Posts Tagged ‘heritage’
Bless Me Father
It was the first Friday in May of 1955 and eight year old Pat Fournier was going to confession… but what would he confess to? In this eighth installment of his memoir “Memories of a Boy Growing Up in Blackville”, Pat recalls the story of how the misfortune of another child from his neighbourhood lead…
Read MoreThe ‘Chocolate Flu’
On a late-July day in 1954, seven-year-old Pat Fournier and his siblings play a prank, with some unpleasant consequences, on their neighbour Ronald MacKenzie. The Chocolate Flu is the seventh installment of Pat’s memoir “Memories of a Boy Growing Up in Blackville”. THE ‘CHOCOLATE FLU’ Written by Pat Fournier July 1954 – Seven years old…
Read MoreFirst Communion
It is the summer of 1954 and seven year old Pat is about to make his First Communion at Saint Raphael’s Roman Catholic Church. In this sixth installment of “Memories of a Boy Growing Up in Blackville”, Pat recalls the special occasion led by Father Nowlan and the Bishop. First Communion Written by Pat Fournier…
Read MoreSchool Daze
The date is September 8, 1953 and it’s Pat Fournier’s first day of school. In this next installment of “Memories of a Boy Growing Up in Blackville”, join Pat as he walks the mile and a half trek to school, while sharing memories of the people and places along the way. School Daze Written by…
Read MoreNew Book Features Local War Heroes
Gary Silliker is proud of his Miramichi roots. He has always had a keen interest in the men and women who were swept up into the events of the world’s first global conflict – The Great War for Civilization. He had a lengthy military career, proudly serving with the Canadian Military Engineers. While attached to…
Read MoreA Visit to Dalhousie
In this next installment of Memories of a Boy Growing Up in Blackville, set in the summer of 1953, six year old Pat goes on a bus ride to Dalhousie with his mother and siblings. A Visit to Dalhousie Written by Pat Fournier August 1953 – six years old Mom took Katharine and Marjorie and…
Read MoreMemories of War: George Routledge
Roland “George” Routledge was born on February 17, 1938 in Amherst, Nova Scotia. He enlisted as a peacekeeper with the Canadian Forces on August 26, 1955 and was with the Black Watch (B.W.) Depot until February 1956 in Sussex, New Brunswick. From February of that year to November 1959 he was with the B.W. 2…
Read MoreCoronation Day
It’s June 2, 1953 and the citizens of Blackville are celebrating Coronation Day – the day Princess Elizabeth of England is crowned queen. In this third installment of “Memories of a Boy Growing Up in Blackville”, Pat Fournier recalls the festivities of that day, along with recollections of the milkman Mr. Vickers, Jim MacKenzie’s horse…
Read MoreMemories of War: Benjamin & Helen Campbell
In late January, I was approached by the Blackville Women’s Institute and asked to participate in their Heritage Day celebrations. Heritage Week is celebrated in communities throughout New Brunswick each year. This years theme was New Brunswick Remembers: 1914-2014, in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the First World War and the…
Read MoreFirst Memories
The next installment of “Memories of A Boy Growing Up in Blackville” features Pat Fournier recalling his earliest memories from his childhood, between the ages of three and five years old. First Memories Written by Pat Fournier Winter of 1950/51 – three years old We were living in some rented rooms in the big two…
Read MoreMemories of a Boy Growing Up in Blackville
Pat Fournier was born and raised in Blackville. In a series of short stories, Pat will share his memories of the place, of the people and of his life as a boy growing up in Blackville. In this first installment, Pat sets the scene of his childhood neighbourhood. An Introduction Written by Pat Fournier This…
Read MorePatricia Curtis Recalls the Past in new Storytellers Series
Patricia Curtis moved from Gray Rapids at the age of 17 and returned at 60. In this first installment of Storytellers, Patricia reminisces about the days of her youth spent at a one room schoolhouse, skating at Morgan’s Rink and why she returned to the river.
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