Articles

It was mid-November and the sky overhead was a brilliant shade of blue when we arrived at the Sherbrooke home of our guide for the day, Isabell MacArthur Beattie.

(Continued from On the Trail of the Scots, Part 1)

EUROPEAN TRADITION Europeans have always been fond of public clocks. One has only to visit the downtown of almost any major city, town, or village, to see the timepieces, often beautiful and elaborate, that grace all manner of public buildings. Some of these clocks date back to the Middle Ages and are now famous tourist attractions.

I am often dismayed by all the ‘negative news’ in the press, perpetuating what I see as a culture of fear; headlines about all the dangers out there, real and invented. I fully understand that these kinds of headlines are what lure readers in a highly competitive market.

O Canada! Our home and native land True patriot love in all thy sons command. With glowing hearts we see thee rise The True North strong and free!

As of January 2002, the independent municipality of Bromptonville (formerly Brompton Falls) became Brompton, District #1 of the City of Sherbrooke. Bromptonville has joined other area towns as "boroughs" of Greater Sherbrooke. Lennoxville, Rock Forest, Fleurimont, Deauville, Saint-Élie-d'Orford, Stoke, and Ascot have all gone the same way.

Remnants of our past are everywhere. The same is true of our early one-room schoolhouses. Many of these unpretentious little buildings are still visible at crossroads throughout the Townships, testifying to an era when the neighbourhood schoolhouse was the place to send one's children.

The year was 1942. A village mechanic awoke from a vivid dream, a dream that would eventually have international repercussions. It has now been more than half a century since Joseph-Armand Bombardier realized his dream and patented the first tracked vehicle, the B7, and formed L'Auto-Neige Bombardier Limitée.

Like most kids, when I was growing up, I enjoyed reading Peanuts, especially the adventures of Snoopy and the Red Baron, which were based on the German fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen and his World War I exploits. It's funny how something from your childhood you had forgotten can suddenly come back to life.

William Henry Bartlett was born in London, England in 1809. During his career, Bartlett made several trips to North America. In the late 1830s, he traveled around Canada sketching towns, villages, and rural landscapes in what were then the provinces of Lower Canada, Upper Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia.

Hector Macdonald (right) was reputed to be “ Canada’s largest St. Bernard.” So, at least, declared this eye-catching business card, published after the dog’s death in 1907.

It's rare that a golf course attracts visitors just for the view. Dufferin Heights Country Club, at 1500 feet (457 metres), is one such course. Indeed, Dufferin Heights is considered one of the most beautiful golf courses "found anywhere,"(1) and one of the jewels of the Eastern Townships.

Nature attracts thousands of people to the Townships every year. And an increasing number of groups are putting their efforts into making sure some of that pristine nature remains intact.

The people of Potton certainly remember Potton Springs, named after the three little sulphur springs that made the place famous for over a hundred years. According to legend, Nathan Banfill, age 14, discovered the springs while out working in a field at the base of Pevee Mountain.

The Eastern Townships are renowned both for their scenic beauty and for their picturesque, historic villages.

Today, former railway beds in many parts of the Eastern Townships are being converted to a new use: cycling and walking trails. The rails to trails movement has created a whole new natural, tourist, and recreational attraction in the region.

EVERY SECOND CROSSROAD The Eastern Townships were once dotted with rural schoolhouses. One has only to look at early maps of the area to see that virtually every neighbourhood had one. The typical one-room schoolhouse could be found every mile or two, or at nearly every second crossroad.

The Victorians were famous for their eclectic architecture. Fashion changed dramatically throughout the period (1837-1901), which saw the adoption, one after another, of a succession of architectural styles from earlier periods in European history.

Most of the oldest villages in the Eastern Townships owe their start to the presence of a mill. Sherbrooke (Hyatt's Mills), Cowansville (Ruiter's Mills), and Rock Island (Kilborn's Mills) are a few that come to mind.

Round barns were at one time scattered all across the southern part of the Eastern Townships. In fact, in Quebec, they were almost totally confined to this region. Unfortunately there are only a handful left. Dating in most cases to the early 20th century, they represent an important part of our architectural heritage.