The Sensitive Moose
It’s the bitter winter of 1962 and Pat, along with his brother Johnny, friend Alton Underhill, and their father Sylvernus, travel the Bartholomew Road to gather firewood. On their way the boys venture upon a not-so-pleasant moose, the focus of the twenty-second installment of Pat Fournier’s memoir Memories of a Boy Growing Up in Blackville.…
Read MoreJimmy and Jesus
As Father Nowlan retires from serving as parish priest at St. Raphael’s, a visiting priest shares a story of faith that strikes a chord with fourteen year old Pat in Jimmy and Jesus, the twenty-first installment of Pat Fournier’s memoir Memories of a Boy Growing Up in Blackville. JIMMY AND JESUS Written by Pat Fournier…
Read MoreGreater Blackville Resource Centre Receives Funding
The Greater Blackville Resource Center has received supplement funding from the Healthy & Inclusive Communities Department of the provincial government. The grant was recently presented to the Greater Blackville Resource Center (GBRC) food bank by Southwest Miramichi MLA Jake Stewart. The food bank, located at 12073 Route 8, assists 56 registered clients. This $8,500 grant…
Read MoreMost Memorable Christmas
It’s Christmastime in 1960 and thirteen year old Pat and the rest of the Fournier family are preparing for the holidays. In the twentieth installment of Pat’s memoir, Memories of a Boy Growing Up in Blackville, the young boy recalls the cutting and trimming of the tree, the snowy midnight trek to mass and the…
Read MoreFree For All Community Meal
On Tuesday, July 8, Jerry Stafford along with volunteers from local communities, hosted a free-for-all roast beef supper for residents affected by Tropical Storm Arthur. An estimated five-hundred people attended the meal that was held at the Father AA McKinnon Memorial Hall from 4:00pm to 6:00pm. Stafford, from Main Street Valu Foods, also donated all…
Read More40 Days of Stupidity
It’s the 40 days of Lent and twelve year old Pat has given up candy for the lenten season. Earning money from his neighbour Jim MacKenzie, Pat engineers a plan to buy and save until Easter, as much candy as he can at Jenny Hayes’ store. 40 Days of Stupidity is the nineteenth installment of…
Read MoreCommunity Rallies Together After Crippling Arthur
Days after Tropical Storm Arthur swept through the region, the village of Blackville and its surrounding communities are pulling together to clean up after the storm that crippled much of the area. Heavy rain and damaging winds knocked out power early Saturday morning. Although power was restored in much of Blackville on Sunday evening, there…
Read MoreThe Godparents’ Visit
In the eighteenth installment of Pat Fournier’s memoir, Memories of a Boy Growing Up in Blackville, the family receives a visit from Johnny’s godparents, Joan and Alban Boudreau. THE GODPARENTS’ VISIT Written by Pat Fournier July 1959 – twelve years old We had a nice visit one weekend by Joan and Alban Boudreau, who were…
Read MoreA Scary Walk Home
It’s May of 1959, and Pat Fournier is attending a night-time screening of “The War of the Worlds” at Saint Raphael’s church hall. In the seventeenth installment of his memoir, Memories of a Boy Growing Up in Blackville, twelve year old Pat faces a frightening walk home after watching the scariest movie he’d ever seen.…
Read MoreThe Outhouse
It’s the Spring of 1959 and Pat Fournier’s older brother Johnny has an unfortunate run-in with the family outhouse in the sixteenth installment of Pat’s memoir, Memories of a Boy Growing Up in Blackville. THE OUTHOUSE Written by Pat Fournier November 11, 1958 – eleven years old Our little sister Leslie is born. Now there…
Read MoreBlackville School Hosts 2014 Senior Prom
Blackville High School hosted the 2014 senior Prom on Saturday, June 14, 2014 in the school gymnasium. Graduates and their dates arrived to prom in style: trucks, old cars and even on motorcycle. The parade of graduates was well attended, with people lining the school parking lot for a glimpse of their friends and family.…
Read MoreSummer’s Gong
It’s the summer of 1958 and the residents of the village of Blackville and outlying communities have gathered for the social event of the year: St. Raphael’s annual church picnic. In this fifteenth installment of his memoir, Memories of a Boy Growing Up in Blackville, Pat Fournier reflects on the day’s events and recalls some…
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