The Club Radio Frontière Coaticook was founded in February 1977 in by Henri Fecteau, George Longmoore, Michel Fournier, Pierre Laberge, Raymond Isabelle, and Jacques Philibert. The aims of the Club were to promote and develop CB radio communication in Coaticook and the surrounding region, to encourage the use and integration of CB radios among the population, and to offer services to members to increase their knowledge of telecommunications. The Club logo was designed by Louise Lacasse of Lennoxville, which was chosen following a design contest. The Club pursued its objectives through a variety of activities, such as “coffee breaks” which brought together CB radio users from other towns, as well as fishing tournaments, Halloween parties, and Santa Clause days. The Club was also active in fundraising endeavours.
The City of Coaticook’s fire brigade had its start with the incorporation of the town in 1864 and began with bylaws to help reduce the likelihood of conflagration. By the late 1880s, Coaticook had its first organized fire brigade, called the Deluge Fire Company. A second brigade was added in 1898, called the Beaver Fire Company. Over time, the Coaticook Fire Department added various equipment, such as a steam fire pump in 1887, which marked the official beginning of the department.
Over the years, Coaticook had a number of major fires dealt with by department: in 1890, a number of buildings on Child and Main Streets succumbed to fire; in 1895 a fire destroyed a large part of the downtown; a third major fire in 1949 began in the Hotel Child and went on to destroy a number of other buildings, including the first building of the St-Jean-l’Évangeliste church.
In 1976, the firefighting services of Coaticook, Dixville, Ste-Edwidge and St-Herménégilde and a reorganization of the services was undertaken. Today, its principal mission is to assure the protection of the lives and property of the approximately 12,000 citizens situated in its member municipalities, which are spread over a territory of approximately 564 km2.
Léonard Lemoine was born on 19 March 1924 in Coaticook to Bernard Lemoine and Dorila Frappier. He married Denise Bernier and together they had three children: Marc Bernard, Paul Guy, and Louise Denise. In 1961, Léonard took over his father’s tailor business, located in Coaticook. Léonard was very involved local organizations and the community during his lifetime, which included membership in the Coaticook Lions Club and participation in municipal affairs. He passed away in 1997 and is buried at the Saint-Edmond cemetery in Coaticook.
Yvette Boucher was born on 18 February 1917 in Saint-Éleuthère-de-Kamouraska. In 1934, she obtained her teaching certificate and began her career teaching in a one-room schoolhouse. In 1935, she married Benoit Rousseau and stopped teaching to raise the couple’s eight children. Following her husband’s cerebral thrombosis in 1952, the family moved to Coaticook to pursue better educational and employment opportunities. Mrs. Rousseau worked at Coaticook Penman’s Ltd. from 1952 to 1967 as a machine operator and production supervisor. During this time, she also completed courses in politics, sociology, economics, and unions. In 1960, Mrs. Rousseau helped to successfully establish a union at the Penman’s factory and served as its president. She also served as a director on a number of union and federation boards. In 1963, she became the first woman to be elected as the vice-president of the Confédération des syndicats nationaux. From 1967 to 1971, Mrs. Rousseau worked as an educational consultant. Meanwhile, she became one of the founding members of Fédération des femmes du Québec, which was heavily involved in the creation of Conseil du statut de la femme du Québec in 1973. Included among her various honours, she was awarded an honourary doctorate from the Université de Moncton in 1977. In 1979, she was appointed as a Liberal member the Senate, an office which she held until her death on 17 March 1988.
Napoléon Drolet, born in 1842, and married Adéline Rochette in Québec in 1864. They settled in Compton, where their twelve children were born: Thomas, Eugenie, Oliva, Emile, Marie Alma, Victor, Blanche, Adelina, Marie Louise, Léon C., Ernest, and Léontine. In 1909, the family relocated to Coaticook. Ernest studied at Université de Montréal, receiving his BA in pharmacology. He opened his practice in Coaticook, in the building known as “Medicine Hall.” Ernest Drolet married Émilie Fortin in 1909 in Cookshire and together they had one child: Antoinette (1910-1999). Antoinette married Ernest Délium Émond in 1945 in Montréal.
Joseph Alexandre Fortin (1846-1920) married Marie Joséphine Tremblay (1854-1928) in Roberval in 1872. At some point the couple moved to area of La Patrie, where some of their children were born. Together they had eight children: Adélard, Joseph Darly, Alfred, Émilie, Joseph François-Xavier, Arthur, Laura, and Alice. Xavier (1884-1976) married Blanche Roy (1895-1999). Émilie (1882-1963) married Ernest Casimir Drolet (1883-1919).
Lucien Roy married Ferdinanda Côté, probably in the area of Saint-Anaclet-de-Lessard in Rimouski. Among their children was Blanche Marie Fernanda Roy, born in 1895. Blanche married Xavier Joseph Fortin in Drummondville in 1919.
The Club de patinage artistique de Coaticook (CPA de Coaticook) began in 1969 as Les Pointes argentées de Coaticook. The first Board of Directors was composed of Andrée Joubert, Rita Veillette, Thérèse Couture, Marguerite Gosselin, and Carmen Michaud. Financing of Club and access to ice time was particularly challenging in the early years. Over time, they were able to secure some donations from the City of Coaticook as well as charitable organizations in the area. By the second year of their activities, club membership had risen to 135 members and the first performance of the skaters was organized.
Over the years, some skaters from CPA de Coaticook went on to compete in provincial and national competitions, such as Maryse Tremblay, Martine Ruel, Renel Péloquin, Nathalie Coupal, Vicky Coupal, Louise Michaud, Maggy Caron, and Odrée Grenier.
The CPA de Coaticook encountered challenges in the 2000s as a result of the decrease in popularity of figure skating in the region. During this time, club membership was about 50-60 skaters. With the efforts of dedicated directors and volunteers, the CPA de Coaticook experienced a resurgence of interest and activity following 2011, which was also marked by the official change of the Club’s name.
Jeanne Lesieur was born in 1898 to Albert Lesieur and Alvina Deschamps. She studied at the Monastère des Ursulines in Stanstead and went on to obtain a certificate in nursing from the nursing school of the St-Vincent-de-Paul Hospital in Sherbrooke. Jeanne married Dr. Raoul Laurence and together they had four children: Marguerite, Suzanne, Claire, Madeleine.She passed away on 2 May 1986 in Coaticook.
David Lefebvre (1888-1955), son of François Xavier Lefebvre and Léocadie Lapointe, married Adélina Lebel (1893-1987), daughter of Paul Lebel and Geneviève Bouchard, on 27 September 1910 in St-Herménégilde. Together they had two children: Normand (married Germaine Labbé in June 1936) and Francella (married Florian Ménard in October 1940). In 1919, David Lefebvre started a funeral service, along with a taxi and ambulance service, in Coaticook. He carried out this work until his death in 1955. Later on, Fernand Riendeau became director of the Frais Funeraires. Florian Ménard also worked for the Lefebvre funeral service as an ambulance driver and embalmer.
Joseph-Octave Tanguay (1845-1934), born in St-Henri de Lévis, arrived in Coaticook with his wife, Philomène Hémond, and children in 1898. Their children were: Délima (1877-1960), Calixte (1881-1957), Virginie (b. 1883), Cyprien (1886-1986), and Joséphine (b. 1890). J.-O. Tanguay farmed until his retirement in 1920.
Calixte Tanguay (1881-1957) married Rose Anna Giroux (1879-1948) in Coaticook on 25 October 1915. Together they had three children: Wilfrid, Jeanne (1917-1989), and Yvonne (b. 1920).
Cyprien Tanguay (1886-1986) married Delvina Couture (1897-1985) on 12 September 1916 in St. Herménégilde. Together they had at least two childred: Jeannette (1916-1989), Lucien-Paul (b. 1923). In 1927, Cyprien opened a grocery store on Cutting Street in Coaticook. The store, though not as large as that of D.S. Bachand on Main Street, was particularly popular with the children who attended school on Pleasant Street (presently Gérin-Lajoie), who came in to buy penny candy.
Jeannette Tanguay (1916-1989) was particularly passionate about music.
Cécile Lebel was born in January 1899 to Jean-Baptiste Lebel and Zéphirine Caron. She married Edouard Fortin the 8 January 1919 in St. Herménégilde. Together they had ten children: Anatole (b. 1919), Marie-Marthe (b. 1923), Rita (b. 1924), Ernest (1926-1926), Marcel (b. 1927), Jeannine (b. 1929), Suzanne (b. 1931), Monique (1932), Jean-Claude (b. 1936), and Guy (b. 1939). Mrs. Fortin was among the founding members of the Cercle de Fermières de St. Edmond in Coaticook, which was established in 1933. Mrs. Fortin died the 1 December 1975.
Ignace-Denis Telmosse was born in Montreal on 19 July 1889, son of Louis W. Telmosse and Lumina Perreault. Following the receipt of his doctorate in medicine in 1912, he settled in Coaticook in 1916. He practiced medicine in Coaticook until his death in 1955. Dr. I. Telmosse served as the first president of the medical office of the Centre hospitalier de Coaticook.
Dr. I. Telmosse married Denise Dupuis (1898-1985) in 1917. Together the couple had ten children: Edmond (1917), Thérèse (1920-1990), Berthe (1921-2001), Suzanne (1923), Louis (1923), Mathilde (1924), Denise (1926), François (1927-1990), Marguerite (1930), and Roger (1932-2017). Edmond and Louis joined the clergy as Catholic priests. François and Roger followed in their father’s footsteps, becoming doctors. Thérèse married Dr. Gustave Gérin-Lajoie.
Harvey Myron Derick was born on 25 August 1891 in Noyan, Quebec, the son of Morris C. Derrick and Elizabeth M. Beerwort. He served with the Pacific Coast Militia Rangers and was involved in business in Pemberton, British Columbia. He died on 1 November 1964 in Pemberton, B.C.
Myron Lloyd Derick was born on 19 April 1850 in Boston, Massachusetts, to Philo Derick and Phoebe Adelia Flagg. He married Gertrude Coolidge. The couple did not have any children. He left home at a young age and pursued work as a surveyor, banker, and manufacturer in the West and New England. Following significant loss of money in the stock exchange, he settled in Boston, Massachusetts, and worked in the shoe industry. Myron died in Boston.
Joseph Meade (1843-1910) emigrated from England in 1880, settling with his family in the Coaticook area. He was married to Lydia Timson and together they had 6 children, including Frank (1871-1943) – a manager at Belding-Corticelli from 1922 to 1939 – and Sydney A. – a surveyor and engineer.
Sydney A. Meade (1882-1961) first married Pearl Johnson (1884-1918) in 1909 and together they had two children: Sydney (b. 1911) and Cecil (b. 1916). Following the death of Pearl, Sydney married second Eva Jane Robinson in 1920. Sydney A. Meade was admitted to the Quebec Order of Surveyors on 19 December 1908. He was active in the Coaticook and Sherbrooke areas.
Cecil Meade (1916-1998) was born in Coaticook on 24 December 1916. After studying at Coaticook High School and Bishop’s University, he worked as a surveyor’s assistant with his father, Sydney, for a few years before beginning serious study of music at the Toronto Conservatory. This was followed by military service overseas during World War II and study of music at McGill University, and a number of varied work pursuits. He received a Bachelor of Music from McGill University in 1957 and spent much of his life working in different countries and on various musical projects.
Charles Jackson Cushing, son of Manda T. Cushing and Patsy Eliza Abbott, was born in Barnston on 1 February 1850. He was educated at Barnston Academy. During his lifetime, Charles J. Cushing served as mayor, school commissioner, and Justice of the Peace. He married Amelia Carr on 17 June 1885. Following Amelia Carr’s death in June 1915, he married Emily A. Hadlock in October 1915. Among Charles J. Cushing’s nieces and nephews were Abbott Jenks and Emily Cushing Sheldon. Heber Cushing Peters, son of Alexander Peters and Sarah Elizabeth Cushing Haselton, was another relative. Charles J. Cushing spent his life on the family homestead and passed away on 19 April 1931.
The Women's Christian Temperance Union of the County of Sherbrooke was organized on 24 January 1899 for the purpose of strengthening and coordinating the activities of the existing WCTUs in the county. Officers and department superintendents were elected at the annual county WCTU convention. Some of the various departments consisted of Scientific Temperance Instruction and Health and Heredity, Anti-Narcotics, Lumber Camps and Sailors, Juvenile Sunday School, Literature, Prison and Reformatory, Missionary Work, Press, Flower Mission, Fair Work, and "Y" Work. The Spring Road, Sherbrooke, Milby, Huntingville, and Lennoxville WCTUs were among the member branches of the Sherbrooke County WCTU.
Sara Lavigueur was born 16 February 1892 to Pierre Lavigueur and Marie-Étudienne Vallée, probably in the Saint-Malo area. She passed away 29 September 1972 and is buried in Saint-Malo.
Henri Carbonneau, born on 2 February 1931 in Coaticook, was the son of Antonio Carbonneau and Emilie Chabot. He married Aiméline Goyette in St-Herménégilde on 2 July 1952. Together they had six children: Martial, France, Sylvie, Serge, Martin, and Louis. Carbonneau died in Sherbrooke on 25 April 2012.
Mariette Charpentier was born in 1919. She married Roger Jean-Marie (1918-1997) and, together, they had six children: Gérard, Suzanne, Monique, Françoise, Robert, and Paul.
Son of Samuel Willard, Leader of Associates for Stukely Township.
Biography p. 64 Miss. Hist. Soc. Third Report.