Louis Pelletier, a general contractor specializing in built heritage, came to share his passion and experience with us January 19, 2010. This is the last part of his lecture's account.
A community that has lost its memories has no soul. We can neglect the maintenance of buildings for some time, but we stretch the rubber band until it breaks. At that time, the massacre is difficult to repair. All the excuses (too expensive, too much maintenance, no parking) offer no good solution. The priorities now seem futile if we think of our ancestors who gave their five cents, their arms and the sweat of their brow to build churches that are today the richest heritage of Quebec . They wore the same clothes for 25 years and they would surely have found it strange to change a new car after a loan-lease of 24 months.
The Quartier Latin of Québec, as well as Montréal's and Trois-Rivières', are loved and fiercely protected. Who would have thought that McDonald, a giant of capitalism, would comply with the requirements of the City of Québec and abandon his yellow ark and red sign to give it a color harmonized with those of Old Québec? It was simply to ask the multinational. Who asks nothing, gets nothing.
When he speaks of heritage, Louis Pelletier becomes lyrical. To a brave heart, nothing is impossible. And what if we looked around us? And what if we recognized the signs of our past, the legacy of our artisans, our predecessors? And what if we listened to the witnesses who are still among us, who have so much to tell? And what if we found the beauty of the past and we could proudly say: I live in Brownsburg-Chatham, you know, this jewel in the mountain surrounded by valleys and streams, beneath which flows the Outaouais River? Over time, let's fill the vase with the roses that our buildings will be restored. We will be inflated with pride when we admire the splendid bouquet we have assembled over the years.
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