The Rectory was built at the end of the 19th century (1875). It was enlarged in 1910, which gave it its actual look. Such was its vocation until 1979. The first two people who left St-Alexandre, in 1866, were Tom Fox and Ignace Nadeau. Tom Fox, an immigrant from Ireland, was 35 years old and Ignace was around twenty.

 

The women arrived in 1868 and Mrs Fox, born Adelaïde Bérubé was the first one to travel the road (or should we say, trails) on foot (24 miles), accompanied by a cow, which was to be her dowry, from her father Norbert Bérubé. There was then a custom that bachelors would “give” themselves for food and board. This is what Mrs Fox wanted to accomplish, after her husband’s death. Seeing as this was taking place on the church steps, Thomas Nadeau, who was raised by this woman, following the Spanish flu, saved her from such humiliation by buying her for $5.00. (source: Gaston et Raymonde Nadeau, Thomas’ grandson and granddaughter)

A chapel was built in 1875 and a residence for the missionary or the priest in charge. During the summer of 1909, the priest, David Chenard, sets up a project to restore the small rectory. The project is estimated at $2,150.00

The project comes true in the spring of 1910, with the addition of a second floor and a 20’ x 20’ kitchen, on the north side. We now have 6 rooms for visiting strangers. The contract for the woodwork is given to by Alfred Sirois on March 14th and the renovations go on from April to All Saints’ Day.

The French roof, which is of origin, was made by Charles Desbiens who came from St-Alexandre (source: Camille " Bill " Desbiens, its back grandson).

It was maintained and seeing as priests’ kept their charges for many years at a time, no renovations were made, except for adding running water and electricity. Such was its vocation until 1979.

Judging it too large for its needs, the Fabric sold it to an innkeeper from the village (Ti-Coq to his friends), he moved it onto a lot he owned, on the shores of Pohenegamook Lake, and turned it into a vacation resort. He was the second owner for 25 years.

As he was getting older, Ti-Coq let it go and it is Denise and his son Marc-André who took possession. The new owners aim to conserve it and furnish it of the period, for the pleasure of the eyes. You will find serenity and tranquility. On the spot, the landlord will have a pleasure of speaking to you about his discoveries during the restorations.

This serenity was not always found there, through the years, especially during the period of a certain priest who had a thorough understanding of how to use the language. Speak to those who “walked to catechism”. They certainly got a taste of his energetic clarifications, using both his hands, and sometime even both his feet.

During prohibition, the priests were exasperated with the "Bootleggers" with whom they would get into trouble. The Border being very near, the activities took place at “Beau Lake”. There, we would find some “St-Pierre” (alcohol) that came from St-Pierre & Miquelon, as the name indicates, and was then sold to the Americans.

In the evening, when gazing at the calm lake, you may see"Ponik", the lake’s monster or his trail.

One of the explanations for these apparitions is that one of the priests kept live sturgeons and at one point lost them in the lake. A forest contractor, Conrad Levasseur, who ran his mill at Ducharme, would buy barrels of salted herring and live sturgeons at St-André’s fishery, which he would store in the stream that flows to the Boucanée river.

One day, when it was pouring rain and no one thought of the sturgeons and the river flows to the lake… This story was related to us by his son Réal, whom at the time, was show-boy at the mill’s kitchen.

We see « Ponik » only during the summer heat waves. The reason being that the sturgeons, which can weigh up to 200 kg and reach 6 meters in length, have parasites and come to the surface of the lake to get rid of them.