Alcide Piquette and Adeline Daly

I, Alcide Joseph-Marie Piquette, wish to tell you something about myself and my life. My father, Joseph Piquette, a blacksmith and buggy maker by trade in Joliette Quebec, son of Narcisse Piquette, was the sixth generation of Piquettes in Canada. I can retrace my family lineage to 1675 to Eustache Piquet, a cloth merchant in Mans, France. His son, Joseph Piquet dit Lafleur arrived in Nouvelle France somewhere between 1690 and1705.

I was born in St. Jacques L’Achigan, November 8, 1874. I came from a family of six children. When I was 10 years old, the family was devastated by typhoid. Only two of us survived, my sister Anna and myself. I went to school in Joliette, Quebec and during the summer I stayed with my grandparents on their tobacco farm. I graduated from a three-year Commerce/Business Administration Program at College de Joliette in 1895. I was soon employed as a travelling insurance salesman by R. Stafford & Co. They provided me with my own horse and buggy. But on account of my job, I had to learn English. So registered at the John Daly family English language boarding school in Rawdon for French speaking adults. What a stroke of luck! That’s where I met my future wife, Adeline.

Our courtship lasted two years. I would visit her in the summer in my buggy and in the winter in my cutter, a distance from Joliette of 20 miles. We married on May 26th, 1900. What luck I had in meeting her! Adeline was an accomplished woman, a teacher, a musician, bilingual, a seamstress, a superb cook and a woman of social graces. From 1900 to 1904, we operated a grocery store in Montreal. During that time our first two daughters, Marguerite (1901) and Annette (1902) were born.

My western adventure started when my uncle, Philias Gaudet, who operated a store in Morinville, Alberta, invited me to work for him. So, in January 1904, I was on my way West. By coincidence four Filles de Jesus nuns on the same train were quite thrilled to have someone with them who could speak English going to the same place. In the spring, Adeline joined me with the two daughters. It was a sad day in September 1905 when our third daughter Aurelia, born in June, died. In 1906, I became manager of the St. Albert Flour Mill. Later, our move to St. Albert allowed me to buy a butcher shop that I operated until 1914. I also had the good fortune of serving as secretary of the town of St. Albert and of the school board. St. Albert was also the place where we expanded our family: Jean in 1906, Roland in 1908, Robert in 1909 and Jeanne in 1910. That was the extent of our family when a new opportunity came knocking, the Chevigny brothers were looking for a store manager in Plamondon. The newly formed Plamondon School District 2696 also needed a qualified teacher.

So, in August 1914, all of us as a family with our belongings took the train from Edmonton to Athabasca, then in a four-horse wagon owned by an old friend, Emilien Menard. Life was good in Plamondon until 1923, when the Chevigny store closed. What to do? Adeline and I decided to move to our homestead three miles south of Plamondon. Adeline would teach at the Berny School and I would try farming. However, my life changed completely in 1925-6. Adeline was operated for breast cancer, and she soon died at home on June15, 1926. I was devastated. The whole community mourned her death as she was involved in so many things. Then during Midnight Mass, the house burned down and nothing was saved, including Annette’s new fur coat the dog and all the Christmas gifts. Once again I was devastated. I thought the devil had crapped on my head. Fortunately, I was able to move the family to a house in the village for the rest of the winter.

In the spring I had a new house built on the farm, but the boys were no longer interested in farming and looked for employment elsewhere. Roland went to the Coal Branch. Farming wasn’t my thing either. Finally, I was able to trade the farm for a grocery store in the village in 1929 and I became postmaster, telephone operator, and commissioner of oaths. I sold gas to the few who owned cars and to visitors. My daughter Jeanne lived with me until she married in 1937.

When Roland and Zea married in 1932, the plan was for them to take over the store. They lived with me for the first year but then decided to move to Coal Valley where Roland had a guaranteed job as the income from the business was insufficient. Those were difficult years during the depression running a store when people did not have enough money to purchase necessary supplies. I would allow some of them to buy on credit to help them out. However, some customers that I helped in this way chose to not pay their bills by the time I closed the store.

In 1943, I sold my business and left for a year to Quebec to reconnect with my sister Anna that I hadn’t seen in 39 years. What a great time I had visiting with folks that I hadn’t seen for such a long time. Upon my return in 1944, I was fortunate to be able to retire at the home of Roland and Zea with my small Old Age Pension where I also helped clearing the yard, cording wood, drying the dishes and so forth. I particularly enjoyed telling stories to my grandchildren and relating to them news from down East that I read on La Presse. Of course, when there were family gatherings, I would join the rest singing old songs, telling stories and making sure I didn’t miss any rounds of the drinks. I could hold my own with the best.

But old age caught up to me gradually, so in 1957, I moved in with son Jean and Della in Morinville for the last years of my life. The next 3 months I spent in the Foyer Youville in St. Albert for my final journey. It was time to go at 88 years of age. I was tired and it was time to join Adeline. It was long overdue. I don’t remember much about that time, but I have been a free spirit since. Jean died in 1962.