A final cut for the oldest of Wellington Street

It’s more than a page of history that is turning, it’s a part of the soul of a neighborhood that is disappearing. After 57 years of working in the same place, Lise Bruneau has chosen to take a well-deserved retirement and close her popular hair salon on Wellington Street. Verdun loses a talented hairdresser, but also the witness of an era and, perhaps, the cheapest psychologist in town.

Wedged between an Asian restaurant and the entrance to a triplex, the entrance to the Gaétane lounge (named in honor of the previous owner) doesn’t look like much. However, inside, despite the sobriety of the small premises, it is the warmth of the place that captivates visitors. Not because of the heatwave outside, but because of the big smile of the owner who is waiting for us at the counter.

Still dapper at 77 years old, Lise Bruneau is preparing for the fateful day of June 22, when she will put down her scissors for one last time. At the time of the passage of Dutya client, with wet eyes, thanks her and wishes her the best of luck for this transition to retirement.

The young woman will not be the only one. There are already dozens of them who have blackened the pages of a notebook left on the counter by another loyal customer. A sort of guest book that M can leaf throughme Bruneau when she will be nostalgic for the thousands of hours doing hair for young and old, men and women, in her salon on Wellington Street.

“I stayed this long because I was happy here. I had some tough times, but I always got through it. Now I have to think about myself. It’s going to be hard,” confides the future retiree in her soft voice.

A transformed neighborhood

In 1967, Lise Bruneau, aged 20 and freshly arrived from her “country” in Huntingdon, was hired in what was then the Mademoiselle salon in Paris. She had no idea that she would one day own the place and, above all, that she would do hair for five generations there.

At the time, Verdun was still an independent city from Montreal, a “dry” city where the sale of alcohol was prohibited. Wellington Street was not yet “the most cool of the world” and the metro was still only a distant dream.

Lise Bruneau keeps the memory of a Wellington street dotted with department stores and teeming with activity. “When I started, the street was full of people. It was so beautiful to see that. People stopped and talked to us. Everyone knew each other, people sat and chatted on the balconies. »

Family businesses were then the norm, not the exception. “Today, there are almost no stores, only cafes and restaurants. There aren’t many people left like me, I’m one of the old people on Wellington Street. It’s time for me to leave to make room for young people! » she said with humor.

Survivors of the 20the century are becoming increasingly rare on the commercial avenue. The Argentino shoe repair shop recently closed its doors after almost a century of existence, as did the Toy Corner, which dated from 1968.

The title of dean goes to MH Grover, a men’s tailor who will celebrate his 100th next yeare birthday. The business, which has occupied the same location since 1945, is still in the hands of the Grover family. Same thing for La Marquise Express, a family restaurant converted into a caterer, which has been in business since 1955.

“The profile of the street has changed. There are fewer “mom-and-pop shops”, recognizes Patrick Mainville, general manager of the Wellington Commercial Development Corporation (SDC), in reference to these independent businesses owned and operated by the family.

The opening of Carrefour Angrignon, a vast shopping center, in 1986 made life difficult for many small local businesses in Verdun, which were sometimes replaced by international brands. And the pedestrianization initiatives, which have been underway in Wellington for several years, mainly favor “certain types of businesses such as restaurants and bars,” explains Patrick Mainville.

“It’s sad to learn that Mr.me Bruneau is leaving, she has been part of the scene for so long, but it is still great news to know that she has been able to earn her living for so long in the same place,” says this third-generation Verdun resident. .

Therapeutic lounge

Lise Bruneau bought her salon from her former boss at the end of the 1980s. She will have gone through hair styles, but also small and big events in the history of the neighborhood: the decline then the revival of Wellington Street, the gentrification of Verdun, the COVID-19 pandemic…

But also her own tragedies, such as the sudden death of her husband, whom she had, obviously, encountered while working. “Thanks to the show, I was able to get through it. It’s thanks to them [ses clientes] that I am here. That’s what saved me. Everything we give is given back to us later. »

In 57 years of hairdressing, Lise Bruneau has heard some secrets. Over time, his living room has become the haunt of local wildlife.

“Older clients like to come here and chat, because they are alone. I can talk to them longer because I’m the boss and I have time to listen. But the young [coiffeuses] no longer have time to listen: they rent their chair and they have to pay for it. There are no more salons like me. »

Over the next few weeks, she will have to answer a new question: how to continue living after stopping doing what we have loved all our lives?

“What I’m going to miss the most is the human warmth,” she said. Listening to others makes you realize that our problems are often less difficult than we think. I have experienced bereavement with clients who have lost their husbands, their children, who have experienced illness. I have had many clients who told me they had cancer. »

It is therefore towards his regulars that his thoughts are directed as the time of retirement approaches. “I worked so hard to keep my customers, I gave everything I could. Often, there were some who didn’t have any money, I gave a lot of credit. I wish they were spoiled like I spoiled them. »

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