Remembering the old Ottawa Valley

Brett Thoms
Shawville March 4, 2023
Forgotten Memories of the Ottawa Valley, a folk music show about the history of the Ottawa Valley by local performer Marc Audet, came to The Little Red Wagon Winery last Saturday night.
Songs performed focused on a variety of subjects; from early years of river travels to immigration, logging, farming, frontier life and the effects of industrialization.
“I’ve become a historic songwriter over the last five years or so but in so just recently ended up accumulating enough songs to be able to do a full two set two-hour show,” Audet said.
Audet, who hails from Renfrew County, said he has gathered these songs through exploring sites in the bush, like old farms, lumber camps, and wagon trails, then researching them, and sometimes even reaching out to descendants of those involved. He’s explored both sides of the Ottawa River and is fascinated by the diversity the greater Ottawa Valley Region has to offer.
“It’s been really neat kind of exploring his old sites, investigating the history and then and then with a bit of luck a song will come out of it in with a bit more luck, it’ll be a good song,” Audet said.
As a historical folk singer, Audet said all his songs are researched and based on true events. He said while he makes some concessions to artistic interpretation where he has to, he tries his best to be as accurate as possible.
“The songs are like storytelling songs and so there’s no fiction involved at all, although that being said, you know, you never have all the facts, so sometimes you have to make assumptions,” Audet said about his method for turning history into song.
During his performances, Audet said his songs touched the history of both sides of the river.
“I grew up in Deep River and right on the Quebec-Ontario border, and I spent as much time on the Quebec side as I did the Ontario side. The Ottawa Valley is independent of the border. It’s all the same,” Audet said.
Audet also said that he was grateful for the concert venue the winery offers.
“It’s a pleasure to come and play in a place like this with a listening audience. That’s why I’m thrilled to come here. Because when you play in restaurants and pubs, it’s people are just there to have a drink and chat with their friends. There, I’m just sort of background music.”
Over the two-hour set, Audet played songs ranging from an ode to the log drivers on the Ottawa River, stories about old lumber camps along the Dumoine River, a prison break at a POW camp in Algonquin Park during World War II and much more.
Audet also made a special plea to encourage people who have lived history to record their experiences so the history of the Ottawa Valley continues to be remembered in as much detail as possible.
He lamented how much has been lost forever by people passing without leaving any record of their lives and activity.
He hopes to continue to learn about and perform Ottawa Valley’s history.