BOULET, BERNARD + Marie-Paule Thibault (90 ENG -- 89 fran)

       BOULET, BERNARD -(90)

       Bernard  -  son of André Boulet  + Sarah Beauchemin
                      -  n.  1918-06-12  Dunrea, MB
                      -  m. 1949-02-21  Donnelly, AB + Marie-Paule                                                               Thibault (Thomas-Louis)
                      -  d.  2006-04-12 Edmonton, AB
                     -  veteran of  II  World War as pilot - graduated from                             pilot's school  as sergeant "with wings"                                                                                                                          
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     From Dunrea, Manitoba I arrived in Donnelly October 4, 1930 with my father and two sisters; the other members of the family arrived in November. I went to school in Donnelly up to June 1935, when I left my studies to work on the farm and this until the end of 1941, I took courses at the Vermillion School of Agriculture. In 1942, I took a welder's course in Vancouver and worked in the naval base until May of 1943 at which time I joined the Royal Canadian Air Force. In October 1944 I graduated from pilot's school as sergeant with "wings", I was demobilized in January 1945 and placed on special reserve.

    In June 1946 I considered the new land being opened in Guy, I applied at the Lands Departerment and took possession of my lease at the beginning of July. Aldéa Major and Anatole Turcotte were already there. To get to my land there was a trail six miles long in the bush going over beaver dams and through many detours. A forest fire had occurred previously burning the sod and leaving very solid stumps.

    When my neighbors hired the machinery from "Little Smoky Settlement" to open a few acres, I decided to do livewise but this experieuce proved inefficient, and after about twenty acres I thanked them. In October, in partership with Paul-Emile Maisonneuve, we bought a Cat No30 and the next year we opened 125 acres each and over one hundred for neighbors. During the holidays my two brothers, Gabriel and Elphège, then attending College St-Jean, broke one hundred acres for P.E. Maisonneuve and as much for me with the help of a John Deere D Tractor. In 1948 my first crop; a little more than 100 acres of registered Montcalm barley. August 15, threat of frost, we then decided to create smoke hoping to protect our crops from the frost. It was to no awail. The smoke rose straight up into the starlit sky. At nine o'clock there was already frost on the machinery. We emptied the water from tractors in a tub and went to bed. The next morning there was one inch of ice in the tub. That was the end of the crop for that year.

   Next winter we were all in the lumber camps hoping to earn enough to start over in the spring. Life had taken a certain pattern, opening land, small crops, lumber camps! Seeding clover and alfalfa helped our soils to the extent to getting from good to medium yield.

    Marie-Paule Thibault went to school in Donnelly. At the time of our marriage we were also working the family farm and this until we moved to the homestead.

The new grain dryer

ref: Bernard Boulet

       

Bernard Boulet sergeant pilot 

  

Brushcutter

                                                               

En 1964-65 Bernard construit ses rataux-racines - surnommés dinosaures

In 1964-65, Bernard constructed his root rakes he called "dinosaures"

           First sleigh built for grand-daughter Genevieve                         Second sleigh built by Bernard

Flexible Pipe