We brush shoulders with the history of the Vallée du Haut Saint Laurent in different ways every day.
Grandkids listen to grandparents recount anecdotes about this or that great-great aunt; a newcomer struggles to pronounce Tullochgorum; we drive past churches and graveyards or, sometimes, only what is left of them. We live with the ghosts of the past all around us.
In the film series Raising Spirits: Exploring the Cemeteries, Crossroads and Vanishing Places of Rural Quebec, presented by the Quebec Anglophone Heritage Network (QAHN), we are invited to look directly at our local history and meet a few ghosts, with Valley resident experts as our guides.
Watching the series of six short documentary films, each around 30 minutes long, we embark on a tour of historically significant but little-known places across the Haut Saint Laurent. The films begin with the project director and host, Heather Darch, guiding us through the larger historical context of each place, before handing it over to local experts in Riverfield, Babyville (modern day Sherrington), Ormstown, Powerscourt, Dundee, and Godmanchester.
The audience is privy to beautiful Valley landscapes and landmarks, including a peek inside the Powerscourt church and magnificent views off Fraser point. The interviews and landscape shots are interspersed with interesting historical photos. These elements make for a compelling history lesson that makes one feel as though they are chatting with a relative.
This series is unique in multiple ways. Its focus is hyper-local. It is a delight to learn about the development of the small villages populating the area predating major transit, and the minutiae of the lives of their inhabitants. Also apparent are the longstanding disagreements and tensions inherent in the settlement of land already inhabited by the Mohawk (Kanienʼkehá:ka ) people for thousands of years.
The films spotlight English heritage. While anglophones have a large enough stage in the rest of North America, in Quebec the role of Irish and Scottish settlers, especially along the border, are largely brushed aside or forgotten. With folk history tending toward lore around coureurs de bois and francophone farmers with impressively large families, this is a refreshing perspective for a region that claims a large anglophone and Gaelic-speaking heritage.
Lastly, the use of local people as expert historians makes the films credible, beautiful, and a precious resource for our communities. Scott Templeton, Alyson Champ, Grant Roy, Helene Sellar, Patricia Mageean Martin, Gerry Cavanagh, John Wilson, Reg Burrows, and Bill Fraser are passionate, humble, and knowledgeable guides. Weaving their own family histories with local history proves a powerful way to render the films relatable and memorable – not to mention the performance by Wanda Goundrey on bagpipes in episode five, gorgeous enough to momentarily transport anyone directly into the shoes of a Scotsman longing for home.
The entire series is available for free on the QAHN YouTube channel and is a real treat for anyone, newcomers and old-timers, who call the Valley their home. The Montérégie West Community Network will also be hosting a screening of the first three films in this series on May 27 at their Huntingdon office, starting at 1 p.m.