Sister Rose-Aimée Gamache
Sister Rose-Aimée Gamache, s.g.m. (1877-1957) Coming from a farming family in Témiscouata, Rose-Aimée Gamache is originally a teacher in the Rivière-du-Loup region where she is inspired to create school gardens. Entering the Grey Nuns in 1920 at the late age of forty-two, she obtains the following year a diploma in agriculture from the École Supérieure […]
Sister Alma Grégoire-Colin
Sister Alma Grégoire-Colin, s.g.m. (1885-1970) Born into a farming family in the village of Saint-Esprit (in the Lanaudière region north of Montréal), Sister Alma is immersed from the beginning in the world of agriculture. Entering the Grey Nuns’ novitiate in 1904, she begins her apostolic life as a caregiver and educator at the Saint-Joseph Hospice […]
Saint-Charles Farm, A Prosperous Farm for Almost 50 Years
Saint-Charles Farm, Montréal (Côte-de-Liesse) A Prosperous Farm for Almost 50 Years With part of the proceeds from the sale of land at Pointe Saint-Charles, in 1907 the Grey Nuns acquire a parcel of agricultural land in the Côte-de-Liesse municipality. Subsequent acquisitions increase the property to a total of 575 acres, aptly named the Saint-Charles Farm […]
Saint-Charles Farm, A Model Farm
A Model Farm The numerous buildings onsite in 1952 underline its scale: a convent for the Nuns, two stone houses, eight dwellings for employees and their families, a cattle stall, three grain silos, a pigsty, a slaughterhouse, a chicken coop, an apiary, a horse-stable, a granary, sheds, a greenhouse, a soap factory, a cannery, barns, […]
Saint-Charles Farm, Departure
Departure The continual expansion of metropolitan Montréal invariably leads to parcels of land being expropriated for railways, roads, electrical and telecommunication grids, until almost all the properties are sold apart from the lots where the Notre-Dame-de-Liesse School and the Youville Nursery are located. Additionally, the rapid development of the sector and the implementation of factories […]
Saint-Charles Farm, Animals, Women and Men
Animals… An impressive number of livestock is raised on the farm. In 1946, there are 150 Holstein cows including 90 dairy cows, 300 Yorkshire pigs, 3,000 chickens, 1800 hens and 60 draft horses. Sister feeding hens, 1945. Photography: author unknown. Grey Nuns of Montréal’s Archives, Saint-Charles Farm (Montréal, Côte-de-Liesse)’s Fonds, L071-F Hen, undated. Photography: author […]