"Big as a Beaubien Bus"

Some things stick in one's memory. One event I remember is hearing, when I was a child, my Uncle Alex (Morrissey) saying that someone was as "big as a Beaubien bus". Not until many years later did I discover the origin of this phrase. There were buses on Beaubien Street that were different than other Montreal buses; they were very large trolley buses. I also learned that my Uncle Alex and my Auntie Ivy lived near Beaubien where these buses ran; in the 1930s they lived at 6825 Christopher Columbus (Christophe-Colomb) and in 1938-39 they were living at 1293a Belanger, both are only a few blocks from Beaubien. 

Something else of interest is that my aunt and uncle were living in the French-speaking east-end of Montreal, this contradicts the popular idea that English-speaking people didn't venture east passed St. Lawrence Main and French-speaking people didn't venture west passed Blvd St-Laurent, this street was a kind of border between the English and French speaking communities. The fact is, there were a lot of English-speakers in the east end of Montreal, I had other relatives who lived in that part of the city. The east end still has a non-French community. Pierre Elliott Trudeau School is located on Cartier Street, also near Beaubien; it is an English-speaking school but has an excellent English-French bilingual programme and is a part of the English-Montreal School Board (the EMSB). 

Trolley bus, 1937

Looking east on Beaubien, Trolly bus 4005

Trolley bus on Beaubien Street, 1937 

Beaubien Street bus on north-east corner of Christophe Columb and Belanger, 1960s

Trolley bus, 1946-1947

Trolley buses article, March 23, 1937  

1950s