Franco-American Culture in New England (Boston, Lowell: home, public school, live)

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by massnative71

MAYBE Lewiston, ME for "Franco-American" Quebec culture. I'm sure it's diluted there as well, but if there is one place left that would be it.

Lewiston ME is where I was going to say as well. At least as recent as a decade ago there were still masses in French there.

[oihamad]

Yeah I didnt necessarily mean to imply that French Canadian culture is strong in all the places I mentioned, just that they have a lot of people with French Canadian ancestry by sheer numbers alone. It could be really diluted culturally. The first response to my post implied that Franco Americans were not present in these towns at all.

[tysmith95]

During the 2000 census roughly 25% of Lewiston spoke French at home. I wouldn't be surprised if that has slowly been dropping over the past 18 years though.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

It's not Franco-American. It's Quebec-American. Quebec has a perpetual economic growth problem and has always had a large amount of outward migration. Western Canada has been doing really well for decades so the outward migration shifted from New England to Western Canada where you still have those comfortable Canadian things like health care and bilingual cereal boxes..

There hasn't been a significant outmigration of French Canadians from Quebec in many, many decades. Quebec hasn't always been a stellar economic performer for most of that time (though it's doing very well at the moment) but it's been *good enough* and also big and diverse enough for probably 95+% of its French Canadian population to stay put within the borders of the province for several generations now.

You're right though that for those who do move out, the focus has shifted westwards to Ontario and Western Canada. This trend began in the middle of the 20th century when the border between Canada and the U.S. started to become a more meaningful thing as opposed to just a line in the woods.


Some French Canadians still do move to the U.S. these days, but they're not going to medium-sized mill towns in the NE, but rather to places like NYC, California, Boston, Texas and Florida.

[Shrewsburried]

Originally Posted by oihamad

Yeah I didnt necessarily mean to imply that French Canadian culture is strong in all the places I mentioned, just that they have a lot of people with French Canadian ancestry by sheer numbers alone. It could be really diluted culturally. The first response to my post implied that Franco Americans were not present in these towns at all.

Because one wouldn't know unless they surveyed the populace and understand surname etymology.

I lived in Lowell for six years and, beyond encountering the occasional Boucher or Poirier or Montreal-transient, never encountered anything or anyone remotely Franco-Can/US.. The Irish were/are the dominant 'white culture' in greater Lowell, with south Asian's (Cambodian dominant) and central American's being the primary cultural influence of the city. Even the old-guard Greeks and Portuguese have retained some cultural presence, but the French? No so much.

I know a number of people with French-Canadian heritage in MA and NH, but most have assimilated into some generic secular Anglo culture (whatever that means) or embraced the working-class Irish-Catholic 'scene'. As Geoff suggests, some still make the occasional meat pie (tourtiere), but having traveled to France with one of these meat-pie-making 'Franco-Canadian-Americans', don't expect them to speak French or appreciate the culture - it's a good thing I had acquired basic French in high school (that trip was the 'Mieux vaut être seul que mal accompagné' moment for that relationship).

[247crw]

I lived and worked in Western Mass (South Hadley, Holyoke, Chicopee, Springfield) for a few years and do not remember any notable French Canadian population aside from some people having French last names. Not that they weren't there, I just wasn't aware of it.

I live in Northern New Hampshire and it does seem almost more common to have a French last name than to not and there are people who primarily speak French at home. However most of the French Canadians (who would identify as such) I encounter here are tourists from Quebec or working for some of the Canadian businesses that have based their US operations in my town (Rotobec and Kamik are the first two to come to mind). There are definitely more French Canadians up here than I ever encountered in MA, but I don't know how much of a cultural component is actually preserved. However in Berlin, NH there does seem to be more of a French Canadian community. Supposedly 65% of the population there still speak a dialect of French called Berlin French. I have several friends from Berlin who speak French as their first language and have more recent connections to Quebec.

My husband's father is French Canadian and grew up in Aroostook County, Maine. There are lots of stories about how difficult it was for my husband's grandfather as a native French speaker, but their family has not held on to any real French Canadian identity aside from having a French last name. My husband doesn't identify as being French Canadian at all, just American because he has no cultural connection. That seems common with a lot of families in Northern Maine and Northern New Hampshire.

[MMS02760]

There was a sizeable number of French-Canadians in several of Rhode Island's mill towns such as West Warwick, Pawtucket, and Woonsocket. The latter city was once majority French-Canadian and French was a commonly spoken language on its streets. As with all ethnic groups that have come to the USA, the new immigrants stuck together and settled near one another close to their jobs. The passage of time however has seen assimilation and the strong connections to heritage have lessened.

It is worth noting that the Catholic Saint Brother Andre Bessette of Montreal came to West Warwick to work in its mills when he was 20. He returned to Quebec after two years but often returned to RI and nearby Fall River to visit family and friends. Brother Andre built a small chapel on the edge of Mount Royal in Montreal that attracted many as he was rumored to have healing powers. Canada's largest church, St Joseph's Oratory (which I have visited) was later built next to the chapel to accommodate the growing number that came to see Brother Andre.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

It's not Franco-American. It's Quebec-American.

I managed to leave a Franco-American SpaghettiO's joke on the table.

[johngolf]

Waltham had a very large French-Canadian population beginning in the mid 60's. There was a FAV (French American Veterans) Club, a French Catholic church, etc. As a teenager, the first two girls I had intimate relationships with were from Moncton NB. I loved them French Canadian girls.....LOL

I think it has been watered down in the last few decades. Many French Canadian names in Waltham but not sure how many came from Canada versus being born here.

[2ner]

Originally Posted by oihamad

I am curious if there are still communities where Franco-American/French Canadian heritage is strongly preserved or felt from the large migration which took place from 1840-1930 to work in textile mills and other industries. I know places like Lewiston Maine, Manchester New Hampshire, Woonsocket Rhode Island, Southbridge Mass and certain parts of Lowell, Lawrence, Worcester, Springfield/Chicopee and surrounding suburbs all contain predominant Franco-American populations but is it more of a weak hyphenated identity or

No... strongly preserved, no. Whatever is left is a remnant... or relic. It was a hyphenated identity in the 1970s and 1980s, but now it is gone.

I grew up in Lewiston-Auburn, once the most French-speaking city in New England. "Franco-Americans" (a term invented in New England) of my parents' generation mostly know French, even if they prefer English. My generation neither knows nor understands French, with a few exceptions. My nieces call their grandparents mémère and pépère, but that is the only French they know. My youngest sister who works in nursing homes in the area uses French daily, though.

When I was a kid they started the annual Franco-American Festival to celebrate the culture, but it was mostly carnivalesque with rides, cotton candy, etc.... with bingo for the elders. They did have French-Canadian folk musicians perform every year, however, and traditional Franco-Canadian food. But, it was held in Kennedy Park, and it degenerated... and parents stopped bringing their children there. They then moved it indoors into Androscoggin Bank Colisée (note the semi-French name). They put signs at the city limits that directed people toward "Centre-ville" (i.e., "downtown") and put up French signage in the downtown parking garage (entrée, sortie...).

Originally Posted by oihamad

do folks in these places maintain a strong sense of their heritage through use of the French Language, eating Quebecois Cuisine or attending French Roman Catholic Parishes?

Only the very elderly now still use French as their primary language. When I was a kid Franco-American families celebrated Christmas Eve bigtime and Anglo-American families celebrated Christmas Day bigtime. Francos had food for the celebration, like tourtière (a meat pie), that Anglos did not. I imagine some younger families continue the tradition... not as a consciously ethnic tradition, but as a family tradition... to the extent that wives and mothers still prepare Christmas eve dinners. When I was a young kid there were still numerous daily and weekend masses in French at the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul and at St Mary's (in Little Canada, which is now closed and has become the Franco Center for Heritage and the Performing Arts). There is now only one bilingual mass on Saturday at the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. Regardless of language, most people do not go to mass anymore.