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The historical society of Park Extension, in partnership with the burrough, is holding an exhibit and celebration on July 3 and 4 that will highlight the 100 years since Park Extension has been a part of Montreal.
The opening ceremony begins at 2 p.m. on Saturday, July 3 in Athena Park.
“We will have people carrying flags of many nations,” says Park Extension Historical Society president, Mary McCutcheon. The Salvation Army band will also play – a historically significant event, McCutcheon said, as the band used to have a hall in Park Extension, and would play in Athena Park on Sundays in the 1960s and earlier.
At 3 p.m. on Saturday, the event moves to Ogilvy Centre, 821 Ogilvy Avenue. Cake and refreshments will be served and historical photos and information will be up all weekend for visitors to view at their leisure.
From 7 to 9 p.m. on Saturday, speakers will share memories about life in Park Extension, including stories about sports, rock and roll, business development, and the founding of culture-based groups in the neighbourhood.
On Sunday, July 4th, the exhibition will run in Ogilvy Centre from 10am to 5pm. There will be speakers from 2 to 4 p.m. as well as artistic activities for kids, overseen by historical society member Stefanie Ferrante. Another member, Shirley Laberge has created a game about local politicians for visitors to play, and member Camil-Gaston Breton is creating a museum corner with historical artifacts. At 4 p.m. a film featuring the testimonies about the neighbourhood from present-day residents will be shown in Ogilvy Centre.
Heritage tours will also be offered that weekend, through the Regroupement en aménagement de Parc-Extension – leaving Ogilvy Centre at 10 a.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday.
The society is still looking for some volunteers to hold flags from their mother countries for the opening ceremony, McCutcheon said. “We're really hoping to have a good representation of the over 100 countries represented in Park Ex.”
Early this year, the society approached the burrough council and asked for some support for the project.
“The mayor Anie Samson and our local councillor Mary Deros have shown great interest and have set up a centennial committee. They will be working throughout this year and next to offer other events to mark the 100th anniversary,” said McCutcheon. Partnerships for the centennial year have been forged with PEYO, the Centre d'Histoire de Montreal, the Park Extension library, and others.
The Park Extension Historical Society was formed in the spring of 2009, and it's first project, said McCutcheon, was to research and publicize the 100th anniversary to the community.
“There was no community here, really,” McCutcheon said, describing the area in 1910. “It was just vacant lots and farmers fields.”
“It was a parish,” said McCutcheon, but not in the ecclesiastical sense, in the agricultural one, she added.
With the industrialization of the region toward the end of the 19th Century, said McCutheon, the city of Montreal was gradually trying to enlarge itself. “In 1905, Villeray was annexed to the city. And in 1910 they decided they wanted to do a large annexation of a lot of territories.”
The city approached 30 small towns and villages on the island, and ten wanted to join, said McCutcheon, including the area that is now Park Extension, which was then a part of the Cote St. Laurent Sud parish.
Following the July 3 and 4 exhibition, the historical panels will be displayed at the William Hinston Centre for the month of July.
For more innformation about the event, call 514-271-6650 or email sochist.pextension@gmail.com.