A Very Sweet Tradition! DO YOU REMEMBER?
"Tire sur la neige" (taffy pull
on snow): Pauline Allard, second from left, is seen here hosting
a taffy-making party at her home in a photo that appeared
in the April, 1967 issue of the Bates Spinner, a newsletter
for employees of Bates Mill. Mrs. Allard worked at the time
as "Floor Lady" in Packing and Shipping. After the
children filled a tup of fresh snow from Mrs. Allard front
yard, she boiled the taffy mixture of brown sugar, butter,
and water. She would then test the mixture for consistency
by dropping dabs of it on the packed snow. It was ready to
pour when it stayed on top of the snow without sinking in.
She would then pour the hot taffy on the snow to cool and
harden. Once it had cooled sufficiently, the children could
scoop it with a spoon or roll it up on a fork. Pictured left
to right with Mrs. Allard are Pauline Bouchard, Mark Ouellette,
Donald Bouchard, Diane Duval, Sonia Ouellette, and her daughter
Monique Allard. This taffy-making activity, often occurring
right after a storm, has been a popular tradition with local
Franco-Americans.
"Cabane a sucre": A watercolor
painting of a traditional sugar shack in Québec by
well-known artist and teacher Mercedes Gastonguay of Lewiston.
March 2004
The Franco-American Heritage Collection at USM's Lewiston-Auburn
College currently has an exhibit on the maple sugar season,
traditionally a time of celebration in French-Canadian culture
at the end of long, harsh winters. In addition to llustrations
like those above, the display also features antique maple
sugar harvesting tools, provided by Jillson's Sugar Shack
of Sabattus. The Franco-American Heritage Collection, formerly
known as the Centre d'Heritage Franco-Americain, is the largest
repository of Franco-American archival material in the State,
with material on local history, government, religion, language,
education, industry, sports and the arts. Visitors are welcome
Monday and Wednesdays, 8:30A - 5:00P, and Thursdays, 8:00A
- 12:00P. For more information, please call 753-6545 or visit
the web site at www.usm.maine.edu/lac/franco.
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