LA PAROISSE DE DONNELLY (10) (174 ENGLISH -- 173 fran)

LA PAROISSE DE DONNELLY (10) (174 ENGLISH)

SPRING OF 1913 -
THE FIRST GARDEN
THE MOONSHINE

During the year more than twenty settlers applied for a homestead, but they did not all go to live on a farm.  Many chose to work in Grouard or settle elsewhere. My father, Edouard Cimon, took a homestead on April 8, 1913.  A few days after arriving on his homestead, he cleared a spot and said, “Here I am at home.”  Three days later, a man called Pruden, a Métis came to see him and to ask him if he’d be interested in surveying for the railroad at Watin

Spring 1913 arrived rather early and Marie-Rose explained that heat remained in a certain bit of black soil which they had cleared because the trees surrounding this area cut the wind and conserved the heat.  In this spring of 1913, they had about 5 acres which they could seed; this was truly a bargain, and they took advantage of this to seed a garden: they planted potatoes, seeded carrots and turnips for their many stews.  They seeded lettuce to eat with the early radishes and small onions. For meat they had the choice of rabbits and more rabbits.  In fact, rabbit was really the specialty of the house or the “plat de resistance” for these pioneers.  Every time they met someone, said Marie-Rose, they’d ask what new recipe they had to vary the rabbit menu!

To begin with they seeded a garden on the north end of the 5-acre plot of land close to the house. Mr. Leblanc considered building a root-cellar to preserve the vegetables during the winter.  Everyone encouraged each other about what they each had accomplished, but the demands and the necessities were great . Most of the five acres was seeded in oats for the horses.  The settlers did not seed in formal rows but cast their seeds about and hoped for a good crop.

THE LEBLANC FAMILY
Edouard Grondin, wife Laurentia Leblanc, Marie-Rose
Leblanc, Telesphore Leblanc, son Emile Leblanc
with Father Dréau, o.m.i.

                                           

The  return of the settlers to their lands.

Towards the end of April, those who had spent the winter in Grouard were eager to come “home”. All was well except that some who had made moonshine during the winter, there was a certain problem. Those were the years of Prohibition and the laws were severe.  Anyone caught with moonshine would go to jail; everyone wondered  how they could bring their moonshine home; furthermore the police had heard that on a certain Sunday, the settlers were leaving for the Peavine area.

The settlers had a lot of faith in Father Giroux.  He told them to wrap each bottle very tightly and to place each bottle in a wooden case. Father Giroux was friendly with the Sisters of Providence in High Prairie so he said to the Sister Superior in Grouard that the sisters in Grouard had worked hard and needed a change of scenery and a rest for a few days, and that since someone was leaving for High Prairie the next day, it would be a good opportunity to send these sisters off for a few days.  The Sister Superior suspected that something was up, but did not ask any questions, and since she knew that Father Giroux worked hard for the settlers she simply said, “Yes, that’s a good suggestion, and I’ll follow your advice.”

In the meantime, Father Giroux said to his people, “Tomorrow there is mass, communion and confession;  the nuns will also give you a noon  lunch.  Since everyone had faith in Father Giroux, they did what he suggested..  The next day after lunch, everything went well.  The cases with the bottles were placed in the first wagon, then Father Giroux placed a log on each end and  a heavy timber or beam over which he placed a blanket and the innocent nuns were made to sit on the heavy beam.  Father Giroux told the driver that if the police asked where he was going he was just to say “to High Prairie”.  Then the settlers heaved a sigh of relief when they saw that the police let the nuns pass and they continued to load the rest of the wagon.

This was the first moonshine to enter as contraband into the Peavine area. 

When the Leblancs received visitors on Sundays like the bachelors of the area, Marie-Rose would ask her mother what to serve these visitors Mrs. Leblanc would say, “Go into the garden and get them some nice fresh carrots, wash them well and put them on a plate.  This is the best we can offer them.....