An outstanding new publication recognizes the Bellechasse region of Quebec as home to a strong community of maple producers and for its important contributions to the technological developments of the modern maple industry. This book was released in 2016 and is written entirely in french with the title L’histoire de l’acériculture et des sucriers de Bellechasse: Berceau Technologique Mondial Acéricole, 1716-2016. This title translates in english to The history of the maple industry and maple producers of Bellechasse: The Technological Cradle of the Maple World, 1716-2016.
Réjean Bilodeau, the author and sugarmaker from Saint-Damien, Quebec, undertook the book as a project to occupy his time in his retirement years. However, with one book down Réjean is only getting started. The cover of this book indicates it is Tome 1, or volume 1. Réjean has told me he is working on volume 2 at the moment which, at another whopping 600 pages, he expects to have finished and for sale in 2018.
The book is divided into six chapters and covers over 300 years of maple history in the Bellechasse region with a special focus on the people who made this history come alive, be they producers or inventors or equipment manufacturers. More recent history focuses on the contributions of IPL and CDL and the Métiver and Chabot families, the role of Cyrille Vaillancourt and the creation of La Coop Citadelle among many other topics and dozens of producers and sugarbushes.
At 740 pages with 400 illustrations and weighing in at over six pounds this book is no light read. In fact, it is incredibly dense with detailed research, interviews and first-hand accounts and memories from sugarmakers in the Bellechasse region. One thousand copies of this self-published book were produced and many have already sold.
As noted above, the book is completely written in French, although with the wonders of today’s modern technology such as Google Translate and other similar apps for smart phones it is now possible to use the camera on a mobile phone to take a snapshot/scan of a page and translate the text on the page in mere seconds. The quality and accuracy of such translations is sufficient to understand the text, but it is true that at times the translations lose the nuanced meanings of certain phrases, idioms, and clichés.
I purchased my copy of the book through the Canadian maple equipment dealer CDL for $50 US plus $29.91 for shipping. Try contacting CDL in Quebec to place an order by email or phone at 418-883-5158 ext. 337.
Those interested in contacting Mr. Bilodeau directly who speak or write in French can reach him by email or by telephone at 418-789-3664.