#joe muffraw

[silentambassadors]

Repose en paix, Joseph Montferrand.  A folk hero of the Ottawa Valley, and often referred to as Big Joe Mufferaw (the Anglos had difficulty with his French-Canadian name), Big Joe was a logger, strongman, boxer, and symbol of French-Canadian resistance against their Irish-Canadian rivals and English-Canadian foremen.  He died on this date in 1864 three weeks before his 62nd birthday.  [The Ottawa Redblacks’ mascot, Grand Jos, was named after him.]

Stamp details: Issued on: September 8, 1992 From: Ottawa, Canada MC #1317