35-year flashback
Valleycrest Pool construction and 1974 opening season photographs.
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Valleycrest Pool push
The North Shore News
Thursday, June 20, 1974
Wine and cheese party
West Island Women Today
Thursday, August 1, 1974
Splash party hosted by new swim club
West Island Women Today
Wednesday, August 14, 1974
The weather Saturday evening was perfect for an outdoors party and the new Valleycrest Swimming Club in Pierrefonds provided the splash at the North Shore’s latest declared it to be the greatest.
Coloured spotlights played on the deck area, while patio torches, candles, and strings of lights illuminated the large grassed area. The Pierrefonds Pipe Band added further eye appeal as they marched the deck under the stars, playing toe-tapping jigs and reels.
A surprising number of people came with swimsuits and shortly after arriving, took to the water. By 10pm, enthusiastic bathers dotted floodlit water and, in spite of the evening coolness, seemed reluctant to leave the new twenty-five metre pool. Less brave souls sat comfortably in lawn chairs on the green space sipping their favourite refreshments. Dancing on the deck area to the latest pop music helped everyone work up an appetite for the barbeque supper.
Around midnight, Perrefonds’ own “galloping gourmets”, Ross Delo and Garry Retkowski, began grilling hamburger after hamburger on the new barbeque made most ingeniously from oil drums by the pool committee’s do-it-yourself expert, Gary, which can cook about forty hamburgers at a one time.
As the appetizing aroma reached the revellers, a hungry lime-up quickly formed. Betty Quinn, Carole Gilligan, and Betty Wells were kept busy passing out hamburger after hamburger. Many of the guests returned for seconds, thirds, and fourths. The record, I believe, was seven.
Thus fortified, the dancers took the floor again.
Door prizes, donated by local businesses, went to Mrs. Pearl Coffin, Brown St., Mrs. B Forfitt, Grier St., Mrs. H. Wolf, Nanterre St., Mrs. J. Kolosky, Meloche St., and Mrs. Ronald Massey, Grilli St.
The pool president, Andy Quinn, expressed his thanks to the pool committee, and also to their longsuffering families, for their efforts in making the pool a success. The twelve member committee is composed of Gordon Wells, vice-president; Ken Morrison, treasurer; Sandra Duck, secretary; Marge Ford, social events; Ross Delo, pool operations; Alma Foley, membership; Lou Obrigavitch, sales; Gunter Biderman, maintenance; Jes Mitchell, publicity, and Brian Hammond, and Gary Retkowski.
The sight of so many people obviously having a ball was reward enough for the members of the committee, and by the time the last waltz was announced the pool had won the approval of all. Residents of Pierrefonds West have a pool to be proud of and can look forward to many summers of enjoyment.
Encore
The North Shore News
Sunday, September 15, 1974
Follow up to “Court of appeal”.
My five-mile jog Saturday afternoon to work off the lemon pie I had Thursday – not counting Saturday’s binge – was curtailed rather abruptly… I was a judge at the Valleycrest baked goods contest at 2pm Saturday afternoon!… fortunately, I was but one of four, the three remaining all males… and men, being as sinful as they are, indulged in one of the seven sins – gluttony!… west ward councillor Ross Saunders didn’t taste, he came back for seconds!… again, my congratulations to the ladies at the Valleycrest Swimming Pool Association… it’s the newest association in Pierrefonds and it did itself proud… my sincere thanks being part of its very first celebration…
Court of appeal
The North Shore News
Thurday, September 12, 1974
Country Fair home baking contest impresses judges
News and Chronicle
Sunday, September 7, 1975
It was raining practically cats and dogs outside the Valleycrest Pool clubhouse in Pierrefonds west last Saturday, but the parade of tads and their parents to the Country Fair forced the opening of the fair.
Valleycrest president, Andy Quinn, had billed the popular annual to take place Saturday but in the event of rain it was to be postponed till Sunday. That’s what Andy had planned but scores of people arrived at the fair totally ignoring the rain and dresses to kill in their wellington boots, macintoshes and brollies, with pocketbooks loaded. The clubhouse was wall-to-wall people snapping up bargains at the handicraft tables, books and knick-knack booth, home baked goods, garden plants and produce, and purchasing raffle tickets for items such as huge cuddly pandas, cakes and antique hand painted milk cans donated by Margaret Abell.
The bake contest was of enormous interest because the Pierrefonds West gals are smashing culinary experts, in the sweet delights especially.
Tucked away in a cramped corner were three tables packed with pickles, cookies, breads, squares, pies, cakes, and fleshly preserved jams and jellies. It was a challenging judging contest.
First in the judging team to sample the wares were Mayor Cy McDonald, Westward councillor Ross Saunders and Cite Nouvelle reporter Lise Poitevin. The gents were nibbling and wine quaffing like a couple of schoolboys feeding their way through their dormitory tuck boxes between mealtimes! The expressions on their faces were a sight to behold! Lise was getting a total immersion in English cooking and it was obvious she was enjoying herself, “It is all very good.” was her appreciative comment on the fare.
Next came judges Denis Labarre, North Shore News’ Evelyn St. Pierre and yours truly representing the News and Chronicle.
Well, the sweets tempted our appetite but the bake contest co-ordinator, Marge Ford, directed us to the table first!
North American style pickles we have yet to acquire a taste for as a culinary custom. Spices and vinegar have an odd way of turning our digestive tract in the wrong direction and we were avoiding them, period. However, politeness forced us to forget our digestive woes although we must admit we did cheat a little! Denis obviously wasn’t too crazy either about dipping into the pickle jars so we opted to let Evelyn to make the first move, then watches her facial expressions before we took the plunge!
Next we all moved to the bread section where the tea rings, scones, rolls, muffins and loaves of bread were arrayed like a Sunday school harvest festival. They were all delicious and we did sample each one before tasting the cookies and squares. As a fudge gourmet we dallied a while to savour the sweet stuff and it was all good! The favour and texture were perfection and the date squares were light and yummy.
By this time we were ready for our second wine sample but our two confreres had got into the sauce so, since they were having a bubbling time we got into the act! Actually is wasn’t difficult because there was more than enough to go around for three quaffers!
Next we tried the pies and found the pastries well prepared and the fillings of fresh fruit quite tasty. There was a variety of pastry, from the flaky to the short crust and sweet flan type, all of which were light and baked at the proper temperature, since none of the fillings had seeped despite the fact that none of the goods contained centre tunnels.
In the jam section we particularly liked the blackberry conserve mainly because as a child we were reared on the stuff. However, in our humble opinion, it truly was excellent lentas was the strawberry and gooseberry.
Last but not least was the rich cake course, which we took ages sampling. Sweet desserts are our favourites and there were eleven to taste!
While we have tasted Saskatchewan Special before on the Prairies it never tasted so good as it did at the Valleycrest country fair. And the German Black Forest cake was moist and more delicious than they serve in the German Black Forest restaurants. The lemon cake Italiano was a new wrinkle in our cookbook and we are unfamiliar with it as an Italian specialty, however we would never be afraid to order it on that continent after sampling it here!
After the blowout we toasted the Pierrefonds West ladies because they truly are a bunch of wonderful cooks.
Contest winners included Aline Lafleche, Betty Quinn and Doreen Garbin for the cake specialties. Bread winners were Mildred Rogers, Shirley Morrison, and Margaret Abell. Cookies and squares awards went to Barbara Black, Sandra Main, and Lucille Leroux. Pies winners were Pam Wallace, Lise Plouffe, Jesmay Mitchel, and Claudette Coull.
In pickles and relish assortment, winners were Laura Robertson, Betty Fawcett, and Lucille Leroux. Jam awards were presented to Brenda Bartram, Betty Wells and a Mrs. Bartram who was visiting in Pierrefonds West from England and has now returned home. Her prize will be sent over there, explained Marge Ford.
Credited with the success of the day were Valleycrest president, Andy Quinn, and his wife, Betty, social conveners Marge Ford and Shirley Morrison, auctioneer Brian Hammond, garden display, Keith Parker, concession stand volunteers, Gary Retthowski and councillor Ross Saunders, public relations director, Jesmay Mitchell, Ken Hammond and George Ford, Barbara Black, Sandra Main and Margaret Abell and Ken Morrison also contributed.
Raffle winners were Betty Wells, Karen Saunders, Jackie MacDonald, and Charlotte Lefleche.
The country fair raised an estimated $1,000, which will be donated to the Valleycrest Pool Club.
