Chibougamau, Quebec 1959
This mining town in Northern Quebec looked like an old western movie. Double wide, gravel main street-dusty and not interesting to the casual observer. On second thought, and second look, it had five hotels along the main street. Considerable, in a town of less than 10, 000. The first building that went up when the town was built was not a church or school but the curling rink.
In the early days, the miners came to town from the mine site by row boat on Saturday nights. It was said that there would be a funeral every Monday morning. One drunken miner would fall overboard on the way back to the bunkhouse early Sunday morning. A causeway was built in 1958.
There were two nice little clothing stores-Berny Mendolsohn managed a right-priced shop, where we would dress ourselves from head to foot on Friday nights, and paid by post dated checks. The Quatre Saisons, was a little more up scale. There were also two theaters, a Hudson Bay store that sold everything from soup to nuts, guns to glassware. Two banks that I recall, and a few grocery stores, a pharmacy and a furniture store. We had grown up in places like Chibougamau, so were not accustomed to a limitless choice, and of course there was always a Simpson’s catalogue.
When I got married, I wrote to a personal shopper at Eaton’s in Montreal, described what I wanted and after a couple of short communications, I received the perfect dress, in the perfect size at a perfect price of $50.
Those of us who had grown up in places like Chibougamau, were usually satisfied with our limited choices. I don’t remember longing for more, more, more until I moved to civilization. Of course we don’t miss what we don’t know.
I have never felt the need to return to Chibougamau to visit. I did go to a reunion near Montreal recently and didn’t know many people. They seemed to be very young…as we once were.
PS, Read more on Chibougamau- June 2, June 4, June 17, August 29, 2007
