One of the most striking features of the architecture at Echo Lake is the large number of round log houses. These were built between 1935 and 1955, initially by George Binns and other members of the Binns family.
The Young Men's Christian Association, or YMCA, was founded in London, England, in 1844, to provide assistance to young workers during the Industrial Revolution.
The young boy was standing in front of a small wooden table on which laid a birthday cake with four lit candles. You could see the gleam in the little guy’s face, and his underlying smile of knowing that this was his day to be celebrated, and his day alone. Dressed in a clean white shirt, dark slacks, and a clip-on bow tie, we could sense what he was thinking as he continued his bright-eyed stare into the candles. We could almost feel his wonder at what other miracles life would bring, and that this birthday was certainly one of them.
1) How did Lachute get its name?
a) The town is named after Edmond La Chute who established a mill there in 1802.
b) The town is named after a local waterfall.
c) Lachute is a corruption of “The Shoot,” which referred to an annual hunt that took place here in the 1800s.
d) Lachute is a corruption of the Native word Lac’heutkt’ewah, which translates roughly as “good fishing place.”
7) b) The Argenteuil Agricultural Society, founded in 1826, has held an annual exposition ever since. The first Argenteuil County fair was held in St. Andrews East in 1826. For the next fifty years, different towns hosted the event. Since 1877, the fair has been held in Lachute.
Compassionate Return
“Compassionate leave to Canada will only be granted in very exceptional cases in which extreme hardship would be caused to the individual concerned or his dependants, if he did not return. It must be demonstrated that the hardship could not be alleviated in any other manner.”
My earliest ethnic impressions were that I was simply Irish-Canadian. My father had told us his ancestors came from Ireland during the Potato Famine and that explanation was good enough for me. We were not Irish Catholics, but I assumed all Irish were roughly equal. As a consequence I felt entitled to the “wearing of the green” and “member status” in any St. Patrick’s Day celebration.
In 1963, the water behind the new Carillon Dam was raised over 60 feet, quieting the upstream tumult of the Long Sault Rapids. It also covered the canals and any remaining vestiges of old portage trails used to bypass the rapids. A lake over 20 km long was created, stretching all the way up the Ottawa River, beyond my home in Grenville.
