Heritage Fair at the Galeries Aylmer:  Celebrating history during Heritage Month! 

 

Julie Murray

Kicking off Heritage Month, the Galeries Aylmer held a Heritage Fair, February 7, with exhibits from the University of Ottawa Archives, the Outaouais Historical Society, and the Symmes Inn Museum.  The Symmes Inn exhibit featured artifacts from Aylmer’s history, including a pair of snow shoes and a water baseball bat, paintings of the museum and of St. Paul’s Church, and helpful volunteers who described Aylmer’s picturesque past. The material on display focused on the area near the shore of the Ottawa River, between the Symmes Inn Museum and the old Queen’s Park wharf.  With a merry-go-round carousel, a gazebo stage for musicians, a bear cage, a hall of mirrors, a cog-run boat launch and games such as water baseball, the idyllic setting made for many pleasant summer afternoons.   

 

An Aylmer mystery: Where are the carousel’s horses?

During the fair, one of the passers-by mentioned to museum volunteer Gilles Laroche that he might know the whereabouts of some of the old horses from the carousel.  Mr Laroche told The Bulletin, “This is great news; we’re going to research it.  It would be wonderful to retrieve the old horses, so I’m making a public appeal.  These horses must be somewhere.  They could be in an old shed, a basement or an attic.  If you know where one might be, or if you have one, please contact the Symmes Inn!”  The Symmes Inn Museum can be reached at 819-682-0291.

 

Outaouais Heritage Society discusses Aylmer’s Foran family 

The University of Ottawa Archives and Outaouais Heritage Society’s exhibits featured information about Me Thomas Patrick Foran, a barrister from Aylmer who was the first graduate of the University of Ottawa.  While a student there, Me Foran wrote regular letters to his family back in Aylmer.  These letters, now housed in the archives, are a rich source of information about daily life at the time.  In 1826, Me Foran’s father, Irish native John Foran, built a magnificent stone house at 156 Aylmer Road (near the Rivermead Park and Ride); the home stayed in the family until 1986.  

 

The Foran family is a prominent Aylmer family; one of Me Foran’s grandchildren was the late Dennis Foran, who was the president of Aydelu for many years.  As part of Gatineau’s Heritage Month activities, Michel Prévost, the president of the Outaouais Historical Society and the chief archivist at the University of Ottawa, will be giving a talk about Me Foran and life at the time.  The discussion will be held at the Guy-Sanche library, February 10, at the Maison de la Culture, 855 boulevard de la Gappe (the cost is $3 for residents; to sign up call 819-243-2506 or www.gatineau.ca). 

 

Black History Month celebrated in Aylmer

Aylmer’s Lucy-Faris library will be the location of another Heritage Month Activity, a conference entitled “The History of Black People in Canada:  An Overview of Fascinating Individuals.”  The discussion is also part of the city’s Black History Month activities.  Rachel Décoste, a historian and Huffington Post blogger, will be highlighting some of the major contributions made by African-Canadians in Canada’s history.  The lecture will be at the library,  115 rue Principale, from 7 pm to 8:30 pm; the cost is $3 and registration is required.  For more information on the other Black History Month Activities, most of which will be held at city hall in Hull, visit mhngatineau.com.