
Statue of Evangeline, in front of Memorial Church, Grand Pre
The opening lines of Longfellow’s poem, “Evangeline”, have thilled me ever since I was a little girl. I can’t take credit for any literary precociousness – “Forest Primeval” was the name of the northern Wisconsin resort where my family rented a cabin for several weeks each summer when I was growing up. The entry sign would begin the poem, “This is the forest primeval, the murmuring pines and the hemlocks…” and we’d turn off a paved road onto the bouncy, two tire tracked, pine-needle strewn dirt road that would lead us to the old log lodge and one of the primitive log cabins, all with names like Evangeline, Gabriel and Longfellow. The whole family would get into such a dither of excitement, cheering and clapping, that our black labrador once jumped out of the car window along the route, showing his own exuberance for a couple of weeks in the woods and lake.
I did read and love the poem though, because of those summers. I thought the story of the ill-fated love between Evangeline and Gabriel was the most romantic story in the world.
Visiting the Grand Pre National Historic Site is a much more somber experience. The visitor center, film and memorial church bring to life the history of Acadia and the tragic deportation of the Acadian people by the British in 1755.

Grand Pre National Historic Site
No sign of the struggles and heartbreak today. We walk through beautiful grounds, orchards and gardens, and statues commemorating the brave heroine, Evangeline, and her creator, Longfellow. They brought this incredible story to the world’s attention.
And I feel like I’ve filled in a bit of a childhood chapter of my life that started in the north woods of Wisconsin.

Grand Pre National Historic Site