McKenzie Street renamed Louise Street 1879
That the Street heretofore known as McKenzie Street in McCulloch’s Survey of the East Half of Lot Number Two in the Second Concession of the Gore of the Township of Downie now in the said Town of Stratford shall hereafter be called and known as Louise Street.
City of Stratford -Flashback Friday
Artistic princess
Louise Street appeared to be unnamed on the 1879 Town of Stratford map and was shown running from Dufferin Street to Lorne Avenue. Previous, had been named Mackenzie in honour of Alexander Mackenzie, who defeated Sir John A. Macdonald in 1873 to become Canada's first Liberal prime minister. Because there was another Mackenzie street, there was confusion, so the name for this one was changed to Louise in 1879.
It became Louise Street in honour of Princess Louise, daughter 0f Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, the prince consort. Victoria was called the teen queen. She and Albert had nine children. No. 6, the fourth of five daughters, was Louise, the Duchess of Argyll. By Stanford Dingman
In March 1871, Louise married John Campbell, Marquis of Lorne. He was appointed to succeed Lord Dufferin as Governor General of Canada, and on Nov. 15, 1878, the couple left Liverpool, bound for Canada and his inauguration in Halifax on Nov. 25.
Louise became the first royal to live in Rideau Hall, officially the Queen's royal residence in Ottawa. However, the hall was far from the splendor of British royal residences. Each viceregal couple decorated the hall with their own furnishings, and took most of them with them when they departed. The Lornes found the palace sparse in décor upon their arrival. so Louise put her artistic talents to work. She hung many of her watercolor and oil paintings around the hall, and also installed her sculptures.
News that a daughter of the Queen would be a viceregal consort of Canada first saw a "thrill of joy burst upon the Dominion," in that the princess would be a strong link between Canadians and their sovereign. But the arrival of the new Governor General and his wife was not initially welcomed by the Canadian press, which complained about the imposition of royalty on the country's hitherto un-regal society.
Louise was the most artistically talented of Queen Victoria's daughters. As well as being an able actress, pianist and dancer, she was a prolific artist and sculptor. She sculpted a statue of the Queen, portraying her in coronation robes. The work was intended to be exhibited in 1887, but production was delayed until 1893. Source: Wikipedia
Louise left a mark on Canadian arts, helping to found both the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts and the National Gallery of Canada.
Arthur W. Boon
Arthur William Boon, Vimy Veteran
Arthur William Boon was born in Peterborough, England, in 1887. He joined the Army on July 17, 1915 and served with the 3rd Battalion Toronto Regiment in Canada, England, France, Belgium and Germany during the First World War.
He served four years in that war, during which he was wounded in 1916, and also fought at Vimy Ridge in April 1917. He re-enlisted for the Second World War with the Veterans Guard of Canada, and served another four years, in Canada.
Between those two wars, he was with the Perth Regiment Militia between 1920 and 1936. He was a member of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 8 Stratford for 25 years. He died in 1951. He lkived his final years at129 Louise St. Source: Legion of Ontario and Richard Boon, grandson
* Arthur W.'s son, Arthur H. Boon, also fought in the Second World War. His service included the June 1944 landings at Juno Beach. (see Cherry Street).
129 Louise St.
