The History of Ottawa East



Volume 1 - Number 1 of "The Mainstreeter, The Ottawa East Community Voice", first appeared in the community in October of 1985. The publisher was the Ottawa East Community Activities Group, the precursor of the Ottawa East Community Association. Almost all of the issues of this publication have been located and selected articles have been reproduced along with a few pictures. These specific articles were chosen for their historical importance and are listed below with a brief description. The articles were reproduced using Optical Character Reading (OCR) software as faithfully as possible with no changes made to the original.

Below the list is the very first editorial published along with the volunteer staff

Selected Articles:
The Winges Family - Good Neighbours	by Dorothy Helferty - A 3 part series detailing the recollections of Arthur and Gai Winges and their life in early Ottawa East.
Wesley United Church - A look Back	by Cyril Chapman - A brief history of one of the oldest chuches in the community.
Ottawa East Town Hall: 100 Years Old	by Nancy Mitchell - A brief history of the building and its early inhabitants.
Saint-Famille Parish	by Thérèse Therrien and Valérie Sirois - An history of the parish from 1901 to present.
The Bower Will	by Don Fugler - Details of the will left by J. C. Bower of 3 Bower St. - one of Ottawa East's pioneers.
A Brantwood Beach Memory	by Vicki Davis - Recollections of Art Humphries about the community beach.
Mike's Petro-Canada	by an unknown customer - A brief history of an Ottawa East Institution.
Calvary Baptist Church - 80 Years Young	by Pastor McRoberts - Conversations with the oldest member of the church - Maude Abolit
Christmas Sixty Years Ago	by Dorothy Helferty - Recollections of Jim Chambers about Christmas 60 years ago.
Holy Trinity Church - A history	by Dorothy Helferty - A detailed history of the first church in Ottawa East.
The Letchworth Legend	by Mary Jane Starr - A story about the name of a road and spelling problems.
The Manion Family	by Dorothy Helferty - A brief history of a family and their early life on Havelock St.
A Look Back at Ottawa East Athletes	by Patsy Guzzo - A two-part article that details the richness of Ottawa East's sports history.
The Saga of 1948	by Patsy Guzzo - He describes how the RCAF Flyers won the Olympic Gold Medal.
The Stone Gates: Welcome and Memorial	by Vicki Davis - A brief history of an Ottawa East landmark.
What is Happening with the Brantwood Gates	by Pierre Johnson with help from Susan MacPhee, Nancy Smith, Rick Wallace and Heather Moxsley. A 2004 update on the Stone Gates situation.
Who Built What When	by Don Fugler - An examination of the sequence of development in Ottawa East with an accompanying map.
St. Paul University: a valuable research center	by Vicki Davis - an in-depth look at the world-famous library on Main St.
St. Paul University: The Facts	No author - possibly Vicki Davis - a record of the formation of the University including a up-to-date view of activities.
St. Paul University: New Developments	By Rita Girard Wallot - Desciption of a new programme for teacher accreditation.
Immaculata High School	by Ed Cuhaci - Owner of the architectural firm that renovated St. Pat's, he details the work done on the building.
Winter 2003 History Series Part 1	By Rick Wallace - An overview of the history of Ottawa East.
Spring 2003 History Series Part 2	By Rick Wallace - An introduction to the History Series Notable People
Spring 2003 History Series Part 2	By Bruce Ballantyne - A brief sketch of the Ballantyne Family of Ottawa East.
Spring 2003 History Series Part 2	By Sue Hill - A brief sketch of the Lees Family of Ottawa East.
Spring 2003 History Series Part 2	By Rick Wallace - A brief sketch of the Williams Family of Ottawa East.
Winter 2004 History Series Part 3	By Rick Wallace - A description of the Village of Ottawa East from 1889 to 1907.
Other Reading:
Patsy Guzzo - A remarkable Gentleman	by Jim McAuley - Reprint of a chapter from his book on sports history in Ottawa detailing the remarkable life of Patsy - one of Ottawa East's heroes.


Reprinted from the first edition of the Mainstreeter - October 1985 Original Mast Head CREDITS Publisher: Ottawa East Community Activities Group Editor: Martin Adelaar Advertising: Herman de Souza/Barbara Pickthorne Photography: Michael Abraham Reporters: Dorothy Hefferty, Elizabeth Traynor, Nicole Zuger, Linda Vanderlee, Ken Lederer, Tina Allison Layout: Barbara Pickthorne Typing: Mary Guzzo Printer: Runge Press, Renfrew, Ontario. Notice This is the first issue of Ottawa East's new Community newspaper. The Mainstreeter. It should have been delivered to all residents of Ottawa East, but if we missed your home, we apologize. You may pick up a copy of the current issue at The Mainstreeter office in the new Main Street Community Centre, 88 Main Street, or at Art's Market, 35 Herridge Street. In order to ensure that future issues of The Mainstreeter are delivered to you, please contact the CAG office at 563 - 3395. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: WE LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR LETTERS. SEND TO OR DROP OFF C/O THE MAINSTREETER.
"EDITORIAL The Mainstreeter What is THE MAINSTREETER? Answering the question takes me back to the September opening of the Main Street Comm-unity Centre at De Mazenod School. I saw children running around that day wearing buttons saying "I'm a Mainstreeter". Not only that, I heard them shout it out and I'm sure it made them feel good. The Mainstreeter hopes to be an effective community voice that makes you feel good. We hope it will make the community feel good about its people, the scenery and the potential for new and exciting things to happen here. Tile Mainstreeter is pub1ished by the Ottawa East Community Activities Group (CAG), a volunteer group which has been active in social and recreational activities in the community for almost ten years. Given this relationship, the Mainstreeter's editorial policy will, to some extent, reflect and share CAG's direction and goals. In its capacity as the community management group at the Main Street Community Centre, CAG has a vision that sees the Centre and the newspaper as stimu1ants to help meet our community's development needs. These needs include daycare, education, recreation and economic development. What our community's needs are exactly, how they should be met and who should be involved are all topics of discussion that we hope to share with you. This shopping list is, however, incomplete. It's up to you to tell us what else needs to be discussed. We'll strive to do this in an unbiased, objective and open way. A PLACE TO HAVE FUN: If you think we're going to be totally serious, forget it. The Mainstreeter is going to have fun as well. In up-coming issues we intend to have regular features on music, games, cooking and anything else you can think of. ELECTION TIME: A major feature of our first issue is the upcoming munici-pal election, both at the community and city levels. For the past several weeks many of you have been thinking about or have openly voiced issues that you feel need to be addressed. Are recent housing developments detrimental or beneficial to the community? What can be done to stimulate job creation on a local basis? The Mainstreeter had a chat with the candidates for alderman to see how they would meet these challenges. I think you'll find the results interesting. VOLUNTEERS: The Mainstreeter is produced by an all volunteer staff and my thanks go to them for helping to get this started. We think there's lots of room for the newspaper to grow and look forward to your innovation and participation to make it happen." Return to the Index