Armand

About Armand

Armand was born on April 29, 1920, the third child in a family of 13...being one of the eldest in a large family meant there were many chores to do and helping out was part of the normal daily routine. Milking cows and delivering the milk to customers in Mallaig on the way to Grassy Island School where he completed Grade 1 to 8 were an important part of the daily chores as this provided an income for the family. There were many other chores on the family farm, animals were very much a part of their livelihood and so taking care of these animals was an extremely important part of daily life on the Amyotte Farm.  The list of chores became longer during the spring as crops had to be planted and also in the fall when the harvest season began, there was always an abundance of tasks to perform and at the age of 14 Armand was expected to put in a full day's work alongside his dad. Armand often talked about the wonderful meals his mother prepared for them and that there was always lots to eat, he often mentioned that they were luckier than some of the other families in the area. Armand also spoke proudly of the fact that his father strongly believed in education and that he encouraged his children to do the same. Armand spoke of the high standards set out by their parents: family is priority ONE, you don't cheat, you go to church on Sundays, you respect your elders, you share with those less fortunate and you always put in a hard day's work! These are the values Armand continued to live by during his life!! Armand performed his duties on the family farm faithfully but he always felt a calling to try other things, he loved to build things from scrap especially if there was steel involved, he also liked to repair machinery and work with motorized equipment and so this led him to try many different types of jobs.