Article published in Le Devoir on June 10, 1948

Welcoming Val-David

“For citizens exposed to the fracas of the tramways, Val-David seems to quietly doze in its mountain hideaway. »

This phrase by Le Devoir journalist François Zalloni makes one smile, but it was probably perfectly apt 70 years ago.

“Because summer is the tourist season. And tourism is the main industry, one might say only industry in Val-David. The importance of this village is in direct relation to the interest borne towards it by tourists.”

“The characteristic note of this corner of the Laurentians is the eagerness displayed by everyone here to welcome visitors properly and to imagine what might attract them and keep them coming back. Because the tourist is a difficult creature who may not be content to simply admire a pretty landscape… he also needs to be able to eat and sleep comfortably.”

This capacity for offering a warm welcome also extends to people in the construction industry. Val-David has an abundance of craftsmen and carpenters capable of assisting tourists to settle down for the summer in a cottage.

In 1947, Val-David did not yet have a town hall and the village’s official registers were still being stored at Arthur Saint-Louis’s general store.