Toponymie | Canton de Potton | Place Names

Potton's Legion Memorial Library is situated on the second floor of the Townhall in Mansonville, and was founded by Louise Oliver, aided by Franà§oise Blais, Jean Brown, and Louise's daughter, Charlotte Oliver Krausser.

Mayor Bruce Armstrong officially inaugurated the Legion Memorial Library on October 12, 1975. At that time, the Library was housed in the Royal Canadian Legion building to which it owes its name. Despite modest and difficult beginnings, which included a disastrous fire that damaged Louise's collection of books, this determined woman was undaunted and continued to persevere.

On July 1^st, 1977 the Municipal Council assumed responsibility for housing the library.

In 1986, Potton Branch #154 of the Royal Canadian Legion disposed of its building by transferring it to the Municipality of the Township of Potton.  One of the conditions of donation was that the Library be named the Bibliothèque commémorative de la Legion Memorial Library.

In October of 1977, under the tenure of Mayor André Marcoux, the library was moved from the Legion building to the Gillanders House* on Main Street.  Later, a cost analysis for retrofitting this heritage home proved more onerous than expected and the building was demolished.  While the Gillanders house premises were being readied, the Library was housed temporarily in the basement of the Saint-Cajetan Church.

In 2007-2008, the Townhall was largely renovated.  Space was designed for the Library, and in 2008, Mayor Claude Laplume inaugurated a new and permanent home for the Library in the Townhall.

Louise Oliver (née Destromp) was born in 1911 in Windsor Mills, Quebec. She married Donald B. Oliver, grandson of William Oliver who was a merchant in Mansonville for many years.  She and her husband had three children, David, Jeffrey and Charlotte.  Mrs. Oliver was a nurse at the Montreal Children's Hospital.  When she and her husband retired, they moved to the Mansonville area where they owned a home.

Louise Oliver founded the library in 1975, at the age of 64.  She left her function as librarian at the age of 77, relinquishing the management to Helga Kreig.  At the age of 83, she turned her talents to writing books for children: Loppy, The Tale of a Pumpkin, Loppy's Dream and The Legend of the Singing Bell.  She died, at the age of 95 years, on October 12, 2006 – thirty-one years to the day of the inauguration of the Legion Memorial Library.  Louise Oliver rests in the Mansonville Protestant Cemetery.^[1]