Acadian Festival, reunion coming to Madawaska

The last week of June, one of the most beautiful places in the country must be the St. John Valley.

Need an excuse to head for the top of Maine on June 24-July 1? Try the 30th annual Madawaska Acadian Festival.

From chicken stew and ployes on June 24 to a quilting show June 28-30 and the Acadian Festival Parade at 1 p.m. July 1, you’ll find plenty to do.

Each year, a huge family reunion is scheduled. Whether you pronounce it La-GASS-ee or La-ga-SAY, you can join in the fun for the Lagasse-Lagace Family Reunion June 28-30.

Countless people of Franco-American descent have Andre Mignier dit Lagace and wife Jacquette Michel as ancestors.

Jacquette Michel was one of the 770 Filles Du Roi – King’s Daughters – who came from France between 1663 and 1673 under the financial sponsorship of King Louis XIV to help settle Quebec.

Andre Mignier dit Lagace was a Carignan soldier, a member of the first French regiment sent to Canada in 1665.

There will be a Lagace book for sale, T-shirts and other souvenirs available during the reunion, and registration begins at 8 a.m. June 28 at Madawaska High School.

I have attended some of these reunions, and it’s fascinating to see giant charts and family trees fastened to the walls in the cafeteria.

On Saturday, June 30, there will be the re-enactment of the Acadian arrival in St. David. Take the road by the church down to the St. John River to the Acadian Cross. Notice the monuments that have been erected to the families that have held reunions over the years – some Acadian (originally from what is now Nova Scotia), some French-Canadian (from Quebec).

Visit the Tante Blanche Museum in St. David and the Acadian Settlement in Van Buren. Drive along the St. John Valley between Fort Kent and Van Buren – that’s Canada on the other side of the river.

Check out Web sites at www.lagacereunion.org, www.acadianfestival.org and madawaskahistorical.org.

The Madawaska Public Library on Main Street has its own room for genealogy and is certainly worth a visit.

So is the Acadian Archives at the University of Maine at Fort Kent. Its resources are both Acadian and French-Canadian.

Historical societies in the area include the St. Agathe Historical Society, which has its own museum.

“Mortality and Morbidity in Maine.” Isn’t that a great title for a genealogy talk?

Historian and retired history professor Jack Battick will tell us all about diseases and causes of death in New England, especially Maine, during the next meeting of the Penobscot County Genealogical Society at 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 16, in the Lecture Hall at Bangor Public Library, 145 Harlow St.

The room is on the third floor. Come in the entrance to the children’s department on the right-hand side of the building and you can take the elevator.

The Washington County Genealogical Society will meet at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 19, at the Milbridge Historical Society Museum in Milbridge.

Alice Beal, president of the historical society, will speak on “Research in Western Washington County.”

And yes, this is a perfect time of year for a ride Down East.

The Bridgewater Sesquicentennial Committee will meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 16, at the Bridgewater Community Building.

The committee comprises members of the public, the BCA Reunion Committee, Bridgewater Historical Association, Bridgewater Fire Department and Bridgewater Recreation Department.

Plans are being developed for a combined celebration in 2008 of Bridgewater’s Sesquicentennial and the next BCA Reunion.

Anyone interested is invited to attend. For information, contact Mike Crawford at 764-0202.

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