Profile Elpége and Cécile (Chiasson) Theriault Elpége was Born: , New Brunswick - died: Dartmouth, Nova Scotia Cécile was Born:

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Married 2-Feb-1937

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The Window I lay in my room with the shade shut tight. All is quiet and peaceful in my little corner. Outside I hear a robin calling for spring. I slowly crawl to the window and open the shade. Each day the same robin wakes me with its song. Where I was blind the spring opens my eyes. The elms, maples and oaks danced. The violets, petunias and geraniums paint. The birds, bees and butterflies swam. Finally the day came when the robin did not appear. For days I waited but there was nothing. The one thing that brought such joy was gone. The days turned into months and I closed the shade. I lay in my room with the shade shut tight. All is quiet and peaceful in my world. Outside I hear a robin calling for spring. I slowly crawl to the window and open the shade. I opened the window and tossed out some seeds. Later I placed a few feeders, birdhouses, and a birdbath. I expanded the garden, installed a waterfall and created a pond. Each season brings change but every spring the robins return. April 2001

he young Theriault family moved from Caraquet, New Brunswick to Dartmouth Nova Scotia during the Second World War. At that time carpenters and trades people were brought to the Halifax area to aid in constructing the infrastructure needed to support the war effort abroad. Elpége worked on a number of the homes that were built in the Northend of Dartmouth. Many of these houses were fabricated during the war to house the workers, soldiers and the families of the soldiers.

Once the war was over Elphége continued to work in the Halifax / Dartmouth area. The houses were built during the war as temporary were sold once victory was declared and a permanent community was established. Elphége built an ongoing career out of lifting these temporary houses to create room for a permanent foundation underneath the structure.

Elphége also had a small workshop in the basement of his house used to sharpen saws for many of the carpenters in the area. He created a unique saw sharpening process that did not have a patent and disappeared after his death.

I would have to saw that Elphége was a quiet but strong spirited man. He did not push his way through life but went about his business allowing others to live their lives as they saw fit. He was not a overly wealthy man but managed to provide a good home and a loan of a few dollars once in awhile to those in need. He could not be described as an overly loving individual but at the same time I do not think that he was unkind. He tried to do his best with the tools that life provided him and lived with the regrets of times when he was a little heavy handed.

My greatest memories, of my grandfather, were of going fishing or clam digging. I think that when he was out of the house and relaxing he could truly just be himself. Perhaps it was just the feeling of getting away from the urban centre to a more rural setting reminiscent of younger days.

My grandfather died of cancer. He had gone to the hospital for an operation and when they opened him up he was full of cancer. He died two weeks later. I don't think it was all the cancer. I think that he was tired. All the people that he known in his life, that were his age, had died. I think that he felt that it was time and just gave into what was inevitable.

The marriage produced four boys and two girls.

Above is a photograph of Cecile with her a very young children in Caraquet, New Brunswick, around 1943/44.
The family first moved to an area in Eastern Passage. This area was know as Clarence Park. The area was later developed into commercial land used for oil storage and a car port.

Clarence Park, Dartmouth/Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia (1944)	Clarence Park 1949