''Madame Ménard, femme de marin'' by France Biron

France Biron:

"Hello, Madame Ménard! How are you?"

"I'm doing well too."

"Yes, everything went well, the roads were nice."

Mrs Monique Ménard:

"Hello! I'm well, and you?"

"Was everything okay?"

(Mrs Monique Ménard)

"My husband worked for the Canada Steamship Lines. He was ordered to take his ship either to Windsor, always in Ontario, in the Great Lakes region: Lake Superior, Lake Ontario, and here, well, he passed through the Soulanges Canal.

The company, Canada, it was their business, or their job to go through the canal. They were carrying all sorts of things, often they would drop them off in Montreal, then head back up. It was pretty big ships.

When I got here, he wasn’t home, of course, because he was on the ships. I arrived here all by myself—I was the one who never moved; it was usually him. He would often get off at Coteau Station. When the ship docked, he’d take a taxi and come home for a bit while the ship was on its way to Cascades. The ship would make its way through the canal, and when it arrived, he’d get back on board to do his work. When I had the chance to board the ship, I went along the canal, then I would take the bus back home.

The Soulanges Canal was so beautiful. I loved sitting along the canal. I loved watching the ships pass by. When a ship was coming, it was truly amazing. But they went by so fast, and the crew was so focused—they had to be focused to dock the ship. The canal…it rose and fell! It went down quickly at the lower part of the canal. You wouldn’t see them for a long time.

Almost the entire village worked on the canal. They were the ones who pulled the cables (from the ships) and tied them around the iron thing along the canal—I don’t know what those things are called. I think they’re still there. The lock repairs provided a lot of work for the men."