Grandfather and the squirrel

As you must know, I go visit my Mom and a lot of times she shares stories about her youth with me. I can sit and listen for hours. The other day, I went over to visit and we were sitting at the table. Mom was knitting a pair of booties for a new great grandaughter that will soon come into this world. And we were talking about when she was young. She told me her father used to hang his pork high in his shed to keep it from the animals and also so it wouldn't go bad. This paticular time, he hung a side of Ham and there was this little squirrel who kept climbing to the Ham to try and get some. One day my grandfather threw a blanket over the squirrel that was the only way he could catch him and put him in a cage he had made. Inside the cage Grandfather made a little wheel so the squirrel could run. Mom said when that squirrel began to run, he ran so fast that all you could see was a white belly. Anyway Mom said ,she and her siblings loved that little squirrel. One day grandfather said to them, "we have had him long enough, now he belongs in the wild, we have to let him go". Mom said they were devastated over losing their pet squirrel. So grandfather opened the door to the cage, and out ran the squirrel. They thought that would be the last time they seen the squirrel. But it wasn't so, because that squirrel stayed around the house. My grandfather had built a ledge outside of the window, so grandmother could put her cooking there to cool. Mom said that everytime Grandmother would put her fresh cooked doughnuts on that ledge the little squirrel would jump on the ledge , grab the whole doughnut and run for the trees. I said to Mom, I guess Grandfather loved animals huh? She said yes he did, he even once caught an otter, kept him for a while then set him free.
Then I was still asking Mom questions. This time I said "Mom what did Grandfather call Grandmother? Mom replied he called her Mom and she called him Dad. Mom continued, she said at night time, it wasnt play time for us kids, we used to all sit around the table and do our homework,she continued and Dad really believed in education. I enjoyed our chat very much.
My grandfather had a white and black dog, and he used to train the dog, I have a photo of him with the dog sitting pretty on a wooden box. I met a new cousin about two years ago, and we started getting to know each other and exchanging photos. She sent me a photo and said do you know this couple? Well I looked at the photo, it was a couple with a white and black dog. When I saw it, I recognized the dog first of all and I sent her the photo of grandfather with the dog, it was the same dog and the couple on the photo were our great grandparents. What a nice surprise that was. Now is the time to share our photos, while we can identify the people. I am still on the lookup for photos of my relatives, the more I get the happier I am.
Thanks for stopping by , I do hope you enjoyed todays blog.
Have a great day
Aline

Fiddlehead greens

Have you ever tasted Fiddleheads? Do you know what they are? I can imagine many of our ancestors thought they were pretty good.They are very young ferns that haven't opened up yet.

They are usually picked around the first of may and can be found along the riverbeds or brooks and forest floors. They should be picked in the early morning and when they are very young.

They are a good source of Vitamins A and C .So yesterday while doing my grocery shopping I spotted a bin of these fiddleheads and I bought some. Today I washed them , cut off the ends and steamed them. Added some butter and a pinch of salt. Mmmm were they ever delicious. I should have bought more. grin.

On another note have you heard about one of the oldest living senior? She lives in New Hampshire and she is 114 years old, can you imagine being 114? Well what caught my eye was that this lady from New Hampshire is an Acadian from Bloomfield PEI her maiden name is Marie Josephine Arsenault.

She is the the first oldest person recorded on PEI. She married Walter Ray in 1922 according to her family. She was born 1n 1895 in Bloomfield PEI the daughter of Sabin Arsenault and Lydie Blanchard. She was orphaned at age 15 and worked to support her siblings. I was sent a couple of emails regarding this nice story and I have added a little bit of it on my website with permission from George Arsenault of PEI. I hope you have enjoyed todays blog and will drop by again. Thank you.

Have a great day.

Aline

Acadians and Cajuns

What do the Acadians and Cajuns have in common? Well they have lots in common. First of all, they both descend from Acadian ancestors. They both are a strong people. They are both survivors. The Cajuns brought with them lots of Acadian customs. For example, I am reading a book by Carl A Brasseau. Here is an exhert from it.

Familial ties permeated all facets of Acadian life: as in vieille Acadian, family members worked together, played together and worshipped together. Many homes were the same, the men worked in the fields cut timber and built levees (aboiteau)."Note: The acadians built these levees and when they were in Louisiana they built them there too."

The women took care of the barnyard,milked the cows, spinning and weaving cotton, or wool, sewing and cooking. Family and friends gathered in homes of neighbors having a hard time and helped them either with their homes or with their harvest."Note: They did that in Acadie and the custom continued in Louisiana." The cajuns had house parties, these parties included dancing which was an important diversion from the hard frontier life. So the cajuns had house dances, and had a great time. Now the Acadians also did the same, I remember going to a house in the country before I was married , and they used to be bootleggers, and my late husband took me one time, I was amazed, there was this man playing the fiddle and his wife was stepdancing, then they had a square dance. Talk about I enjoyed this. And the day before yesterday we took Mom out for a drive and she was telling me , she remembers going to Old Mister Mill's house and they had what they called a Pound Party, what the guests were suppose to do, was to bring a pound of food, of their choice to the party , in return, they would move all the furniture out of the way and have a square dance. That sounded like lots of fun.

I think this is a great custom that we Acadians and Cajuns have, the custom of a good time, the custom of happy times and the custom of getting together with our friends and neighbors on such a happy note.

When I was newly married my husband used to get some of his friends to come and play music at our house. They played the guitar, the fiddle ,the accordion, and harmonica, what fun we had.

I have always loved the piano , had I been good at reading music, I would loved to have learned to play. My dad played the Jew's harp, the harmonica and accordion.

So where ever you are, keep on enjoying life, because life is so short, we can be here today and gone tomorrow. So Let the good times roll, Vive le bon temps.

Thanks for the visit, do stop by again

Have a great day

Aline

LA ROCHELLE FRANCE

Last week while at a yard sale I asked this lady if she had any genealogy books or acadian related books. She replied "no I don't believe I have, but I have a book on Poitou France. So I glanced at the book and wow, there were lots of photos and the one on the right caught my eye. La Rochelle France,why did that catch my eye? Well my Cormier ancestors Robert Cormier, his wife Marie Peraud and their young son Thomas left La Rochelle in 1644 for a new life in a new land to be named Acadie. In the early 1600s La Rochelle was the last stronghold of Huguenots in France and there was a famous siege led by Cardinald Richelieu in 1627. It was at that time that Richelieu drew up the charter for One Hundred Associates. The cost of the siege was the loss of some 23000 casualties. In 1637 the largest influx of settlers came to Acadie many of them from the Poitou, Aunnis and Saintonge areas. Around three hundred Catholic peasants from the estate of Charles D'Aulnay at La Chaussee near Loudon set said for their new home in soon to be Acadie.La Rochelle was an important port back then as it is still one now. So many of our ancestors boarded their vessels at La Rochelle and crossed the ocean to reach their destinations. I wonder if this is where Barthelemy Bergeron dit Damboise and Jacques Leger dit La Rosette boarded to come to North America? They were both soldiers one belonging to Troupe de la Marine and the other a drummer . In the book I got at the yard sale, it says that in1568 La Rochelle became a Huguenot city . Then lots of tragedy with the siege of Richelieu that lasted 416 days. The port would become very active and important paticularly with North America (where our ancestors were heading for) Today La Rochelle remains one of first French Ports in Europe and also a cultural capital and tourist area with lots of festivals and museums. I wonder where Robert Cormier and his family had travelled from to reach La Rochelle? Will we ever know? There have been many historians and priests that have searched for the illusive Robert Cormier but who knows what will happen in the future with the new found tool called the Internet. With all the records from France coming online, one day someone may be looking for another ancestor and poof our Robert just might be there.

Thanks for the visit ,do stop by again

Have a great day

Aline

Genealogy and Yard Sales

What would genealogy have to do with yard sales? Genealogy is about our ancestors, about their lives,about their history. Yard sales are sales where everyone gets rid of their stuff they don't want correct? What is the connection? Sometimes there is NO connection at all, but once in a very very long while there is that connection, because many folks are not into genealogy, they do not know what it is all about and the importance of genealogy .So they clean out their homes and put things in the sale, things that belonged to their parents or grandparents, old photo albums, important books, or diaries. Oh yes sometimes these precious things are thrown out. A photo of someone long ago named Marie Cormier, and they don't have a clue she was their great great grandmother, that is no good so onto the table it goes.So if I am lucky enough to be at the right yard sale at the right time and I have a chance to grab those items you can be sure that I will. In all my yard saling that I have gone to and going to, I am always on the lookup for things such as books, diaries ,photos,just in case some of those things relate to my own genealogy. So please wish me luck because it is now 640am and I am all dressed and ready to go. The sales start at eight am, so the early bird sometimes get the worm, I don't want the worm I want the good stuff. grin.
So thank you for the visit and do stop by again.
Have a great day
Aline

Acadian World Gathering CMA2009

Yes I am ready and waiting to go to the Congres Mondial, maybe my hat should be a bit bigger? Maybe I will lose the tie, grin. This summer is going to be a great summer with all the reunions happening in Northern New Brunswick Canada, and in Fredericton New Brunswick for us. If you are interested, there are still tenting sites at Colibri, I phoned yesterday and there are tent sites available. We will be staying there. And they are saying that on Acadian Day August 15 in Caraquet this year is going to be the biggest amount of people they have ever seen. So get there early. We are meeting some online friends before the celebrations then its off to Acadian Day . But before our CMA reunions we have our reunion in Fredericton for descendants of Barthelemy Bergeron dit Damboise and Genevieve Serreau dit St Aubin. Did you know that Barthelemy was held prisoner in Boston and he was the first prisoner to be released by the English? And did you know he sailed with Baptiste? There sure must have been excitement in his life at times. I am hoping to take lots of photos of all our reunions so be prepared to see them.

On another note: for all you twitterers out there, I have taken the plunge and created a twibe, so I am calling on all Acadians and Cajuns to come join me , the more the merrier, you can do a search for my twibe at twibes.com and I am under hobbies, and my twibes name is acadianancestors. This is new to me, so I am a bit unsure but will learn fast. My twibe is not only for genealogy but that is a plus ,it is for any Acadian or Cajun wanting to join in with others. So come one come all.

I am still working on my website at www.acadian-roots.com , the last I did was the memory pages for my Dad and late husband, there will be more added to the memory garden.

So until next time, thanks for the visit, hope I did not scare you away with my photo grin.

have a great day

Aline

ACADIAN BOOKS

As most of you know, I have listed Acadian Books on my website at www.acadian-roots.com , Some are on Acadian History, some are fiction and some are about genealogy. I have been asked to add this book among my French books, but I know some of you who do not speak French would still be interested in the book. Here is what the author has sent me.

LES REFUGIES ACADIENS en France tells the story of Acadian refugees in France, from the deportation from Acadia and Prince Edward Island in 1755 and 1758, through to their captivity in Great Britain between 1756 and 1763, to the attempts to settle them in Saint-Malo, Belle-Ile-en-Mer and Poitou in France, to their departure from France to Louisiana in 1785 (the story also continues with the Revolution). Thanks to extensive archival research in over 40 different archives in France, Spain, Canada and the Vatican, it gives some entirely new insights into the daily lives of the refugees, including details of those involved in tobacco smuggling around the Saint-Malo region in Brittany, France. Thanks to new research in the Archives of Seville, it also gives new insights about why many of the Acadians left France in 1785.
The book comes with a website where the transcription of more than 1,500 original documents can be accessed, and any reference in the book to a manuscript can be checked against the document, online. It is also possible to search the documents online for a particular family name, which will automatically retrieve all documents where this name appears.
The online database can be accessed freely from: http://www.septentrion.qc.ca/acadiens (Canada) or http://jfmouhot.free.fr/ (France).
An interview of the author from Radio Canada can be listened to at: http://tinyurl.com/dmlh7b (in French).

The book can be bought from the publisher, Septentrion ( http://www.septentrion.qc.ca/catalogue/livre.asp?id=2510 ) or from Amazon (http://tinyurl.com/opjmka)
Note I have also added this same information on my acadian-roots Book Corner if my French Books and English Books even tho it is only in French.

Enjoy;

Thank you for the visit .

Have a great day

Aline

Cemeteries

Cemeteries can hold a lot of information. Tombstones can tell you little secrets about your relatives. Such as a deer on the tombstone, probably means that the person loved hunting.
A fish on a tombstone ,maybe he or she loved fishing. I have seen tombstones with big trucks on them, one even had a bread truck, and yes he worked for a bakery driving trucks.
Some parts of the cemetery will hold a large tombstone and all little ones around it, those were the children. Many tombstones have the couple and their date of marriage. That is very important if you are doing your family tree or genealogy. In genealogy, you cannot search parish records after a certain date, so a cemetery is a good place to check out, you sometimes do find the dates you are looking for, the birth, the death, the age, the date of marriage. I have also seen tombstones of a person saying that this person was born elsewhere. Some were born in Ireland and died in Canada, others born in Newfoundland, and died in New Brunswick.
As I walk through the cemetery and I see all the names on the stones, I wonder about these people that are buried there. They lived their lives and died but that is not all there was to those persons, in between the living and dying they had a life, they loved, they hurt and they had happiness and they had sorrow. So if you go into a cemetery, look at the wealth of information there is there, sometimes they have epitaths, if you read them, some are very interesting.
Sometimes you stumble upon some stones that will tell you about tragedies, and that is sad.
Anyway today I went to the cemetery, but this time not to browse the cemetery names, no today I went to my Dad's gravesite to let him know I have not forgotten him, he passed away five years ago today. So Dad rest in peace.
Thanks for the lovely visit, do stop by again, and when you go into a cemetery remember this blog.
Have a great day
Aline

MARTIN HOUSE and CMA2009

As you all must know, the CMA2009 is getting nearer. And there will be many of you coming down to New Brunswick Canada for the first time. If you do come down be sure to mark down the Acadian Village as a place to visit. I have been there and it is as if we are back into the times of our ancestors. I really recommend the visit. The Acadian Village is in Tracadie and Tracadie is near Caraquet. Anyway I was at a yard sale a few weeks ago and I picked up a book that had information about the village. The house above once belonged to a Martin family.
Jean-Baltazar dit Barnabe Martin was born Jan 4 1736 in Port Royal son of Jean Baptiste and Marie Brun.This family had settled in Port Royal since 1671 when Jean Baltazar married first to Rosalie Thibodeau. Around this time he left Port Royal. We find them among the prisoners in Halifax in 1763. Then he went up the St Lawrence River and married in Ile d'Orleans in 1767. It was with his third wife Marie Anne Levasseur that he eventually would settle at Sainte Anne de Fredericton in 1768. Three children were born with his first wife and four with his last wife. His sons all immigrated to Madawaska. Their home above was built between 1770-1780. The house was built like a log cabin,it was heated with a stone fireplace. Two adults and five children lived in that house at the time. As you can see the house is old and you can see all these houses at the Acadian Village , the workers are all dressed in Acadian costumes. I am hoping to go there again this summer during the CMA2009. As you walk through these houses, there is usually someone telling the story about the house or about the owner or about their way of life back then.
If any of you are in Caraquet on August 15th (Acadian Day) and you are around the carrefour in Caraquet around 11 am, stop by and say hello to me, I will be wearing Yellow.
Thanks for the visit, do stop by again.
Have a great day
Aline

Cherished Memories

To me cherished memories means remembering stories from our childhood,remembering stories shared with us by our love ones, parents, grandparents,brother and sisters or even aunts and uncles.
I wanted to make a webpage to remember my dad who passed away five years ago and my husband who passed away ten years ago.
I decided to make something like a flower garden, or a garden of memories. I wanted them to be remembered.
So I have created some pages if you go to www.acadian-roots.com and if you scroll down, you will see Cherished Memories on the sidebar. I will be adding more pages as I go. I may be adding pages of some of my friends love ones also, with poems and music. I may add more on each page ,but since this is only the beginning I do hope you all like the pages.
I wanted to share this with all of you since my Dad passed away on May 19th five years ago.
Have a great day
Aline

What are Seniors?

Have you ever walked in a park and seen an old man, sitting on a park bench reading the paper? Have you ever passed a elderly lady in Walmart walking with a cane? Have you ever sat back and wondered about these elderly people?

Seniors are people just like you and I, the only difference is they have lived longer than we have.

If you go to nursing homes and look around, there are some elderly men and women who are lonely, many have lost all their friends they used to laugh and share stories with.

When I worked at a nursing home I seen them. There was this old lady who came from Ukraine , her name was Mrs Osanski or something like that, And she had no family, no friends, and no visitors. And when I used to go to her room, I felt so sorry for her , so I began talking a little and making her laugh or smile, and one day she sang me a song in Ukraine, and every time I would go into her room from that day on I would say sing me that song again? Well her eyes would light up and she would begin to sing. It was a good feeling leaving that room.

The elderly or seniors had a life, just like we have, they worked hard, brought up their families, some had large families ,others had small families. They hurt, they cried and they loved just like you and I. If you have grandparents, or even great grandparents, take time to visit and sit and talk or listen to them, ask them things, just so they feel that they are still important.

If ever you go visit some relatives at a nursing home or senior citizen home and you see an elderly gentleman or lady just sitting all alone, give them your biggest smile and say hello, how are you? You will sometimes see a nice smile or hello from them, and when you leave you will think "I made someone smile". It is a good feeling really.

The lady in the photo is my great great grandmother Marie Blanche Breau , she was married to Louis Legere in 1851. They had a big family, and she died in Notre Dame in 1922 at the time she was the oldest parishioner ,she was 94. Imagine if she were alive, the stories she could tell?

So do not think of Seniors as just Old , think of them as someone who played a very important role is this world of ours. Be kind to them, they sure deserve it.

For more stories on seniors, I have three pages on Seniors on my website at www.acadian-roots.com I have seniors over of 95 to 100, and 100, and over 100, very remarkable folks.

Thanks for the visit , do stop by again.

Have a great day

Aline.

A Walk In The Park

One doesn't know what one will stumble upon while walking through a park. Today we decided to go for a walk in an park that I had never gone to. The weather was beautiful, so we got in the car and headed for the park. The park is one with walking trails, and a place you can also walk your dogs. We parked the car and began walking up the path. It was so peaceful. We met some joggers on our walk. Then there was this little bridge, we began walking on the bridge and I looked down and I saw the falls on the photo, so I took out my camera and snapped this photo.

We continued our walk, along the path, with trees all around us. We could hear the birds chirping in the trees. As we walked I wondered if a little rabbit or small animal would cross our path, but being so late in the day it wasn't meant to be.

Imagine our ancestors, walking in the woods, they must have come across some very beautiful scenery, waterfalls, streams, rivers, flowers, and lots of wildlife. They also have to had come across lots of little black flies because in just the few minutes that we walked today, I got bit on the ear, something entered my ear, something was buzzing around my head, and little flies were even going under George's hat onto his bald head. grin. This taught us a lesson, next time we go, we need our insect repellent. smile.

Thanks for the visit, hope you will stop by again.

Have a great day

Aline

Acadians and Taverns

Have you ever wondered about some of the Acadian habits? Have you ever wondered about what they did to pass the time away?
Well for one thing they had Taverns where the men would congregate. When the Acadians were in Beaubassin, they had a tavern owned by a William Cyr. And on some articles I read, it also said that when the English and French were not fighting, they were drinking at the same taverns. Think about it? Two men from different sides at a tavern drinking and talking together and becoming friends. It must have happened, since some english soldiers did marry Acadian girls. Did they make their own beer back then? I read somewhere that the Acadians used to make beer from spruce.
Now I have recently bought a book called Les Defricheurs d'eau and inside the book, it talks about the buildings at the Village Acadian (Acadian Village ) in Tracadie.
The photo above was the tavern belonging to a Louis Poirier of Caraquet New Brunswick. He was born in 1847 married in 1871 to Ombeline Hache; they did not have any children. The official opening of the tavern would have been around 1880. At one time part of this building was used as a store. The tavern back then opened at 8 am until 6 pm and sometimes even later depending on how long the discussions would take. In Mister Poirier's tavern there was no beer sold. Beer was only introduced in the region with the arrival of the Eudistes priests who according to tradition made it themselves.
Among the most popular liquors we found Jamaican Rum,De Keyper Gin from Holland and Brandy from Iles St Pierre et Miquelon.
The bartender seemed like a jovial man, respected and honest. You could buy the liquor to drink it there while playing cards or checkers or else take it home. During the long winter months the villagers would gather at Louis Poirier's tavern or across the street at his home.
So as you can see, liquor has been around for ages and ages, even during the prohibition years liquor was sold many time illegally by bootleggers . There sure must have been lots of discussions and bragging during these visits to the Tavern or Bootleggers huh?
I would like to end this blog with a little bit of advice, back then you have to remember they had no cars only horses and wagons , so if they got feeling good probably the horses took them home . grin. BUT today it is not the same, there is too much traffic to get in your car when you have had too much to drink, do not take the chance, instead take a taxi. Better safe than sorry.
Thanks for the visit, do stop by again.
Have a great day
Aline

Mother's Day

Mom

How did you find the energy, Mom

To do all the things you did,

To be teacher, nurse and counselor

To me, when I was a kid.
How did you do it all, Mom,

Be a chauffeur, cook and friend,

Yet find time to be a playmate,I just can’t comprehend.
I see now it was love, Mom

That made you come whenever I'd call,

Your inexhaustible love, Mom

And I thank you for it all.
(By Joanna Fuchs at Poemsource.com)

I looked around for a verse, that I would like and settled for the one above, because it is true our mothers are so special and they give so much of themselves for us. so it is only appropriate for them to have a very special day.

So to all you Mothers out there, a very very Happy Mother's Day, from me to you.

And to all you sons and daughters who do not have their Mom here to celebrate this year, remember the love they gave to you, remember their little smiles, the things they taught you, and know that they are probably looking down on you with so much love in their hearts.

A very special Happy Mother's Day to my Mom, with all my love ,and to my daughter in law a very happy mother's day to you too.

Have a great day

Aline.

Mom's stories on our trip

Yesterday, we left home to go to Fredericton to make arrangements for our Bergeron-Damboise reunion to be held July 18 and 19th.
So we asked Mom to come for the drive, she was hesitant at first ,but soon changed her mind.
So around 745 am we left. I was in the back seat with Mom, and the men in the front seat so I had a chance to chat with Mom.
The topic started when I asked Mom, if she remembers what her house looked like when she was little. "Oh yes I remember "she said. We lived in a log cabin, my Dad built, and inside it was only a one room house. Mom continued " We have bunkbeds at the far side of the room, the boys slept together and the girls slept together, and she said Mom and Dad had their separate room divided by a sheet . She said " Dad used to save the straw from the oats and fill mattresses made by Mom with the straw, and put it on the bottom of our beds, then Mom would sew pillow cases and they would used the feathers from the chicken they plucked inside" I said were they comfortable? Mom said , oh yes, and she said when it came time for the straw and feathers to be changed Mom and Dad did so. As you can see , I was really excited,I felt just like a child being read a story book. Now what?
Mom continued " And ,she said, Dad used to work in Lumbercamps and sometimes if he was to be gone for long periods, he took us with him, Mom would pack her trunk and off we went."
Now she said " In the lumbercamps, Mom (my grandmother) used to cut the lumbermen's hair, she charged 25 cents a hair cut. She did pretty good with that. And many times she would cook for them. My grandfather was a saw filer , and he used to also make saws, so he would be needed in these lumbercamps. So that was an interesting story that my Mom shared with me, since I had not heard it before.
We had a nice trip, yesterday, we went to see the Hall where our reunion is to be held, and then to the park where we are to meet for the first time, and then to the motel many of us will be staying at. We took photos and then we returned home.
I treasure the stories Mom tells me, it is as if I am there, seeing everything, but really I can only imagine being there but I do know one thing. Mom was there.
Thanks for the visit , do stop by again
Have a great day
Aline

Update on LeBlanc,Melanson,Bourque reunion2009

The following is an update on the LeBlanc,Melanson and Bourque reunions for the CMA2009
Le communiqué de presse en français suit.

LeBlancs, Melansons and Bourques get ready: you will be having a reunion at the 2009 Congrès mondial acadien 2009!

(LAFAYETTE, LA - May 4, 2009) With less than 100 days left until the 4th Congrès mondial acadien kicks off in New Brunswick’s Acadian Peninsula, over 85 Acadian family organizations are preparing their reunions.

The Congrès mondial acadien (CMA) is an international event that brings Acadians of the world together every five years in a different Acadian heartland. The two to three-week event features a diverse program of events such as community fairs, huge outdoor concerts, artistic performances, conferences, family reunions, sport and much more that attract Acadians from Eastern Canada, Louisiana, Québec, France and elsewhere. Seeing as Acadian heritage is the common thread connecting the participants, the family reunion component of the CMA is very popular. Therefore, as the Peninsula prepares, in Louisiana, Cajuns are planning their trips to Canada and their participation in these reunions. However, for the past few months, this southern Acadian community has been troubled by the absence of certain major families from the roster of official CMA Reunions. The Bourque, Melanson and most notably LeBlanc families weren’t planning on getting together for this historic gathering even though at past Congrès’ the LeBlanc reunion attracted thousands. Seeing an opportunity to remedy the situation, Louisiane-Acadie, Inc. decided to lend a hand and take on the challenge of coordinating one event for the three families.

Louisiane-Acadie, whose mandate it is to represent the Acadians of Louisiana on the international stage, took on the project knowing that it could only be successful if it was built on partnerships with organizations and individuals in “Acadie du Nord”. It didn’t take long for Acadian resourcefulness to take effect and numerous partners got involved in this pan-Acadian initiative. Incidentally, a date and evening entertainment were indentified thanks to legendary Acadian band 1755, a venue was secured thanks to the Town of Tracadie-Sheila, participants will be able to get information and register online thanks to Capacadie.com, great Cajun food will be served thanks to Louisiana Office of Tourism and the word will spread like wildfire thanks to CAFA (Confederation of Associations of Families Acadian in Louisiana) and FAFA (Fédération des associations de familles acadiennes in New Brunswick).

“It’s heartwarming to see Acadians coming together to make sure that LeBlancs, Melansons and Bourques also get to have a memorable reunion. When Cajuns need a hand, our Acadian cousins are there and now, we are able to return the favor on a much smaller scale. That being said, there’s no doubt that when there’s a party to be planned, Cajuns are the people you want at the helm!” explains Ray Trahan, President of Louisiane-Acadie, Inc.

Although the details of the day’s events and registration have yet to be finalized, Louisiane-Acadie wanted to announce the news now in order to give participants a chance to plan their trip to the Acadian Peninsula where numerous traditional and less conventional accommodation options are still available. As 1755 band member Roland Gauvin explains, one detail was quickly confirmed. “Since we are performing that night in Tracadie-Sheila, we are happy to offer a 5$ discount on our ticket price to everyone attending the reunion. These families are important branches of our Acadian family tree and we are happy that they will be joining us during our summer tour.”

Stay tuned for further details but in the meantime, mark August 21st on your calendar.
LeBlanc, Melanson and Bourque Family Reunion
August 21, 2009
Tracadie-Sheila Arena
Information: rachelle@louisiane-acadie.com, 337-291-5489, www.cma2009.ca

Louisiane-Acadie is an umbrella organization that represents Acadians and Cajuns in Louisiana and encourages networking and increased connections between Louisiana organizations in order to promote a united voice and better connect with all Acadian communities worldwide. The organization’s current projects include Louisiana’s bid to host the 2014 Congrès mondial acadien and Louisiana’s presence at the 2009 CMA, project supported by Louisiana’s Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism.

For more information on the 2009 Congrès mondial acadien 2009, visit their website at www.cma2009.ca.

Seeing old friends

Have you ever wondered what happened to your schoolmates, or people you worked with of long ago? If you would meet them again, what would you say to them? We need to remember that they have lived most of their lives without us .
Well last winter, I went to the bingo, one night and a sister of one of my old school friends was there, and she said to me,my sister is down from the States. I hadn't seen her for around twenty years. I said where is she? She pointed her out, and I walked over to her. I had been told that she was suffering from dementia so I was hesitant, thinking she would not know me. When I got to her table, she looked up at me and I said hello. She replies, you are Aline. Well just her knowing who I was really touched me. We chatted a little bit, and had our photo taken together.
And on saturday we went to a funeral for one of my friends in the country, and I knew that a lady who had worked with me when I was around sixteen years old, had married into the family.
I was sitting in the chapel, looking around, I think I was still looking around for a sixteen year old girl. grin. This girl that I worked with had jet black hair when she was young, so here I am looking at the dark haired ladies. grin. Anyway her sister in law arrived , and I asked her if she was here. She pointed at a lady two rows up from me, and said "there she is". And she called her over. She said do you know this woman? The lady looked at me and said, she looks familiar but I am not sure. I looked at her, and I would never have known her. I said "did you work at such and such a place?" Yes she replied, I said so did I , I said I'm Aline. Well , she called her husband over and introduced us "This is Aline, we used to work together when we were around sixteen years old. " Now that was a long long long time ago. grin. But it was so nice meeting her after all these years. It was a very nice feeling.
Now another nice little story I want to share is again about my Mom , I have more stories about Mom than of my Dad. Dad's memory wasn't as good as Mom's.
Anyway when Mom was a little girl around nine years old, her father went to work in Soldier's Cove on Cape Breton Island for a brief period. And Mom befriended a little native american girl named Mary. Mom said they always played together, and Mary had made Mom a little basket and Mom still has it. Anyway about four years ago, Mom took a trip to Soldier's Cove and asked about Mary if anyone knew her. She was told that Mary had married a mister Christmas last name. So Mom found out where she lived and went to see her. Well Mary was so glad to see Mom, she took Mom to the bingo and spent all the time that she could with Mom. They took photos together. Mom came home feeling so good, here she was in her 80s meeting an old friend of so many years ago one more time. Shortly after , Mary passed away.
Yes seeing old friends is a good thing. Because we can be here one day and gone the next.
Time for a coffee. Thanks for the visit, do stop by again
Have a great day
Aline.

LEBLANC,BOURQUE,MELANSON- CMA2009

Louisiane-Acadie is pleased to announce that they will be coordinating a reunion for the LeBlanc, Melanson and Bourque families on August 21st, 2009 in Tracadie-Sheila. This is a concerted effort of numerous groups and organizations all over Acadie and we are very happy that everyone has come together to ensure that these families can gather together at the 2009 Congrès mondial acadien. More news will come soon but mark your calendars for August 21st!
For information, please contact Rachelle at 337.291.5489 or at rachelle@louisiane-acadie.com.