I lived beside this farm on a one-acre property from 1967 to 1996. It was a working apple farm when I was young and it was owned by Therese St Jean. There was a smaller house on the farm and the farm foreman and his family lived there. As kids, we played together on the farm but we always looked over our shoulder in case we saw St-Jean walking through the orchard toward us. She scared us and for good reason, she didn't like us. After seeing us on the property with the other kids one day she phoned my father and made it very clear that the french and English children shouldn't mix. My father made it very clear that he didn't value her opinion. Before we lived there the farm was run by orphans from I believe New Brunswick and Quebec. It is said that they were not treated well and in the 1970's one of them came back and burnt down the barn. After St-Jean passed a monk monastery took over the farm but they left after a few years citing a lack of privacy and even accusing me of spying on them for some reason. I spent many hours outside on my own property but never had any contact with them. After that, the small house was rented out and the big house was torn down. In time the subdivision was built there. It's well known that St Jean had a huge amount of influence in the church and the french-speaking community in Georgetown. She also owned another farm nearby and several houses in town. That's about all I know except some of the french speaking people in town actually speak highly of her but I know many that don't.
Growing up next to the farm
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- Rick Knight
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