Albert (Sam) and Eva Michaud

Sam Born: August 6, 1919
Died: June 22, 1977
Buried: St. Agnes Cemetery

Eva Boen: June 15, 1921
Died: August 8, 2000
Buried: St. Agnes Cemetery

Albert Michaud, known to almost everyone as Sam, was born on August 6, 1919. Like most of his eight siblings, he was born at home, in a house on French Flat. The six daughters and three sons of Denis and Lucy Michaud grew up speaking French and young Sam knew very little English until he began to attend Island Falls Elementary School. Speaking French at school was frowned upon by most of the teachers, so it was a steep learning curve for him.

Denis worked in the woods industry, operating lumber and pulp camps at various locations. He was away from home a good deal, so all nine children had a lot of responsibility. The family had a large garden and various animals. Everyone managed to keep quite busy.

As a teenager, Sam began working in the woods with his dad and brothers during school vacations. He learned to handle horses, use an axe and crosscut saw, supervise a crew of men. When the operation needed a lumber scaler, the person tasked with measuring the cut trees and determining the quality and amount of usable wood, he took on that job. And he found time to occasionally take a train ride with some buddies to Oakfield.

There was not a lot of extra money but the family was comfortable, even during the hardships of the Depression Era. They were a friendly bunch and they remained close throughout the years.

The Roy and Harriette Savage family in Oakfield had welcomed their sixth child on June 15, 1921, when Eva Mae made her appearance. She was followed a couple of years later by a brother, and the four girls and three boys, like the Michaud youngsters, were expected to do their share of household chores. Eva learned to sew at an early age, using the treadle sewing machine like a pro, except for the time she somehow put the machine’s needle through her sister’s thumbnail. As Eva later told it, “I’d warned her…” There was always cooking and cleaning to be done, but when she could, Eva would sneak off and go fishing with brother Milford. She was feisty and could be stubborn, and she always knew she wanted to be a nurse. As a teenager, she and her sister sometimes went to the local dances, and sometimes a few Island Falls boys would show up. So she’d seen Sam Michaud around.

After graduation, Sam went to work full-time with his father. By then, Europe was at war. In 1940 he, like dozens of other young people in town, enlisted. He initially trained at Fort Devens in Massachusetts. Later, he was assigned to the Coast Artillery. And in 1942, Uncle Sam sent young Sam to Ascension Island in the South Atlantic where a secret airfield was being constructed to be used as a refueling stop for warplanes. Ascension was no tropical paradise. Supplies to the island did not always arrive as planned, and the men, at times, fended for themselves by catching and eating whatever they could, including sea turtles. Water on the island was limited. Bathing, laundry, and cleaning mess kits all had to be done with salt water. But the airstrip got built and proved indispensable during the war.

Eva had graduated from high school and began her training to be a nurse. She and Sam kept in touch and saw each other when he was home on leave. Sam, back from Ascension, had been discharged but reenlisted. He qualified to attend Officers Candidate School. As a First Lieutenant, he was sent to Mississippi, Georgia, and Oklahoma. And in 1944, he shipped out for France, and saw action across Europe. In early 1945, he was taken prisoner of war by the Germans, and remained one for six months.

In the meantime, Eva had gone to work at Milliken Memorial Hospital in Island Falls. She would work there until it closed. Sam was discharged for the second time in 1945, after returning from Europe. He was called up again when the Korean Conflict heated up. By this time, the couple had married and had two sons. With the birth of their third child, the US Army granted him a final honorable discharge, nearly eleven years after he’d first enlisted.

The family bought a home on Harding Street, then, in 1953, moved to the Michaud home on Sherman Street. Sam worked for several years in the pulp wood industry. He loved to tinker with machinery, carve, and enjoyed a good poker game at Ed Ryan’s garage. In the 1960’s, he went to work at the National Starch factory. He remained there until poor health led to his retirement in 1976. He died in 1977.

After the closure of the hospital, Eva became part of the Island Falls Ambulance Service, working with such characters as Patti Hartin, Sue Faulkner, and Cecil Given. She was a faithful SACS Warriors fan and was known to most of the high school students as Ge, a name given to her by her oldest grandchild. She thought all her grandchildren were perfect, and often sent CARE packages to them when they left home after high school, sometimes adding a $5 bill with instructions to “…buy yourself a burger”. She was a bird lover, a beautiful knitter, a wonderful friend to many. She passed away in 2000, leaving three children and seven grandchildren.

Sam and Eva were typical of their generation. Their lives, like so many, were profoundly affected by the Depression and World War II. While they made sure their children knew what work was all about, they also hoped they were spared some of their challenges.