Franco-American Culture in New England (Fall River, Holyoke: middle school, university, living in)

[oihamad]

Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade

I agree I don’t know why OP came for me the way he did. Honestly I was mostly trying to give some credence to what OP was saying.

Hey, sorry for the tone of my response to you, it wasn't meant to be personal. The only point I was trying to make was that the places I mentioned have a high percentage of self-identified people who claim French descent. French-Canadian culture could be completely dead in those places, I just dont see it being completely forgotten either otherwise the number identifying as such wouldn't be so high. I apologize for the curtness of my reply though, it was late at night and I should have thought about how I worded myself.

[tovarisch]

Go to a diner in each city and order poutine. If they've got it and can make it, you have your answer.

[2ner]

Originally Posted by oihamad

The only point I was trying to make was that the places I mentioned have a high percentage of self-identified people who claim French descent. French-Canadian culture could be completely dead in those places, I just dont see it being completely forgotten either otherwise the number identifying as such wouldn't be so high.

I looked back at my high school year book... more than 4/5ths of my classmates had French surnames. Any Census figures you cite about self-identified ethnic-French people in Maine or Massachusetts or anywhere in New England really are going to be lower than the reality. Not everyone who knows they are French will mark that on the Census form.

Originally Posted by tovarisch

Go to a diner in each city and order poutine. If they've got it and can make it, you have your answer.

According to this Sun Journal (Lewiston-Auburn's newspaper) article, The Poutine Factory will be opening on Minot Avenue in Auburn (which is across the Androscoggin River from Lewistion) this coming winter: http://www.sunjournal.com/new-brewer...ing-to-auburn/. In Auburn, what is known as "New Auburn" was historically an all-French expanse of neighborhoods. It is right across the river from Lewiston's Little Canada neighborhood.

So, by this metric the title goes to...

Maybe Quebec-in-Maine is not so dead after all.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

My personal experience is the French speaking Quebec immigrants are pretty much all dead now. The ones I can think of were all elderly in 1980. In 2018, nobody goes to the Ospital when they get sick. You never hear "Throw me down the stairs my shoes".

While I don't want to overstate it, the children of those now-deceased people often do speak a bit of French. Though their own children generally do not.


It's a "thing" every time an American election campaign is on, for Radio-Canada to send reporters down to a place like Manchester, NH to feel the pulse through people who can actually comment in French. Manchester is about a 4-hour drive from Montreal, so close enough to be accessible but far enough into the U.S. to be away from any border town microphenomena.


They never have any trouble find an abundance of French speakers, even though it's true all of them are over 50 or 60.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by tovarisch

Go to a diner in each city and order poutine. If they've got it and can make it, you have your answer.

Poutine is very common all across Northern New England. Pretty much every restaurant around me serves it, and my town is not very French at all.



Heck, recently I was at a PIZZA place in Middleboro, MA that had it. It's a fad.

[tovarisch]

OK, well, meat pie, then.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by tovarisch

OK, well, meat pie, then.

Yeah, but "meat pie" isn't necessarily French-Quebecois. If you go to Australia and New Zealand, meat pies are everywhere in a glass-front self serve warming case. Gas stations. Convenience stores. Any cafeteria line. Any spectator sporting event. It's like a hot dog in the US. Tourtiere is a very specific pork pie with aromatic spices like clove, allspice, nutmeg, thyme, and sage. I grew up on English meat pies which are much more bland.

[tovarisch]

Tourtiere is actually what I meant.

[MassVt]

There is definitely a Franco-American culture in the three northern New England states. Many classmates of mine decades ago ( in VT) had French surnames, and you will occasionally hear French spoken there, especially among the elderly. But I suspect that the language aspect is slowly dwindling..

[Mark 24]

Originally Posted by jayrandom

Woonsocket still has a French genealogical society and a French Heritage Festival (you just missed it: NRICA: French Heritage Festival).

French heritage Is really diluted, though. By time, intermarriage, and lots of newer groups. I know a few people of French decent and the only way you’d know is by last name.

Both Woonsocket radio stations have French speaking programs on weekends. While the numbers in Woonsocket are down the surrounding towns, especially North Smithfield, Glocester and Burrilville, have large numbers of those with French ancestry.

Another area with French Heritage is the old mill city of West Warwick. The villages of River Point, Artic, Natick etc. were filled with French Canadians seeking work. At the time of their immigration West Warwick was still part of the larger now city of Warwick. Warwick requested a separation partly because of the discrimination factor. The Anglo's of Warwick wanted nothing to do with the mill people and French Canadians. The separation occurred in 1912.