Via Appia Press
23 Marvin Ave., Franklin, Mass. 02038 ● www.viaappiapress.com ● 508-528-6930
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New Translation Makes History of French-Canadian Community
Available to All after Nearly a Century
August, 15, 2018-- VIA APPIA PRESS has announced the release of a History of the Franco-Americans of Southbridge, Massachusetts.
In 1919, Southbridge business leader, state representative, and prominent member of the French-Canadian community, Felix Gatineau, published L'Histoire des Franco-Américains de Southbridge, chronicling the earliest settlers of French lineage in the region and the growth of the community to dominance in the town. Available only in French ever since, many of French-Canadian descent and others simply interested in town history have not been able to fully enjoy this work – until now. Dr. Elizabeth Blood, a Professor of World Languages and Cultures at Salem State University, recently completed a full English translation, which has been published by Via Appia Press (viaappiapress.com) and is available online through Amazon.com.
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Southbridge is really just a little corner of the Province of Québec, where the sublime starred flag is harmoniously framed by the maple leaf, emblem of the incessantly renewed vitality of our ethnicity!
(Southbridge, mais c’est un petit coin de la Province de Quebec où le sublime drapeau étoilé est harmoniesuement encâdré par la feuille d’érable, emblême de la vitalité sans cesse renaissant de notre race!)
--Felix Gatineau, 1919
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The book describes what happened to the many French-Canadians who immigrated to New England in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, their ongoing interest and involvement in political events in Québec, their struggles to maintain cultural traditions; fêtes, parades – and even a cameo appearance by “Paul Revere”! A distinctive feature of the book is exhaustive listing of hundreds of individuals and their and involvement in the local community. History of the Franco-Americans of Southbridge, Massachusetts includes more than 100 illustrations in more than 300 pages.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT info@viaappiapress.com or alan.r.earls@gmail.com
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