I remember going to school next door to our house, the school had one room for
the students, a small room for the teacher to live in, for toilet facilities two
seats but no water to flush it (and no janitors). I remember my mother having a
hand loom to weave our blankets and rugs. Christmas season we had fruits and
pastries and meat pies (tourtiere), we would all go to midnight mass in the
village. We’d go in a big sled drawn by a horse and we had a fur blanket to
cover us, and the horse had bells on his back, I guess to warn the others in the
street. Then after mass the whole family would go to Aunt Victoria Bouffard
(father’s sister), they lived across the street from the church. What a treat
that was. They had a large family also, that’s the family of Aurore Ferland in
Manchester, NH.
In the summer we would go to the fields to harvest the hay with dad. Then to
come home we would climb on top of the hay that was piled on top of the wagon
and come home. Then we would all slide down one by one, there was someone to
catch us when we came down, then they put the hay in the barn to feed the
animals in the winter. We used to climb the big steps in the barn and jump on
the hay below. I wasn’t afraid of caterpillars then. During the summer, we
would all go with little buckets to pick fruits, strawberries,
I remember my father cutting the wool from the sheep, they even saved the husks
from the corn, let it dry and make mattresses with it (called pillasse). In the
summertime my father was very busy working with the farm, they had to chop wood
to get ready for the winter and sometimes in the winter he would come to the
states to work in the mills. Mother would be alone with all the children and
took care of the animals. I can say they worked hard, we have it made today.
Gloria, I know you’re going to rewrite this, so I left it this way "un
dégat", your mother knows what it means, (a big mess).
to live in, for toilet facilities two
seats but no water to flush it (and no janitors). I remember my mother having a
hand loom to weave our blankets and rugs. Christmas season we had fruits and
pastries and meat pies (tourtiere), we would all go to midnight mass in the
village. We’d go in a big sled drawn by a horse and we had a fur 
blanket to
cover us, and the horse had bells on his back, I guess to warn the others in the
street. Then after mass the whole family would go to Aunt Victoria Bouffard
(father’s sister), they lived across the street from the church. What a treat
that was. They had a large family also, that’s the family of Aurore Ferland in
Manchester, NH.
that was piled on top of the wagon
and come home. Then we would all slide down one by one, there was someone to
catch us when we came down, then they put the hay in the barn to feed the
animals in the winter. We used to climb the big steps in the barn and jump on
the hay below. I wasn’t afraid of caterpillars then. During the summer, we
would all go with little buckets to pick
fruits, strawberries,
father was very busy working with the farm, they had to chop wood
to get ready for the winter and sometimes in the winter he would come to the
states to work in the mills. Mother would be alone with all the children and
took care of the animals. I can say they worked hard, we have it made today.
Gloria, I know you’re going to rewrite this, so I left it this way "un
dégat", your mother knows what it means, (a big mess).