This is the first part of a series written by Cynthia Dow and published in SPEC in 1995 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Forillon National Park. The series is dedicated to the memory of the late Elwood Dow and his wife Gerty Gavey, uncle and aunt of the author, whose Indian Cove home was expropriated to make way for the Park.
One day on the Gaspé in 1939 a man by the name of Esmond B. Martin caught the largest Atlantic salmon ever taken in North American waters, here on our own river the Grand Cascapedia. Although we take it for granted, this river is considered one of the ten best salmon fishing rivers in the world.
Many, many years ago there lived a group of Mi’kmaq along the shores of the Bay of Chaleur, in the region of the seventh district of the Mi’kmaq Nation.
Once upon a time my grandfather, Victor William Annett, the seventh son of Charles William Annett, the grandson of William Annett, told me a story.
“Such a beautiful country is not an accident. God must have created this wonderful wilderness, where all is happiness, all is peace.”
--Fishing on the Grand Cascapedia by Edmund W. Davis (1904)
Foreword
In 1668, Father François Salignac de Fénelon founded a school and a mission post for the Indians n the actual site of our City. This first mission was called “La Présentation”. Father Fénelon was from a noble family whose insignia bore an eagle. On the City of Dorval’s crest, the eagle was introduced symbolically. In fact, it represents in a heraldic fashion the Dorval airport. It is the emblem of strength, majesty, and power.
The City of Westmount has a population of 20,548 residents as of 2009 who reside within the 3.9 square kilometre area on the southwestern slopes of Mount Royal surrounded by the City of Montreal.
The Westmount Historical Association exists, “to obtain and classify all historical and similar material about the City of Westmount which might be available and useful,” for the understanding of the development of this city within a city. This was the mandate of the Westmount Historical Association when it was founded in 1944 and continues to guide our existence today.