parlez français!

My patrolling of the web for French Canadian history in New Bedford hasn't stopped & I just ran into this piece. {I also posted a link in the "In the News" section}

Richelieu Club keeps French going in New Bedford by Kim Ledoux is a great article that brings into question reasons or methods to keep your history going. This article goes on to say: "Years ago, New Bedford was a French-speaking city. Far fewer people speak French here today, so there is a need to find others who do," said Lynette Ouellette, vice president of the New Bedford Richelieu Club

My mother spoke French growing up & even into school & my Mémère & her both sang to me & my siblings & cousins when we were growing up, but as we got older a lot of our French speaking went away {although, we still love our meat pie, this isn't our recipe, but you get the idea!}. My father's side of the family also has strong French Canadian {& French-French} roots, although they settled in Maine, as opposed to southeast Massachusetts. We still maintain a little of the language, but it's a weakened form of franglais. It really upsets me sometimes, since it is my heritage afterall!

In my opinion, what makes New Bedford such an interesting place is its immigrant population. This is a city that has not lost its sense of place; the city feels different. However, if what makes a place different is not maintained, then it becomes boring - why would you want to go somewhere that looks & feels like every other place else. In the words of Sarah Delano, President of W.H.A.L.E from 1966 to 1982: "If you bulldoze your heritage, you become just anywhere." With the removal of bilingual education in small Catholic schools {where nuns spoke French} & the general acceptance of English at home & outside, as opposed to maintaining French inside of the home as a tradition - more & more people became fully assimilated & their culture faded away - I suppose, in a way, we are discussing the metaphorical "bulldozing" of our heritage.

The Richelieu Club, founded in 1958 in New Bedford, is trying to reach out to any and every French speaking immigrant or resident in the city to encourage people to speak the language to prevent it from dying out. Today, only 6% of New Bedford's population is French, & I would be sad to see any more of this culture disappear from the landscape.