Lost Ottawa Facebook 2020
Here are all the Lost Ottawa posts that appeared on Facebook in 2020, starting with the most recent and going backwards.
You can view the posts in various ways. You can read the descriptions on this page and see the initial comments. You can click on the three dots at the bottom of a post to see more comments. You can click on the picture to see a “full screen” version of the picture with comments. You can view the original post on Facebook and leave more comments there.
At the bottom of the page there is a “Get More Posts” link that will load additional posts to the page. We are still working on a way to make the posts searchable.
Christmas in Carleton Place ... and a little Xmas story shared by Linda Seccaspina.
Maybe not such a good Christmas for the turkey!
Somehow Christmas Always Finds Me
lindaseccaspina.wordpress.com
December 24, 2020 This morning I got up and sat on the edge of the bed and read the news on my phone as I always do. Nothing much had changed as I scrolled through the various news outlets. I hit m…3 CommentsComment on Facebook
Per the burning of the albums: I found this very sad and not something I would like to read...
Omg Linda did you ever ask your dad the reason for burning all of your mother's information from her past, I find it sad also that your mom died so young 34 years old and if that wasn't enough getting ride of all her pass, but then you made me smile talking about your long facial hair, I'm always checking for those especially on my chin and it's always long and black
I look forward to these!
With the demolition of the Webb Motel underway, Rose Moreau shares a link to a story about various Ottawa motels in the west end that you may have missed the first time.
Early Days: Checking out — Motels, hotels and the end of a historic era.
kitchissippi.com
By Dave Allston The closure and pending demolition of Webb’s Motel on Carling Avenue represents one of the final remnants of an important part of life in Kitchissippi that dates back to the 1860s. â...18 CommentsComment on Facebook
I am looking for Gerry Webb from the motel family. we went to StT Pats together in 1960-61
Great article - I remember staying in one of the Webb's Motel cabins in 1966 when we moved to Ottawa.... So some of those cabins lasted into the 60s.... As a teenager, my Dad would often take me to the Rose Bowl for dinner - good memories.
I remember the Churchill Arms with that silhouette of the Great Man and I loved the Town and Country restaurant. Neve stayed at any of the motels cuz I lived in Ottawa. How about The Green Valley. I loved the restaurant there, and I think there was a motel attached as well? Or not?
Kyle Simourd shares a great Lost Ottawa Christmas gift, writing:
"Found these in my parents’ basement Christmas Eve. I remember shopping at Beaver Lumber and Cashway with my father, a good 30 or so years ago. Not sure when Beaver Lumber closed for good?Maybe 25 years ago?
A great Christmas find!"
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It's probably a bad sign that I give directions based on places that haven't existed for 25 years. "Oh, it's just down from Beaver Lumber in Bell's Corners"
I loved Beaver Lumber such a fun place there was one in Bells Corners and I think a Lumber Shed you could Drive into was there too. Miss that fun store The Beaver Picture was cute too.
I grew up on Canter Blvd in the 50’s and 60’s and remember going to Beaver Lumber in Bells Corners and Cashway on Prince of Wales with my dad many times. The other lumber yard that was on Merivale behind what used to be the Red Barn was Minto Lumber.
Victoria Edwards shares a post about Ottawa's Great Snow.
Writes Victoria:
"My sister Linda and I in 1970-1971, which broke records for snow accumulation. Tara Drive, Ottawa, Ontario."
Tara Drive is runs off Maitland in the McKellar Heights/Copeland Park neighbourhood.
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I could walk onto the roof of my house that year
That year I could step from the snow bank in our driveway, onto the roof of my parents house. I had a friend on Tara as well.
That was the winter I did Driver's Ed at school. It seemed like every in car session involved driving in a snow storm. Almost 50 years later, driving in a snow storm rarely causes me stress.
Susan Wasner makes an observation about Ottawa life, writing:
"Living in Ottawa, where you get a certificate just for surviving the winter."
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Where's the one for surviving 2020? That's what I'd like to know....
I have both certificates! I remember the snow. I was in Grade 9 at Sir John A. HS. My mom was only 4'9" tall. She would stand in the laneway and we couldn't see her!
I don't remember the first certificate. Maybe it was because we were loyal Journal readers at the time. We were fortunate to have lived on a private lane, so no shovelling was involved on our part. The result is that I was completely unaware that we had had so much snow. The memorable day when the schools closed due to snow was the following year.
Now in Lost Ottawa ... this old motel, shared by andrew Parkes.
Writes Andrew:
"Perhaps a piece of Ottawa some won’t mind seeing on the ‘lost' list’?
It's the New Highway Inn on Prince of Wales, once called “(a) haven for heavy drug use, prostitution and other illicit activities.†by the City in court.
I recall driving past it in 2016 seeing flames pouring out of the second story, just before the fire department showed up!"
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Every post has dozens of people talking about their personal experiences at the location.... all of a sudden nobody has stories? I’m disappointed.
If hotels could talk.....this one would swear like a sailor.
This place was “lost” long before it closed.
Robin Chinkiwsky shares a little piece of Ottawa history with this photo of Carling Groceteria, 438 Preston Street, at the. corner of Pamilla and Preston in 1955.
Writes Robin:
"Here is my father Bill Chinkiwsky, myself Robin Chinkiwsky, and my brother Mark Chinkiwsky at what was a well- known butcher shop and grocery store back then."
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My father was Bill the Butcher for your grandfather Mike for many years.
My father had to have known mr Chinkiwsky , my dad was 1st generation Ukrainian and we lived behind the confectionary store at Gladstone and Preston . My uncle Danny Zidichouski owned it . We went to St Anthony’s Church .
I worked for Bill and his wife for a few years at Bill’s IGA.
A favourite place in Ottawa you might had a few meals over the Holiday Season in times gone by - the Green Valley Restaurant.
Guessing by the car this is in the 1990s.
(Shared by Helen Souter)
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They used to put up a massive beautifully lit Christmas tree. Gorgeous.
As a child in the 50s it was a very special occasion to go there. The reward was the Mickey Mouse dessert. Vanilla Ice cream with Chocolate waifer ears. They also had a gift shop with lots of things for a child to admire.
The Mickey Mouse dessert was always something to look forward to followed by a visit to the gift shop. Always enjoyed going there with my parents - got to dress up in my Sunday best.
Sunday Best, featuring the Ballantyne Boys of Ottawa East hamming it up for the camera on Christmas Day in 1891.
The picture is described as "dandys in the rain." The dandy's in question are named as Charles, Adam, Arthur and Harry Ballantyne.
Guess the guy at left is not one of the Ballantyes? More educated guess says this is just over the Pretoria Bridge along Hawthorne, where the Ballantyne's had their home and coal supply yard.
(LAC PA-130016)
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The two up front are about to be pelted by snowballs from the two guys in the back.
One of the Ballantynes was an amateur photographer and took quite a few photos of Old Ottawa East. Looks like they had a mild Christmas that year too - and that the brothers were having fun.
Quite a remarkable photo. For most people in the 1890s, much of their life was work and toil, so photos don't show much frivolity or levity. This one is quite humorous.
Sunday Drive ... from Ottawa to the Gatineau for nice picnic in your nice car in 1963.
Looks like a Corvair, Chevy, Hillman(?) and, on the far right, one of those Buicks with the amazing fins from 1959 or 1960.
Not sure which lookout in Gatineau Park this is.
(BAnQ 06M_E6S7SS1_P631667-Edit.tif)
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Looks like Pink Lake, with the curved parking lot/lookout that close to the water’s edge.
Gone are the days when you could a car's make from a distance!
Pretty sure it’s Pink’s Lake. We used to jump into it off a granite cliff on the far side.
It Boxing Day and we're still slacking ... so here's a shot of Santa returning home after a hard night of deliveries in Ottawa in 1976.
Pretty well 2500 miles from anywhere ... and 2580 miles from Ottawa.
Just for fun, I decided to check the distance in Google Maps, which replied: "Sorry, we could not calculate biking directions from "Ottawa, ON" to "Alert, Nunavut."
No cars, trains, planes, or even walking directions either. However, Rome2Rio offered an option which got you from Ottawa to Pangnirtung, north of Iqualit on Baffin Island, in only 26 hours.
That's about half-way to Alert and as far as they would go.
(LAC e999901566)
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Here's what it looked like 2.5 years ago.
I was there to install network equipment many many years ago. I had only a few hours to install otherwise I was stuck until the next flight weeks later.
I was there in November several years ago. Perpetual night so I guess Santa came out of hiding for a summer photo session. A lot of people from Ottawa were stationed there over the years. 600 miles from the "Pole" and usually too high up in the Arctic to be seen on most maps.
Some place you won't be able to stop for a coffee when exhausted Boxing Day ... this Tim's on Prince of Wales.
Shared by Andrew Parkes who writes:
"The Tim Horton’s on Prince of Wales near Hunt Club West is no more!"
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Drive 2 mins and you’ll find 6 more...
Between the Ramada and that motel no-tell that recently closed. It was a difficult Tim's to get out of.
used to be a little restaurant there great food 15 years ago
Postcard from Ottawa, and a small Xmas present too, shared by Terry B Latham, who notes simply: "This was on a site."
The scene is a classic one with a lady crossing Sparks Street with two streetcars and the Russell Hotel in the background. Three characteristic features of Ottawa in one picture.
The Toronto Postcard Club dates this particular postcard to 1914.
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I believe the globe street lights were installed in 1913 so the 1914 date seems very plausible.
Ottawa n'a pas eu d'élus municipaux intelligents comme ceux de Toronto, ville merveilleuse avec ses tramways ! XOX
Before Genital Motors coined the term “Jay Walking”. . . I’ll let “Damn You Apple Autocorrect” get away with that one. 😉
Boxing Day in Ottawa, and a puzzler, too.
This photo is found with a bunch of others for Ogilvy's. But is it Ogivly's? And if so, which one? Downtown? Billing Bridge?
The picture is so small, the slogan on the far wall is hard to make out. Seems to say "Fashion by the Yard." A clue!
(City of Ottawa Archives CA022608)
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In the "olden days" I think all the stores were closed on Boxing Day - and the big sales were actually on the 27th
That looks like the fabric and notions department at the downtown Ogilvy’s. I worked in the fashion Salon in the late 70s. Perhaps this is from the 50s/60s when the department might have been larger because before the 70s more women were responsible for sewing the family wardrobe.
Looks like Billing’s Bridge location. My parents frequented that location when I was a kid. I wanted out of that store so fast because Ogilvy’s never had a toy department
Somehow this car never arrived at my house yesterday. Maybe today? After all, it is "Boxing Day" in Ottawa. Mrs. Lost?
The car, I think, is a Hillman Minx, circa 1958, and the picture is from vintage postcard from the era .
I haven't seen any of the million local delivery people driving one ... but I have seen some cars and vans pretty stuffed over the past week.
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In 1958, we owned a Sunbeam Rapier, similar in size to the Hillman Minx. Somehow, we stuffed 2 adults, 3 sons, 2 cats, an outboard motor and luggage for all stuffed in the trunk and a car-top carrier to drive to the cottage.
Mine was yellow and white with leather interior. That little car could climb mountains!!
My Mom had a Minx in the 60s....
At Lost Ottawa we come across some odd stuff while looking for historic images ... like this Christmas Issue of the Avro News, promoting the Avro Arrow.
Maybe as a replacement for Santa's sleigh?
I don't have the exact date of this cover. It's either 1957 or 1958, and I think the latter when Avro was pulling out all the stop in an effort to save the Arrow. This cover would have ended up on hundreds of Ottawa desks. Alas, the Grinch stole Christmas!
(From the collections of the Canada Aviation and Space Museum)
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My Dad worked for Pye Canada, a company which supplied component parts used in building the Arrow. When Diefenbaker cancelled the Arrow, nearly 50,000 people lost their jobs. My Dad was one of them. That’s when we moved from King City, a tiny village (at the time) outside of TO to Ottawa.
That illustration shows the UK A.V Roe "Avro 707A" from circa 1949.
Canada Post put out a stamp celebrating the Arrow (and 50 years of Canadian aviation) but has never admitted that the jet is the Arrow.
It Christmas Day and we are still slacking here at Lost Ottawa, so here is a little Xmas message from a group of Ottawa skiers, taken to celebrate the fresh blanket of snow that arrived December 24, 1954.
I fiddled the picture in photoshop because the original picture was so small you couldn't really see anyone anyway. Nevertheless the Citizen says the people in the picture are, left to right:
Robert Pilon, Henry Staubitz, Andre Hupe, Tony Gusseus, Wilfrid Lalonde, Douglas Ralston, James Fordyce, Graham Fraser, Suzanne Richard, Diana Kingston, Joanne Ralston, Ken Evans, Peter Richard and Maurice Carey.
And now they are sending you best wishes all over again!
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Any Idea what hill they are on, IE Fortune or other Gatineau hill
We've got a little Lost Ottawa Christmas present for you this morning -- a video featuring photos from the fifty most popular posts on Lost Ottawa in 2020.
What's most popular depends on the Facebook stat you count. Likes, comments, shares, or reach? We start off with the most popular picture in each category, then show the rest in random order.
I made the video as a relaxing retrospective on what interested people this year. There's no talking. Just pictures and little music. Enjoy!
(P.S. Some of you might notice there are more than 50 pictures. That's because the list of posts with the most comments and the list with the most likes are not exactly the same. I included all the extras. After all, it's Christmas!
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What a trip down memory lane. Let's all hope that today's pictures of people wearing masks and hand sanitizer stands everywhere will soon become not only a part of Lost Ottawa but a part of Lost Planet, never to be seen again.
Thank you for posting this - Santa Claus brought me Lost Ottawa 3 for Christmas 🙂
Wow, that felt good. All those great memories. Made me feel young again. Thank you for putting this together!
Best Wishes for the Season from Lost Ottawa!
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Merry Christmas from Melbourne Australia!
That Santa looks rather sinister. Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas. Thanks for all the hard work;; it has enhanced my knowledge of the history of my hometown in a very fun way. Good jokes too.
Three Ottawa Kings rehearse with Mary and Joseph for the Christmas Play at St. James's Church in the Glebe on December 12, 1955.
I was one of those kings in Grade Three. I remember being so nervous up there on the stage, getting ready to sing my part of "We Three Kings."
I think I was Melchior, who brought the frankincense. I hope I wasn't Balthazar, with the myrrh, who sang the part about:
Sorrowing, sighing,
Bleeding, dying,
Sealed in the stone-cold tomb ...
Not so cheerful!
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I attended that church back then but was probably too young (7) to partake in this event.
I had to sing the myrrh part...
Rick Henderson shares a Christmas sort-of story in his continuing Capital Chronicles about early days in the Ottawa Valley.
You never know what lies in the back history of a person and his family, even to being spies in the Revolutionary War!
How a Stone, leads to Three Roks, and Three Roks leads ... to a Spy
www.capitalchronicles.ca
A new story for George Smyth - and its impact on our Capital's history.5 CommentsComment on Facebook
Merry Christmas Mr. Lost et al. Here is a little gift to all who seek to prove truths from historical research. What I have learned over the years of digging into my own family history is that oral history, while strong in many aspects, is trumped by written history. There is, however, one step further. Written history can be tampered with by either error or by design. So it was when I gave Rick a bit of help on this one. Documents indicated that the family name was Smythe and that they lived in Southeast Ontario in 1801 but I found no trace. Poring over five years on either side and taking the known facts from a 200 year old stone there were not one...but three points of correlation in this Census from 1802! Like gossip...a simple mistake is treacherous to unravel....I also knew from my own family research that often census takers would listen to a name and simply make an error writing it down. There is a chance that the spy either changed his name...or the census taker made an error...Either way....the fact that all the children matched up with other records proved that George was from this family. (Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays to all my friends on here...My News Years resolution is to post more on Lost...too busy in 2020...)
Fascinating! What a great read this morning ðŸ‘
A truly fascinating story. (Y)
When you are an Ottawa Valley Santa, you don't always need a sleigh. You can use the fire pole!
This particular Santa arrives at the Leduc Street fire station in Hull on December 18, 1955, to the delight of the firemen's kids.
Not sure why one chap is holding on to Santa's feet!
(CA035967)
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i think he may be helping hold Santa in place. firepoles are designed and polished to be slippery....too bad these poles arent used anymore, but i can understand why.
Does anyone have photos of Santa from the OTC Christmas parties held in the 50s? My Dad was filling in for Santa but we have no pics. Thanks.
Farrell McGovern shares a link to some fine music by Ottawa author Charles de Lint about driving Highway 105.
You could be driving it on your way home for Xmas.
Says Farrell:
"Best selling local author Charles de Lint is also a musician. He used to play a number of the folk and celtic music venues around Ottawa where some of his stories were set.
He wrote a wonderful little tune that memorializes Highway 105 over on the Quebec side. It is a route many travelled to reach The Black Sheep Inn in Wakefield, and points north.
Here is a link to the song where he is accompanied by his wife MaryAnn Harris. Both are very lovely and talented people!"
Highway 105, by Charles de Lint
from the album Old Blue Truck
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Think it was highway 11 before it was 105.
I recently did the 105 all the way to 117 several times this summer. This song brings it all back.
Up 105 to Gracefield and Maniwaki! Great memories!!
Here's an Ottawa song I would like to hear.
It's "Thanks to Santa," written by none other than local jeweler, businessman and promoter Jack Snow. It seems to have been released in December of 1955, with the idea that sales would go to charity. The song seems to have been performed (possibly as a polka) by Cliff McKay and his wife Patricia.
I was thinking someone must still have the 45 ... but Ive found out it was a 78! I know people are into vinyl once again, but do people still know what a 78 or a 45 might be?
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Yeah, hubby and I were explaining RPM records to our young adult children the other day ... what it's like to carefully place the record needle down ... turning the record over. Watching the needle bob up and down... 😲 lol
Interesting factoid I came across - the term “album” started in the 78 era. Due to limited recording time on 78 records, longer pieces like classical concerts were released on collections of multiple records called “albums” (since they resembled photo albums). So technically, your favourite vinyl LP record isn’t an “album” after all.
45 revolutions per minute (RPM) (7 inch vinyl record) and 78 RPM (was a 10 inch record was usually made of acetate)
Had a request for a photo of Ottawa's favourite December destination back in the day, namely Santa's Toyland in Freiman's Department store on Rideau Street (now the Bay). Favoured by kids, at least ...
Searching my database, I found this great photo originally shared by Patti Jo in 2015.
Said Patti: "Riding the Train in Freiman's Toyland, circa 1963!"
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Freiman’s = BEST malts anywhere!!
Freiman's on Rideau Street was the place to be at Christmas! You could stare at their front window display and dream, until your mom pulled you into the store!
We lost a bit of Ottawa when we lost Freiman's. It truly was a family store. As kids, we loved it. And I remember riding that train. and visiting Santa. The Christmas window displays were glorious. The whole family could shop together and enjoy.
Santa visits Ottawa Uplands Airport on December 1, 1956.
This was part of a special 34-city pre-Xmas tour by Santa, who was delivering some 18 tons of toys to under-privileged kids around North America.
These kids are from the St. Patrick's Home and St. Joseph's Oprhanage, according to the story in the paper. I believe Santa's "toy lift" was sponsored by Esso.
(City of Ottawa Archives CA042077)
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St Patrick's Orphanage had a summer cottage near Hog's Back. When my family lived on Riverside Drive, I spent my summers playing with the kids there. It was like a summer camp for me.
Operation Toylift was started by Julian Reiss, who founded Santa's Workshop near Lake Placid in 1949. Initially Reiss delivered toys in norhtern New York State and Vermont flying his own plane. Later, Esso provided a C-46 cargo aircraft for an expanded program, which brought the Toylift to Ottawa. Here's some information about Reiss. www.adirondackdailyenterprise.com/opinion/columns/read-in-the-blue-line/2019/12/the-man-who-dared...
The Governor General's Foot Guards used to invite children from the orphanage to participate in the regimental children's Christmas party, and each child got a gift and treats to take back.
Ben Weiss shares a Lost Ottawa kind of present, writing:
"An early Christmas gift from an out-of-town friend ...
in the form of an 1874 Ottawa Citizen calendar."
Still good until the end of the year!
And good once again in 2048 according to TimeandDate.com
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This was last good in 2015, next time will be 2026
Hmmm. . . 2048 will be a Leap Year. . . 1874 was not. . .
Your Morning Commute, over the Ottawa River, or maybe in the Aylmer Road, and along Rue Principale in Hull in what appears to be the 1940s.
(BAnQ P547S1SS1SSS1D172P04R)
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David Jeanes, yes, and here is the original postcard with the same view identifying it as Hull.
Another one, showing the location, at Bridge (Dupont) and Main streets right near the Ottawa House.
One last bit of history: the Scott building occupied the property on which Philemon Wright built his Columbia Hotel in 1819 - the "best hotel west of Montreal", wrote John Mactaggart, Clerk of the Works for the construction of the Rideau Canal. The hotel had beautiful gardens and a large stable in the rear, and a large front porch where guests could have tea in the afternoon. Inside was a large dining room with vaulted ceiling.
Victoria Edward shares a post about an Ottawa Institution that's for sale.
Notes Victoria:
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I first camped there in the late forties -- my mum was a guider and the Rangers looked after us. I spent many years there as a Guide later. So sad to see it disappear, so many memories.
This was my first brownie camp. We went fishing on shore using popcorn. Fast forward many years and I’m still a Guider in my third province.
Very sad to see that it is being sold. So many girls had the opportunity to experience camp here. I remember going as a Brownie as well as one of my daughters going as a Brownie and a Guide for several summers.
Patrick Hoffman shares some old prescriptions from Ottawa "chemists" (as they were known back then).
Writes Patrick:
"Here's a collection of early 20th century Ottawa prescriptions I found in an Edwardian copy of 'Pocket Book of Treatment and Formulary'â€
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A guide for pharmacists (or chemists) to read prescriptions.
(as *pharmacists were known back then).
Very interesting the prescription is written on the pharmacist's (chemist's) pad in a few cases. The 4 digit phone numbers are cool. And the handwriting too!
Ottawa shopping "in the modern manner" in October of 1955.
Now it "modern" means online. Then it meant a gigantic parking lot like this one at Westgate.
(Ottawa Citizen)
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At the risk of showing just how old I am, I miss the milk bar, and the best milkshakes in the city!
I remember our mom getting us on the old green diesel buses to Wesgate, going to Freimans to see Santa, and Miss Westgate for fries and gravy and Kresges and the Royal Bank where we belonged to the “Leo the Lion” club and they handed out B&W 8x10’s of Ottawa 67 players.
We grew up around there in the late sixties to early seventies. We used to go to Freiman's department store to pick up the latest 45 record of the song released on the radio!
Classic picture of driving in Ottawa and Hull, back in the days of rear-wheel drive.
Shared by Donald Legault, who writes:
"Here is what the streets could like on Christmas morning if the predicted storm pans out.
I took this photo at the corner of St-Joseph and Graham in December of 1970 at the start of the infamous 1970-71 winter. By the end of winter the hedges would be completely buried.
The bulldozer is in the field behind the Hull Armory, which used as a snow dump back them, and would be very busy that winter!"
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Remember it well went into the hospital Dec 1st to give birth with very little if any snow. Came home 5 days later to snow banks almost at my shoulders. Then as the weeks went on it got worse.
My daughter was born early in January that year. It was quite a winter!
Ford LTD? And a Maverick at left and looks like Pontiac headlights.
Deborah Robitaille shares an Ottawa Hostelry where you might have hoisted a few pints of Christmas cheer over the years.
Writes Deborah:My Great Uncle Albert Robitaille owned the Albion Hotel.
My Great Grandfather owned the Sirdar Hotel (no longer in existence) on Rideau Street and my Great Great Grandmother owned a popular boarding house across from the Parliament Buildings.
I am looking for any information on both the Sirdar Hotel and the boarding house.
Thanks, Deborah
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I worked at the Albion from March 20 1979 to the day they closed the door on July 13 1984 loved the place great team of workers more like a family .
My Dad hung out their. He said on Saturday a guy came in with a flat of eggs. People would dare others in the bar to put an egg in their beer and drink it. The poor guy went home to get in trouble with his wife.
I have drank beer at the Albion Hotel
Waiting for Winter ... at what I believe is Ottawa Ski Club's chairlift at Camp-Fortune. The description just indicates the "County of Gatineau" in 1964.
Okay, so they are really taking the chair lift to get a great view ... but what interests me is that most of the cars are "compacts" like the Valiant, Acadian(?), and Corvair.
Looks like a Volkswagen bus in the back, but what is that in the front? A 1964 Rambler wagon? We boys always ended up in the rear-facing back seat of our family wagon.
I spent so many thousands of miles going backwards ... hey, maybe that's why I became a historian!
(BAnQ 06M_E6S7SS1_P64234)
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Best part of skiing Camp Fortune was learning to ski on PeeWee and using the rope tow. But the absolute BEST PART of skiing at Camp Fortune was meeting the tow operator who “uplifted me” and took my breath away and became my husband 40 years ago.
remember the guy running the pomalift that used to stack them up so when you got on you flew for the first 20 feet? is that Canadian hill in the background? the best part of sking at Fortune was Skyline and the bus going back and forth from Billings plaza and Hillcrest High
I can see the POMA lift, that was better than going down the hill
Sunday Drivers from Gordon Johnson Motor Sales located at 1159 Banks Street (and Glenn) in Old Ottawa South and featuring a Lincoln, and Mercury and a what looks like a tri-tone Meteor for 1957.
The Meteor was a Canada-only car for most of its life (1949-1976), except for two years when they sold a Mercury Meteor in the U.S. The idea was to provide Mercury dealers with a low-price car they could sell in competition with the Pontiac. It was based on the Ford at first, but with special trim and fittings -- and that wild colour scheme!
By this time the Meteor line also had special "Canada-only" names like Niagara, Rideau, and Rideau Crown Victoria. These cars would now be 53 years old. Farther from us than the Model T was from them!
(City of Ottawa Archives CA044061)
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Back when it was Belmont Garage. A few years ago, you had posted a couple of brochures from Gordon Johnson.
The building started its life as the “picturesque” Belmont Garage in 1928.
building is still there, buried within the Senate pub
Saturday Night at the (making of) Movies here in Ottawa.
Shared by Joe Macnab who says:
Yasmine Bleeth (of Baywatch fame) filming a movie on the Rideau Canal in the summer of 1998.
I did a little research and the movie appears to have been "Undercover Angel." The plot synopsis reads: "A writer with no focus in his work, becomes the unwilling babysitter of a precocious little girl who turns his life around. As you might have guessed, it was a feel-good Hallmark movie.
They seem to shoot at least one feel-good movie a year in Ottawa because ... we're all so sweet!
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They also filmed scenes at another part of lost Ottawa, Thunderbird Go-Carts on Conroy rd.
They also shot scenes at a friends house in Kanata. Two of the kids at Chapters are family friends. Went to college with Bryan Stollers sister.
I own that movie (Undercover Angel) on VHS and I have watched it a few times! I had no idea it was filmed in Ottawa (even though last time I watched it was after I moved here lol)
Donald Legault shares the Morning Puzzler with a photo of this well dressed-lady posing for the camera on a trip to Ottawa from Hull.
Asks Donald:
"I wonder if a Lost Ottawa follower can identify where this photo was taken. It looks like one of the parliament buildings but I cannot quite place it. It is from my brother-in-law's collection whose family lived in Hull. Part of a group of photos from the late 1940s."
There's two lost and one found item related to this photo. Answer later, if nobody gets it ...
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So the two lost items in the photo are the old Supreme Court Building on Banks Street below West Block, and entrance to Lovers Walk to the left of that building. The "found" item actually isn't in the picture, but is the statue of justice in Glen Cochrane's pic, which was found in 1969 after being lost in storage for more than 50 years Thus, it doesn't show in Donald's original picture because it wasn't there yet. Nerd stuff!
That is a light standard on the steps of the Supreme Court. (The statue would be added later)
My first thought too that it was the Supreme Court building as my Mum worked there for a period of time as a court stenographer and I have some photos showing the column.
When you were a Saturday Vendor, rather than a shopper in the "Ottawa Market."
Shared by Michael Davidson, who notes:
"Found in my files ..."
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Would this have been used to allow cabbies to use the horse-drawn cab stand on York Street?
Oh I wished I had lived in Ottawa in those days
So neat! That’s a keeper
Home from work in Lost Ottawa, where maybe you were employed by the government in the data processing office? Creating punch cards and tape for giant IBM computer?
I found these clips in the archives of the National Film Board. I bet some of you worked in this very room processing data for the census in 1967.
The clips were silent, so I added all the sounds. Possibly not the most authentic, but does give some ambience. I notice, for example, that practically no one is actually talking in the video, but they sure are typing a lot ...
I'm not sure I recognize everything the people are doing, but check out the hair and clothing styles. Plus, keep your eye out for it, you gotta love the good old days when people could smoke in the office!
Not!
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I remember when smoking was banned in offices, sometime in the 1980s, a few weeks later my office co-worker remarked she had not had a headache in 2 weeks. Cannot believe the years of crappy we endured.
remember the late night shifts doing key punch for Revenue Canada from 67 to 71 , started at Tunneys Pasture and finished at Heron Road, long rows of us smoking like chimneys creating a haze you could hardly see through
One of those clips looked like my first job in the government in 1972. You got to work and started working, you could chat on your 15 minute break at 10, on your lunch break or your 15 minute break at 3:00. There was no standing at someone’s desk and idling away the time. There 1 phone in the office space which was at the supervisors desk and could only be used to make a call in an emergency.
Deitra Kimpton shares a Souvenir of Ottawa, as it was circa 1920. A little pre-Xmas present!
Writes Deitra:
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These pictures are not all from the same date and the booklet may have been compiled from pictures by different photographers. The 3rd and 4th images are post 1928 when the Mackenzie Avenue wing of the Chateau Laurier was built, but the 6th picture of "The Plaza" shows the Chateau Laurier as it looked pre-1927.
There is a photo of the Civic Hospital, which opened in 1924, which narrows down the timeframe, somewhat.
What a treasure.