Hitching to Montreal in the 1950s
In Le Devoir, Gérard Bouchard writes about hitching to Montreal from Jonquière in the late 1950s or early 1960s. (Bouchard was born in 1943.) He describes the fascination of the streets of the big city, but there isn’t much “end of innocence” stuff yet, as promised in the headline.
If I could ask Bouchard one question about his weekends away in the city, it would be this: did he go to mass on Sunday morning?
[Update: But see below!]
Blork 11:05 on 2024-06-10 Permalink
You can pretty much infer from the article that he did not. He did not have time. His itineraries were basically:
Saturday 1:00PM – stick thumb out in Jonquière.
6-12 hours of hitchhiking. Arrive in Montreal sometime on Saturday night — often too late to crash at his uncle’s place so he’d lay down on a bench in Lafontaine park until a cop came along and offered him a friendly jail cell to keep him “safe.” (He wore his school uniform to maintain a respectable air.)
Sunday morning: Get up early and explore.
Sunday noon: Stick thumb out at the foot of the Pont Jacques-Cartier.
6-12 hours of hitchhiking back to Jonquière.
It hardly seems worth it. Jonquière must have been hella boring.
Kate 11:44 on 2024-06-10 Permalink
You may be underestimating the degree to which a man born in 1943 would have been indoctrinated, given that his whole education till that point would have been done in a Catholic setting, and everyone around him in Jonquière would have been Catholic to the max.
Blork 12:18 on 2024-06-10 Permalink
Sure, but I’m saying he wouldn’t have had time for mass given his schedule. Basically 12-24 hours of hitchhiking (both ways combined) just so he can walk around Montreal for a few hours on Sunday morning. Would he spend half of that in church? I doubt it!
Kate 12:49 on 2024-06-10 Permalink
Bouchard’s too old to have any social media I can find, so I can’t figure out a way of asking him directly, but Blork, I’d be prepared to bet you a hundred bucks that Bouchard went to mass on Sunday morning in Montreal at least once during the time he describes.
MarcG 13:43 on 2024-06-10 Permalink
Try Gerard_Bouchard@uqac.ca? http://www.uqac.ca/portfolio/gerardbouchard/
Ian 13:47 on 2024-06-10 Permalink
Going to a fancy Montreal church might have been a draw for a kid from the sticks, too.
6 hours hitching from Jonquière would be pretty fast, the shortest route according to Google maps is 464 km – I used to hitch to Montreal from Hamilton and I figure that it generally took about twice as long as driving. That said if he got one or two good rides it might very well be possible to make it in 6, but that would be very lucky.
Kate 14:14 on 2024-06-10 Permalink
Thank you, MarcG. I will email, although who knows with what result.
MarcG 14:16 on 2024-06-10 Permalink
Fortune favours the bold!
Blork 14:25 on 2024-06-10 Permalink
Ian, that’s why I said “6 to 12 hours” (each way).
I think if young Gérard were interested in more traditional things he would have cut his trips in half and just gone to Quebec City. But this would have been the late 50s, so no doubt the young buck (then about 14 or 15 and seeking adventure) was interested in seeing Montreal for the modern things like skyscrapers (which he mentions), and BEATNIKS and all that. Bear in mind this was a very curious kid, who went on to live a life full of books and reading and ideas. My feeling (and it’s just a feeling) is that he had no interest in religious piety at that time. Those were heady days, leading into the revolutionary 60s, so a kid with that kind of wanderlust (or at least wandercuriosity) was probably going against the grain.
Kate 14:26 on 2024-06-10 Permalink
Ha! I lose! Bouchard replied immediately:
Non, jamais. Cela ne faisait pas partie de l’aventure. Nous étions par ailleurs une famille très catholique.
Blork 14:46 on 2024-06-10 Permalink
Ha!
Blork 14:47 on 2024-06-10 Permalink
I should have taken that bet!
Joey 16:39 on 2024-06-10 Permalink
Quick, what else can we ask him?
Annette 02:12 on 2024-06-11 Permalink
Boxers or briefs?
MarcG 13:08 on 2024-06-11 Permalink
Which truckstop had the best poutine?
Kate 15:22 on 2024-06-11 Permalink
Had poutine even been invented during this period? 1957 is the earliest date given in the Wikipedia article. Bouchard could have embarked on his adventures at 16, but I doubt poutine had yet expanded beyond the town of its origin at that point.
MarcG 07:10 on 2024-06-12 Permalink
I’ve been schooled! If autoroute 20 between Montreal & Quebec City was finished a few years earlier (1964) he could have passed right through the birthplace.
Kate 16:41 on 2024-07-06 Permalink
Bouchard wrote a second piece about the loss of innocence, this one set in New York. He mentions hot dogs, but not poutine…