"the Little Ones" Longueuil, Qc

[Raymond Gallant]

Hi all,

In the 1960's there was a model car club called "The Little Ones" in Longueuil, Quebec (a suburb of Montreal, Quebec, Canada). Seeing the "Where's Waldo" section reminded me that I haven't heard of these guys for over 40 years...

I don't even remember their names but they were a great bunch of guys. They used to put on a model car contest sponsored by Central Aquarium, a hobby and pet shop on Saint Catherine street in Montreal. I remember winning a few trophies in 1965 or so.

Sure wish I could get in touch with these fellows...

Thanks guys.

Raymond Gallant

[Howard Cohen]

Hi Raymond - didn't they also have a display at the Montreal Custom Car Show about 1966? I used to display there from 1964-1970 and there were lots of model displays and bicycle displays. I'll email a friend from Montreal and see if he can remember. I entered the contest at Central Aquarium and a few other hobby shops for many years. I often went home with a ribbon or trophy for finishing in the top 3. Remember the contests at Morgan's?

I also slot raced and got to the Montreal finals, racing against Armand Christafaro, whom I beat for the concours award but lost to him in the finals.

[Raymond Gallant]

Hi Raymond - didn't they also have a display at the Montreal Custom Car Show about 1966? I used to display there from 1964-1970 and there were lots of model displays and bicycle displays. I'll email a friend from Montreal and see if he can remember. I entered the contest at Central Aquarium and a few other hobby shops for many years. I often went home with a ribbon or trophy for finishing in the top 3. Remember the contests at Morgan's?

I also slot raced and got to the Montreal finals, racing against Armand Christafaro, whom I beat for the concours award but lost to him in the finals.

Hi Howard,

No, I don't recall the Morgan's contest but our club did have a display at the Show Mart in 1963.

I've tried twice to upload a picture of our club display but the MCM system doesn't seem to want to cooperate. Here's the Fotki addy to that picture... http://images29.fotki.com/v310/photos/2/20...trip1963-vi.jpg

About half the models on the table are mine.

This is how I narrowed down the precise year of that display.

http://images17.fotki.com/v309/photos/2/20...ophy1963-vi.jpg

My memory is not as good as it used to be and I can't recall if the "Little Ones" had a display table. They may have but I seem to recall meeting them through the Central Aquarium Contest. I tried slot racing but never got into it. I ran a sidewinder motor in a '32 Ford Sedan called "Hellapoppin In the Groove"...

I'll be curious to see if we (you) can contact any of the old "Little Ones" gang.

Raymond Gallant

p.s.: Where did you (do you) live in Montreal. I lived in Ahuntsic, moved to Snowdon area when I married then to DDO when the first child arrived.

[Howard Cohen]

The Show Mart in 1963 was my first car show. I nagged my Dad for a month! I took part in the Revell-Testors build at the show. Do you remember that? I took a Revell Attempt 1 and tried to build it in an hour. Then they let us take the stuff home...a kit, paint and glue...a kid's heaven. My Dad was happy that I went home with something.

The following year I had a model display...10 cars sitting on top of the centerfolds from Car Craft Magazine. Funny, a few weeks ago I came across some of those same centerfolds. The next year I think it moved to Place Bonaventure. There was a wall filled with model car displays. I have been doing car shows ever since. Follow the link to see some of the dash plaques I still have.

I also competed at contests in Westmount Hobby (my favourite), Verdun Raceway, Don-de-Sloterama, and a few other places I can't remember.

My oldest friend from Montreal now lives in Oshawa and he also competed in contests and shows. His name is Gary Heavysege. The other member of the 3 modelteers was Len Sekora. We would walk in to a contest with a couple of models each and always walked out with a trophy or award of some sort. We never fought, we made friends everywhere and we had a ton of fun.

I lived in Cote St. Luc and then N.D.G. until I moved back to Toronto in 1970. I went to Wagar High, then a year at Lachine Trade School. Snowdon? You must have gone to Snowdon Deli & Orange Julep! BarBBarn! The Forum! Beaver Lake!

Some other modelling names from Montreal...Josh Bailis, Guy Perreault, X. Miron Auto Body. Sheesh...we could go on forever.

Howard

http://public.fotki.com/HowardCohen/dash_plaques/

[Raymond Gallant]

My oldest friend from Montreal now lives in Oshawa and he also competed in contests and shows. His name is Gary Heavysege.

http://public.fotki.com/HowardCohen/dash_plaques/

Wow!!! I have the same plaques that you have from the Piston Poppers car shows. Mine start in 1963... I'll have to look for them to see how many I have.

Let me tell you a little story about another model car club that I was a founding member of. It's called Globe 25... I know, I know, it sounds a lot like Group 25 in Toronto but that's not why it was called that. G.LO.BE was an acronym for Raymond Gallant, Jacques Loiselle and Denis Bergeron. Three of the 5 founding members... The other two were Francois Spenard and GARY HEAVYSAGE!!! I have been looking for Gary for years. I asked about him a few times over the years on HHMB. He moved to Ontario about the time I moved East to New Brunswick and we completely lost touch.

Do remind him of me and give him my email address if you're still in touch with him.

I didn't know most of the hobby shops you mentioned except Westmount Hobbies and I only have a vague recollection of it. I remember hunting trips that Denis Bergeron and I took all around Montreal looking for plastic kits in every "Depanneur" we could find. We came across some super deals that way. We also bought out whole collections and divied them up once we got home. We didn't collect the same stuff then but today I'd like to get my hands on all those old kits.

Where do you live NOW Howard? I live in a small fishing village on the Acadian Peninsula in New Brunswick called Neguac.

It sure is great talking to you. I do hope your friend can find info on the "Little Ones" from Longueuil.

Later Howard

Raymond

[Raymond Gallant]

Another little story for you Howard...

Do you remember this picture I showed you a few days ago.

http://images17.fotki.com/v309/photos/2/20...ophy1963-vi.jpg

I met some friends that car show weekend that turned out to be my best lifelong friends of all times (I hope that doesn't sound to mushy but there are no other words to describe them).

On the Sunday of that weekend, right after I went up on the podium to pick up the 2nd prize trophy I won in the Competition Class, I was walking away with my new friend waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs. As we walked behind the curtains to get to my club's display table, something horrible happened. The model rolled of the trophy shelf and shattered in pieces on the concrete floor. My friend kept reassuring me as we picked up the pieces that nothing was broken, just dissassembled. We went back to his table and we glued it back together to put it on the trophy (for the picture I've linked for you).

My new found friend was Larry Read (and his twin brother Cliff). Larry, Cliff and I have been friends for 45 years now. We went to Ontario College of Art together in the late sixties. We worked for the same companies, although never at the same time. I worked for Imperial Oil for 10 years after taking over a job that Cliff was leaving. I worked for 8 years at Canadair a couple of years after Larry left Canadair.

I just got off the phone with Larry this morning... Your ears must have been burning because he talked about you as a friend too.

What a small world we live in, especially since the advent of the Internet.

Later Howard...

Ray

[Howard Cohen]

Gee..this is getting scary If you were in Globe25 in 1990/91, then I may have met you at a meeting I attended while visiting Montreal. My old friend Glen Norris (not Chuck's brother) took me to a meeting and I brought the Surf Woody I was building in my motel rooms while on business trips. The meeting was in a school room. It was a lot of fun and I tried to use my Wagar High School french...bad idea.

Gary Heavysege works at Karbelt head office in Ajax, Ontario in sales. I just called and he is off sick today. Must be old age syndrome...wait, I'm older than he is 1-888-karbelt should find him.

Now I live in Toronto. I was born here, moved to Montreal in 1955 and back to Toronto in 1970. Gary moved here in 1989 after his Mom passed away and stayed with me for a few weeks...turned out to be 2 years. We did every car show and rod run within 500 miles, every hobby shop and toy show; models & car books & magazines all over the apartment (no women allowed) and watched every car program on television. Now he's married and totally ruined He's building a hot rod but I can't remember what it is.

I have known Larry & Cliff for years, since they were in our model club many years ago. Larry has quite the collection of small cars...and model cars...and toys...I have to pay him another visit this year, it's been to long since I drooled all over his collection.

A bientot mon ami

[Raymond Gallant]

Hi again Howard,

Before I forget, here's my home email addy. (remove the arrows) <<regalant@nb.sympatico.ca>>

No, I wouldn't have been there in the 90's because I moved East just around the time we started up Globe 25. It was within that first year of the club I'm pretty sure. I did attend a few meetings but I had already moved by then but I was there at the writing of the constitution and all that necessary paperwork.

I'll be visiting Cliff in a few weeks on a business trip to Ottawa. Their collections are beyond description... Like the "Eldorado" of model cars, micro cars and some big cars thrown in to the mix.

I was never as close to Gary as you were but I will give him a call next week. I'll be away until Saturday night and that's his work number.

Thank you for this Howard.

Ray

p.s.: When you get a chance, read my profile on the Spotlight Message Board. I haven't figured out how to put my profile on this board yet.

I don't know if this link will work for you... http://wwwboard.spotlighthobbies.com/index...raymond+gallant

[Bob Carswell]

The Little Ones car club is a familiar name to me going back to my teenage days in Montreal. Back then I recall three members, a 1956 Thunderbird and a 1950s Austin (?} with a V-8 engine in it. I met the original fellows at the car show on Berry Street in Montreal when they and I were displaying our models...which the club name referred to. I lived on the north shore of the island so we did not get together too often. In 1966 I went west for 3 years, returned to Montreal and SGWU, completed my degree, and in 1972 moved to Toronto as no work in Montreal back then for Anglophones. I have been living in and around here ever since, divorced after a dozen years, two kids, two granddaughters, and now I am disabled at almost age 78, lived on one kidney for 60+ years, Now down to 20% and holding. I now hope to live long enough to publish some of the books I have written over the years if I can ever find the money to do it.  My life has been full of unique firsts, seconds, and lasts but isn't that life?