Edited interview with Alexina "Marie" Couture (AC),
daughter of Elizabeth Desmarais and niece of Lumina Desmarais. Interview conducted by Joe Manning (JM) on July 30, 2009.
JM: When were you born, and where were your parents living
then?
AC: I was born in 1926.
At the time, my parents were living in Winchendon, above Brousseau's Bakery. I think it was on Maple Street. Then we moved
to Glenallan Street (142). We had no water or electricity, and we had an outdoor toilet. We left there when I was in the fifth
grade. My parents bought a house on Spruce Street, the street the Catholic church is on. Later on, they bought a house on
Belmont Avenue.
JM: Was your
mother still working when you were born?
AC:
No. But when we lived on Belmont Avenue, she went to work nights, from about 2:00 to 10:00, at the Springs Mill. She would
take the bus. She did that for maybe a year. I was 13 years old then.
JM: Where was your father working?
AC: He was working for the railroad. Later he worked for Davenport, which was a coal and oil company.
He delivered it. He used to carry sacks of coal on his back.
JM: How many siblings did you have?
AC: Three. Joseph was the youngest.
JM: Did you stay at Belmont Avenue the rest of your childhood?
AC: No. We moved to Gardner. My parents later bought a house on Pine Street in Gardner, after I
got married.
JM: Why did your
parents move to Gardner?
AC: My
father got a job at Siebert's (Siebert Carriage Co.), which made carriages and strollers. My brother and I both got jobs there.
I was sixteen when I started. I didn't graduate from high school, but I finished the tenth grade. The first job I had was
at a dress shop in Winchendon. I was sewing.
JM:
When did you get married?
AC:
In 1946. I married Alfred Couture. We lived on Graham Street in Gardner. We finally bought a house in East Templeton. In 1969,
we moved to Worcester. We had nine children. The first one died as a baby, and we adopted one.
JM: Did your mother ever go back to work after she moved to Gardner?
AC: No.
JM:
Your Aunt Lumina spent most of her later life in various nursing homes. Did you visit her often?
AC: Yes, I did. She was a very nice woman. She just had
a problem with an eating disorder. I used to take care of little babies for Catholic Charities. I would sometimes bring them
to the hospital when I visited her, and she used to love to talk to them. And I would bring her Graham crackers and a bottle
of milk, so she could have something nice to eat.
JM:
Do you think she was happy in the nursing home?
AC:
There was no other place for her to live.
JM:
Did you know your grandparents, your mother's parents?
AC:
Oh, yes. They were very nice people. They spoke French most of the time. When my grandmother was older, she loved to deal
in antiques. She bought and sold them. She was a good businesswoman. She braided rugs and sold them. She raised and sold chickens,
and also sold eggs to the local store. My grandfather worked at the Springs Mill, and he also worked in Waterville at the
bucket factory (New England Wooden Ware).
JM:
How far did your mother get in school?
AC:
I don't know, but she didn't graduate.
JM:
Did she speak French?
AC: Yes,
both my parents did. In fact, when I started school, I didn't speak much English. But I learned it very fast. My mother could
also speak English, because she was born in Winchendon. But my father was born in Canada. He went to school to get his naturalization
papers.
JM: When did she die?
AC: May 23, 1972, in Gardner. She was living on West Street
then. She was a diabetic, and she had lost both legs. My father died March 24, 1958, of lung cancer. My mother remarried,
to Leon Archambeault.
JM: What
was your mother like?
AC: She
was a very nice lady, always full of joy, always singing. She was a great cook and a good seamstress. She liked to play the
harmonica, like her sister Lumina. She played the piano, by ear, and she played the accordion. She liked to play mostly French
music. She also sang a lot of war songs, like "Over There."
JM: Were you surprised that your mother and your aunt were working at the mill at that age?
AC: My mother mentioned that she worked there, but I didn't
know my aunt did. My mother said she made $3.10 a week, and her mother took it and gave her 10 cents of it which she could
spend on herself. She told me that there was a girl who went to work with her, and they were supposed to start at age 14.
The girl said she was 14, though she was actually 13. So my mother, who was also 13, said she was 14. Until you sent me the
pictures, I didn't have any pictures of my mother when she was that young.
