French Island recalled Old Town tome admirable history

In the introduction to the history section of “Nos Histoires de l’Ile: History and Memories of French Island, Old Town, Maine,” Eugenie Nadeau Wollstadt recalled a time “when there still was no more pleasurable a way to spend a Sunday afternoon than in a rocking chair on memere and pepere’s front porch.”

If there’s an experience that comes close, it may be reading this wonderful volume, the result of the French Island Oral History Project – originally called the Islands and Bridges Oral History Project.

Having seen the Web site – go to the Old Town Public Library’s fine site at www.old-town.lib.me.us and click on “Nos Histoires de l’Ile” – I knew the book would have some fascinating pictures. Yet I could not imagine the trove of history that is compelling not only for those who lived on the island or in Old Town.

Ever eaten a LaBree’s doughnut? Taken a tour on a Cyr bus? Shared a laugh with Father MacPherson? Remember the Better Youth Club?

The book also serves as a fine example of how to combine good research with interesting pictures and lots of personal recollections. It is, of course, also a tribute to Franco-American heritage, although not everyone included was French.

Features include Eber Steward’s 1832 plan; the 1920 census of the island; sections on Beaulieu Brothers grocery store and Morin Brothers Fruit Stand; the mills, schools and churches; World War I letters; bootlegging and Prohibition; tributes to those who died in wartime; anglicized French names; and a fascinating letter from Sister Mary Louise Landry to her niece, Marie, about Albert Landry’s bakery.

The project began, with the assistance of the Maine Folklife Center and the Franco-American Center at the University of Maine, with the conducting of 40 interviews. Transcripts were made, and excerpts add tremendously to this book, first printed in 1999.

The initial printing of 1,500 copies sold out in two months. A gift of $5,000 from the Ministere des Relations Internationales du Quebec – the Quebec government – helped make another printing possible, and enables the group to sell the 264-page book at below cost.

Countless people have been involved in this project, especially the members of the Nos Histoires de l’Ile group: Harold Lacadie, Linda Beaulieu, Eugenie Nadeau Wollstadt, Cecile St. Louis Pietrowski, Carol St. Louis Nichols, Adeline LaGasse St. Louis, Reta Graham, Albert Michaud, Bernice LeBretton Morin, Bert Morin, Benoit Bouchard, Amy Bouchard Morin and Jim “Peter” Bishop.

The project was “a labor of love,” explains Amy Bouchard Morin, and was used as a sample by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The book is available for $10.50, plus $2.50 postage, sent to Nos Histoires de l’Ile, c/o Harold Lacadie, 131 Bosworth St., Old Town, ME 04468.

If you’re interested in the history and genealogy of Piscataquis County, or in preserving family stories, consider two workshops being sponsored by Thompson Free Library and the Dover-Foxcroft Historical Society.

The workshops will be held 7-8:30 p.m. Thursdays, June 21 and 28, at the library on Route 15 in Dover-Foxcroft – across the street from the courthouse. The second session will include an opportunity to share your own history preservation projects, including journaling, scrapbooks, recording oral histories or making history quilts.

The project is supported by a New Century Community Library Grant. Countless wonderful activities have been carried out throughout the state thanks to New Century, funded by the Legislature. For information about the workshops, call Helen Austin at 564-3350, or send an e-mail to hkelly@saturn.caps.maine.edu.

Eastport is the site of Saturday’s meeting of the Washington County Genealogical Society.

Meet at 1 p.m. at the Peavey Library for a program by Jon Bragdon on the proposed Maine Institute for Technology and the Arts, a complex that would make use of the former Cutler Naval Station.

Of special interest to genealogists is a proposed center for local history, oral history and genealogy, a facility that would include library materials, microfilm readers and copiers, and computers.

For information on the meeting, call Frances Raye at 853-6630, or Valdine Atwood at 255-4432.

3016. HOPKINS. The Hopkins family is looking for information on descendants of Josiah Hopkins, who came to Maine in 1790. Ronald Hopkins, 51 Douglas Drive, Newport, ME 04953.

3017. CLARK-STANCHFIELD. Looking for information on ancestry of Thomas Burnham Clark, b. 1829, Pembroke; d. 1893, Marion, Iowa. He md. Sophia Shead Stanchfield in Pembroke on Dec. 7, 1862. He enlisted in Co. C, 6th Maine Infantry, in 1861, and moved with his family to Iowa after his discharge. Ralph Violette, 5523 Trishlyn Cove, Fort Wayne, IN 46835-8895; or e-mail violette@fwa.cioe.com.

Send queries to Family Ties, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor, ME 04402; or send e-mail to familyti@bangordailynews.net.