Document text
OhIGINAL MSS. OR FIELD NOTES (Cheek one)
PUB. Livi)* Lore in New Esg2.and
(Maine)
TITLE Alex Lavoie, Freach Canadian
WRITER Robert Grady
DATE WDS. PP. 3
CHECKER DATE
SOURCES GIVEN (T) Interview
COMMENTS
Maine
Living Lore
Old Town 1
PERSONAL HISTORY OF ALEX LAVOIE, FRENCH CANADIAN
Alex Lavoie knows a lot about the old French customs and enjoys
talking about them. He is about 47 years old and just now is work-
ing on a VRA road project. Leblanc is a French Canadian who came. to
Old Town in 1908 and he is about the same age as Lavoie. Both of
them worked for a long time in the woolen mill Lavoie as a spinner,
and Leblanc as a weaver. They probably would be there now if the
mill had not closed. I've worked with Lavoie or Leavitt in the
woods, on the boom, in the woolen mill and on a road project. He is
a very L;ood worker but slow acting. Gene Mann; the Boss on the boom,
used to say when he saw Alex strolling down to work in the morning
at the end of a long line, "Well, they must be aiLout of the bunk
house here is Alex." He married an American girl who was converted
to the Catholic faith. The couple have two children.
Maine
Lilting:Lore
Old Town 1
THE LIFE OF ALEX LAVOIE, FRENCH CANADIAN
(As Told By Himself To Robert F. Grady)
Alex Lavoie had professed an interest in the work I was doing*
when I met him in Leblanc's store, and I had mentioned to him that
Father Ouellette, wham I had just interviewed, couldn't tell me the
name of the pastor of St. Josephs, in Old Town.
Alex: "I can tell you that. It was Father Nicoli.
R. G.: "How did you know that?"
Alex: "My grandmother told me. It would be hard to prove it,
I suppose, if they have no rcords of that time at the church, but
go down to the cemetery and you'll find graves there of the three
priests who died while they were in charge of this parish. The
graves are all in the church lot Father LaVadiers Father Trudel,
and Father Nicoli. Nicoll was buried in another lot, but the coffin
was transferred. You'll find his name on one of the monuments."
R.G.: "Father Ouellette said that Bapst was here before Trudel."
Alex: "He links, and he was here before Nicoll., but Bapst wasn't
a resident priest and Nicoli was. Bapst went from one town to an-
other on a kind of route. Nicoll died about the year Father Trudel
came here 1880"
(Essay No. 9 °alight Alex' eye) Alex: It's too bad old Zeb (an
uncle of his) isn't alive. He knew a lot about this stuff. (magic,
ghosts, superstitions) I remember a story they used to tell about a
time when there was an epidemic of black cholera over on the island
(French Island). There was an old covered wooden bridge that ran
across the river at that time, and guards had been stationed at this
end of the bridge to prevent any one frascrossing in either direction.-
Maine
Living Lore
Old Town 2
The Maine Central bridge wasn't there then so the only way-tozet
to the island unless you had a boat was to cross by the wooden
bridge.
"In some way the priest got over there, but the guards said
he hadn't gone across the bridge. He gave dying people extreme
unction the last sacrements, you know. He worked there until the
danger was past and then he appeared on this side again. The guards
said they didn't see him cross the bridge in either direction. The
old people said he walked across the water to get back and forth,
but, of course nobody would believe such a yarn as that now.
"If you have to write_ anything about the schools, be sure to
say something about that time Fatty Cyr went to night school. It
was about ten years ago and they were having night school over in
the French Island school. Fatty was on the police force then. It
had been going along for a couple of months and the teacher decided
to find out how much they knew or had learned. She wrote some names
and things on the black board.
"What's this word Mr. botetm she says pointing to the first
word..
"That's my name Cote."
"Correct. Mt. Moreau, what is this word?"
,M -o -r -e -a -u. That's my name, Moreau." 'tight."
"Mr. Cyr," pointing to the word cat. "Tell me what this is."
Fatty looked at the word for about a minute. "I suppose it's
my name," he said finally, "but I can't seem to make it out."