1

Holy Week festivities
February, 1929
Musée des Pionniers et des Chanoinesses, Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes, Manitoba

2

Since Ash Wednesday, we have been observing Lent. My parents are fasting, but we kids are simply abstaining from eating treats. It is the beginning of Holy Week. During Matins Offices we blow out the lights in the church and someone falls, which causes some commotion. Friday, we do a Way of the Cross and Saturday, we go get Holy Water. Finally, Easter Sunday, we all go to church. As we leave church, we are offered sweet breads.
Excerpt from the parish bulletin (February 1929)
Holy Week Schedule
Palm Sunday, March 24
8 AM, Communion Mass
10:30 AM, Benediction of Palms, procession in church, high mass
Price of palms: 10 cents - small
25 cents - large
Monday of Holy Week, March 25
7:30 AM Mass
7 PM Lenten Exercises
Tuesday of Holy Week, March 26
7:30 AM Mass
7 PM Lenten Exercises
3:30 PM and after Lenten Exercises, confession for school children and town residents
Wednesday of Holy Week, March 27
7:30 AM Mass
7:30 PM Matins Offices
Confessions from 4-6PM and following Offices
Holy Thursday, March 28
Confessions from 6:30 AM to 9 AM Service
9 AM High Mass, Communion, Adoration at the altar of repose until Friday morning service. Women and children will come in the afternoon; Night is reserved for men and members of the Cercle Jeanne d'Arc.
7:30 PM Matins Offices
Good Friday, March 29
9 AM Mass of the Presanctified
3PM Way of the Cross, sermon on the Passion, Veneration of the Relics of the True Cross.
7:30 PM Matins Offices
Holy Saturday March 30
9 AM Mass, After mass and in the afternoon, blessing of town homes.
7 PM Confessions, bring holy water home
Easter, March 31
10 AM High Mass

3

The library
1920
Musée des Pionniers et des Chanoinesses, Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes, Manitoba

4

My father brought us, Cecile and me, to the library to get some books. We each paid one dollar for the yearly membership. Apparently, this library opened in 1923 and is the first in the archdiocese. I'm happy we have a library because I love reading, especially adventure books.

5

The telephone
1925
Musée des Pionniers et des Chanoinesses, Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes, Manitoba

6

My mother had to call the doctor this morning because little Emma, my sister, is very sick. He came right away. He gave her some medicine and told us it wasn't too bad and that she would get better. My father told us we are lucky to have an invention like the telephone. When he was young, there weren't any so it wasn't easy to get a message through in cases of emergencies, especially during the cold winters.

7

The central office
1915
Musée des Pionniers et des Chanoinesses, Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes, Manitoba

8

I learned today that the first central telephone office was established in Notre Dame de Lourdes in 1911. That year, there were 74 customers. The operator used a switchboard like this one to connect calls.
Audio: "When we had the central office, people had a habit of calling to ask us at what time a funeral would be held. To make things easier, we'd send out one long ring on all of the country lines. We'd wait until everyone would answer and we'd announce the time of the funeral. This way, we'd save a lot of time. We would also do this for special occasions like the elections, for example. "
Renée Jackson-Brisson

9

The still
1920
Musée des Pionniers et des Chanoinesses, Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes, Manitoba

10

My father was making moonshine today in the shed on the other side of the garden. I watched him for a long time. He didn't notice I was watching...I know it's against the law and I hope he won't get caught. He poured some fruit in the still and will let them ferment for some time before making the alcohol and then drink it. The priests have forbidden the use of this alcohol because people become strange when they drink it. People who make it run the risk of going to jail.

11

The jail
1915
Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes, Manitoba

12

The town jail was built in 1915. It is used once in while...Us kids, we know this but we don't know who was ever locked up in there.

13

The saws
1920
Musée des Pionniers et des Chanoinesses, Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes, Manitoba

14

This afternoon, I went to help my father chop down trees. While my uncle and he were sawing through the trunks, I cut the branches that had already fallen. I think my uncle wants to build another barn so he needs a lot of logs.