The production of the book Once Upon a Time in the Gaspé was a successful intergenerational project organized by the Committee for Anglophone Social Action and funded by the Department of Canadian Heritage.
The entire community was canvassed for stories, but grandparents and school-age children played a special role. Children were encouraged to interview their grandparents and write down the stories they heard describing a time in the Gaspé when Grandpa made his underwear from flour bags and used horse manure for a hockey puck. A time when everyone knew how to play a musical instrument and a hot cup of tea and gingersnaps were always waiting at the neighbours.
Grandparents wrote about how wartime changed their lives, box socials, dancing to the fiddle on a moonlit beach and winter with the sounds of sleigh bells in the air.
The stories recall times past and compare the lives of earlier generations to today. Often humorous, the book is a must read for Gaspesian and anyone interested in Gaspesian history and culture.
Published in 2006, the book contains 108 pages, over 30 black and white photographs and a brief history of the Gaspé Peninsula. To order a copy: Telephone: (418) 752-5995, Email: [email protected]