Ontario. Christmas, birtlidays, and 
     
    
   
   
    
     other holidays were exciting times, 
     
     as I knew there were Acadian books 
     
     coming. 
     
    
   
   
    
     The story of my people became 
     
     alive, how a few families left France 
     
     for a new life in a faraway country. 
     
     How generation after generation 
     
     moved from one place t0 anotlier. 
     
     How the ravages of nature, weather 
     
     and mice, only made them more 
     
     intent t0 survive. How the tyranny 
     
     of man only slowed them down, 
     
     but they survived. I-Iow success 
     
     came and went, and they survived. I 
     
     remember researching one particular 
     
     family, and within a few months, 
     
     five of their Children passed away, 
     
     tlien the mother died. A little while 
     
     later, the father remarried, and a 
     
     whole new famin started t0 arrive. 
     
     How from tragedy he found some 
     
     happiness in life. 
     
    
   
   
    
     l was reading recently about the 
     
     journeyings of Father MacEachern. 
     
     How he would travel from Mal— 
     
     pèque t0 St. Andrews, then back 
     
     t0 Malpùque. Taking days and weeks, 
     
     travelling by canoe, or snowshoe, 
     
     liorseback, and foot. Now we think 
     
     notliing of jumping in the car and 
     
     driving t0 Charlottetown for supper. 
     
    
   
   
    
     One summer day we drove to 
     
     Montague, th'en to Souris, up t0 
     
     Easl Point, over t0 Th ree Rivera, 
     
     St. Peter’s, and Rustico, back to 
     
    
   
   
    
     Charlottetown and then home t0 
     
     Summerraide by way of Borden. Tlie 
     
     nexl day we drove up to Tignisli 
     
     and back lhrougli Buie-Egmont and 
     
     lwlonl»-Cnrinel. And finrilly to Mis— 
     
     CUUCllL‘ before returninp, home. l 
     
     lllouglil liow it took my anceslors 
     
     several genereitions to go from l‘orb 
     
     Injoye lo Sumnwrside. l cnn do il 
     
     now in a ft'w hours. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Evory duy, l scnn tlirouigli "l"lic 
     
     It’er'HnI—l’imm'r for Acadian artir'lus. 
     
     l check ou! llw Oblllldl'll‘H and lu» 
     
    
   
   
    
     numlrs. l Compare any new inli n" 
     
     i'nnlion will! tlw rL‘t'Ul'kl‘à in iny 
     
     dululnm' and add or correct tlwm 
     
    
   
   
    
     as requircd. l regularly Cllt‘t‘h ont 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
      iüæ'y‘wçngr ‘ 
     
    
   
   
    
     w  , a 
     
     i— 
     
    
   
   
    
     the books available at the Centre 
     
     ].—Henri—Blanchard, the Acadian 
     
     Museum, the used—book stores in 
     
     the area. In the past little while, we 
     
     have been fortunate t0 see several 
     
     excellent new books published. 
     
     With great local historians and 
     
     authors such as Georges Arsenault, 
     
     Cecile Gallant, David Le Gallant, 
     
     Jacinthe LaForest, and the late I. Henri 
     
     Gaudet, we are regularly blessed 
     
     with new and exciting publications. 
     
     I thank them for their work and 
     
     encourage them t0 continue to 
     
     publish their research. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Sad t0 say, I have relatives and 
     
     friends who mock the Acadian flag 
     
     and shun their Acadian heritage as 
     
     an embarrassment. I take pride in 
     
     the fact that as a people we have a 
     
     national flag, a national anthem, a 
     
     national day. I take my young son 
     
     with me t0 places such as the Acadian 
     
     Museum, and the Centre I.-Henri- 
     
     Blanchard. He looks up t0 me with 
     
     his big brown eyes «This is the 
     
     Acadian place, dad?», he asks. He 
     
     watches for flags and can identify 
     
     our Canadian flag, the Summerside 
     
     Flag, the Prince Edward Island flag, 
     
     and our Acadian Flag. One day I 
     
     bought one of those tricolor ties at 
     
     the Acadian Museum. Wlien I got it 
     
     home, he claimed it as his own; it is 
     
     his Acadian tie. I hope and pray he 
     
     and our children througliout all the 
     
     land will be proud of their Acadian 
     
     heritage as l am. 
     
    
   
   
    
     AS l continued my researcli, l 
     
     was not and still am not satisfied 
     
     with only knowing naines and dates 
     
     of my ancostors. l neod to know 
     
     more. I necd to know how tliey 
     
     lived, wlmt they atc, wlmt kind of 
     
     clotlws llu‘y wore, Wlml lliL‘)‘ did 
     
     for a living, etc. Were they formons 
     
     or l'isln'rmcn? Did tlw)‘ have a (rade? 
     
     VVL'I'U tln'y mt‘rt‘lmnlrs, or did [liey L‘nl‘n 
     
     tlieir wnin‘s woi‘lxing l'or soinoono 
     
     ClSL‘? ‘(Vdñ tlioir lionsr‘ a loi; liomu or 
     
     n frnnwd building? llid tlw)‘ lmx'e 
     
     glass windows? l‘lid tlit‘y love 
     
     lobsler as n food or une it only as 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     4 
     
     / “a v magma; 
     
    
   
   
    
     how a Ëew familles 
     
    
   
   
    
     0E  people 
     
    
   
   
    
     became alive. 
     
    
   
   
    
     for a new life 
     
    
   
   
    
     in a far‘away 
     
    
   
   
    
     How generation 
     
     after generation 
     
    
   
   
    
     m oved fl'O m O ne 
     
    
   
   
    
     place t0 another‘. 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     PAGE 4l 
     
    
   
   
    
     The story 
     
    
   
   
    
     left France 
     
    
   
   
    
     COUDÈÜ'.