Voices of Hemmingford

 by Mary Ducharme  (October 2013)

If Rip van Winkle were a resident of Hemmingford and he woke up after a sleep of eighty years, what would he recognize about this place and what would he find very surprising? This was a wonderfully apt question asked recently by one of the seniors interviewed for the “Voices of Hemmingford” oral history project sponsored by the Archives. He went on to answer the question according to first-hand observations of the changes in his own lifetime. Another person interviewed, who will be 100 years old this month, shared details of her long life, including her career as a teacher at the Hemmingford Elementary. Every interview is as unique as the person speaking, and the Archives is eager to continue collecting the life stories of our elders.

About forty years ago a number of audio cassette tapes were made of local people, all of whom are now gone, but their voices and stories remain as part of their legacy to this community. The Archives arranged with Concordia University to transfer the earlier material into a digital format. As technology changes, it is part of the work of the Archives to do what is necessary to ensure that all collections are available for future generations. With this in mind, we are actively seeking financial means to make the oral history interviews available in a variety of media formats, including print, to ensure that this legacy is not lost.

We have a working list of about sixty seniors that we would like to interview, and the list is growing. Interviews will be in the French language, as well as English, and will include seniors whose families have lived here for generations. Of equal interest are those who came here much more recently – as a result of the World Wars, for instance, or for other reasons. Like early pioneers, these newcomers contribute to the social and economic life of our region.

Contact us for more details. We are open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, 9am to 3pm at the Hemmingford Elementary School. Archives phone: 514-778-2845. Or call Mary Ducharme, 247-3193 or Myrna Paquette 247-3357.