St-Denis Taxis

Cover of the self-titled album by François Guy, Quebec singer-songwriter. The photo on the cover was taken under Paul St-Denis taxi sign at 879 Village Road.

This house built in 1935 was the taxi stand of Paul St-Denis' company, "Black and White". In front of the building was the Voyageur bus stop, with several trips per day running between the 1940s and 1970s. At a time when few people owned cars, taxis were very useful for travel to neighbouring municipalities. There were up to 12 taxis in Morin-Heights owned by Paul St-Denis or Allan Kirkpatrick to serve tourists and locals in the high seasons.

Snowmobile Bombardier B-12, circa 1942.

In winter, the roads were sometimes impractical for horses and sleds because of deep snow. The invention of the snowmobile by Joseph-Armand Bombardier in Valcourt and its commercialization at the end of the 1930s revolutionized transportation in difficult winter conditions. Paul St-Denis acquired two snowmobiles in the early 1940s. He could transport up to 12 people per trip and reach the most isolated homes in the region.