Figure 1.--This is a French Canadian family that looks to be having a picnic in the 1920s. I'm not sure how their clothing would have differed, if any, with a comparable English-Canadian family. Note the size of the family. Also note the boy at the right with his wide waistband. It is a sure indicator that he comes from a French Canadian family. |
There are two intresting aspects of this photograph. It illistrates the often large size of a French Canadian family. The other aspect is the large waistband or cumberbun the older boy wears. Note also that almost all the children wear long stockings. The photograph is undated, but we would guess was probably taken in the 1930s.
French Canadian families could be quite large. Here there were two promary factors. Fiurst, most French Canadians lived in rural areas on farms. Farm families tended to be large as the children once they reached a certain age were useful farm hands. Second, French Canadians were Catholics and the Catholic Church opposed any kind of birth control on religious and moral grounds.
Many of the children in these large families would become priests or nuns. Most parents did not have the money to educate so many children. It was probably the case here, the Ile d'Orleans family, and most other large families. French Canadian religious communities became wealthy. Hospitals and school system were run by the Church. To maintain this system, the Church needed a lot of low income workers. The Church explained to parents that children were raised "for the glory of God".
Note the boy at the right with his wide waistband.I know about the waist band. Boys attending the "little seminary" (classical college ) wore such a waist sash like the one used by priests. It also had something to do with " ceinture fléchée " which was
related to the " patriots of 1837 " clothing.
After World War I (1914-18), boys and girls in America gradually shifted from long stockings to kneesocks and later ankle socks. This process also occurred in Canada, but it was somewhat slower. Thi was especially the case among French Cnadian families. Here the basixc reason was the inate consevatism of largelyv rural families. The Church insistence on modesty in dress may have been another facctor.
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