Mister Thuribe Tremblay

Mister Thuribe Tremblay (ca. 1880-1946) Ten-year-old Thuribe Tremblay is the first child admitted to the Hôtel-Dieu de Nicolet orphanage in 1889 and will regularly spend his holidays at the Métairie Saint-Joseph. While completing his classical education at the Nicolet Seminary, he is hired by the farm in 1900. The first years of work are difficult: […]

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 Marguerite Hudon

Sister Marguerite Hudon, s.g.m. (1918-1974) Marguerite Hudon is born on November 1st, 1918 into a large family in Rivière-Ouelle, county of Kamouraska. After entering the Grey Nun novitiate in 1940, she works for seven years as a cook at the Motherhouse and the Saint-Charles Farm. Assigned to the Châteauguay farm in 1949, she dedicates herself […]

Sister Laurette Rivard

Sister Laurette Rivard, s.g.m. (1913-2009) Originally from farming parents in Nicolet, Laurette Rivard joins the Grey Nuns of Nicolet in 1931 and is first assigned to the Métairie farm. Already working the land and caring for farm animals from a young age, she consolidates her agricultural knowledge with a four-year correspondence course from the Union […]

Sister Fernande Dumont

Sister Fernande Dumont, s.g.m. (1922-1998) Born to farming parents in Bécancour, the young Fernande leaves school at the age of 14 to work on the family farm. After joining the Grey Nuns in 1944, she is a gardener at the  Saint-Joseph during the summer and spends the winter months spinning and weaving. Over the years, […]

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 […]

Notre-Dame-de-l’Espérance Sanatorium

Notre-Dame-de-l’Espérance Sanatorium, Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts In 1914, the Sisters begin work at the Notre-Dame-de-l’Espérance Sanatorium in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts in the Laurentian Mountains. Nuns and lay people go there to rest and treatment of tuberculosis. The modest-sized facility never accepts more than 45 patients depending on the year. Grey Nuns Sanatorium, Sainte-Agathe, undated. Post Card: author unknown. Grey Nuns […]

Mister Pierre Lampron

Mister Pierre Lampron Originally hired in 1962 as a farm hand at the Métairie Saint-Joseph, Mr. Lampron continues after its sale in 1966 as a handyman for the Grey Nuns of Nicolet an additional forty-five years! Mister Pierre Lampron posing in the dairy, 1964. Grey Nuns of Montréal’s Archives, Métairie Saint-Joseph (Nicolet)’s Fonds, L054-I-Album 1 […]

Métairie Saint-Joseph, The Maple Grove and Sugar Shack

The Maple Grove and Sugar Shack In 1905, three additional acres of land are purchased along with all the equipment necessary to produce maple syrup, increasing the maple grove by over 750 buckets! A proper sugar shack is built a few years later around 1908 and remains in operation until the farm is sold in […]

Métairie Saint-Joseph, In the Fields

In the Fields Workers in the field, 1939. Photography: author unknown. Grey Nuns of Montréal’s Archives, Métairie Saint-Joseph (Nicolet) Fonds, L054-I- Album 1-page 14B. 1-Jean-Louis Genest, 2-Louis-Georges Dufresne, 3-Laurent Lemire, 4-Almanzar Lamothe, 5-Roland Dufresne, 6-Wilfrid Gélinas Mister Bourgeois, employee working in the field, 1940. Photography: author unknown. Grey Nuns of Montréal’s Archives, Métairie Saint-Joseph (Nicolet)’s […]

Motherhouse, The Vegetable Garden and the Orchard

The Vegetable Garden and the Orchard Located between Saint-Mathieu and Guy Streets, the vegetable garden and orchard occupy an area of approximately two acres. Until the 1960s, many Nuns work there assisted by hired labourers. A wide variety of vegetables and fruits are grown but despite the abundant harvests it is not enough to feed […]

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 […]

Saint-Bruno Farm

Saint-Bruno Farm Located in what is today downtown Montréal, the Saint-Joseph Hospice was on the verge of expropriation for a new Grand Trunk Railway station when the start of the Great War put the project on hold. That same year, 1914, the Hospice is gifted a 135 acre farm in the village of Saint-Bruno, county […]

Farm and Convent of the Hospice Youville

Farm and Convent of the Hospice Youville, Saint-Benoît In 1859, the Grey Nuns establish a hospice for the needy & infirm as well as a girls’ school in the village of Saint-Benoît, county of Deux-Montagnes. Map of Saint-Benoit Farm/Nelson Cossette (agronomist), undated. Grey Nuns of Montréal’s Archives, Convent and Hospice Youville (Saint-Benoît)’s Fonds, L011-K-03 Youville […]

Châteauguay, The Apiary

The Apiary An apiary is installed near the chapel and though its origins are unknown it appears to be quite old. The bees were used to pollinize the orchard’s trees and to provide honey for the Nuns and the staff of the manor. In 1920, the apiary was still of modest size, consisting of only […]

Châteauguay, The Orchard

The Orchard Marguerite d’Youville is said to have planted the first apple tree in the orchard. Many of its branches are grafted onto other trees in order to perpetuate the original fruit. In 1935, there were more than 250 apple trees in the orchard expanding yearly. Today it is a certified organic orchard, with a […]

Châteauguay, In the Fields

In the Fields Part of the tilled land is used for growing cereals such as wheat, oats, and buckwheat while a meadow produces hay for animal fodder. Over time, a vegetable garden is developed and eventually occupies a large space at the rear of the manor where a wide variety of vegetables are grown in […]