A Bear in War

Although most Canadian children cannot relate to war, they can relate to a Teddy bear.  That is why the World War I based picture book A Bear in War is told from the point of view of a stuffed animal.  Teddy belongs to a 10 year old girl named Aileen who lives on a farm in East Farnham Quebec with her 7-year-old brother Howard.  Teddy relates the everyday life of the siblings:  feeding the chickens and collecting their eggs; a trip into town where they see soldier recruitment posters; a snowball fight that turns into a pretend war battle.

Then Teddy describes the night that Aileen's Daddy came to her bedroom and broke the news that he would be leaving to train as a soldier.  The stuffed animal enjoys its first train ride as Aileen, Howard and their mother travel to Valcartier to visit their daddy.  Once the new soldier is shipped overseas to France to fight, his children keep in contact with him by writing letters.  Later Daddy ends up fighting in the trenches in Belgium.  Teddy is sent to Belgium in a care package to raise Daddy's spirits; it is there that he gets to "watch the war from Daddy's front pocket".  That is where he died in the Fall of 1917 with Teddy in his pocket.  Found by another Canadian soldier, Teddy was shipped home to Canada to his rightful owner.

After Aileen passed away, she left Teddy and some letters in a briefcase for her children.  Mr. Rogers' granddaughter, Roberta, found the briefcase and had Teddy placed in the Canadian War Musuem in Ottawa.  Mr. Rogers' great-granddaughter, Stephanie Innes co-wrote A Bear in War with Harry Endrulat.

The latter author spoke at the Paris Library as part of Family Literacy Day today.  After giving an informative lesson on how to write a children's picture book, Mr. Endrulat handed out autographed copies of his book.  A Bear in War is laid out in scrapbook style with authentic photographs from the Rogers family.  What a great way to bring Canadian history to life for our children!



 Photo courtesy http://store02.prostores.com.

All I Want for Christmas is a Pair of Skates

"Jean Beliveau in Quebec is like Joe DiMaggio or Mickey Mantle in the United States.  When Jean Beliveau walks down the street in Quebec, the women smile, the men shake his hand and the little boys follow him." (New York journalist Leonard Shecter)

Three year old Jean Beliveau wished for a pair of skates for Christmas.  And that's exactly what he found under the tree on Christmas Eve.  Those skates would lead him to 10 Stanley Cups, an Art Ross Trophy, a Conn Smythe Trophy, two Hart Memorial Trophies and a place in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Jean Beliveau's family history is the history of many French Canadians.  He was born in 1931 in Trois Rivieres, Quebec, the first of eight children.  His parents, Roman Catholics, believed in family values, strict religious observance and hard work.  Moving to Victoriaville at age 6, Jean used to play shinny on his family's backyard rink, like so many Quebecois children did.  At the age of 12, he played his first formal hockey.  Jean grew up with the Montreal Canadiens, listening to NHL broadcasts on the family radio.

While he was a Montreal fan, his loyalty remained with Quebec City, where he signed with the Citadelles and later the Aces, despite the recruiting tactics of the Canadiens.  By his mid teens, Beliveau was a 6 foot 3 and 200 pounds, a gentle giant.  Despite his size, he skated with long, fluid strides.  Soon he was pulling in twice the salary of the average NHL player.

The Montreal Canadiens invited him to play in 1950, and he agreed for a short stint.  However, his loyalty kept drawing him back to Quebec.  Finally, in order to sign him, the Canadiens bought the whole Quebec league.  Now he was one of their players and his contract dictated that he had to play for Montreal.  Nicknamed "Le Gros Bill" after a French Canadian folkhero, he quickly became one of the strongest players on the team.  While Maurice "Rocket" Richard was known for his fiery temper, Jean Beliveau became known for his grace and poise.  A natural leader, he wore the 'C' on his bleu, blanc et rouge jersey for 10 years, a Canadiens record.  

Beliveau drank champagne from the Stanley Cup ten times during his 20 seasons with the Canadiens. A favourite with the fans, he took pride in answering every piece of fan mail himself, at least until health problems prevented him from doing so in 2012.  He remembered his father's words "Loyalty is another form of responsiblity."

Beliveau's loyalty showed both on and off the ice.  He and his wife were married for 61 years.  After his daughter Helene's husband, a Montreal police officer, committed suicide, Beliveau declined the Prime Minister's offer to be governor general to spend time with Helene and her two young children.

Jean Beliveau passed away yesterday, surrounded by his family.  The legend lives on.

For more information, please see the news clip here:
http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/beliveau-obituary/

www.sportsnet.ca

Nothing Sweeter than Gingerale for Christmas

"Would you believe that the champagne I have drunk on six occasions from the Stanley Cup didn't have the same tang [as the gingerale I drank once a year at Christmas as a boy].  Being poor doesn't necessarily mean no enjoyment in life."



Jacques Plante was born in Mauricie, Quebec in a wooden farmhouse.  The first of eleven children, Jacques' parents struggled to make ends meet.  Mr. Plante soon acquired a job at the aluminum factory in Shawnigan falls and the family moved there.

While the family was poor, that wasn't about to stop Jacques from playing hockey.  His father carved him a hockey stick out of a tree root.  He used a tennis ball as a puck.  Unable to afford skates, he slid around the ice in his boots.  His ears would get frostbitten in the frigid Quebec winters.  Soon he taught himself how to knit his own tuques, which would not only keep him warm but later became a good luck charm.

As a young boy, he fell off a ladder and broke his wrist,  Still he did not let the injury discourage him from playing hockey.  In 1936, his Dad gave him his first regulation hockey stick.  Once he received a pair of skates, he became an avid skater.  However, he developped asthma and could not skate for long periods of time.  To solve the problem, he switched from defenseman to goaltender.  His father made him homemade goalie pads by stuffing potato sacks and inserting wooden panels.  He felt comfortable in net.  The asthma was a blessing in disguise:  Plante maintained that if he had remained on defense he wouldn't have made it past high school hockey.  But as a goalie, he shined.

Life was not all play, however.  As the oldest of 11 children, Jacques had many chores including cooking, scrubbing floors and changing diapers.  He even learned how to sew since the family couldn't afford to buy new clothes.  Shoes were reserved for Sunday mass; the rest of the week Jacques went barefoot.  Treats were a luxury in the Plantes household.  The highlight of the year for Jacques was Christmas Eve when his father would stop on his way home from work and buy two bottles of gingerale.  It was the only time Jacques and his siblings drank pop -- how sweet it was!

Another treat for Plante was listening to professional hockey games.  Plante became a fan of the NHL early on.  However, his family could not afford a radio.  No problem -- the man upstairs would blast the hockey broadcasts so loud that if Jacques stood on his sister's bureau, he could hear them perfectly.  In the 1940's, standing on the bureau, he listened to the greats play, including Maurice "Rocket" Richard.

By 14 years of age, Plante was playing for four teams including the local factory team.  His dad said he should demand a salary considering all of the adult players were getting one.  The coach agreed to 50 cents per game.  Despite other offers to play hockey, Plante stayed in high school and graduated with honours in 1947.

The Quebec Citadelles hired him to play for 85 dollars per week.  By this time, Plante had acquired the nickname "Jake the Snake".  He pioneered the idea of playing the puck outside the crease, unorthodox for a goalie.  Plante figured that the more time he was in control of the puck, the less time that his opponent had to shoot on him.  Although his coach at the time hated the idea, it was later adopted by all goalies.

By 1949. Plante was invited to play for the Royal Montreal Hockey Club.  In 1953, he played his first game in the NHL with the Montreal Canadiens.  While his play was impressive, coach Dick Irvin didn't like the fact that he wore a tuque.  The two argured and Plante's tuques disappeared from his dressing room.  Even without his good luck charm, Plante played good hockey.  Within a couple of seasons, he was the starting goaltender with the Habs.  They won five consecutive Stanley cups and six in total with Plante in net.

Plante started wearing a face mask during practices to protect himself.  However, coaches forbid him to wear it in regulation play.  In 1959, Plante's nose was broken during a game.  In the dressing room he received stitches.  He refused to return to the game unless he could wear his mask.  Without another goalie available, the coach relented.  Plante came out on the ice with the mask, which he never took off, making history.


Read Jacques Plante:  The Man Who Changed the Face of Hockey.  Here is an excerpt:
http://www.hockeybookreviews.com/2009/10/exclusive-excerpt-from-jacques-plante.html

Jacques Plante, wearing his trademark tuque, circa 1948 courtesy upload.wikimedia.org.