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Richard Roy
THE GENERAL
STORE
"The general store was where everyone got their news,"
France Provencher, director of the Louis S. St-Laurent National
Historic Site of Canada, said with a smile as she showed me into
the store. "It was a meeting place for the men of the village.
But not for the women; they had to stay at home with the children."
At that moment the phone rang, and Provencher handed me a brochure
as she went to answer it. Glancing at the brochure, the following
sentence caught my imagination: "Travel back in time and step
inside the doorway of an authentic general store… Feel the
atmosphere that once prevailed here."
Stepping inside
the store and standing by the wood stove, I became a shadow, a traveler
in time. I pictured a winter night  and
imagined listening in on people's conversations. It was a cold and
snowy December night in Compton; the wind howled, rattling the windows
in their panes. Four sat huddled for warmth beside the old potbellied
stove in Moïse St-Laurent's general store, discussing local
affairs. "I tell you, that's how it happened," Jean-Baptiste
Moïse, Prime Minister Louis St-Laurent's father and designated
mediator between the French and English communities in Compton,
may have said to his companions as he leaned forward in his rocking
chair to add another log to the dwindling fire…
The old St-Laurent general store during its heyday.
(Photo: Courtesy of Louis S. St-Laurent National Historic Site of
Canada)
Then my own
memories came back to me, memories long forgotten of when I was
a child accompanying my grandfather to the general store in St-Donat
in the Laurentians. "Good day, Alphonse," Grandpa would
say as we entered. "And how is the Missus today?" "Fine,
fine thank you, Rosaire," Alphonse would reply. Then he'd turn
to me and say, "And you, young man, have a candy cane while
Grandpa and I go about our business." The bartering would then
begin between my grandfather and the storekeeper while I happily
tasted my candy cane. "Let's see now," Alphonse would
say when he totaled up Grandpa's bill. "Tea, coffee, and a
can of peaches… and… and, oh yes, a candy cane."
Then Grandpa would pay, and as we left the store he would grumble,
"Always he tells you to have a candy cane and always he adds
it to my bill in the end." But I didn't mind because I always
got my candy cane.
The shelves
in Moïse St-Laurent's general store are stacked, just like
the ones in St. Donat were, with cans of fruit, packages of cereal,
tea, coffee, and medications. "There was no inventory available,
so we had to do a lot of research," France Provencher told
me. "We were able to find the labels of products that were
for sale in 1910 when Moïse owned the store. We then had reproductions
of the originals made and glued them to the tins and boxes."
THE PRIME
MINISTER FROM COMPTON
Provencher ushered me into what was originally a warehouse behind
the main counter of the store. It is now a fascinating multimedia
showroom where you can learn all about Louis S. St-Laurent's life.
You can follow a timeline along the walls of the room or view his
legal and political career on video. St-Laurent was born in Compton
in 1882, and is the only Canadian Prime Minister born in the Eastern
Townships. He received his law degree in 1905, and although he never
displayed a desire to enter politics, in 1941 he agreed to be the
Member of Parliament for Quebec-East. He became Secretary of State
for Foreign Affairs three years later, and was chosen to succeed
the aging Mackenzie King as Prime Minister in 1948. As Prime Minister,
St-Laurent was instrumental in establishing Canadian peacekeeping
missions under the auspices of the newly formed NATO, and sent troops
to Korea in 1950 and to the Suez Canal in 1956. He served until
1957. Louis St-Laurent died in 1973 at the age of 91, and he is
buried in Compton near his childhood home.
While in Compton,
you can also visit the house where Louis St-Laurent grew up. It
is attached to his father Moïse's general store. You may take
a bilingual guided tour, room by room, and discover more than 2,500
original items and furnishings. Then you can drop in at "Lora's
Cupboard" to purchase souvenirs and specialty foods. For more
information, contact: Louis S. St-Laurent National Historic Site
of Canada, 6790 Louis-S.-St-Laurent Route, Compton, Quebec J0B 1L0.
Tel: (819) 835-5448 or (800) 463-6769. Email : france_provencher@pch.gc.ca
For more information,
click
here.
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