Did you know that maple syrup is the oldest agricultural product in Quebec? It all began with the native Indians who called it “Sweet Water.” When spring returned and the maple sap was running the Indians offered the boiled thickened syrup as a sacrifice to the Great Spirit. “Sugaring off” was largely a woman’s function in Iroquois communities. The men cut notches into tree trunks and small wooden troughs were stuck into the bark. In the early stages of European colonization the natives showed the arriving colonists how to tap the trunks of maple trees during the early spring.
The Redpath Museum, one of the oldest museums in Canada, was opened in 1882 to preserve and display the valuable collections of Sir William Dawson, a noted Canadian natural scientist.
“It is ironical that America, supposedly the cradle of democracy, is forced to send the first two Negroes in baseball to Canada in order for them to be accepted.”
The column seen to the right, known as Boaz, stands outside the main entrance of the Montreal Masonic Memorial Temple, home of the Grand Lodge of Quebec. At the top of the column is a terrestrial globe.
