Robert N. Wilkins – Social historian, former high school history teacher, Gazette columnist, author of recent book: Montreal 1909 – a study of Montreal life as told through the archives of the now long defunct Montreal Star newspaper.
Shaun Fawcett – Renaissance man, had several major careers, currently running Griffinworks, where he designs, makes and sells on-line furniture constructed of recycled wood and steel paying tribute to Griffintown’s industrial past with a wonderful list of significant years in (more…)
Frances Whelan-Chartrand – aged 93. Real estate agent, flight attendant (Sabena – based out of NYC), PR, Adminstration Assistant Military HQ, synchronized swimmer (1940s). Lived on Tupper (her boyfriend used to call it “Upper Tupper”), swam in aquatic shows at (more…)
Andrea Klein – Chemist turned Interior Designer, Westmount resident, born Cartierville, of French mother and Belgian father. Grew up in a multi-lingual household, although her mother was a unilingual francophone. Second husband grew up in Westmount on Murray Hill. Retrained as as an accountant at 50.
Marty Fisher – After having worked as a nurse, Fisher was aware of certain systemic flaws and limitations, and was drawn to alternative medicine. After a few years of studying in Tokyo, she continued her nursing work to finance her own private practice consisting of nutrition, Shiatsu, stress management and individualized programs. (more…)
Terry McGimpsey – grew up on Selby Street (now disappeared) in Westmount, now lives on Hillside, residential housing complex built by Westmount to house those evicted from Selby Street when the AR 720 was being built in the 1960s. (more…)
Philip Aspler – Aged 93. Oldest active member of the Westmount Y i.e. still swims there twice a week. Has been an area resident for his entire life. Lived in area between Bishop Street and Victoria in Westmount. Born Women’s Hospital in 1924 (renamed the (more…)
Dr Patricia Forbes – Montreal Children’s Hospital pediatrician, from 1960s, First woman president of the Royal Montreal Curling Club, also its archivist. Grew up in the UK. Studied medicine in Manchester. Emigrated for better opportunities. (more…)
Welcome to the Atwater Library Living History Collection – a permanent collection linking Montreal islanders to their past, present, and future.
We hope you’ll stay awhile, browse, and learn something that interests you about our particular area of the Montreal island by listening to the stories of the people who live, work, or simply visit here. Enjoy!
“Of (all) the works of the mind, history is the record. Its genius is illustrated by the entire series of days. Man is explicable by nothing less than all his history. Without hurry, without rest, the human spirit goes forth from the beginning to embody every faculty, every thought, every emotion, which belongs to it in appropriate events. But the thought is always prior to the fact; all the facts of history pre-exist in the mind as laws… A man is the whole encyclopedia of facts. The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn, and Egypt, Greece, Rome, Gaul, Britain, America, lie folded already in the first man.”
-“History Essay,” Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1841
