TALES
UNDER DEVELOPMENT
Here is where you’ll discover written and oral accounts of what it was like to live in Metis 50, 100, even 200 years ago, some with photos of then and now. You can trace the progress of architecture, leisure, development, transportation, and more.
TRAVELLER LODGINGS THROUGH TIME
– April 9, 2021
Lodging for the few earliest passing visitors in the Metis area usually was trying one’s luck at the home of a local settler – one might say the original bed ‘n’ breakfast.
HUMBLE ABODES TO FANCY MANSIONS
– March 16, 2021
As the song goes, “Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home”. Visit Metis and wander along its byways to see a time capsule of architectural styles and names of past and present homes.
BOOZE, BOOTLEGGING, PROHIBITION & OTHER PASTIMES
– March 4, 2020
Attitudes to drinking have changed considerably over the past two centuries, from commonplace and accepted, to being frowned on and banned outright. Santé and read on!
THE “DREAM TEAM”
– February 25, 2021
Many year-round and summer residents may remember Lorn Turriff and his collection of tools, but how many remember him as a forward for the Little Metis Hockey Club Team from 1931-1949?
WHEN WAR CAME TO METIS
– November 11, 2020
For those too young to remember, the Second World War reached the shores of Metis. Also, earlier and later conflicts also touched the area through those who served, and serve today, as well as their families and friends at home.
METIS 200
– September 3, 2020
The history of Metis is a colourful tapestry of interwoven threads
drawn from First Nations, Scottish, French, Métis, Irish, English and
more! To situate yourself in time, enjoy reading the bilingual booklet
BEHIND THE NAMES
– June 30, 2020
The origin of many place names in the area has largely been forgotten, but no longer. Read ‘Behind the name’ for the history of the names of well-known and less-well-known spots you’ll want to see.
WHERE DID THE WOMEN GO?
– June 30, 2020
At a time when a woman’s work was never done, and a woman’s place was in the home or fields, with the occasional church social or community dance, there was one thing that women could do without comment: visit one of the Metis Tea Rooms.
SANDY BAY WHARF
– April 14, 2021
While the early morning is usually the best time to fish, every so often of an afternoon, you’ll see a small troop of visitors to the wharf who’ve come from far away to stay in a family summer home in nearby Metis.
GET YOURSELF IN GEAR!
– April 19, 2021
Many older Metisiens used to gather to socialize in the evening at Coin de la Baie to talk of the day’s activities. One night they got an unexpected floor show (and a good lesson)!
BIKING TAKES METIS BY STORM…
– April 27, 2021
Bicycles were introduced in the 20th century. From the beginning and still today, bicycles have been and are employed for many uses and also used for recreational purposes. We invite you to have a look at some HLSL bicycle photos from Metis from the late 1890s before paved roads, up to the present day.
WHEN ANAHAREO AND GREY OWL CAME TO METIS…
– May 13, 2021
It’s 1929 and we are moving up Boule Rock Road, past the Allans, the Airds, and the Smiths, round a corner to the right to a junction. There we see some of our friends from further west who have come up Astle Road to the same crossroads: left to the highway or right along the old road to the Boule Rock Golf Club.
DISASTER! SEAPLANE GOES DOWN OFF BAIE-DES-SABLES
– May 13, 2021
Many people have helped us learn more about the Gaspé peninsula that we love. One, with an unusual tie to the area, paid the ultimate price.
Kwe! Pjila’si!
– July 13, 2021
Our settled history of 200 years pales compared to the thousands-of-years-long history of Indigenous people who lived or gathered near the Mitis River mouth. Catch up on what we didn’t learn in history class: archeological finds, the First Nations of the Lower Saint Lawrence, and what little we know about the ‘modern’ (post-1700) indigenous presence in the Metis area.
LIVING OFF THE LAND
– November 22, 2021
Perhaps some of the oldest activities on the face of the planet are hunting, fishing and trapping and over time the ways to undertake the activities have been most diverse. Foraging for food has always been something that humankind has had to do, dating back to the beginning of any civilizations known to man.
LOST VILLAGES-FORGOTTEN PAST
– December 2, 2021
No village is ever built with the intent of abandonment or loss due to development. For many of us, we may never even have heard of these villages because they have disappeared and have been forgotten with time.
From McGill
to Metis
– January 7, 2022
There are some unusual connections between McGill University and Metis as a summer community. These links have lasted over 150 years.
ART
– February 11, 2022
Folk art covers all forms of visual art and reflects the cultural life and traditional values of a community.
THE LIFE AND TIMES
– March 8, 2022
The St. Lawrence River was the only waterway entry to the seigneury of Metis. Boat was the only way of travel available for the first settlers as no roads existed.
SEIGNEURIAL SYSTEM
OF NEW FRANCE
– April 4, 2022
In the Province of Quebec, land distribution was originally based on a seigneurial system, established in 1627 and used until 1854.
SCHOOLING THROUGH
THE YEARS
– June 14, 2022
It may surprise many to know how long a system – and then systems – of formal education have existed in what is now Quebec