“Project and donor(s) contributed description follows: “These clips show episodes from Jean-Pierre Marchant’s childhood in the mid-1970s Montreal. His parents were immigrants, recently arrived from Argentina and Chile. Throughout Jean-Pierre’s childhood, they documented the family’s life with a Super 8 camera (and would later switch to video). These clips depict him as a playful child, trips, and well-attended birthday parties. Looking back, Jean-Pierre recognizes that these parties were a big opportunity for the adults to get together and celebrate. The Marchants mostly socialized with people from similar backgrounds, and Jean-Pierre says that “it was important for my parents, who were trying to make a life in a new place, to associate with others who spoke their language.””
Snowstorm
Video recording from 1971 consisting of a Haitian family and their neighbours shovelling snow and digging out the street. Recording also features children playing in the snow and a tracker snowplowing the street. Project and donor(s) contributed description follows: “On March 4th, 1971, Montreal saw the “Storm of the Century”, a massive snowstorm brought 43cm of snow and 100/km winds to the city. It would take 41 years for this snowfall record to be broken. People lost electricity for as long as ten days. Nadine recalls living on St. Leonard and not being able to see through her patio doors and that the only people who could get around were emergency vehicles and snowmobiles. Of course this major setback meant snow days for everyone, and Nadine’s parents and neighbours got to shovelling. In a predominantly Italian neighbourhood, Nadine suspects her family may have been the only Black family on this street. With no school, five-year old Nadine took pleasure in the Montreal pastime of building snow forts.”