(Posted 8:30 p.m., Jan. 5)
New Year's levee kicks off 150th anniversary of St-Joseph d'Orléans
By Fred Sherwin
Orléans Online

Anne-Marie McNeely takes the first swipe at her husband MPP Phil McNeely's beard during the New Year's levee on Sunday. Photo supplied

Ottawa-Orléans MPP Phil McNeely, Vanier Coun. George Bedard, Orleans Chamber of Commerce president Marc Thibault and la société du 150e anniversaire de la paroisse St-Joseph d’Orléans member Claude Garneau all offered up their facial hair to help raise funds for the Eastern Ontario Resource Centre and the Orléans-Cumberland Community Resource Centre which co-hosted the event.

McNeely started growing his beard nearly a year ago. He was beginning to get used to it in when Thibault zapproached him at a goilf tournament in August and suggested he use it to help raise money for a good cause.

At around the same time, plans were beginning to take shape to hold a
New Year's levee at the Shenkman Arts Centre to kick-off the 150th anniversary celebrations for the paroise St-Joseph d'Orléans while acting as a fundraiser for the community resource centres who are traditionally in need of funds following the busy holiday season.

McNeely agreed to donate his beard and mustache, but only if Thibault did the same. There was only one lproblem, however, Thibault didn't have a beard. In order to take McNeely up on his challenge, he began to grow one. By Sunday he was more than happy to get rid of it.

"It was starting to look a little rough," admitted a freshly-shaven Thibault after Blackburn Hamlet barber George Adboub worked his magic.

Since deciding to grow a beard last February, McNeely went from looking like a deadringer for an older Ernest Hemingway to Santa Claus' twin brother.

"Anne-Marie was just starting to like it," McNeely said referring to his better half.

Besides the beard shaving event, visitors to the levee were entetained by traditional French Canadian music while enjoying buckwheat pancakes served with molasses and baked beans.

The thin crepe-like pancakes are more commonly known by their French name, galettes de sarrasin.

Visitors also got to find out more information about the 150th anniversary celebrations which will take place throughout the year.

The next event on the calendar is an opening banquet and dance in the basement at St-Joseph d'Orléans Church on Jan. 16 with traditional and popular music. A Mardi Gras brunch will also be held on Valentine's Day.

The key event will be a reenactment of the founding of the parish in 1860 when Bishop Joseph-Bruno Guigues arrived on the shore of the Ottawa River near the present day Hiawatha Park to consecrate the land on which they built the original church.

Unfortunately, the church would end up having to be demolished 50 years later due to its narrowness and structural problems. Work on a new church began right away and in 1922 the church that exists on St. Joseph Blvd. today was consecrated.

(This story was made possible thanks to thie generous support of our local business partners.)

Return to top

Return to Front Page