Series

This series
is made up of three autograph books that belonged to Monique Meloche. They were
filled during the period when the young woman grew from childhood into
adolescence. Not all of the notes recorded in the books are dated. Based on the
inscriptions that are dated, the first volume was filled in 1939, the second,
from 1940 to 1944, and the third, from 1946 to 1947.

These
notebooks contain signatures, short notes, good wishes and various reflections.
They chronicle Monique Meloche's relationships with those around her, notably
members of her family, including her aunts Alma and Gertrude, her uncle Roland,
and her cousins from Ottawa, Colette and Yvonne. Her grandfather writes her an
affectionate note dated March 20, 1940: "For a man, true happiness is made
up of three distinct joys. The first is his wedding day, the second is the day
of his first child's birth, and the third is the day when he becomes a
grandfather." The notebooks also contain numerous expressions of
friendship, many from schoolmates at Académie Saint-Urbain, including Paulette
Lalonde, Pierrette Bouchard, Béatrice Lapointe, Jacqueline Lévesque and someone
named Francyne, who dates her note the "day of graduation," June 17,
1946 or 1947. Maryse Gatien, who teases that she is a "member of the
Gamelord trio," writes, after returning the notebook: "May you always
remember the naughty schoolmate who, on June 18, 1946, ruined your autograph
book by writing in it upside down."

Some
signers choose to express themselves with maxims, like her Académie
Saint-Urbain classmate Andrée Gervais on November 27, 1946, who writes several
sentences that she attributes to Lamartine: "Happiness is but a somewhat
more fragrant hour... Breathe deeply of it, but speak in hushed tones... It is merely
on loan from the heavens, not a gift." Others make drawings, like her
cousin Yvonne Ducharme from Ottawa, who made a drawing of a child praying and
signed it April 8, 1943, or her friend Lorraine Guérin, whose entry is
illustrated with little birds.

The
notebooks also contain some messages from several nuns who were no doubt her
teachers. Some note that Monique had a talent or, at the very least, an
interest in music. For example, Sister Sainte-Antoinette-de-Notre-Dame wishes
her to become a great musician, and Sister Saint-Albert-du-Rosère hopes that a
musical future awaits her.