Surviving Dionne Quintuplet to visit birth home in May for birthday celebration
UPDATE:
The Dionne Quints Heritage Board announced on April 7 that Annette Dionne will be unable to attend the birthday celebration due to health concerns.
ORIGINAL STORY:
From a miracle childbirth to a tragic upbringing, the story of the five Dionne Quintuplet sisters continues to capture the imagination of all.
One of the two surviving Dionne Quintuplet sisters, Annette, will be visiting her birth home, which has now been turned into a museum, in North Bay this spring.
The sisters' nephew Brian Callahan and Ed Valenti, the Dionne Quints Heritage Board Chairman, are in close conversation about Annette’s visit.
"I'm looking forward to it. I hope her health will hold and she will be able to make the trip," Callahan said.
Annette is scheduled to attend her 89th birthday celebrations on her birth weekend at the home on Oak Street in the city in May. It'll be her second visit in five years. In 2018, Annette visited the home to a sizable crowd.
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
Due to ailing health, her sister Cecile will not be attending the event.
"We're going to have to limit her access. But we've already gotten people on Facebook tell us they're coming up,” said Valenti.
The world was amazed in 1934 when the five identical sisters were born near Corbeil, Ont. to Oliva and Elzire Dionne. The girls were all born premature. It was a one in 57 million chance of giving birth to identical quintuplets and even less chance of them surviving. That amazement quickly turned into love for the girls.
"The birth was something that energized people because of the Great Depression and all that," Valenti said.
After four months with their family, custody was signed over to the Red Cross who paid for their care and oversaw the building of a hospital for the sisters.
Less than a year after this agreement was signed, the Ontario Government stepped in and passed the ‘Dionne Quintuplets' Guardianship Act,’ which made them wards of the Crown until the age of 18. The government and those around them began to profit by making them a significant tourist attraction.
It's estimated three million people visited North Bay to see the girls.
"What she (Annette) wants more than anything is to focus on children and she wants the children to be forefront because of what happened,” said Callahan.
Yvonne died in 2001, Marie died in 1970 and Émilie died in 1954.
Before Annette’s arrival, the board is hoping to secure some land adjacent to the museum for landscaping and storage of priceless Dionne quintuplet artifacts.
"Subject to the city agreeing to reserve west of the museum for future projects," said Valenti.
A story that lives on all those years ago and a lesson of love and tragedy.
For more details on the event, visit the Quints Dionne Facebook page.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
Statistics Canada reports real GDP up 0.6% in January as Quebec strikes end
Statistics Canada says real gross domestic product grew 0.6 per cent in January, helped by the end of public sector strikes in Quebec in November and December.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 mm among weather alerts in effect for 7 provinces
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 millimetres, air quality advisories and other alerts have been issued for seven Canadian provinces, according to the latest forecasts.
Gangs netting up to US$3 trillion a year as Southeast Asia human trafficking becomes a global crisis, Interpol says
Human trafficking-fuelled fraud is exploding in Southeast Asia with organized crime rings raking in close to US$3 trillion in illicit revenue annually, the head of Interpol has said in comments that reveal the huge profits being earned by cartels.
King Charles calls for acts of friendship in first public remarks since Kate's cancer diagnosis
King Charles III gave public remarks for Maundy Thursday, addressing the importance of acts of friendship, following his and Catherine, Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnoses.
Ukrainian child asylum seekers in St. John’s get class of their own
Roughly 50 children will gathered in a St. John’s classroom for the first time on Saturday for unique lessons on Ukrainian language, culture and history.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.