Centenaire de St. Agatha, Maine

386 Pages·2015·12.4 MB·English

Centenaire
de
St. Agatha, Maine
1899-1999
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By:
Ste. Agathe Historical Society
974.1 t S133 1999 c.l
Centenaire de St. Agatha.
Maine. 1899-1999.
THIS CENTENNIAL EDITION IS
DEDICATED
TO THE TOWN
FOUNDING FAMILIES OF
ST. AGATHA, MAINE
BY:
directo rs of ste. ag athe
HISTORICAL SOCIETY
March 17,1999
^Pfhereat, the Town of St. Agatha, Maine incorporated on the 17th day of March in the year of our lord 1899 and
said town fathers Eloi R. Michaud, Justice of the Peace, Belonie Dufour, Town Clerk, Joseph Boucher, First
Selectman, Hilaire Marin, Second Selectman, Xavier Tardif Third Selectman, Jose Michaud, Road
Commissioner, Superintendent School Committee, Edmond Lachance, Superintendent School Committee,
Truant Officer, Nere Picard, Constable, Fence Viewer, and Hilaire Ouellette, Superintendent School
Committee, Constable, and Town Scaler established themselves in St. Agatha, Maine and
a number of founding families settled in St. Agatha, Maine; Albert, Anderson, Auclair, Ayotte, Beaulieu,
Boissonniere, Bairon, Bard, Bar, Baron, Berube, Bouchard, Boucher, Bourgoin, Bosse, Bellefleur, Bechard,
Caron, Carrier, Clavette, Chasse, Cyr, Cir, Corriveau, Cote, Colin, Collin, Chamberlan, Chamberland,
Chouinant, Chamberlain, Corrivault, Daigle, Dufour, Dube, Dwnont, Durand, Dionne, Decschaine, Desrosier,
Dechene, Dumest, Farell, Frevre, Frank, Fongemie, Gagnon, Guerrette, Gueret, Gorneau, Gervais, Gernault,
Gravel, Hebert, Jalbert, Lagasee, Leclerc, Lizotte, Langais, Lachance, Lausier, Langlais, Leclair, Levesque,
Lagasse, Lamaure, Lenard, Morin, Martin, Merchant, Marquis, Marin, Michaud, Morneault, Ouellette,
Ouellet, Paradis, Pinet, Passionnoir, Plourde, Pelletier, Picard, Pinette, Pinkham, Rossingol, Ringuette,
Raymond, Remond, Roy, Ruest, Ruet, Souci, Sirois, Sylvain, Sinclair, St. Clair, Soucie, Tardif, Therriault,
Thibault, Tardy, Terrault, Thibaud, and all other settlers not mentioned herein and
the descendants have distinguished themselves in Public, Private, Religious and Professional Services, as
evidenced by the various occupations, various businesses, and establishments owned by the descendant's
families and
aff4&wa4J the descendants have organized and will hold a Centennial Celebration at St. Agatha, in the State of Maine and
GfPLweaAJ this celebration will be held on July 23, 24, 25 in the year of Our Lord 1999.
tffie Wle^o/ved, that we, The Selectpersons of St. Agatha, do declare the weekend of July 23, 24, 25, 1999
to be know as the St. Agatha Centennial Celebration in this committee and that said celebration is a time for
reunion and renewal of acquaintances and friendships.
affe dMevefiwe, have caused this document to duly signed in our presence and proclaim the St. Agatha Centennial
Celebration throughout the land and resolve that it be incumbent upon the future generations to do likewise.
°fpe dffiave, this 17th day of March in the year of Our Lord 1999 affixed our hand and seal.
St. Agatha, Maine, Board of Selectpersons
David Dubois, Chairman
DiarfC Ccfytonguay, _
'Q*rLLcf~__fl.
DanieTLabrie, Third Selectperson
David Dubois
//.
Ste. Agathe Historical Society
P.O. BOX 237, ST. AGATHA, MAINE 04772
June 14, 1999
Dear Person With A St. Agatha Connection,
Guy Dubay, a local historian from Madawaska, and a few Board of
Directors from the Ste. Agathe Historical Society met frequently during
the past months with the purpose of creating this publication,
Centenaire de St. Agatha, Maine. The project was also made possible in
part with a preservation grant from the Maine Acadian Heritage
Council.
We'd like to thank Guy Dubay for being the historical consultant for
the centennial book. We’d also like to acknowledge Paul Marin, David
Raymond, Jack Michaud, Roxanne Moore Saucier, Mary Michaud,
Jacqueline Chamberland Blesso, Bert Cyr, Gerard Morin, John Marquis,
and Jean White for their contributions to the annual Ste. Agathe
Historical Society Newsletters and consequently to the centennial book.
The piece entitled, "All Roads Lead to Home,” by Paul Marin and the
article on the Knights of Columbus by Beurmond Banville were
specifically written for the centennial publication. The dedication and
preserverance of Board Members, Philip Morin, Gloria Gervais, Carole
Plourde, Connie Desrosier and typist, Claudia Morin, has provided
you, the reader with a St. Agatha connection, this Centenaire de St.
Agatha.
The town's story continues........
Truly Connected to St. Agatha,
j f W a
{oMlfZtC.
Terry Oiiellette,
President
Ste. Agathe Historical Society
III.
Ste. Agathe Historical Socie
P.O. BOX 237, ST. AGATHA, MAINE 04772
Mission of the Ste. Agathe Historical Society
The following chapters are an effort of the Ste. Agathe Historical Society to
commemorate the 1999 Centennial Year. The reader will find various documents of historical
nature, maps illustrating early town boundaries, photos accumulated along the passing years,
captions of interest, numerous topics and data relative to the establishment and foundation of the
hamlet named "Ste. Agathe".
Researchers strived to verify aspect to the true nature of this volume, but please keep in
mind, it is certainly not the intent of the Society to present this work as a thesis or dissertation of
history, but rather as a special project denoting the circumstances surrounding the strong desire
of early settlers to populate and govern their own town, secure farmlands for their expanding
families, perhaps build their own house of worship, and maybe claim the majestic lake as their
privilege. Why not?
We issue an invitation to you to peruse through these pages, re-read pertinent points of
interest, and share with us a certain pride in the town of Ste. Agathe. Come enjoy a bit of history
and may we wish you a "Bonne Anniversaire".
Spokesperson,
Ste. Agathe Historical Society
Connie Desrosier, Director
IV.
Table of Contents
I. All Roads Lead To Home 2
II. The Setting 12
III. Pioneers 22
IV. First Town Fathers 46
V. Earning a Living 56
VI. Civic Life 114
VII. La Paroisse 148
VIII. St. Agatha Volunteer Fire Department 178
IX. Military Service 184
X. Convent & Schools 208
XI. ...And More Treasures 286
XII. First Town Census • 1900 326
XIII. Ste. Agathe Historical Society 354
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All Roads Lead To Home
by: Paul J. Marin
As families and friends meet to celebrate the town’s one hundredth year and
exchange memories, rekindle kinships and re-establish communal bonds, the spirit of
this little community will continue to transcend its boundaries. In its own colloquial
fashion it will continue to give of itself to the rest of the world.
And this grandiose thought, expressed in a no less simple fashion, is close to the
truth. St. Agatha has always been a great place to come from, but, unfortunately, the
local economy has never been able to support many of its children.
My aunts Maude and Leonie were reminding T.O., recently, that the priests and
the sisters would have the young students pray for the B & A to run a line to St.
Agatha. “All this time we prayed for the train to come to St. Agatha,” added
Maude, “and the good Lord knew better. We didn’t need the train after all.” The
town of St. Agatha survived if but only as a cradle of good work ethic and solid
values. Reluctantly, but repeatedly, this little town has surrendered its young.
And over the years, hundreds and hundreds of its citizens faced the need to
go down to Connecticut’. Not everyone went to Connecticut, Connecticut, but for
those who remained, away was neither here nor there but somewhere in
Connecticut. That part of the world’s economic opportunities beckoned. Our
town’s only street only led you out of town. And if a survey were made showing the
links between this little community and almost any other place in the country, we
could easily, with tongue in cheek, perhaps, borrow and paraphrase an old adage,
that ‘all roads (this summer) lead to home’.
YOU CAN GO HOME AGAIN
And there’s another old saying. “You can’t go home again.” It may have more to
do with not being able to recapture one’s youth. But you can never not go home
again. Especially if home is on the shores of a beautiful lake nested in the rolling
hills of the St. John Valley. And the people there are warm, friendly and family.
Picture this. You and your whole family are sitting on the living room couch.
And on your mother’s lap, with your dad’s hand turning the pages, the old family
albums, with wrinkled, faded, and sometimes blurred pictures, conjure memories too
valuable to forget. And in this summer of 1999, St. Agathians have gathered to sit
on this communal couch and witness this epochal event.
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BUT I REMEMBER IT ANYWAY”
I had a friend who had this uncanny ability to remember things that never
happened to him. llhe truth is, from childhood till the summer he died, he had a
quenchless appetite for local lore. He listened with limitless rapture as his elders,
family, and neighbors talked about life in the Valley. He insisted that neighbors
expecting company from Connecticut would come to his house and ask to borrow
him and pass him off as their child for an afternoon because he was such a beautiful
little lad. He loved to pull from this the best tales and recollections and relate them
as his own He used to pretend he could recall experiences he couldn’t possibly have
had. “Hey, Blackie,” one of us wanted to say, “that didn’t happen to you, you
weren’t born yet.” “Yes,” he would admit. And as he brought his hand to his
forehead and brushed a lock of white hair away revealing that mischievous twinkle in
his eye, he would insist, “but I remember it anyway.” And the treasure of that man
was that,he was much like a walking index of local history.
FROM THE BOW OF MENON’S CANOE
As I sat to jot a few recollections of my own I quickly realized I was never a good
listener. And so my recollections lack the scope and depth of a good raconteur. And
for some reason I can’t quite fathom, most of my memories are grounded in my
childhood.
That none of us were around when the State of Legislature incorporated
St. Agatha into the community of Maine only increases our desire to be here in this
centennial year. And even our most senior citizens were not yet born. My father,
Fred, who is approaching his 96th year, comes close to remembering a great measure
of our past. And the sparkle in his eyes belies the hardships shared by our
progenitors. The soul of a community rests in the hearts of its inhabitants. And this
is abundantly evident in the face of my dad. He and this village share a history
inextricably linked. The good times, and the times when times were not so good.
The people who settled here when you could not see the woods, or the trees and
the only uninterrupted vista was the one seen from the bow of Menon’s canoe were
hard working simple folk. Some tell that Menon Ouellette was the first settler along
the shores of Long Lake. Others called the place, le lac a Menon. (Think of it. Lac a
Menon, or its inevitably anglicizable version, Lacamenon, Maine, 04772.)
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