C’est mon frére Dave. When you visit St. Eusebe you can expect Food, Fun and Family—and lots of ALL three! I chatted about food yesterday…so let’s have a look and fun & family.
Dave and his wife Brigette live in rural Quebec. We took the Kubota out to the camp to sleep—no light pollution out there….visited with the horses, dogs, cats, chickens,fish…. kayaked down his river—yes, he actually has a river…enjoyed campfires in the old propane tank…took the sports car for a spin…rode a ferry across the second largest lake in Quebec (Lac Témiscouata)…watched NASCAR (Wallace won)…ALL in two days and ALL between eating, eating and more eating. Tons of family live near by and pop over on their ATV or e-bike. Fresh bread magically appears from Brigette’s Mom, potatoes arrive from the garden, and someone is always picking more ground cherries. My brain swirls as French zings around at lightening speed. I translate what I can catch for Ray and everyone is so kind to include English to help us out. You need to be willing to make mistakes to become fluent in a language and I’ve definitely made my share of mistakes in the last couple of days. I encourage you to take a risk….maybe text someone in French. Michael, my nephew and local expert, filled me in on a couple of the texting short forms they use here in Quebec. Try these out: MDR (Mort de rire—which roughly translates to « laughing to death ») & QD9 (Quoi de neuf—which roughly translates to « what’s up?l ») We headed off to the Gaspesie this morning with a fresh gallon of maple syrup and a block of maple sugar. Huge hugs and thanks to ALL my Quebec family. You are Always in my Prayers. Love Mom.
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Many of you will know Ms. MacDonald who was the head of Moderns at LDSS for many years. After our post the other day she reached out with her own Quebec A.Y. Jackson story. The painting she mentions was one of Jackson’s earlier works—much earlier than the painting of the Sugar Shack from St. Aubert. But she has agreed to let me share her message so I will let her tell the story. Tim is Ms. MacDonalds husband and their family farm is in Cowansville Quebec. Morning, Diane! I just read your cool post about the Group of Seven and the cabane à sucre. I thought you might be interested in Tim’s family’s connection to A.Y. Jackson.
A number of years ago, there was a documentary called “The Painted Land.” I imagine you and Ray have seen it. In the opening sequences, they show a photo of Jackson with “Edge of the Maple Woods.” Here is the email that we wrote to the producers of the film after we saw it: We've recently discovered your wonderful documentary about the Group of Seven. You have brilliantly captured the places depicted in these marvellous paintings and told their story with passion. We thought it might interest you to know that A.Y. Jackson's Edge of the Maple Wood was based on the sugar house on my grandparents' farm in the Eastern Townships in Quebec. As I understand the story, Mr. Jackson visited the farm several years before the painting was produced and made some sketches. Years later, he returned with a small original of the painting which he gave to my grandmother but which has unfortunately been lost. The farm is still in the family, so if you should ever plan to make a sequel to your original film, I thought it might interest you to know the story. I'm attaching a picture, taken a few years ago, of the sugar house and forest these days. Montreal, like Toronto, has every type of food available. I’m going to chat more about food in the townships.
When you think of French food you might think of macarons and fancy dishes presented on tiny plates. When I think of the food my family makes I think of hearty meals, full stomachs and lots of maple syrup. When we arrived at my brother’s home in St. Eusebe the meal did NOT disappoint—freshly baked corn muffins and baked beans. The secret ingredients in the beans were dried mustard, and of course, maple syrup. If you want take-out you can definitely find a Timmy’s or MacDonalds, but you would probably be shocked by the number of St. Huberts. Even the OnRoutes have St. Hubert Express. Although we now have St Hubert in all of Canada the franchise began in Quebec. I recently read a study that in Canada customer loyalty to the chicken chain is second only to Tim Hortons. ….and when we stopped at the dépanneur on our way to a family picnic yesterday we had to pick up some Vachon. My mother was so fond of 1/2 Lunes, Flakies and Joe Louis that we served them at her funeral! Sometimes it is interesting to consider foods we eat that are difficult to buy in the townships. We brought mon frére a case of horse radish from Horsts. You can buy Raifort in St. Eusebe but it is definitely not North Perth horseradish. My Mom once tried to buy pumpkin in a can to make a pie. The sales clerk was baffled that someone would think you could put a pumpkin in a can. The thing these two items have in common is that they stem from a more British tradition. We will keep you posted. So far we have eaten everything we can find maple flavoured (the BBQ steaks last night were maple chipoltle) and I have eaten my weight in local blueberries. And in case you were wondering, there will be poutine in Ray’s future. You are Always in my Prayers. Love Mom. As many of you know, over the last three years Ray and I have developed a fondness for the Group of Seven Painters. So, when we were planning our road trip we began to investigate whether or not our journey would intersect any of the locations where the Group of Seven Painted. We discovered that in the 1940s Jackson spent several spring seasons with his brother Harry in St. Aubert Quebec. In fact, his painting Sugar Shanty L’Islet (1944) is believed to be based on his Spring visits to the many Maple Syrup producers in the area. Well, we thought, wouldn’t it be great to visit a sugar shack in St Aubert that may have been an inspiration for A.Y. Jackson? This is when we began our correspondence with the friendliest municipality in Quebec. They wrote back with an offer to reach out with a post on the Municipal FaceBook Page: The folks of St. Aubert began to respond. We immediately knew we had to make this part of our visit to Quebec. Some had connections to Naomi Jackson Groves (A.Y. Jackson’s niece who was also an author and artist). Many suggested a cabane just down the road from where the Jacksons had lived in the 1940s. Then the magic happened—we received a private message with an address we would surely visit.
Fast forward to September. We headed off of Autoroute 20 hoping we could make this happen. When the GPS said we had arrived it didn’t look like a Sugar Bush, but rather someone’s home. Across from the house was a shop. Why not stop and ask? I struggled with my rusty French to explain what I was looking for. I was excited to learn that the sugar bush belonged to my very kind new friend Monsieur Pelletier and that he lived in the house across the road. He gave us instructions and permission and how to find the cabane and we headed off on foot. We found it! The cabane was built by Monsieur Pelletier’s grandfather. He agrees that structure is very similar to the one in Jackson’s painting. Now, can we guarantee that we found the actual cabane in the picture? Probably not, but we do believe we travelled in the footsteps of Jackson. And we can guarantee that we probably discovered the friendliest municipality in Quebec. You are Always in my Prayers. Love Mom. Note: If you want to read about more of our Group of Seven Adventures click on North America>Canada>Group of Seven .Ontario has Provincial Parks like The Pinery, Point Farms, etc. Quebec has SEPAQ (Societe des establishments de plain air du Quebec). Yamaska was our first SEPAQ stay over on this adventure. We enjoyed an incredible mushroom walk where we found almost 18 different very unique species. Here are a couple: eyelash & coral mushrooms. I think you can figure out which is which!
Probably the first difference you notice when you enter Quebec are the signs. Bill 101 and later Bill 67 outline Quebec’s French Language Laws and mandate that signs are in French. When you enter a business you are greeted with “Bonjour” or sometimes the more controversial “Bonjour-Hi”. The laws are intended to assist in preserving their French Language culture. That said, everyone we meet speaks English more fluently than we do French and is quite happy to help us out.
Quebec heritage is strongly French rather than British. However, within moments of the Queen’s passing today electronic Billboards along the roads posted an elegant picture along with the words Sa majesté la reine Elizabeth II 1926–2022. This is an example of what makes Canada work—respect. I struggle with my rusty French to respect their traditions while those in Quebec show respect for the British (Canada’s) Queen. Everyone wins. You are Always in my Prayers. Love Mom. P.S. Tonight we are at Parc National de la Yamaska near Grandby Bienvenue dans notre aventure. Voici mademoiselle Boler. The first Boler rolled out of the factory in Winnipeg Canada over fifty years ago. Miss Boler was created around 1976 and has been in our family for thirty-one years. She might not be much to look at, but this retro sensation provides just the right amount of camping happiness.
Tonight we are staying at Sandbanks Provincial Park. Are you fans on Amazing Race Canada? This was the pit stop for Season 8 Episode 7. Douze km de plague magnifique! We hit the Quebec border early tomorrow. You are Always in my Prayers. Love Mom (Nana) |
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Ray & Diane HomewoodSharing the Blessing of Travel in Quebec Canada Archives |