Father Clarence d'Entremont

Father Clarence d'Entremont


I received a copy of this e-mail from Pauline d'Entremont of West Pubnico, Nova Scotia on Saturday, November 14, 1998.


It is with great regret that I need to tell you that we, the Acadian people, have lost a great historian, namely Père Clarence d'Entremont. He passed away early last night. I'm not sure of his age. He has been in ill health for a while and was in the Villa Acadien Nursing Home in Meteghan but was not expected to die now.

He had just donated all of his research and library to La Société Historique Acadienne de Pubnico-Ouest, to go into the research center Les archives Père Clarence d'Entremont. We are in the early stage of preparing for the transfer of all these documents. We need to prepare the room by sealing the hardwood shelves and drawers from the acids given by the wood, and all the other necessary things we need to do before we get started in order to preserve. We are hoping that the library will be available to be used by next summer, but in the meantime we need to find the finds to hire an archivist or a person that has knowledge of what to do. As for the archives, we hope to be able to have it opened to the public by 2000.

Should anyone wish to make a charitable donation, they may do so by simply clicking the highlighted portion that they see here.


Marie O'Brien of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, has sent me copies of 100 Acadian and historical stories (several courtesy of Ray and one courtesy of Gordon Campbell) as written by Father Clarence d'Entremont for the VANGUARD Newspaper of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.

Mr. Fred Hatfield, editor of THE VANGUARD in Yarmouth, had photocopies of the stories made and sent to Marie upon request. Such was not an easy request. As these stories were located in so many issues of the Vanguard, and "continued" on a weekly basis, they had a hard time keeping track of it all. In Marie's words: "He's really one of the kindest men I ever ran across via the written word. He has a big heart". In this regard, a special acknowledgement must be passed on to Fred Hatfield - thanks from all of us.

After Fred sent the copies to Marie, she began typing them primarily for her own study, but once she heard others wanted them; well, suffice it to say that the rest is history.

Marie first found out about the stories from her mother who lived in Pubnico. Father Clarence was their part-time priest at the time. When Marie visited her mother, he had the weekend Masses, and she got to speak to him a few times. Marie's mother gave her a few stories, but she had to get the rest from the Vanguard. Her original intent was to type them out to go into a loose-leaf binder, but her hope in typing them was that she would really get to know the stories of her people; hence she would also learn more about herself. During the typing process, Marie was quick to realize that the stories should NOT be stuck in a basement, but shared with the rest of the "world." Lark Szick helped to cement her resolve by giving her the extra 'fire' she needed to get through them 'in short order'!

PERSONAL NOTE from Marie to me: Michele, perhaps you are too young to understand the range of emotions I went through in the process. To begin with, I am a highly emotional person, serious but mostly on the SUNNY SIDE and I delight in the humorous side of things. You know, honey suckles, apple blossoms and humming birds; also, babies, comfy blankets and mugs of warm milk kinds of things, even cranky old women! But these stories brought back some of the harsh realities of life, along with the humourous. I cried, I giggled, and I laughed out loud! At times, I wiped away more tears than it takes to sink a schooner, I think. WE ARE A PEOPLE, to be sure! Thanks again, dearest Cuzin.

Many thanks from all to Marie who perchance happen this way.


Such begins our DEDICATION to this renowned and scholarly Acadian.

Story 1 - THE PUBNICOS: OLDEST REGION STILL ACADIAN
Story 2 - THE HILLS AT ARGYLE HEAD
Story 3 - HIS FATHER WAS HIS UNCLE
Story 4 - PORT LOMERON OR CHEBOGUE
Story 5 - HANGING OF TWO ACADIANS AND THREE INDIANS IN BOSTON
Story 6 - HUSH HUSH MONEY
Story 7 - WIDOW OF 13, MILLIONAIRE AT 34
Story 8 - HE SAWED OFF A LEG OF ONE OF HIS MEN BUT THEY PICKLED HIS HEAD
Story 9 - WEDGEPORT A HUNDRED YEARS AGO AND BEYOND
Story 10 - BAPTISTE, THE RASCAL
Story 11 - BAPTISTE WAS SAID TO HAVE A WIFE IN EVERY PORT
Story 12 - SHE PRESIDED OVER COUNCILS OF WAR AGAINST HER KINDRED
Story 13 - NAPOLEON BUCKSAW
Story 14 - THE "CASKET" WOMAN
Story 15 - HE JUMPED BAIL
Story 16 - THEY CUT OFF THE FINGER THAT TIPPED THE SCALE AND SOME MORE
Story 17 - THEY TIED THEMSELVES TO THE MAST AND STEERING WHEEL SO NOT TO BE WASHED OVERBOARD
Story 18 - WILSON ISLAND
Story 19 - WITCHCRAFT, SORCERERS AND SPELLS
Story 20 - WERE THE VIKINGS HERE?
Story 21 - THE FIRST "CANADIAN" CHILD WITH "EUROPEAN" BLOOD OUTSIDE NEWFOUNDLAND WAS BORN AT OUR DOORSTEP
Story 22 - FIRST NUN IN NORTH AMERICA WAS BORN AT OUR DOORSTEP
Story 23 - THE WRAYTON-MACDONNELL FAMILY: ITS TRAGEDIES AND WEALTH
Story 24 - SHE WAS FORCED TO WATCH HIM HANG 40 OF HER MEN WITH A LASSO AROUND HER NECK
Story 25 - A CONFESSION BY PROXY ON THE HIGH SEAS
Story 26 - HE PRAYED AND HIS LIFE WAS SPARED
Story 27 - THE ACADIAN PARTICIPATION IN THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE OF THE U.S.
Story 28 - THEY INTENDED TO MAKE OF NOVA SCOTIA THE 14TH STATE OF THE UNION
Story 29 - "IT'S THE BEST GANG OF GREENIES I'VE EVER HAD"
Story 30 - THE BRIDGE SPANNING INDIAN SLUICE
Story 31 - THE FIRST EXPULSION OF THE ACADIANS OF SOUTHERN NOVA SCOTIA OF 1765
Story 32 - THE SECOND EXPULSION OF THE ACADIANS OF SOUTHERN NOVA SCOTIA
Story 33 - THE THIRD EXPULSION OF THE ACADIANS
Story 34 - THE RETURN FROM EXILE IN 1766 OF SOME OF THE ACADIANS OF YARMOUTH COUNTY
Story 35 - THE LOG CABINS OF WEST PUBNICO
Story 36 - TWO ACADIAN MARTYRS
Story 37 - FRENCH PEOPLE WHO SETTLED IN YARMOUTH COUNTY DURING THE FRENCH REVOLUTION [1789] AND THE NAPOLEON WARS
Story 38 - FRENCH PEOPLE WHO SETTLED IN DIGBY COUNTY DURING THE FRENCH REVOLUTION AND NAPOLEON WARS
Story 39 - THE FIRST CANADIAN TO BECOME AN AMERICAN CITIZEN
Story 40 - THE GOLDEN AGE OF THE OLD TIME ACADIANS
Story 41 - THE 25th ANNIVERSARY OF THE CANADIAN FLAG
Story 42 - THE OLD SHELBURNE ROAD
Story 43 - FORT SAINT LOUIS
Story 44 - 465th ANNIVERSARY OF THE NAME "ACADIE"
Story 45 - SENTENCED TO BE HANGED AS A PIRATE, HE DIED A GENTLEMAN, RESPECTED BY FRIENDS AND NEIGHBOURS
Story 46 - THE RISE AND FALL OF LOUIS A. SURETTE
Story 47 - THE "FRENCH CROSS" AT MORDEN, N.S.
Story 48 - SENTENCED TO BE WHIPPED WITH THE CAT-O-NINE-TAILS
Story 49 - CAPT. PIERRE DOUCET (1750-1792)
Story 50 - AMABLE DOUCET. Esq. (1737-1806)
Story 51 - THE FIRST CHRISTMAS IN NORTH AMERICA
Story 52 - DUCKING AND KEEL-HAULING
Story 53 - THE VOW OF THE MARINERS
Story 54 - THE ESCAPE OF FRANCOIS L. BOURNEUF
Story 55 - PUBNICO IS SOMETHING TO BRAG ABOUT
Story 56 - THE SEIZURE OF "THE PEMBROOK" BY THE ACADIANS
Story 57 - MARIE BABIN OF SURETTE'S ISLAND WAS NOT THE LAST OF THE DEPORTED
Story 58 - THE STORY of THE ACADIAN BELLS: THOSE of PORT ROYAL
Story 59 - THE STORY of THE ACADIAN BELLS: THOSE of THE FORTRESS OF LOUISBOURG
Story 60 - THE STORY of THE ACADIAN BELLS: THE OTHERS of CAPE BRETON
Story 61 - THE STORY of THE ACADIAN BELLS: THOSE of MINAS BASIN AND THE ISTHMUS OF CHIGNECTO
Story 62 - THE STORY of THE ACADIAN BELLS: THOSE of PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
Story 63 - THE STORY of THE ACADIAN BELLS: THOSE on THE ST. JOHN RIVER, N.B.
Story 64 - THE STORY of THE ACADIAN BELLS: MAINE, ST.-PIERRE-ET-MIQUELON, AND CALIFORNIA
Story 65 - THE STORY of THE ACADIAN BELLS: IN PUBNICO
Story 66 - THE SINKING OF THE DUKE WILLIAM AND OF THE VIOLET TAKING THE ACADIANS INTO EXILE
Story 67 - HOLY WEEK A COUPLE OF GENERATIONS AGO
Story 68 - THE CONFLAGRATION OF 1820 IN CLARE
Story 69 - VENGEANCE OF THE MICMACS MOCKED IN THEIR RELIGIOUS BELIEFS
Story 70 - CAME TO ACADIA TO FIND ITS LONGITUDE WENT TO SOUTH AMERICA AND DISCOVERED THAT THE WORLD IS FLAT
Story 71 - THE ESCAPE OF THE ACADIANS FROM FORT LAWRENCE AT THE TIME OF THE EXPULSION
Story 72 - THE ESCAPE OF THE ACADIANS FROM FORT BEAUSEJOUR AT THE TIME OF THE EXPULSION
Story 73 - THE FIRST MASS IN CANADA CELEBRATED ON THE SOUTH SHORE OF NOVA SCOTIA
Story 74 - JEAN CAMPAGNA, THE SORCERER
Story 75 - VARIATIONS IN FRENCH FAMILY NAMES IN SOUTHWESTERN NOVA SCOTIA
Story 76 - THE BIG STORMS OF THE CENTURIES IN SOUTH-WESTERN NOVA SCOTIA
Story 77 - THE ADVENTURE OF BENONI D'ENTREMONT WITH THE "BONAVENTURE"
Story 78 - SIMON "SQUIRE" d'ENTREMONT
Story 79 - AN ACCOUNT OF THE FLIGHT OF THE ACADIANS AT THE TIME OF THE EXPULSION
Story 80 - THE WRECK OF THE TIBEL
Story 81 - PUBNICO NATAL DAY - JULY 17
Story 82 - CAPE SABLE MIGHT HAVE BEEN THE SEAT OF THE FIRST CANADIAN BISHOPRIC
Story 83 - THE "KLONDIKE"
Story 84 - THE RAILROAD ERA
Story 85 - THE ACADIAN SYMBOLS
Story 86 - A VOYAGE TO NOVA SCOTIA MADE IN 1731 BY ROBERT HALE OF BEVERLY
Story 87 - RESTRICTIONS AND PENALTIES IN DAYS OF YORE
Story 88 - MY FIRST ENTRANCE TO COLLEGE
Story 89 - HIDDEN TREASURES IN TUSKET ISLANDS
Story 90 - A FATHER ASSAILS HIS SON IN COMBAT
Story 91 - WAS TO BE SENT BACK TO NOVA SCOTIA FROM EXILE
Story 92 - DROPPING THE KING'S NAME FOR SHAME
Story 93 - AN ENCOUNTER WITH A GERMAN U-BOAT OFF OUR SHORES
Story 94 - BETRAYED IN HIS LOVE, HE DIED OF A BROKEN HEART
Story 95 - THE ACADIANS AT HORSE-SHOE COVE PRIOR TO THE EXPULSION
Story 96 - THE GHOST SHIP "YARMOUTH"
Story 97 - LOBSTER BAY: ITS PLACE NAMES OF YESTERYEAR
Story 98 - PLACE NAMES IN WEST PUBNICO REGION
Story 99 - THE PLACE NAMES OF QUINAN
Story 100 - 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF ST. PETER'S CHURCH, WEST PUBNICO




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Copyright @1998 by Michele Doucette

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