BIOGRAPHY OF NARCISSE COURCHESNE

Narcisse was born in Lavigne, ONE on January 7, 1923, of a family of 14 children. He is the second of the family, but oldest of the boys. His/her grandfather, originating in St.Gabriel de Brampton, married six times by the Catholic Church, finishes his days with Lavigne. He had much influence on Narcisse for the music and joinery. According to his Lionel brother, Narcisse was patient and tough in all that he wanted to obtain.

Narcisse was endowed with a curious spirit and all interested it. At the school there was no library and the only book available was the dictionary, but Mrs. Davidson, her professor did not allow the pupils to make use of it. Like child of chorus, it saw the books available to the sacristy, but Mrs. Lajeunesse allowed to the young people only prayer books, Holy Anne, etc and Narcisse insisted to obtain other books while saying: “Let us have We them at us”. The Bourassa priest having heard the discussion between Narcisse and Mrs. Lajeunesse, lent books of his personal library to him, such as Jeanne d' Arc, the Former Canadians, etc That made it possible Narcisse to develop his talents of reading and writing. Narcisse was a faithful child of chorus for the masses of the week and the funeral. The priest gave him .10 hundreds per mass.

Narcisse grew and a day having seen a violin in the neighbor, wanted to have some too. Grandfather helped him to manufacture one, a box of them not side, posts to hold the two thinned boards with the axe. For the cords, hairs of the tail of the horse and arcanson. That gave rather uncommon sounds, but grandfather could play his gigue there and taught the technique with his grandson. Narcisse decided to manufacture itself his violin and went to seek the wood of old seals of grease. Work to thin the boards was requiring and Narcisse with course of specialized tools, used the razor of grandfather to do it. His/her father bought to him cords of violin bought with the Eaton company. His/her grandfather showed him how to play his gigue and often asked Narcisse to play it and each time it cried about it. Narcisse even made three violins one winter, which it sold to 2,50 $ each one. Its talent was not limited to the violins, but later it built even guitars, mandolines, etc.

Grandfather initiated Narcisse with fishing and ideal time to do it. He taught him also prudence in the launch. Narcisse adopted the same attitude with his brothers and it forever have irrevocable accident. One used also a dart with a handle of fifteen feet which made it possible to take beautiful catches that his/her mother made cook with the furnace after the bread was cooked. One was also useful oneself of the furnace for the products of hunting. Narcisse has much admiration for his mother who was an extraordinary cooker. His/her young grandmother having died, the mom was raised by the members of her family and was sent to the convent of the Sisters with Sturgeon Falls. She learned how to cook for groups. She practised this trade which was useful to him well with its family. The mom had also preserved good relationships to the religious community. The Chocolate éclairs even visited him in Lavigne to make knowledge with its family.

The war in Europe beat its full and all young men the sixteen year old and more was to be recorded. There were certain exemptions because of the farm, but all the guy could not be exempted. Narcisse had followed the instruction, but with an address in the countryside, Field; he did not receive from request. One day, it went in the neighbor by businesses and met the Military Police forces come to seek somebody. It was asked him why it was not with the drive. It answered: I never received from request. One says to him: “Embarks with us”. Its answer: “It is not a dishonour, nor an honor, but I prefer to await an official request”. One says to him: “You will receive one from them”. It is what arrived. Narcisse had let himself push the beard, got dressed with a shirt with squares, “breeches” and left for Parry Sound. He says to his Lionel brother: “I will not be a long time”. Narcisse had lost the total comprehension of English. He smoked where he was not to do it, made terrible dreams the night and shouted. It was a total disorder. One put it in penitence, one insulted it in English, but nothing disturbed Narcisse. One ordered from a soldier to cut the hair to him, to shave it and to help him to be made an acceptable toilet. There was complicity between the two nothing to reveal, because both knew each other. It had been concluded that Narcisse was not ready to serve the forces of his Majesty and one decided to return it at his place. One leads it to the train and one ensured oneself to remain with him until the departure of the train. When one says to him to embark, Narcisse started to walk towards North Bay. One quickly gave it on line to take the train. A soldier who was going with permission to visit his family with Kaspuskasing before his loading for Europe was to supervise it to North Bay. In way, they exchanged cordially. Narcisse paid him the draft, because its guide did not have money. Feeling free then, the skill to communicate normally had returned to Narcisse, just as to speak in English and they had a pleasant return to North Bay. Its stay with the camp of drive was finished.

A few months later, another departure for Narcisse, but less further. He was 22 years old, and was ready to work as mechanic with the Gareau garage in Verner. After two years of training, it moves in Sudbury to work in the mines. In 1948, it Marie with Francoise Rainville. From this union, were born three children, a Rhéal boy, who remains with Lavigne and two girls Carmel and Pauline which remain in Sudbury. Narcisse and Francoise have seven grandchildren and two back grandchildren.

After two years of work in Sudbury, Narcisse returns in Verner to work at max Piette. Liking the challenges, Narcisse will sell Familex products for two years. But here that it turns over to the mines to Sudbury. At the same time, it takes courses of the evening in mathematics and electronics. It learns how to repair the television sets. It opens also a store of electronics in Sudbury and repairs the television sets there also. During the mining strike in 1950, it realized that it could live of its store and it is what it did for five years. Narcisse travelled the weekends in Verner and repaired the television sets of his village.

Narcisse always questioned on the antecedents of his grandfather… six marriages. Always it is that it was interested so much in the genealogy, with research in the parochial files, that it developed a passion of it. He obtained the permission of the Bishop to go in each parish to photograph the entries of the registers. The evening, it typed the whole with the typist. If you make research in genealogy today, you can find a score of books which give the burial and marriage, dates of birth of, signed by Narcisse Courchesne. It not only went in the native parish of his grandfather, but in several other parishes of the province of Quebec. You know now how Narcisse spent his holidays.

Narcisse is one of the cofounder of the Company of History and Genealogy of the area of Sudbury. Become an expert in this field, it helped several recherchists to produce their family trees and to obtain their charts of Mongrel.

Having met Narcisse Courchesne, late in his life, I was pleased to bring it to some resumptions with Sudbury at the office of the Company. On an occasion, the committee of the S.H.G of Sudbury, paid to him a vibrating homage of appreciation for rendered services. He was also the special guest and lecturer at the annual assembly of the Historical Company of Nipissing. Narcisse also gave a good part of his work, of his research with Irene Bastarache-Schofield to help it in his genealogical research task on the Mongrels. Irene has for Mr. Courchesne a great admiration and much of appreciation for her gesture of generosity.

Mr. Courchesne is deceased on April 7, 2003, at the 80 years age before one can finish his biography. I had much assistance of Lionel, his reprocessed brother who remains in Haileybury. Between Lionel and Narcisse, there is a complicity which always seems to have been maintained since their childhood. Thank you Lionel, bus without you I would not have been able to write this biography.

Pierre Paul Seguin

April, 2003