Marc Cantin on his ancestor’s vision for St. Joseph, Ontario
On the first episode of season two of Postcards from Huron County, podcast host Mandy Sinclair chats with visionary and entrepreneur Narcisse Cantin’s great-grandson Marc Cantin about his family’s vision for the area’s waterways and development of St. Joseph’s on the shores of Lake Huron.
Marc shares childhood memories of scouring the family archives with his Uncle Napoleon Cantin, the development of St. Joseph’s and its once-bustling economy, the sad day in Cantin history when the Balmoral Hotel was dismantled, and the family’s local connection to Brother André.
Marc and his wife Pauline hold the archives privately and have fashioned their house around the family history, turning a museum/archives of sorts. They welcome history buffs into their space upon request, and organize the annual heritage day in St. Joseph’s. He continues the family’s long carpentry tradition as the owner of a construction company.
Favourite quote of the episode: When I say that it isn’t always about the story of the seaway, it’s more about the dream. That’s one of the favourite parts, the dream that a man had and to promote it like he did. Marc Cantin of his great-grandfather’s vision.
Related links:
St. Joseph Historical Society: https://stjosephmuseum.ca/
Narcisse, theatrical performance: https://youtu.be/d4PSNJipDF0
Find out more about Postcards from Huron County at: PostcardsfromHuronCounty.ca
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Postcards from Huron County is made possible with funding from the Huron Heritage Fund and Community Futures Huron Community Projects Initiative, and audio production by Clint Mackie at Faux Pop Media.
More about Mandy Sinclair: https://mandyinmorocco.com.
