made rafts and poled them to the station.
British Airship Arrives
The dirigible R-100 passed over East Greenfield and docked at St. Hubert airport on August 1, 1930.
Forest Fire
In 1953, a raging fire burned most of the woods. All the men turned out with buckets, but there was not enough water to be effective. The fire just burned itself out. This prompted the construction of Ina (later renamed Maricourt) Blvd. as a firebreak.
Methodist Church Arrives
This pre-fabricated building was brought from N.D.G. on a Southern Counties flat car and was pulled up Wesley Blvd. by a team of horses (c.1925-26).