MEMOIRS

of  Marie Rose Bouffard Jean    

    I was born in the village of Issoudun , just south of St. Croix and the St. Lawrence River on March 19, 1915 to Gaudiaus Bouffard and Alvine Ferland and I was one of seventeen children. I remember my mother milking the cows and we also had two pigs in addition to other animals on the farm where I lived until age three, then I traveled with my family by train as we moved to Fall River, Massachusetts.

    The year was 1918, World War One was ending and I still remember running on the benches in the train depot and eating peppermints. There was a lot of sickness that year and when sickness went around, they put a "contagious" sign on the outside doors to let people know that there was a contagious disease so they would not go in.  When someone was sick and the doctor was needed, the doctor would make a house call to visit and administer to the person at home. It wouldn’t matter what time of day or night, the doctor would come when needed for the patient who was sick or couldn’t get out of bed.

    We had no telephone then and receiving a telegram usually meant bad news such as the death of a relative or a friend. When there was a death, the body would be displayed and the wake was held in the front parlor of the house with a purple ribbon on the door if it was an adult and a white ribbon would be displayed if it was a child or baby.

    Writing letters was another way of keeping in touch and we used an ink pen, (la plume) and different metal tips for fine or wide writing. Black or blue ink was used and it was sometimes messy.

    I remember the wooden ice chest in the pantry on the first floor that we used to keep foods cold. The ice block was replenished by the ice man who would deliver ice to the house when the "ice" sign was placed in the window for him to see.

    There were many peddlers and deliverymen in those days including the ‘milk man’, ‘bread delivery man’, and horse drawn wagons with fresh vegetable and fruit. A peddler known as the ‘rag man’ would buy old clothes for rags, and you could hear him call out "any rags?" as his horse pulled the wagon down the street. There were also craftsmen who came around sharpening knives and scissors. My father also had lots of skills because we had to be self-sufficient, including repairing shoes which he did in the basement with metal shoe forms.

    On April Fools Day we would sneak up behind my mother and tie a rag to the back of her dress so it would look like she had a tail, it was funny and we all laughed. On Mother’s Day and Father’s Day you would wear red or pink roses if your parents were living and white roses if they had died. It was really sad to see some of them who had lost one or both parents that I really considered myself lucky to have a mother and father still living. The day before Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent and fasting, it was Mardi Gras or Shrove Tuesday; there was celebrating and mother would make taffy, ‘tire’ in French, and everyone would have some after helping to make it.

    I was very proud of my cupie doll which is antique now. I had my picture taken with it when I was eight years old and there was also a carriage for her. I believe we got that with Octagon Soap coupons and we also got roller skates with the coupons. In those days there was that kind of soap made with kerosene for washing floors and walls.

    After supper we would all kneel down and say our prayers but some of the boys were not able to stay because they had to rush off to see their girl friends. When it started to get dark, the lamplighter would go around to light the gas lamps on the streets, then return to extinguish them when it became light.

    On holy days of obligation, we had to go to church so we attended the six o’clock mass so we could then go to work at seven. We would work eight hours with no break. Women used to bow when walking past the church and men tipped their hats in reverence. Things were quite different then.

Rose

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