By Domfront Editorial
Published on
17 Apr 24 at 6:03 p.m.
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Wednesday March 27, 2024, Hélène Martineau, née Bresteau, celebrated her hundredth anniversary. She was born 100 years ago, on March 27, 1924 in Cordouin, in Mayenne, a place in Oisseau. “I was born in a family farmers, I was the fourth of six children, three brothers and two sisters.”
8 km on foot
Hélène Martineau talks about her youth.
I walked to school with my brothers and sisters in Oisseau-le-Grand. There were four kilometers along sunken paths. You had to cross the stiles in boots with wooden soles via La Chablère. For lunch, we brought our meal and ate it at Madame Derouet’s in the Haut du Tertre (rue François-Ronné) in Oisseau.
In 1935, there was tragedy. When Hélène was eleven years old, her mother died. “From that moment on, I didn’t go to school,” she says.
A busy life
“So Dad stayed alone on his farm with my brothers and sisters. I had to help with the work of the house and the fields.” The days were busy.
It was necessary to milk the cows by hand, make hay, participate in the harvest, make bread, between 10 and 12 pounds
Witness from another time, she still remembers the German occupation during the Second World War. In 1939, the eldest of his brothers was mobilized. “Like many, we experienced restrictions with food ration cards,” remembers Hélène Martineau.
Marriage in 1949
The war ends. In 1947, she met Lucien Martineau, a young man of 28 years old, originally from Saint-Georges-Buttavent. He comes back very tested after five years from captivity in Germany on the border with Poland. Hélène Bresteau and Lucien Martineau get married Birdon December 13, 1949. Lucien, their son, was born in 1952.
From farm to farm
With my husband, we were drovers (agricultural employees) on farms, we changed employers every six months, to be better considered and have better income. The work was from Monday morning to Sunday evening.
This life leads them to move often. In 1949, the couple left for Saint-Mars-d’Egrenne in Orne, then, over the months and years, Oisseau, Neau, Pré-en-PailSaint-Cyr-en-Pail, Saint-Calais-du-Désert.
“We changed bosses on All Saints’ Day or St. George’s Day, this was the custom at the time. Our life changes were difficult for Lucien, our son. He had to leave his school friends and make new ones,” admits Hélène. In 1964, returning to Cordouin as farmers, but on their own. A situation which will last until his retirement in 1983.
His son’s confidence
Work fast. My mom was a hard worker. She always wanted to go fast, faster than the others, to finish before the men. When it was time to strip beets in a field, she always had to go faster than the other people working alongside her. She has always been like that,” confesses Lucien, her son. “Every day I call him.” Anecdote. “In 1957, I went to work for eight days in Paris with my boss who introduced me to the train, the metro, the monuments.” A memorable memory.
Hospitalized in Rennes
That year, Lucien and Hélène retired to the village of Bird. In 1984, she overcame a serious illness before being hospitalized in Rennes. Lucien, her husband died in 1986. Hélène had love from his garden and still has it. However, today, in 2024, at 100 years old, she admits it.
“It’s true that it’s getting more and more difficult.” Today, Hélène Martineau is a grandmother of three children and six great-grandchildren.
She still lives in her house with the kindness of her son and ADMR services.
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