Closing Ceremony at Old French Cemetery in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
Presented at the Guedry-Labine & Petitpas Reunion
August 7, 2004
As we gather today at this old cemetery of the our Acadian ancestors, we can see in our mind's eye the old wooden crosses against the majestic blue waters of the Merligueche bay. Who lies buried beneath these hallowed soils? Only time knows with certainty, but each of us has our thoughts, beliefs and hopes.
Merligueche, that town of yore on the hills above, holds many stories and memories of their lives. We seek and slowly discover fragments of their difficult, but joyful, lives. The woods behind and the bay before us provided their basic needs - food, lumber for shelter, water and yes, probably even a few 'bon temps'. The local Micmac were their neighbors and friends - each helping the other as needs dictated.
The Guédry and Petitpas chose this idyllic setting as home in the 1680's. Although they occasionally went elsewhere, the lure of Merligueche drew them back and it is here that we find them in the 1750's during the closing days of Acadie. Our ancestral Acadian parents - Claude Guédry and Marguerite Petitpas - toiled these soils, harvested the woodlands and fished the seas so that we could return today in their honor.
Acadian neighbors, Jacques Petitpas and Genevieve Sereau, Claude Petitpas and Marie-Therese, and the Mius family shared their struggles and their joys.
Claude and Marguerite's children and grandchildren, faced with the inhumanity of deportation, strengthened their will and survived - rebuilding their lives and, yes, even their families. Ile Royale, Iles Saint-Pierre et Miquelon, France, England, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Maryland, Quebec, French Guiana, Louisiana and even Nova Scotia became "home" to these struggling survivors during the dark days of 1755-1800. How did they do it? Could we have done the same?
Those crosses that our mind's eye sees standing tall across this cemetery tell a telling tale. For over thirty years our family was "on the move" as they struggled for survival and sought to reunite their families - never having a permanent home and deprived of all accepted norms by which people live. There were no schools, no churches and no productive work for the displaced Acadians. Stripped of everything, they were, nevertheless, feared by the townspeople. The children received no education or formal religious instruction - only hard work as young indentured laborers for the townsfolk.
From where did the will to survive come? Their minds and their faith - never could these be taken from them.
Through their knowledge and memory they taught their children. The passed along stories -knowledge of their family and how to do things. They taught them basic educational needs and living skills. And, above all, they passed along their deep religious beliefs. Life was tough for these Acadians, but they were survivors.
And the Cross - the deepest symbol of their faith - remained constantly in their hands.
Comforting them in their deepest moments, the Cross provided strength and connected them with their God. He suffered on this Cross and they were suffering now. He overcame and they could survive also. They knew what this Cross meant.
With few, if any, religious ceremonies to attend, they gathered informally around the Cross and prayed. It focused their prayers and provided an inner strength to them. They could kneel with the Cross and pray for a way to support their starving families, for help in overcoming the loss of a child, for healing of a sick loved one. They could talk in private with their Maker and let out their frustrations, their shortcomings and their fears. The Cross was their comfort, their sense of direction and their source of strength. Yes, they knew this Cross and they lived everyday with it.
As we leave this hallowed ground, look at the names on these banners. Remember them; thank them for their strength and bravery and pay tribute to them. They are us - the Guédry and Petitpas family.
As we began our Reunion in Meteghan with a Mass in honor of our famly, let us end our Reunion in Lunenburg with a Rosary recited in the language of our Merligueche family - Acadian French. Pierrette Guidry of Colorado will lead us in the recitation of this Rosary.
R. Martin Guidry
Baton Rouge, LA
7 August 2004