Centre Acadien, Université Sainte-Anne

E. M. Comeau and Sons - Edmond M. Comeau became a businessman at a very young age. He did several trades before setting up operations in Meteghan, his native village, to establish a sawmill and make wooden boxes, especially for the fishing industry.

He had been a carpenter, a farm machinery salesman, a coffin maker and a horse seller. He was even a handyman and made what local Acadians called “caristeaux”, a type of moccasin made with the skin from deer legs.

For a few years, Mr. Comeau operated an oat threshing mill with his father, Mandé, before setting up his sawmill in 1904, which was in operation for more than half a century; this was also the year of his marriage. At the time, the fishing industry was thriving, and Edmond’s company contributed to the economy, employing his sons and several members of his family and community.

In 1942, at the age of 66, Mr. Comeau incorporated the company with his sons Désiré, Denis, Alphonse, Adolphe and Léo, under the name E. M. Comeau & Sons. He gradually stepped aside to leave the management of the company to his sons, who each took turns running it. As the owner of several woodlots, the company hired employees to cut the wood, run the mill, make boxes, transport goods and sell outside the region, including internationally.

The Second World War temporarily affected the operations for a few years, since they had to produce timber for shipbuilding. Edmond Comeau died in 1959, at the age of 83.

Topic: Commercial Enterprises and other livelihoods

Date: 1912

Reference: Harold Robichaud Collection Centre Acadien Series B, photo 15

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