Although not a Biddeford resident, Valéda Gosselin Couture made a contribution to the community when 7 of her 12 children moved here from their farm in Québec.
Born in 1901, Valéda Couture went on to have 36 grandchildren, 37 great grandchildren and one great grandchild before she passed away at the age of 99. Through the years, the original family farm continued to be the gathering place for family members on both sides of the border.
This interview is part of a series which provides the perspectives across three generations involved in immigration from Québec to Biddeford.
To view the series, check out her daughters’ (Aurore Morin and Huguette Paquette) and granddaughter’s (Nicole Morin- Scribner) interviews.
VALEDA COUTURE
INTERVIEW DETAILS
Date of Interview: 1988
Location: Couture residence, Sainte Marie Beauce, Québec
Interviewer: Nicole Morin-Scribner
Transcriber/Translator: Nicole Morin-Scribner
SELECTED INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS
Life as a mother of 12 living on a farm in a small Québec town.
Differences in customs and lifestyles from the early 1900’s through the 1980’s.
Her reaction when her children left to move to Biddeford. “That was really hard when they left, and I was alone. But we have to get used to it. God gave us children but really, HE just lets us borrow them.”
Comical expressions
The challenges of living far away at critical times.
“Your grandfather (when he was in the hospital) kept asking for Adrien. He kept asking over and over to see him. That’s when we called him to see if he could come to Canada. He no more than had arrived back home in Maine when he got the news that his father had passed away.”