Editor's Note: On Wednesday, July 14, Haverhill observed Bastille Day and Mayor James Fiorentini flew the flag of France out his City Hall window. But what about giving credit to another group of French-speaking residents of Haverhill? Reader Roger J. Lemire responds to a column by Haverhill Gazette alum Barney Gallagher that was published recently in The Eagle-Tribune.
Thank you, Barney Gallagher, for your view on the French in Haverhill, but I could not help but see that there was some of it left out.
First, Lafayette was a Parisian born in Auvergne, France. His full name was Marie Joseph Jaul Yves Roch Gilbert du Notier. He made captain at the age of 16 and at age 20 was a major general in the staff of America's first president, George Washington.
He had nothing to do with the Bastille Revolution.
Now let's talk about the Canadians.
What some people don't know: Independence Day in Canada is July 1. Before that it was Dominion Day and Confederation Day. In 1982, it was changed to Canada Day.
Now let's talk about the Canadians in Haverhill: Did you know that in the mid-19th century the Irish and French Canadians were the first immigrants to settle in Haverhill? They were some of the best carpenters and bricklayers you could find.
Then in the 1890s the Italians, Greeks and Armenians arrived.
My parents came from Canada. I still have my mother's recipes for tourtiers (pork pie) and cretons (pork and potato).
The next time you walk down Washington street and look at the brick buildings and wonder who made those bricks, it was an immigrant from Quebec, Canada, the same area my mother is from.
By the way, she will turn 95 this year.
Back to the brick maker, his name is Charles Savignac. His brickyard was on Rosemont Street.
Here is something you might want to look for when you are walking up Washington Street. When they were building the new Washington Street they used granite for some of the window sills. But they ran out of granite so they made some out of cement. See if you can pick out which one is which.
Did you know that Canada entered the second World War six months before the US?
I am a first-generation Canadian American and proud to be both.
The Canadians were the first to open a bilingual school in Haverhill — St. Joseph — and it is still teaching today.
St. Joseph Parish was established in December 1871.
By the way, Lowell has much the same ethnic makeup and history. For a long time, parts of Lowell were called Little Canada.
In closing, I would say that the Canadians in this Valley had a big part in what Haverhill is today.
Yes, we should have a special day set aside to say thanks to all the Canadians who have helped to make Haverhill a nice place to live.
