''Souvenirs d’enfance'' by Sophie Daoust

M. Claude Daoust: 

My grandfather worked digging the canal with horses from his farm, where he lived in St-Lazare. He’d start at sunrise and work until sunset. In the evening, he’d head back home with his horses — all that for 50 cents a day, and he supplied the horses and everything else needed.

Back then, they called these workers ‘scrapers’. They’d go into the land to dig what’s now the road along the canal, and also the ditches that collect water so the farmland wouldn’t get flooded.

I had no idea what the Soulanges Canal was. Around 1945, I biked over from where I lived to check it out. I found the canal on Chemin St-Dominique, where the bridges would open. There was a man there who knew us — though I didn’t know him — and he’d let us do what we called a ‘bridge ride’. That meant the bridge would open, let the boat through, close again, and we’d hop off and head back. On both ends of the bridge, you could jump into the water if you wanted.

The bridge was powered by a gear system. The motors made a little noise, but nothing too loud. It was packed with grease so it would open smoothly. Those bridges were heavy — all made of steel. When they opened, each end of the bridge would rest on supports on the riverbanks while the boat passed through.

I started in ’55 waiting for the bridge to open so we could drive across. If a boat was coming, it took 10 to 15 minutes to go by — sometimes longer. If there were two boats, it took even more time. You had to wait for the boats to pass before using the bridge. The municipality of Les Cèdres basically became an island. I saw all kinds of boats go through. While we waited, we’d watch them pass. Sometimes people on the boats would wave to us.

When they shut down the canal because of the new seaway on the other side, in Beauharnois, it was a big deal. Farmers were happy because they wouldn’t have to wait for the bridge anymore, but others felt like it took away jobs — and also, it was just something beautiful, seeing the boats go by.

It’s part of the history of Coteau-du-Lac, Les Cèdres, Pointe-des-Cascades — which is where the canal begins — and Les Coteaux, which used to be called Coteau-Landing. You could actually hear the ships calling out. I could hear them from where I lived on St-Dominique. The sound would carry all across Les Cèdres. We knew when a boat was coming — we’d say, ‘Oh! A boat!’ ‘Look! A boat!’ Those are my memories.