The apogee of commerce

The forestry industry was the first to develop in the township. There can be no doubt that, before the arrival of the white man, native peoples hunted and fished here.

Following in Mr. Casselman’s footsteps came settlers who established themselves on the first concessions in the southern part of the township, combining the trades of lumberjack and farmer. Their lifestyle was quite simple. It’s easy to see how they divided their working days: lumberjacks in winter, land clearers in summer, hunters or fishermen when the season allowed, and craftsmen on rainy or bad weather days. Indeed, sturdy lumberjacks can always be found hiring out their hands in winter. In summer, the land had to be cleared and seeded with oats for livestock, flax for clothing and wheat for food. At all times, hunting and fishing are important sources of food. Finally, shearing sheep, tanning leather, making “ox shoes” or tallow candles, etc., are jobs reserved for those days when inclement weather makes outdoor work impossible.

However, the majority soon made farming their main occupation, as the 1861 census reveals.

There were also carpenters. Fortunat Bélanger, André Roy, Auguste Lapointe and Azarie Chartrand, who from 1890 to 1898 are all recorded in the parish registers as carpenters in the village of St-Albert, but they were probably not the first to ply this trade in the parish. If the number of carpenters at the time seems considerable today, it’s because in those days the absence of machines had to be compensated for by manpower.

In 1890, in the same registers, we find a 23-year-old shoemaker. Joseph Bélanger, perhaps the first shoemaker in the area, or at least one of the first. In any case, it’s an indication that the “ox shoe” is gradually giving way to ready-made shoes that need to be repaired by a tradesman. The village’s first blacksmith store was built by Mr. Léonard Lafleur in May 1879. Then, in 1882, another small local industry began: the steam-powered sawmill of a man named Leduc. It was located on the side of the small coulee behind the parish cemetery. It operated for eight years. In 1890, after it became the property of Jean Baptiste Martin, it was destroyed by fire on a summer Saturday evening. With the construction of the village cheese factory around 1890, a new phase in the rural economy of St-Albert and the region began; we entered the era of dairy production and related products. It was then that the parish’s farms began to produce their full output, proving to be the pillars of the local economy. The establishment of cheese dairies in the rest of the parish at the turn of the century encouraged the development of the dairy industry. During the summer, cheese would be made, and during the winter, farm butter or cream would be shipped to the city’s creameries. The establishment of a butter factory in Casselman around 1927 and the introduction of home cream collection changed this custom: butter was no longer made on the farm, and cream was rarely shipped to the city.

The opening of a creamery by a man named Smith at Station St-Albert in 1929, and the introduction of home milk collection, were new experiences in the local dairy industry. The cream he obtained was shipped to an American company via New York Central. This company had all the dairy herds feeding the creamery inspected. It was a fairly cursory inspection, limited to taking the animal’s temperature and examining the teats. However, the treatment of milk and utensils was strict. This creamery only sold its product to the Americans for a few summers, and was soon converted into a cheese factory.

Given its advantageous position on the Berwick-Casselman road, Mayerville was already a hamlet, whereas there was only one chapel in St-Albert when it was founded in 1874. Mayerville had a post office, two stores, a blacksmith store and an inn. This hamlet was located on the 9th concession east, at the corner where the road turns toward Casselman. In 1890 we find Mr. Anthime Roy, blacksmith-owner; Mrs. Moïse Mayer, postmistress. We don’t know if there was still a merchant. There was no longer a hotel. The construction of St. Albert’s church three miles west of Mayerville, the gradual abandonment of the Berwick-Casselman route as a commercial artery after the advent of the Canada-Atlantic Railway, and the central location of the fledgling village of St. Albert were all events that diminished Mayerville’s importance.

As with most French-Canadian centers, the village of St-Albert grew up around the bell tower. After the construction of the first chapel-presbytery, the opening of the first store a month after the establishment of a blacksmith marked the beginning of economic life in the parish center. Around 1885, Francis Champagne (of Lafrenière) built a store for Xavier Quesnel. The store was converted into an inn the following year.

In 1898, there were two blacksmiths: François-Xavier Meilleur, on lot 18, concession X, and George Whissell in the village center. The St-Albert village post office was opened on August 1, 1874, two years after the one in Mayerville. Mail was first brought from Finch by a Mr. Goulet, who ran the Finch-Crysler-St-Albert-Mayerville-Casselman service in 1879, until the construction of the Canada-Atlantic Railway in 1882. Then it was Mr. Jean-Baptiste Carrière of Crysler who collected mail at Casselman for the Mayerville, St-Albert and Crysler post offices.

Although the land in St. Albert was fertile, the beginnings were difficult because the lack of communication and the remoteness of markets hindered progress. The urgently needed construction of a railroad, however, created a chill between the parish priest and his parishioners. Indeed, the construction of the Canada-Atlantic railroad caused quite a stir in the parish at the time. The parish priest and certain influential people were in favor of the project (they also wanted the railroad route to pass through St-Albert, then the most developed village in the canton), while a group of settlers were opposed. As soon as the matter was raised, Cambridge mayor Martin Casselman wanted to ensure that the railroad not only crossed the township, but also passed through his home town of Casselman Falls (Casselman). He therefore proposed that the municipality vote a few thousand dollars to help realize this project, which was to benefit the entire township. But this old owner of 10,000 acres of land was unpopular, and immediately there were cries from all sides: “It’s another trifle, a ruse, a lie from old Casselman.” Curé Philion asserted: “These good people forgot that, in addition to fostering the development of the township, this railroad provided, at the very moment of its construction, a handsome income for those who wanted to work on it.

Municipal aid was nevertheless voted through, and for some time to come, people would hold a grudge against Curé Philion who, as a progressive man, had favored the project. The Canada-Atlantic Railway was built in 1882, and a station was set up in Casselman.

Around 1910-1911, the Glasgow Telephone Company built the first telephone line in St. Albert. The switchboard was located in Crysler, and only the village benefited from this service. A few years later, a branch line was built into the countryside. In 1925, thanks to the initiative of the parish priest, the telephone became very popular, a trend that lasted until the Great Depression. It reached most homes, and the switchboard was installed in the village itself, at the home of Mathias Lavergne.

Until the services of the Hydro-Electric Power Commission became available in 1930, the church, presbytery, convent, school, sexton’s house and even, for a time, some private homes were lit by electricity from the thermal unit purchased by parish priest Vital Pilon. Prior to the use of this system, the church had been lit by oil lamps, then by gas. In August 1930, with the inauguration of the new provincial service, the oil lamps and gas burners that had been neglected to be removed disappeared from the church. An era was over. Along with the church, the entire village up to Crysler was equipped with modern electrical service. A small number of farmers took advantage of it. But in 1939, power lines were built along almost the entire length of the parish’s two main roads, and most parishioners took the opportunity to electrify their farms. The war brought a halt to this fine modernization work. But as soon as the situation allowed, the electrification movement was resumed with vigor.

The village has always been home to a number of businesses, but our countryside hides a good many that should not be forgotten for their economic contribution, their dynamism and the rich diversity they bring to St-Albert’s economic profile. In the past, the village was characterized by its general store, which sold a wide range of products and services: groceries, ironmongery, lamp oil, coal, clothing, shoes, woven fabric, wool and medicines. And if you wanted molasses or lamp oil, you had to bring your own jug.

Roger Cayer, St-Albert, 125 ans de vie, 1999, p.16 to 24 and p.151 to 180

Here are photos of some of St. Albert’s businesses through the ages: