John Ashby presently lives in Ville LaSalle, and worships at Union United: In his own words:
I came to Canada in 1963 from Jamaica; my mother (Joyce) had left her sons in Jamaica to explore a new life in Canada and she met a wonderful gentleman, Mr. Charles Henry Ashby, who became my stepfather
Rev. Este retired in 1968, so I experienced him as minister for five years. He would speak to the Sunday School kids on the streets and knew us by name. I had relatives that were affiliated here. Rev. Bigby was my mother’s cousin, and my father’s sister was married to Rev. Este, so I used to call him Uncle Rev. Emily Robertson was my cousin, since Robertson was my name before my mom married Mr.Ashby. He was very, very prominent in this church. He served as chair of the board of trustees and stewards for many years. My father and Rev. Este initiated many programs of the NCC. A minister wears many hats: he visits the sick, he goes to the hospital, he goes to the homeless. He's also a community leader and he goes to homes as a counsellor.
My father worked on the railroad and in his later years - after he retired, he worked in the hospital for a little bit. He also owned a motel and a restaurant on the South Shore. My mother was a nurse, but due to a bad back she had to retire early.
Coming to church was something you looked forward to because it was not only church spiritually but it was a family and community. People from different Black areas came to this church.
When I was seven years old we lived on Bordeaux street in a French area so I am bilingual. When I was eleven, we moved to Ville LaSalle where I went to Devonshire elementary school, then Strathearn junior high, Montreal High and Lachine High, graduating in 1973. I attended Dawson College and continued studying psychology at Concordia University and pursued my field of social services-- and recently retired from working at CROM for thirty-nine years. I worked with the mentally challenged.
The Union church neighbourhood changed over the years. There were Black community centres not only at the NCC but in many areas of the island.. We ran day programs for summer camps and sports. We had teams competing against each other. In my recollection we met with people from all over the city, for sports and picnics. We had busloads for picnics, a sense of community was there.
In the 80s and 90s, there were some rough times in this neighbourhood, there was a young man, Anthony Griffin, who was killed by police and there were protests. That happened in NDG. We even had a march.That was the first protest many of us had experienced. We came together as a community and we demonstrated peacefully. We do care, and we do stand up; it doesn’t revolve around violence … more demonstrations, and expressing ourselves verbally, rather than physically, with no looting.
Lachine High was strict. There weren't many Blacks who went there, maybe 2-3%, but we were all a family. It was a school known for sports, but also had a high standard for academics.There was racism, but it wasn’t bad. I didn't experience racism. I was going to a school that was predominantly white, but with different nationalities, we felt comfortable. At church I saw people who looked like me--people from the West Indies, and from Nova Scotia, and we exchanged different cultures, ideas and values and bragged about our origin.
One thing we had that was very strong in this church was the music ministry. I sang with the Montreal Black Community Youth Choir when I was 17. Eight years later it was rebranded as the Montreal Jubilation Choir. That choral programme began with Mrs Sweeney and Dr. Trevor Payne. We had celebrities here-- Dr. Oliver Jones and Oscar Peterson,the jazz pianists, came to this church as youngsters. They are celebrities but to us they were just people who sat beside us in church.
My parents were considered strict… we were allowed to go out when we were involved in sports or community activities and piano. We had school dances but we had to be home on school nights, and especially on Sunday. Sunday was a holy day without shopping.
Education was a priority in our home, but I did venture out to clubs. I played in a band when I was 16 years old. Our band started right here in church; we’re so community oriented, they encouraged us to come down to the church and gather, but they say, where two or three gathered, god is there with you.. We played Rockhead’s Paradise and various clubs in Montreal. We were fortunate; we were a young band, but my father knew Mr. Rockhead, so we got to play there. I took piano lessons for nine years with Mrs. Sweeney but in high school I played trumpet, R and B (Rhythm and Blues) genre. We were first called Soul Emeralds, then Soul Connection, and today they’re called Something Extra, so it's been in existence for almost 50 years.
Church isn't the same as it was back in the 60s and 70s. The young ones just aren’t coming. I’ve been trying to work with the young adults from the ages of 18-45. We have different events and programs to attract them, whether it be music, a social evening, or a dinner with speakers. They’re not visible around the church much.
In our community there are a lot of athletes awarded scholarships. We can try introducing sports programs in church to attract the youth. We opened our doors to refugees, some were Africans who were looking for asylum. Rev. Gray, who was our pastor for seven years, opened those doors. and was very influential with the music program here. He initiated the Men’s Gospel Choir.
I was married here at Union United in 1996. I was one of those late bloomers, I didn’t get married until I was 40. I have a son. He’s in school full time and works part time. The things I stress to him are what my father stressed to me-- education and church. He still has an involvement in church, when he can.
My father was stern but a very kind man. I’m happy today; he made a good man of me. I know his values and morals, so I’m happy.
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