FIRST PRIZE
Noa Reinblatt
Grade 7, West Island College
Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec
Title: “I will remember”
When we cleaned up my grandparents’ house before selling it, my family and I found an old dusty black box tucked away in the basement. In opening it, we found out it contained things from my great grandparents’ life such as tickets and visas from La Terre des Hommes as well as two photo albums that date back over one hundred years. For example, these pictures were taken during the winter of 1913 at Lafontaine Park.
I would have loved to hear stories about these pictures from life in Quebec back then. Unfortunately, this is a part of my heritage that I will never be able to discover because my grandfather suffered from Alzheimer’s and lost his ability to speak. Moreover, this past December, we lost him to Covid.
Although I will never get to know the real stories behind these pictures, it brings me joy and comfort to imagine the kind of Quebec my grandfather and his parents and grandparents lived in. In the future, to keep my family heritage alive, I will continue to record my stories to pass them on. I will remember my grandfather!