 |
| Photo recreation |
Anybody want to guess?
Yes! We have an answer!
Vodka was banned in Quebec until 1960 at least, as this article from the era explains, leading Dulude to being fined for his 12 bottles.
Premier Duplessis banned it during the Cold War, as punishment for being popular in Russia.
 |
| Al Palmer confirms the ban in Aug. 1960 |
Vodka was not banned in other provinces or states, as far as we know.
We don't know when the ban began but it was still on in November 1960 and ended on Dec. 28, 1960.
Bllllood? (trying to pronounce it like that kid)
ReplyDeleteMargarine.
ReplyDeleteMargarine that looked like butter.
ReplyDeleteWhite margerine.
ReplyDeleteraw cheese: NOT pasturised
ReplyDeleteEnglish Breakfast Tea
ReplyDeleteNone of the above. Keep guessing.
ReplyDeleteNot Margerine?
ReplyDeleteThen it must be the Holy Eucharist.
(or Smith Brothers cough drops).
Five letters _ _ _ _ _ two of them vowels
ReplyDeletea book
ReplyDeleteNope ...
ReplyDeleteFive letters, two of them vowels...
ReplyDeleteBagel ?
Vodka ?
Nooky ?
Lotto ?
Surely not Bingo ??
Hey no carpet bombing allowed. Yes it's one of those and it's not lotto
ReplyDeleteThis reminded me about Oleomargarine vs butter in Montreal in the late Fifties.
ReplyDeleteAs I recall, for a time, margarine was available in WHITE in a tough sealed clear plastic bag in the dairy section, the bag inside a rectangular cardboard box.
Midpoint in the plastic bag was a Jelly-Bean-shaped 'Gel-Cap' type blister with what looked like a concentrated dark Coffee-coloured liquid within.
The idea was to make a ridge in the top surface lengthways inside the bag, leading away from the Jelly Bean, and crush the JB so the dark fluid ran out each way on top of the margarine inside.
Then the bag was kneaded like dough to mix the colour, which became lighter and lighter as it thinned out, making the margarine turn yellow.
As I recall, my Mother then would cut the end off the bag and squeeze the mottled margarine into a bowl for an electric Sunbeam Mixmaster ( a wedding present? ) and beat the margarine to a uniform yellow colour to resemble butter.
( A Mixmaster of type we had. Slots are for ventilation. Flour from mixing would get inhaled by fan inside and clog motor. My Father would open it up and clean fan and motor windings and lube the gears.
http://wd4eui.com/Pictures/Sunbeam_Mixmaster.jpg
Big black knob to right was Rheostat with numbered mixing speeds.
Proper Mixmaster bowls would spin by action of beaters on turntable below. Another bowl with a spout could be mounted on silver fitting on top by handle, a rotating plastic juicer installed inside silver knob, which was hollow, engage in teeth inside, and you could 'Juice' halved oranges, lemons, etc., the juice flowing out the spout in bottom of juicer bowl.
Round black disc, one on each side, had motor brush and spring underneath to motor commutator and they could be changed when worn.
Another kitchen marvel was a Presto pressure cooker, as shown. ( Wedding present, too?? )
http://www.jitterbuzz.com/furn/presto.jpg
Wood handles. Weight on top had temp indicator needle inside and heat was reduced so weight would not rock once steam came out. Black disc to right is safety disc which would blow out if steam pressure inside became too high.
If it blew, ceiling became coated with potato, turnup or jam or whatever was brewing inside.
There was a slotted plate to hold vegs off bottom of pot, and adjustable divided separators if doing one or more item. Cut cooking time. )
The now-yellow Marg. was then put into containers and put back into the electric Refrigerator for use as needed ( kneaded? )
My father was on short shifts for a while, and money was tight.
Ate lots of Kraft Dinner, liver and onions and left overs
Years ago.
Gosh!! Thank You ! Coolopolis! I had completely forgotten about Margarine and the colour button in Montreal.
Thank You, Sir!!
Can't let this go by without praising "M.P.and I" comments which are so true and right on !!
ReplyDelete(I wonder if you can still buy pressure cookers anymore - except for the odd ceiling cleaning job, they were so great to cook with).
Does anyone know if Cuban sugar is imported into Canada?
ReplyDeleteIf not, where from?
By coincidence, a shipment of the then-banned novel "Lady Chatterly's Lover" was seized in Montreal by the authorities the same day.
ReplyDeleteI remember that Playboy Magazine was not permitted on Quebec newsstands until 1965. This was just prior to when the Catholic priest was removed from the censor board committee--after which all Hell broke loose (in his opinion, no doubt! ;-)
Love this site. Lachine was my home from '48 until '72. Lots of memories.
ReplyDeleteThe closest drive-in movie was The Border Drive-in just across the Ontario border.
Regarding the Presto pressure cooker.
ReplyDeleteMy Mother started exhibiting signs of Alzheimers in 1971 and was admitted to a Home in 1975, my Father trekking over there every day until the end in 1983.
In later years I was asked by the staff to NOT attend, as my presence upset her greatly thru her confusion and she took hours to settle down after. She could not figure how I was her son when she and my Father had just met before the War in her mind.
Anyway, the Presto pressure cooker and all the plates, and cups and such just sat, incase she came home again, even after her passing, until my Father followed her in 2008.
I had to 'dispose' of all the memories, and the pressure cooker, too.
Member many evenings in NDG, potatoes being washed and chopped, the sound of it being filled, then hissing until all the air out, the weight put on, and the heat turning down.
Soon the smell of the potatoes was prevalent, or turnups, etc. thruout the house.
After the proper cooking time, I would go to the kitchen, could tell by the sound of cutlery being laid, my Mother's cat in attendance, stretching after a difficult afternoon of guarding the chesterfield, or chair, or chasing the shadows of birds on the Venetian blinds beyond the dining room table.
Meow.
My Mother would take the weight off, the steam would gush until the pressure fell.
( I understand the lid out not open account steam if Pressure was too high, but, I never tried.)
Puff went the lid, My mother forked out the the round slotted metal plate below the food, added milk, butter and salt and pepper, out the pot back on low heat, as I stood by as Chief Potato Masher.
My Father would walk in the door from the 4 Sherbrooke/102 Somerled ( after the streetcars came off to Walkley by Steinberg's ) and washed up.
Plates appeared, and... supper was served En Famille, the cat supping daintly by the Frigidaire.
The cat came from Ahuntsic, way out Gouin on the single-track of the Tramways beyond 'Limites' from a Mrs. O'Niel, a Widow who qualified as a 'Cat Lady'. Her house did NOT smell, tho'.
Her husband, as I recall, worked for the Tramways after the Great War, and she moved East out Gouin after WW II.
Their house ( white ) appearing to the left on Pg. 126 of M. J. Pharand's 'A la Belle Epoque des Tramways' to the left. My Grandfather's two-dormer house w/dark roof is to right @ corner of-then-Kelly and LaJeunnese. Petrocan service station there now.
The pressure cooker languished in the cupboard thru 2008, incase my Mother came home, again?? unused for 38 or so years, wooden handles and all, the 1940 instruction book and weight inside, and was given away.
No one really wanted it. Some did not even know what it was.
The era of the Internet, microwaves and fast food in ascendance.
Gave it all away. Did not want a bunch of strangers trying to knock down a 3 dollar pot to $2.25 as at garage sales. Cheap, and sorda cheezy when it's your own family and memories on the block.
( One woman, a 'friend' of the family, wanted the dining room set, and showed up with a truck. Grabbed the table and loaded it up. )
I asked about the chairs.
She said Next Trip, and never returned.
The word starts with 'C'.
I'm the only one left, now.
Thank You
Please Kristian - would you let our friend "M.P.and I", know that though he may feel that he is "the only one left" - he certainly is not. Not by me, and many of the other Coolopolis regulars who truly appreciate reading about his experiences and extensive and interesting knowledge about our unique city. His well written naratives are exemplary, casual, treasures of our history.
ReplyDeleteI salute his generosity in taking the time to relate and impart his knowledge.
PS – A special salute to you too Kristian for making it possible for us to continue to enjoy reading about the information you recognize and collect and regularly select to share with your fans who simply are engrossed with the special details about Montreal that you so willingly make possible for us to read and learn about.