A new, hour-long DVD “Acadians of The St John Valley” that tells the history of Acadians in northern Maine, has just been released after two years in production.
Crown of Maine Productions, based at Madawaska Lake, filmed from one end of The Valley to the other, interviewing dozens of local residents – from farmers to academics and from teachers to mill workers to discover their roots.
This fascinating story took the film crew, Brenda and Alan Jepson, along with Acadian scholar, Don Cyr, to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to capture the beginning of the saga.
It also involved the acting debut of Patricia Theriault Ezzy, of Van Buren, who donned period clothing to play the role of Marguerite Blanche Thibodeau, “Tante Blanche,” a heroine who helped to save The Valley during an extended blizzard in 1797.
Shot in March of 2013 after a late snowstorm, Ezzy pulled a heavy sled through 14 inches of fresh snow. Then, just weeks after appearing in this scene, Ezzy discovered that she is an actual relative of the real life heroine.
“It almost brought tears to my eyes to think what she had gone through,” said Ezzy. “And it was not just for an experiment. It was day after day. And I thought of the courage she had and her desire to help and give herself to others and that made me feel like — what a role model she had been for the Acadians.”
This theme of connectedness and community is ongoing throughout the film as it explores how the Acadians came to settle in far northern Maine and how they survived in such a harsh climate.
Their arrival was made more difficult because the Acadians were refugees, fleeing from New Brunswick, and traveling on foot or by canoe with very few possessions and with large families.
“It was a miracle of survival,” said Roger Paradis of Frenchville, professor emeritus of history at the University of Maine at Fort Kent.
Today, Acadians are spread throughout Maine and beyond.
“I am always amazed by courageous folk like these who come through despite overwhelming odds. They are an inspiration for sure,” said Brenda Jepson, a volunteer producer for MPBN for more than 30 years.
