Toponymie | Canton de Potton | Place Names

On the occasion of the one hundredth anniversary of Saint-Cajetan in 1982, Sandra Jewett, then Secretary-Manager of the Caisse populaire in 1982, wrote the following (translated from the original French):

''In the autumn of 1935, with the economy of Quebec in a bad state, money tight and impossible to turn to the chartered banks, our forefathers recognizing the benefits of a co-operative financial institution decided to found their own.  Some of the determined citizens were: Honoré Carrier, Alphonse Rouillard, Alfred Marcoux, Alphonse Lessard, Alfred Turcotte, Thomas Vachon, Thomas Lessard, Hormidas Lafrenière, Gédéon Giroux and Edouard Fontaine.  It was they who undertook the steps with the founding authorities without delay.  Father Armand Malouin, helped by his assistants, laid the foundation for the institution with the nominations to the several committees required for the administration of a Caisse populaire.  Mr. Alphonse Rouillard was named President and Mr. Fidèle Turcotte, its secretary manager.  The Caisse populaire de Mansonville was started with deposits from its 23 members.  Its beginnings were very modest.  The manager's salary that first year was $50 and the Caisse office was located in his home.

''Managers and secretaries came one after another over the years, each giving the best of self to the service of the members of the cooperative.  Of particular note is Gabriel McDuff who devoted himself to the Caisse for 37 years, 27 of them as President; and Albert Marcoux, who served faithfully for 29 years on various committees.  After changing office locations when the manager changed, the directors decided in 1981 to buy Raymond Parent's house and therein establish a permanent office. 

''The Caisse in Mansonville grew over the years thanks to the devoted effort of all those who believed and worked diligently on a volunteer basis.  The Caisse now has assets totalling more than one and a half million dollars with 685 members, to whom the benefits have been several.  Our gratitude goes to those first directors who spared little effort to build a legacy for their successors from which we are still benefitting.  We congratulate these pioneers and thank them.”

The first credit union in North America, the Caisse populaire de Lévis, Quebec, began operations on January 23, 1901 with a 10-cent deposit.

Alphonse Desjardins (1854-1920) of Lévis, Quebec, was disgusted when he realized how poorly banks treated people – all people, not just those of questionable solvency.  He saw how difficult it was for the working classes to make a go of it.  In 1897, upon learning about loan-sharking, he resolved to fight back on behalf of the working poor, to tell the big banks, which he called “the Emperors of Finance”, that enough was enough.  Desjardins had been born into a poor family and was highly motivated to fight usury, improve conditions for the working classes and give French Canadians economic liberation.

On December 6, 1900, after three years of study, discussion and correspondence with supporters of mutualism and economic cooperation in Quebec and Europe, Desjardins founded the Caisse populaire, the People's Bank, in Lévis.  It was the first successful credit union in North America.  It was designed to "serve the humblest classes" and develop "honesty, industrious habits, good conduct and thrift."  Within ten years, Desjardins had opened 100 caisses in Quebec. At the time of his death, he had earned an international reputation as an authority on collective financial institutions.  He won honors from countries around the world, but he derived the greatest pleasure from the designation "Caisses populaires Desjardins."^[1]

In 1982, our caisse was known as the La Caisse populaire de Mansonville.  Since then, amalgamations have taken place with the Caisses populaires of Eastman and of Magog and the new name became a more inclusive: Caisse Desjardins du Lac-Memphrémagog.  The present building was built in 1995.  

When I first began working at the Caisse, it was located in the building where the Boulangerie Owl's Bread is now located, which had been a store run by the Stehr family.  In November 1980, La Caisse populaire de Mansonville moved to the Parent house at 9, rue des Pins.