Part 26:
Arichat: 1935; on the lower road moving eastward toward Petit de Grat we’ve arrived at the home of Hector DeCoste. His house had originally been the property of Henry Boudreau and his family of thirteen; he sold it to Dr. B.A. LeBlanc who made use of it as a stable for his horse. Hector DeCoste (b. 1881) converted the barn into a home; he married Josephine Landry (b. 1875) in 1910; there were three children: Mary Rose, 1916-?; Cecile, 1918-1998, Havre Boucher; Baptiste, 1911-1964. Raphael Boudreau and his wife Alma raised their family of Lloyd, Raymond, and Kenneth there. Then Raymond and his wife Shirley and children Garrett, Garnet, and Grace were the ensuing occupants.
In 2005, up the field behind this property are now two homes, that of Vernie Martell and the other built by Lloyd, brother of Raymond.
And so we have reached Jean’s Lane but retrace our steps back westward along the waterside of the street up to Godfrey’s Lane. The first home was that of Stephen Boudreau, his wife ? Gerroir and children Alexander, Colin, Mary Louise, and Xavier who worked for Godfrey LeBlanc in the store. By all accounts they were a very reclusive family. (In later years they moved uptown to a little house across from Premium Seafood.)
Pre 1935 Dave Goyetche (1876-1908) and his family occupied the home. Dave was married to Maude Terrio (1882-1917), and the children were John David (1909-2000), George, Bernard, Michael, Paul, and Albert.
When the Boudreaus left, Albert Boucher (across the street) used the building as a coffin shed. Through the years it passed into the hands of Joe (the Barber) Boudreau, and now belongs to Gina Boudreau.
Just to the west of this house was the service station of Ulysse LeBlanc. It did not exist in 1935 but came into being not long after.
Next was the home of Captain Louis Boudrotwho was married to Janie Leslie (godmother of Lorenzo) in 1905. They had one child, Elmira (1907-1991), who married Bill Carroll. Cpt. Louis died in 1938 and Janie 30 years later at age 89.
Joe Boudreau (brother of Lorenzo) purchased the home and rented it out to numerous people including the Whittys; the house now is in the possession of Shirley Marchand.
Next to Louis’ was the store of Johnny Jean approximately across the street from Cpt. Frank Young. It was an imposing three-story building operated solely by Mr. Jean, a man of greatly advanced years at this time.
Not long after Charles Robin first set up his fish enterprise in 1765, John Jean (the first) became involved in the fishing industry. The firm of Jean, DeCartaret, and LeVesconte dealt in fish and general merchandise. The Jean family became and remained one of the most prominent families in Arichat for many generations. John Jean, a descendent of the original, besides being a successful businessman, later became Collector of Customs. William Jean ran a satellite operation in Petit de Grat while a son, John Jr., took over the Arichat business. Tupper Jean, was a sea captain and Registrar of Deeds and his brother, Thomas, was municipal treasurer. The Jeans were of French Huguenot stock and were devoted to St. John’s Anglican parish. In fact, their home was a common meeting place for the parishioners before construction of a church. The store came to its demise sometime during the war years. The property became part of the LeBrun holdings.