” This world is but a canvas to our imagination.”
Henry David Thoreau
Adelard Coté
Adelard Coté (1889-1974) was born in St. Sophie, Québec, eventually training as a blacksmith there. He quit after 4 years to help on the family farm and moved to Biddeford, Maine when he was about 18 years old to live with his sister and aunt.
While living in Biddeford, Adelard worked as a blacksmith at the Pepperell Manufacturing Company, shodding draft horses. He moved away with one of his brothers, for a period of about four years,working in a New York light bulb factory, traveling and eventually returned to Westbrook, where he opened his own blacksmith shop. Coté started sculpturing about 1940, when he was in his fifties. He returned to Biddeford in 1962.
He became quite famous as a woodcarver and won contests at the Fryeburg Fair as a result of his talent. He created primitive carvings with working parts.A showcase of his work was shown and celebrated in 2011 at La Fête du Printemps in Biddeford, Maine.
Woodcarving was a traditional Franco-American art.
Read about the life and work of Adelard Coté in ” L’enclune et le couteau the life and work of ADELARD COTÉ folk artist”, written by Normand R. Beaupré and Stephen O. Muskie,
Photos courtesy of La Kermesse Organization
Photo courtesy of McArthur Library
Painchaud’s Band
Painchaud’s Band was said to be the only Franco-American Band in the country in its time. They did have a few musicians with other ethnicities, but they were part time members, not allowed to vote regarding the policies and business of the band.
The band was started by Pierre L. Painchaud when he was 18 years old, about 1870. He managed it for about 38 years, retiring in 1906. He died 3 years after his retirement in 1909.
Painchaud’s Band was also the official band for the First Maine Regiment during the Spanish-American War and it is reported that 24 members of the group volunteered for duty at that time.
The band was considered by many to be the best in New England at the time. It travelled all over Canada and the northern United States, winning many band contests in New England and Canada. It was the municipal band of the City of Biddeford, performing over 120 years. It was one of the oldest continuous bands in the United States and was disbanded in the mid- 1990’s.