I moved two months ago to my parents' native region, south of Québec along Chaudière river valley. I'm happy to see that signs that were already old in my 90's childhood are still standing. Here is a bulk collection of old and odd found signs.
"Route du Président-Kennedy" sign leaving Vallée-Jonction on Route 173 North (Google Streetview)Route 173 (Route 23 or
Lévis-Jackman highway at the time) was designated "Route du Président-Kennedy" by Order in Council from the Lieutenant-Governor one week after John F. Kennedy's death in 1963, as an hommage from a Chief of State to fallen one (Lieutenant-Governor is the executive Chief of State for the Province, representing its Queen in Right).
CONCERNING the hommage of the population of Quebec to the memory of President Kennedy.
WHEREAS the brutal death of the young and brilliant American Chief of State, President John F. Kennedy, deeply affected the population of Quebec;
WHEREAS it is deemed expedient to recall his memory by giving his name to the Levis-Jackman highway, which is the most direct road between the capital of the Province and the birthplace of President Kennedy in New England.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDER, upon the proposition of the Prime Minister :
THAT, in hommage to the memory of President John F. Kennedy, the Levis-Jackman highway shall henceforth be designated under the name of "President Kennedy".
Gazette officielle de Québec, Vol. 95, No. 95 ― December 4th 1963
That happened 5 years prior to the creation of the Québec Toponymy Commission, responsible for the officialisation of place naming in the province. It is one of the very few highways that was attributed a transmunicipal, provincial designation and maintains it as of today. This sign is plausibly one of the original that were put up in the sixties, as the fleur-de-lys design notably dated, and most certainly predated 1977.
Here are the equivalents in 80-90's and 2000-2010's versions, and handful of kilometres away from the first one.
Route 173 South, leaving Sainte-Marie (Google Streetview)Route 173 South, leaving Vallée-Jonction (Google Streetview)Very old railroad crossing + 2 voies | 2 tracks signs, probably dating from the 50's on Jean-Marie-Rousseau boulevard in Vallée (Google Streeview)Formerly known as L'Enfant-Jésus parish or Beauce-Jonction, Vallée-Jonction, as it name indicates, was once a major railroad junction on the Québec Central (a Canadian Pacific division), dispatching lumber, paper, asbestos, marble, granite, oil, cattle and passenger trains from Maine and Lac-Mégantic, Saint-Georges and Lac-Frontière, as well as Sherbrooke and Thetford Mines to Lévis, Québec City and Montréal.
The yard used to span on both sides of Chaudière river, attracting factories, slaughterhouses and leather among them.
Sheds, shops and roundhouse in 1954 (J.W.Michaud)The wood and stone station from the late 1890's is still standing, but most of the yard buildings are long gone. The railroad folded in 1999. Some trains operated by a local operator from Tring-Jonction ran in the 2000's without much success. The ROW and rails are now owned by MTQ. Chemin de fer Sartigan, a shortline, is operating grain and various goods convoys between Scott-Jonction and Joffre (Charny).
"Reduced pre-warning time" sign near grain terminal in Scott (Google Streetview)The downfall of railroad transport has seen the rise of trucking in the region, in spite of the steep slopes of Chaudière valley and surrounding hills.
Narrative steep hill advisory sign on route 108 East entering Beauceville, at the brake checking station (Google Streetview)Narrative steep hill advisory sign on route 112 West entering Vallée-Jonction, at the brake checking stationThe route 112 (Cap boulevard) hill in Vallée was enlarged to 4 lanes and improved (a gravel bed was added at the bottom, signage was replaced) following multiple accidents at the junction of route 112 and route 173 involving runaway swine trucks. Load is now limited to 15 metric tonnes downhill. Most cattle trucks now use exits 95 and 72 from A-73, and then route 173 to deliver to the slaughterhouse.
No truck sign on A-73 near Vallée-Jonction (Google Streetview)