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Land, Family, Community And Commitment: Sharing Memories With Reynald Godard

photo provided Calling Addison County his home since he was twelve, Reynald Godard shares memories of family, farm,community and work.

photo provided If you were looking for someone on Saturday nights or for a wedding like Rey & Anita Godard's, the Town Hall in New Haven was the sight of dances and all sorts of community functions.

photo provided Speaking of family, there were three generations present in this family photo when Rey and Anita wed. Coming from families of 8 and 9 children, family was a constant and a defining force of life for both Anita and Rey.

Monday September 5, 2011

By Cookie Steponaitis

   When Reynald Godard had his first glimpse of the Champlain Valley the year was 1947 and he was twelve years old. What struck Rey immediately was that life was about to change and since he didn’t speak more than a few words of English he was going to be listening a lot. Rey and his family, which included in total seven boys and one girl came to America from Ottawa, Canada where his education had been mostly in French. “We went to a one room school,” shared Rey. “We had literature, spelling and all of the subjects, but they were in French. We could read a few words in English, but that was about it.” While Rey’s mother was bilingual and the Canadian town they came from was actually half French speaking and half English speaking, they were a farm family and French, the language of the family was what was spoken at home. “Agriculture in Canada was really struggling then,” recollected Rey. “Milk prices in Canada were about half of what they were in Vermont and my uncle was here, so we came to farm.”

   The two most immediate changes to Rey’s life included the introduction of electricity and running water. “Sure, we had running water in Canada,” grinned Rey. “When you went from the barn to the house you carried a five pound honey pail of water and ran real fast.” In addition to these two staggering changes, Rey and his family who had strictly used horse and buggy for transportation began to use automobiles. While the technology changed when his family settled on the Plank Road in 1955, one constant never changed and that was work. “We simply worked all of the time,” commented Rey. “But you have to understand, we didn’t see it that way, because that was the way of life. When I was in first grade I was old enough to milk one cow at night on the farm. When I was in second grade I milked the same cow morning and night. There were always chores to be done and everyone, no matter how small, could and did chores. When I got older I worked on the farm before school, and then drove the milk to the plant before school. After school I worked at Compeau Freezer Lockers in Vergennes. (Today the same site is occupied by the Your Turn Consignment Shop). Then I went home and worked with the cows and simply got up and did it all over again. The family worked together.”

    While Rey started his schooling in Shelburne near his uncle’s farm, he shifted to the Vergennes schools when the family located on the Plank Road. It was there that he met his future wife Anita Charlebois Godard. Dating from 1952 to their wedding in 1955, the couple lived in the area and raised a family of one son Rey and twin daughters Shelly and Sherri. While Anita unfortunately passed away in March of 2005, Rey continues to call Addison County his home and divides his time between his four grandchildren, extensive volunteer work for St. Peter’s Catholic Church and special photography projects including documenting the destruction, construction and raising of the Champlain Bridge. “I was down there the other day from 6:30 am-7:30 pm,” commented Rey. “I wanted to document the arch going up into place and it was a long, but fascinating day. I love history and to see and be a part of this is incredible to witness.”

    While Rey is the first to admit that his generation has witnessed a massive shift in technology, he is a bit saddened by the decline in the close knit factor of the family and events that before television, Internet, and instant communication were the hallmark of the community. The New Haven Town Hall holds a special place in Rey’s memories, because not only did he attend many Round and Square Dancing events there on Saturday nights, but Rey and Anita were married there in 1955. “If you were looking for people on a Saturday night,” Rey remarked, “you simply looked over at the town hall. I would get done work at 10:00 at night and head over there and the dancing would still be going on for a couple of hours more. When Anita and I got married I bought the ham and the potatoes and brought it over to the hot lunch ladies from the school. They prepared all of the food and we held our wedding reception in the basement. Most people did. I still have the bill. I think it was around $100.00 for the reception and we fed over 125 people.” Not only did Ray and Anita work on the farm but they also ran a local restaurant, the Weineburger that has strong historic significance in the area. It opened in 1961 and the restaurant was a full time job and Anita also added to the family that summer with the birth of twin girls. “That sure was some summer,” commented Rey. “There never were quite enough hours in the day.”

    When asked about his strong work ethic and its continual presence in his life today, Rey again pointed out that it simply was a way of life, taught by life on the farm and modeled by his parents and family. While his mother and father were happy to help out a neighbor in need, there were always places to go and other jobs to do to earn extra money. “From a young age,” shared Rey, “I would go with my father and uncle at night and on weekends after chores to use a stationary bailer we had to press hay for neighbors. A winch and a team of horses would go around and around and then load the hay onto sleds. We would take those to the trains and the hay would be shipped. I would play, work, and be outside for hours. It simply was the way it was. It was family and it was life.”

    Sadly, Rey is reminded daily of the many changes in the farming community just by driving down the road. When he and Anita lived on the farm the mailboxes on the roadside with the exception of a very few were working farms. Today as he drives Route 22A, Nortontown Road, or others in Addison, the number of farms surviving and thriving can be counted on one or two hands. Glancing out at a panoramic view of Snake Mountain from his back yard, Rey continues to not only hold dear the lessons learned on the family farm, but looks forward to family gatherings and taking his grandchildren to the Addison County Fair and Field Days and an upcoming 2012 wedding of one granddaughter.

    Many things run in Rey’s family, including twins, but first and foremost is a strong bond and a sense of being a family unit that was cemented in his farming upbringing and passed on to the next generation. Rey continues to happily call Addison County his home and his family the heartbeat that makes each day special and a gift. The Valley Voice salutes Rey and all of his generation who simply can’t understand what all the fuss is about because working hard and honoring family, community and the land is simply the way they were raised. Simply the way they were raised, perhaps, but the backbone and the heritage that makes Addison County and much of Vermont a special place to live.

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