I wrote about Joe Montferrand, one of Canada’s most famous real life lumber jacks, athletes and personalities. (See Heritage Perspectives Sept 21, 2001). Joe was permanently established as Canada’s Paul Bunyan in our folk lore when Arnprior’s Bernie Bedore wrote 3 remarkable books about a character Joe Mufferaw based on Joe Monteferrand. Stompin’ Tom Connors added to his fame in the song he wrote that said “Big Joe Mufferaw paddled into Mattawa all the way from Ottawa”

In the early 2000s the Mattawa Forestry Committee for Economic Development and the Chamber of Commerce commissioned a 16 foot carved pine statue of Joe for Explorer’s Point. The statue remains a centre of attention beside the Museum to this day.

The Toronto Star recently announced that the Canadian Football League’s expansion team in Ottawa – the Red-Blacks- has chosen Joe Mufferaw as their mascot and the legend continues.

The Monestime Exhibit Comes to Mattawa

The exhibition celebrating the 50^th anniversary of Mattawa’s Dr. Firmin Monestime as Canada’s first black mayor featured in Toronto City Hall recently is coming to Mattawa during Voyageur Days in July. The large panels will be located in the Council Chambers where his 100^th birthday was celebrated in 2009. There will be some related activity.

I recently wrote an article on the Toronto event that is now online (Google Heritage Perspectives and look at the top of the list of articles #427). My son has added an interesting new item to this article. You will note a couple of blue notes indicating additional information-click on the citation.

MPP Vic Fideli invited the Monestime family and friends to the Ontario Legislature during the recent exhibition and it was recorded as is all legislative activity in the house in Hansard and the Fideli remarks are available for perusal if interested as the first of those blue items

Also I was interviewed on CBC Points North by Jason Turnbull about the exhibit. Click on  the blue citation and you can hear the interview.

New Monestime Book

Mattawas Dr. Monestime fled Haiti in the 1940s because of the unpleasant politics at the time. During the viscious subsequent 30 year Duvalier era some other Monestime relatives were abused and fled to the United States. One of those descendants, Robert Monestime, part of a large Monestime family, has written a book “My Brave Haitian Family” which talks about their life in Haiti and in the US and features the execution of his father in the Haitian struggle. They will have a family reunion outside Boston and the Mattawa Monestimes are invited. The book is available on Amazon in paperback.