The Ingenious: From Miniature to "Larger Than Life"

Albert Lord always knew how to manage his way through life. "If we needed something," he said, "we made it."¹ Born at the beginning of the 20^th century, Albert Lord is an only child, which is fairly rare for that time. He spends his childhood in "rang 4," the backcountry of Saint-Basile and keenly observes everything around him. For seven years, he is a boarder at the Saint-Basile Convent. He ends his formal schooling in Grade 9, but this never prevents him from thinking wisely. Like many others, he works on the farm while dreaming of a better future. "He always dreamt of owning his own little business; he didn't see himself working for others."²

In 1935, he married Jeannette Roy. During the years that followed, the couple had 11 children, nine girls and two boys. Mr. Lord continued to work on the farm without really enjoying it. His son, Patrick, said: "My father hated farm work... towards the end of the 1930's, when Lévite Morneault's mill burned to the ground in Iroquois, my father bought what was left of it and completely rebuilt it with what he had on hand."³