Manitoba Government Employees Union (MGEU) members still fight forest fires in southeastern Manitoba today. Source: https://nupge.ca/sites/default/files/images/2012/firemanitoba.jpg |
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"A severe forest fire raged through the forest on October 2, 1897. It started far to the South and raged through LaBroquerie, Thibaultville, and La Coulée St-Onge. The men were away working at the time of the fire. André Nault’s wife took their seven children to a small river, the Coulée St-Onge. Here she saved her youngsters by forcing them to lie on the banks of the creek and covering them with blankets she had plunged into the cool waters. Around them, the flames leapt skyward. All their buildings burned to the ground. Ten milking cows and a number of sheep also perished. Only the family and eight horses escaped the fiery ordeal. The family stayed with relatives, the Prosper Nault’s and the Julian Hupé’s, until a new log house was erected with the help of neighbours."
From the recollections of Georges Lavack, Father Giroux, and others in the community
Source: Pieced together from the recollections of Georges Lavack, Father Giroux, and others in the personal collection of Norm Lavack
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Joseph Smith’s sawmill was one of many in the region toward the end of the 1800s. Given the abundance of spruce trees in the Sainte-Anne-des-Chênes area, logging was one of the main industries in the early days of the colony. Joseph Smith owned a lumber camp in Richer and a sawmill in Sainte-Anne-des-Chênes. Here we see a few men cutting boards with a steam saw at Mr. Smith's home. Archives de la Société historique de Saint-Boniface, Collection générale, SHSB 30341. Retrieved June 25, 2020 from http://shsb.mb.ca/moulin-a-scie-smith |
“The fire was started by a spark from a steam engine, probably from one of the sawmills in the area that used them, and devastated the entire region. Many houses and livestock were lost to the flames. The population struggled to recover from its losses in the following years.”
Société historique de Saint-Boniface website
Source: Société historique de Saint-Boniface. (2010-2020). Richer (Thibaultville). Accueil / Au pays de Riel / Lieux / Richer. Retrieved June 25, 2020 from http://shsb.mb.ca/Au_pays_de_Riel/Lieux/Richer
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