In the photographs that exist from the early 20th century, people are nearly always posed in groups. Exposures were slow, so even children appear uncharacteristically still in old pictures. Sometimes, simple objects can help animate those static figures. These two silver cups, each over a hundred years old, conjure up the gardeners and Sunday School baseball players of over a century ago in Verdun.
The image below shows a cup awarded by the Verdun Horticultural Society in 1916 for the “best kept flower garden” in Verdun. It was posted on Facebook by someone who had found it in an antique shop. I was able to obtain a bit of background about the society’s activities at the time by visiting their website. The following is my translation of part of their History page from French to English:
“The Verdun Horticultural Society is among the oldest, if not the oldest association of its kind that is still active. Situated in the borough of Verdun, it was founded by a group of amateur gardeners in 1915. Among the founding members was Edward Wilson, who would later become the mayor of Verdun.
From the beginning, the Society was devoted to the development and beautification of the city, which at the time had many vacant lots. In 1916, the Society met with members of city council to inform it of their desire to cultivate flowers on these lots. In the growing seasons of 1916 and the ensuing years, the talent and passion of these gardeners could be observed in several lots, including the one at the intersection of Lasalle, Mullarkey and Wellington*, on the waterfront near Argyle and Woodland avenues, as well as on the plot where the Verdun borough hall stands today!
In the autumn of 1916, the town of Verdun in France offered our municipality seeds of chestnut trees to plant on our territory. The Verdun Horticultural Society took charge of germinating them, in collaboration with the Verdun Protestant Hospital (now the Douglas), which had a greenhouse.
During the First World War, the Society also encouraged citizens of Verdun to cultivate vegetable gardens on vacant lots in the municipality.”
* You may recall we have mentioned this intersection before. The bit of Lasalle Boulevard after it crosses Wellington in eastern Verdun and heads toward Point St-Charles, used to be called Mullarkey street. There is still a triangular park at that intersection.
The inscription on the cup reads: "Verdun Horticultural Society, First Prize 1916 presented by Geo. A. Ward Esqr. for Best Kept Flower Garden Won by J. White.” This would have been the first year a prize was awarded.
Seeing that cup reminded me of a similar one we have at the church. It has engravings on both sides that read:
Baseball Competition
won by
Class No. 4
Verdun Methodist Sunday School
July 1911
and:
Baseball Competition
won by
Class No. 5
Verdun Methodist Sunday School
July 1913
Verdun Methodist Church is of course the precursor to Verdun United. I imagine these baseball competitions were part of a Sunday School picnic. I wonder what happened in 1912!
The prints below (from glass slides) are from very much the same period as the cup. Some of these same children, or even the teachers, may have been sliding into home plate on a July day in 1913!
