Napoleon Gauthier and Bertha Hahnenberg

Most of the French-Canadian families in Provemont, Michigan, USA, (now called Lake Leelanau) including Adolphus Gauthier migrated in the mid-1800’s from Quebec, Canada, where land had become scarce for farming. When the first French immigrants left Canada to come to the land of promises in the United States, few dreamed that one day the farmland that was so available, would all be taken and there would be no more room to go around. In a span of fifty years however this did happen.  In 1900, when Provemont was just expanding business-wise, the farmland was gone.  Children of the immigrants were unable to find land on which to build their homes and sought out opportunities elsewhere.

In the spring of 1907, Isidore Plamondon (son of Joseph Plamondon) with companions left for Alberta Canada. When Isidore Plamondon returned to Provemont in the fall of 1907, he married Mary Hahnenberg.  During his stay in Provemeont, he told his father, Joseph Plamondon, of all the land available in Alberta, Canada.  Joseph was gripped with his son’s enthusiasm and began at once to prepare for him, his wife Mathilda (neé Gauthier) and his family to make the journey to a better future.  They did so in 1908 and established the village of Plamondon in the northeast part of the province.

In 1910 Napoleon Gauthier (son of Adolphus Gauthier and Elizabeth Drow) went to Plamondon to claim a homestead following the death of his wife Margaret Plamondon (May 30, 1910) who had contracted tuberculosis in their second year of marriage (m. October 14, 1908).  He was able to buy his homestead (N.E. 22-67-16-4) for $10.00 (approximately $455.00 CAD in 2026). He returned to Provemont after making his claim and on May 9, 1911, he married Bertha (neé Hahnenberg) (Mary sister).

After a year and a half of preparation in 1912 Napoleon went back to Alberta with his wife Bertha and infant daughter Imelda to work his homestead.

They travelled by train to Edmonton, then by covered wagon to Plamondon.  They reach their destination made their home in a little log shack on Isadore Gauthier’s (his brother) homestead until they were able to build their own home. He built a log cabin 20’ x 24’ and they made their home as comfortable as possible.  He later built an addition of lumber to his cabin.  This was a very sophisticated improvement for the times.  On this farm, in the log cabin, the rest of the 11 children were born. In 1936 he built a large two storey square-log house for his family

Besides working on the farm, Napoleon did carpentry work building many houses in the area and was a foreman at building the cheese factory in the next-door village of Atmore.  He maintained roads near Plamondon and helped build the bridge at Lyle Steeds.  Bertha was a woman of great courage and overcame the hard adjustments to the pioneering life.  Even though she had 12 children, she became active in community affairs such as being a member of the church choir and sacristan for the church and was also one of the presidents of the Ladies of St. Anne social service group.

In 1951, at 66 years old, Napoleon traded his farm to his son-in-law, Leo Bourassa, for the little grey house in Plamondon just across from the church.

Bertha Gauthier (neé Hahnenberg) died November 25, 1973.

Napoleon Gauthier died Sept. 25, 1975.

Napoleon’s philosophy throughout life was “Do your best and God will take care of the rest.”