Up the Gatineau! Selected Articles
Up the Gatineau! Article
This article was first published in Up the Gatineau! Volume 18.
The Changing Face of the Wakefield Inn, 1860s to 1984
Ernie Mahoney
Visitors to the village of Wakefield today would have a hard time recognizing its once-famous inn. The colourful awnings on the second floor are still there, but faded. Gone is the piano-shaped canopy over the main entrance, and part of the dining room's picture window has been boarded up for years. In fact, the Inn has been closed since 1984. Yet, there is still a sense of history about the place that begs to be chronicled.
The Wakefield Inn had its share of glories dating well back into the mid-1800s when it was called Earle's Hotel. We don't have much information about it until the 1920s when two sisters, the Misses Jean and Mabel Lindsay, took over the old hotel and ran it as a summer spa for genteel ladies from the city. But not only that, according to the History of Wakefield Village1, “Vice-regal parties were sometimes accommodated there. Amongst these were Lady Byng and party who often enjoyed a winter drive over the snow-filled roads. Lord and Lady Tweedsmuir, with Mrs. Buchan, mother of the Governor-General of the day, also stayed at the Inn on occasion; the Tweedsmuirs noting similarities between the scenery of the Gatineau and that of their Scottish homeland."
But this story is not of those days of glory, but rather a more contemporary era that many of us may well remember, although not as well as Ed and Gert Newton, who bought the Wakefield inn from the successor of the Lindsay sisters, Wilf Harris. The Newtons presided over thirty-five years of the Inn's history, when it was at the hub of Village life.
Gert and Edwin Newton both came from Lac Ste. Marie, where the family operated the Hotel du Lac. But it was on their wedding day in 1948 that they heard that the Wakefield Inn was for sale. Sure enough, when they returned from their honeymoon, they bought the place and launched their own long career in the hotel business.
One of the problems that had to be taken into account when operating a hotel was that the Village was “dry”, and in order to obtain a bar licence, Ed had to have support for the "wet" option by having a referendum held. He said that the community leaders were dead against him, including such luminaries as Dr. Harold Geggie, Mayor A.J. Earle and mill owner T.A.B. Sully, to mention but a few.
He lost the referendum by nine votes, and according to the regulations governing such matters, had to wait two years before another vote could be taken. This, however, did not deter him very much. As he put it, “I did a little bootlegging on the side.“ In reality, he ran the bar quite openly in the hotel during this waiting period, and managed to avoid any problems with the liquor police by getting tips on expected raids.
"When I got a buzz from town that a raid was due, I would load all my beer and liquor into my truck and hide it under the hay in some local barns until the coast was clear." Gert chipped in and said, "When they got to the Inn, all they would find is a lot of people drinking tea. We served a lot of tea in the Inn in those days."
Finally, two years later, another referendum was held, and this time the "wets" won by nine votes. Ed figures that the day went his way because people wanted to see what he was doing illegally done legally!
Speaking of legalities, many people will remember some of the rather strange drinking laws in the Province, especially back in the 1950s when it was necessary to eat while having a drink, particularly on Sunday. Ed recalls the days when he would serve cheese sandwiches or cheese with crackers. The cheese wouldn't even bait a mouse trap, and the legendary “rubber sandwich” was in vogue, largely because no one really ate, so it was surmised that the sandwich was just passed from table to table. But at least the drinking regulations were followed.
The business prospered, and in 1955 a grill room was added to the Inn. Carpets had just been laid when, on September 10, a disastrous fire caused by lightning nearly destroyed the building. Fortunately, there was no loss of life, although Ed recalls carrying from the bridal suite a newly-wed lady who was in terror of leaving the room.
Just about the only usable part of the building after the fire was the basement bar, where the shift workers from the Alcan plant continued to meet “over a cold one” during the winter of 1955-56, while the Inn was being rebuilt. In the spring of 1956 a new modern 20-room Inn was opened.
The Inn's popularity as a local watering hole was greater than ever, and the dining room was one of the best in the region, if not in the Province. Gert said that the chef, Lucien Bourque, really made the dining room hum. It was not uncommon to serve 350 meals on a Sunday. Prime rib was the specialty at $6.50, with seafood running a close second. Window tables were in great demand, especially to watch the logs float slowly by on Wakefield Bay, and enjoy the great food and wine.
The Newtons recalled that the well-known entertainer, Jack McPartlin worked the piano bar for the season 1960-61, and the large canopy that once marked the entrance to the hotel was in the shape of a grand piano. Further improvements were made to the hotel, and the outdoor swimming pool which was opened by hockey great Jean Beliveau in 1960 was a hit with guests for quite a few years. Ray Chenier was the popular manager of the Inn during these years. Jack Sullivan of Venosta ran the bar with an iron hand. There was little trouble with the usual bar drunks because there was a firm rule that any fighting resulted in being “barred for life." Nobody was willing to take a chance!
The inn continued to be the “in spot“ throughout the 1960s. It seemed that when the inn prospered, so did the village of Wakefield. It will be remembered that this was indeed the great expansion time for many businesses in Wakefield, with antique shops and even a health food store and a flower shop blooming.
It was not unusual to have three separate wedding receptions in the Inn on a Saturday, with the happy couples posing before the fireplace for the wedding photos. When the downstairs Chalet Bar was open for après-ski, Ed would count close to 400 cars in the parking lot, with four security guards on duty to control the traffic on a Sunday afternoon.
In 1970, with over twenty years of hard work behind them, the Newtons decided to sell the Inn. Sandy Mackay purchased it and ran it until 1975, when financial difficulties forced him to hand it back to the Newtons. They again refurbished the somewhat rundown property, adding new furniture, carpets and air conditioning.
Another buyer, Harry Franklin, took over the Inn for a short period, but it again went back into the Newtons‘ hands, coincidentally with Ed having a stroke and Gert brain surgery.
Jim Sisttie took over the Inn and ran it until 1984, when it was closed again, and part of the building which once housed the dining room became commercial space. A laundrette now operates in what was the kitchen. So, indeed has the face of the old Inn changed in over 120 years.
- Miss A.B. Robb, History of Wakefield Village (1959). compiled for The Tweedsmuir Village Histories, published by the Wakefield Women's Institute.