Osias F. Villeneuve

As an athlete, builder in the field of sports and community leader, Osie F. Villeneuve richly deserves the recognition being accorded him posthumously by the Glengarry Sports Hall of Fame. Born June 28, 1906, he was the son or Mr. and Mrs. Frank Villeneuve. He was educated at Maxville Public School and district high schools. Like his father, he became a drover or dealer in cattle, giving up this business when he entered provincial politics.

As a young man, Osie was a fullback on the Maxville soccer team which won the Glengarry championship in 1922. Also, he played hockey on a team dubbed the “Ragged Pants Six” on an outdoor rink which was located just west of the Maxville CNR Station. By the early 1930’s, Maxville was producing so many good hockey players that community leaders decided to build a covered arena. Osie, and other sports-minded village residents, jumped into the cause. And the Jubilee Rink rose despite the Great Depression.

From that effort, he moved on to coach the Maxville Millionaires in 1939 and 1937 and to manage them in 1938, 1939, and 1940. Those were the glory days of a homebrew team that won the Citizen Shield as Eastern Ontario Intermediate champions three times over a span of four years. Crowds of up to 1,600 were common in that age, before television. Some thought the best seats were up in the wood-laminated rafters.

It was in the early 1930’s also that politics beckoned Osie. He served on Maxville village council from 1934 through 1938, served on the Maxville School Board in the early 1940’s, and took his first plunge into provincial politics in 1945. He was defeated, but emerged as reeve of Maxville in 1948. Later that same year he ran again under the provincial Conservative ticket. He won and was re-elected in 1951 and 1955. In 1957 he resigned his provincial seat and was elected federal MP for Glengarry Prescott, remaining in federal politics until 1962. A year later he was back in provincial harness; he was re-elected in 1967, 1971, 1975, 1977, and 1981.
He served on many committees and was a strong voice for local farmers. He was dean of the Ontario Legislature, its longest serving member, when he died suddenly of a heart attack on September 25, 1983. It is ironic he was being honored at a testimonial dinner in a Toronto hotel at the time of his death.

With the old Jubilee Rink condemned, Osie was a prime mover and shaker in securing grants toward construction of the Maxville and District Sports Complex. The arena part of the complex is named in his honor.

Osie married Alma MacLeod of Maxville on October 20, 1930. It was a marriage linking all the best of the French and Scottish cultures, which was to prove beneficial to the couple and the community. Alma, now a resident of Maxville Manor, ran Osie’s local constituency office, drove him to meetings when he was tired and campaigned actively on his behalf. Their three sons are Ronald, Bernard (F.B.) and Brian.

Osie served as president of Kenyon Agricultural Society from 1946 to 1948 and was a founding member of the Glengarry Highland Games organizing committee in 1948. He belonged to Maxville Lions Club and Maxville Curling Club.

His sons confide that although he never played baseball, he was a great fan of the game. He began following the Detroit Tigers while working in the Motor City in the 1920’s. He switched allegiance to the Montreal Expos, however, after they were granted a franchise. He attended every game he could get to in Montreal.