Au Revoir, LAcadie

By Juliana L'Heureux

A labor relations rivalry, frequently skirted by Franco-American and Irish history texts, is directly portrayed in a new novel written by William Brennan.
Brennan's "Au Revoir, L'Acadie" reveals an oftentimes mistrusting ethnic relationship between the Irish and French-Canadian immigrants who worked in New England mill towns and became union organizers during in the mid-1930s.
Evidence of the history Brennan describes is seen in the huge and empty mill buildings imposed on the New England landscape in cities like Lowell, MA, or Manchester, NH and Woonsocket, RI. Brennan creates a fictional town named Millbank, Mass., where French and Irish families live in distinctly different cultures and sheltered neighborhoods. Of course, the novel's location could be any one of New England's industrial communities.
"Au Revoir, L'Acadie" is a hard hitting story your grandfather might tell you if he worked in the mills. Nevertheless, it's a tough memoir to transcribe into nostalgic Irish and French-Canadian heritages. Reading Brennan's "take no prisoners" style prose helps us not to forget the difficult lives led by the tens of thousands of men and women workers who endured 10 hours a day laboring in the now vacant mill buildings.
"We were ready to die, or murder to get away from the stupid mill....It's no life...," says a lead character Evelyn LaBonte.
The formidable mill structures are still evident in Maine communities like Sanford, Biddeford, Waterville, Westbrook and others. Franco-Americans comprised a huge percentage of the New England mill workforce during the 1930s. Irish immigrants preceded the French-Canadian workers. Eventually, the two different ethnic groups, united by Roman Catholicism but separated by their French and English languages, were competing for jobs and power in New England's 1930s labor movements.
"Au Revoir, L'Acadie", takes place during The Great Depressions, when Irish labor leaders tried to unite the French-Canadian workers with them into a union because the mills were failing and they worried about loosing their jobs.
Brennan reveals unflattering examples about the Irish clergy, who dominated Roman Catholic parishes in New England, and who engaged in efforts to undermine French and Irish cooperation during the tumultuous labor organizational efforts.
Few words are wasted in describing the covert methods used by the Irish clergy to influence efforts against the French-Canadians in the mills. One character, Father Gerrity, is potrayed as an influential anti-French cleric who stereotypes French Canadians as "untrustworthy" because they threaten Irish prestige with the mill owners. Even the extraordinary act of excommunication, or prohitibitiong Roman Catholics from receiving the Sacraments, was threatened by the clergy as punishment for those who helped the union's collaborations.
"Au Revoir, L'Acadie" provides a rare opportunity for frank discussion about the ethnic strife and prejudices between two competing ethnic groups during a time in the 19th century when both sides had much to gain and loose from the outcomes of their collective actions.
I recommend the novel for sociology students, particularly, for Elder Hostel programs where some of the senior students were likely involved in the very history Brennan describes. Check the website: http://www.francoamericanconnection.com/fa-writers/index.html#brennan for more information.
Brennan is a talented story teller who puts his strong characters up close and personal with the reader. He was inspired to write "Au Revoir, L'Acadie" after visiting to the Museum of Work & Culture in Woonsocket, RI, an exhibit depicting the daily life of Franco-American mill workers.
An interesting non-fiction companion to read along with "Au Revoir, L'Acadie" is "The Belles of New England", by Scarborough resident William Moran.

William Brennan, who introduced us to some memorable Irish working class people in his first book, "A Tattered Coat Upon a Stick", now expands his canvas as he skillfully brings to life the hard working people who, three generations earlier, had emigrated from Canada to work in the mills. They, and the Irish consider themselves Americans now, and sensitive to the times. They hear about the labor movement in Detroit and elsewhere, but are frightened that it might destroy their little industry, as well as their communities. There's talk of a strike. Leaders must be chosen.

Yes, this is a tale of a time and a place in American history. But it is mostly the story of people and that is the strength of the book. I will long remember Annette St. Pierre, who works long hours, six days a week in the mill. She's always exhausted and Sunday and holidays are the only time she has to wash her kitchen floor. Her teenage daughter Clarisse is the smartest girl in her class, but what kind of future awaits her? Clarisse is attracted to a fine Irish boy, the son of one of the labor union leaders, but the mill-owner's son is also interested in her, and he has a brand new car. Then there's Arthur Mandeville, the best baseball player on the school team and the son of a union leader, who has been offered a chance at playing major-league ball. Will he get his dream, or will he be pulled into the cycle of violence that is simmering in the town? And will the union leaders themselves be able to put aside their differences and agree on the best plan of action? The humanity of these people leaped of the pages. They became real to me and I found myself thinking about them and worrying about them as I want about my own daily life..

The Catholic Church also is central to the character of the book. I felt the deep faith of the people. And I also felt the hard choices the parish priests had to make when the mill owners tried to influence them. We see the contrasts of good and evil not only in the various factions in the town, but also in the Church itself. There's a lot of thought provoking insight by the author on many levels.

At only 186 pages long, this book is a fast read. And yet it managed to bring an interesting historical period to light and let me meet some wonderful characters. Definitely recommended.