Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Sepia Saturday #154 - Our Fishing Boat


This week's Sepia Saturday prompt photo is entitled "Rough Wooden Bridge over River,
Group with Dog on Shore." I very much liked the woman's back and found her the most
interesting figure in the photo. But where's the dog? Is that a partial mutt in the lower right corner....and is it...could it be, the dog's behind?? If so, why would the partial dog merit mention in the title and the boat with rowing occupants be overlooked? As usual, the photo is loaded with questions and food for thought, but I decided to take the easy path and tell the tail tale of our family fishing boat.

Hector with a few of his carvings.



My grandfather Hector Fortier was a farmer and a carpenter. When they were in their eighties, my grandparents decided they'd had enough of hard farm work on the prairie and moved from Letellier, Manitoba into the city of Winnipeg to a tiny little house - one bedroom, one bathroom, a living room and kitchen. 

Bored with carving small figures out of wood and doing odd jobs, Hector sat quietly smoking his pipe one day and decided as a practical matter to build his own coffin. He knew my grandmother would pitch a fit if she found out so he kept it in pieces for as long as he could, only fitting it together when she was out shopping or visiting. When he was finally ready to assemble it he made his announcement; she absolutely forbade him to continue. She wasn't going to live with that "thing" in the garage.

Marriage to my grandmother was not for sissies and Hector launched a resistance trying to persuade her to co-exist with his funereal creation - to no avail. Finally, he did the next most practical thing you can do with a coffin - he turned it into a boat! With a nice coat of maroon paint you could hardly tell what was originally intended and we had many pleasant fishing trips on it.
Hector in his "boat".





As we froze in "Winterpeg" for much of the year, the family took advantage of every opportunity to get outdoors and enjoy the beach in the summer, in or out of the boat. This is a favorite beach photo of mine: my mother, me (blonde), my sister and Hector.



Despite the gloomy aspect of the coffin project, my grandfather was not a dour man - in fact, he seemed very happy to me. I'd say he was guilty only of planning a little too far ahead. Even if my grandmother Pulcherie hadn't vetoed the coffin, it would have languished in the garage for 15 years or so before he died at 95.

Some time after the coffin/boat incident, grandfather, always restless and inventive, began disassembling things to figure out how they worked. Unfortunately it was a one-way process and he'd forget how to put them back together. The TV, reduced to a pile of tubes and beyond redemption, had to be replaced; he started in on the car. That's when we began locking everything up. 

Fortunately the formidable Pulcherie was able to keep Hector out of further trouble and outlived him by a few years, dying at 100 with most of her wits. Just before he died they celebrated their 75th anniversary. 

Hector and Pulcherie in earlier years

Check out more rowing/boating/bridge stories on Sepia Saturday:

 Sepia Saturday















32 comments:

  1. What a remarkable man! Thank you, I can see where you get it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I thoroughly enjoyed this, Helen. Your grandfather was quite a character! I think that whole coffin idea is really rather practical, and I commend him for it. I am curious; did he give the boat a name that was relevant to its origins (question mark)

    It seems I have hit inadvertently hit the French keyboard button and do not know how to fix it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Pas de chance about the French keyboard. I don't remember a name which is curious because they named everything and nick-named everybody.

      Delete
  3. That's the funniest story I've ever read. I wish I could have met your grandfather. I bet he and your grandmother were funny together.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They were funny together - mostly amicable funny. When they moved from the farm to the city, they were a little bit like fish out of water.

      Delete
  4. Great story! Your grandfather should have been buried in his "boat."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That would have been a great end to the story.

      Delete
  5. I guess he wasn't buried in the boat.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, but we could have saved a piece of it and buried it with him. Too bad we didn't think of that.

      Delete
  6. What a great idea for a coffin/boat. At least he put it to good use.75 years married - that's an achievement.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, as much as my grandmother hated the thing, she probably would have been even more upset if the wood went to waste.

      Delete
  7. What a great post about Hector and tying it all in with Alan's theme! I thought the world of my grandfather too, they are amazing people that enter our lives offering so much and leave us with so many treasures!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, grandparents connect you to another world which sadly we often don't appreciate until we're older and they're long gone. Like most of us, there are so many things I wish I could thank them for now.

      Delete
  8. What a great story. Building his coffin in advance - brilliant. And turning it into a boat. Even better. And where did your grandmother get that name? It must be an old family name. Never heard it before.
    Great post.
    Nancy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Pulcherie is a French Canadian name...there are many unusual ones in that community, like Euphegenia and Euphemeus, Onezime - some of my relatives.

      Delete
  9. Your grandfather must be related to a friend of mine who has a dining room table that's really a coffin (with a HUGE piece of glass atop it) -- it's pretty funny, actually, to watch people eating dinner and finally connecting that they're being served atop a coffin...I loved your story, Helen! Great!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, your dining-room-table-coffin tops my boat-coffin any way you look at it. Talk about a conversation piece!!

      Delete
  10. From now on rowing boats will never be the same to me! Quite a man, your grandfather! I wish I could have been present when your grandma found out. "Well Hector, this coffin is out or I am out and I am dead serious!" Great post, thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Helen, a marvelous story; What an idea to make your own coffin. It was a good idea to convert it to a boat, have you still got it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, we don't have it. And unfortunately I don't know what happened to it - I can only hope someone is still enjoying it.

      Delete
  12. What a fabulous story. Oh I do admire your grandfather and would like to emulate him one day. As I am little use with woodwork, I hope I may survive until 3D printers become cheap and easily available. Then it would simply be - print your own coffin!

    ReplyDelete
  13. A very enjoyable post. I love the story about the coffin/boat and also the family photo.

    You certainly have a long life expectancy in your family.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Laughed at the story as I can see Hector finding a way around opposition. Did any of his carvings survive? Fun reading and good for them both!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The carvings have survived and are distributed between the cousins. Hopefully they will pass onto the next generation.

      Delete
  15. Wonderful story Helen and it really made me smile. I thought my parents had done well to get to their 70th anniversary but 75 deserves a medal!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I also enjoyed Hector's coffin/boat story. I was wondering too if he got to use it for a coffin. I guess not. I love grandparent stories. For three years my husband and I wrote a book for each grandchild atChristmas and had it bound at Kinko's. Each one was about that particular child and the things we had done together. Then they got into the teens and such and we didn't have as much in common. Would take nothing for those stories. I have a copy of each one. Called them "The Papaw and Mamaw Stories."
    Thanks for bringing that memory up for me.
    QMM

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What a great gift to your grandchildren and sure to be treasured by them forever.

      Delete
  17. One meets the best people on Sepia Saturday - everyone's favorite relations! A super introduction with great photos. As a woodworker and hoarder I can relate to Hector's notions. Never waste good lumber.

    ReplyDelete
  18. What a hilarious story! I just love this! Your grandfather sounds like he was so fun and fun-loving too. He must have been a hoot to be around. I love how he fit pieces of the coffin together while your grandmother was out. I can just imagine him scurrying around to put things away when he heard her coming.

    Thanks for this fun story!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My grandfather was fun and enjoyed his life. He made everything he did, even ordinary tasks, seem special.

      Delete
  19. Anonymous6:29 PM

    Helen Love this story. What fun. Canadians are so practible. Beth c

    ReplyDelete
  20. Just wanted to let you know that your blog post is listed on my Fab Finds post today at http://janasgenealogyandfamilyhistory.blogspot.com/2012/12/follow-fridayfab-finds-for-december-7.html

    Have a great weekend!

    ReplyDelete