34 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     Spinning bee in 
     
    

    
     St. Chyrsostome, 1916. 
     
     (Anne-Marie Arsenault 
     
     Collection) 
     
    
   
   
    
     “My mother organized 
     
     spinning bees. All after- 
     
     noon the house would be 
     
     full of women with their 
     
     spinning wheels. They 
     
     would tell stories and sing 
     
     while they were spinning. 
     
     Those spinning bees were 
     
     fun! In the evening we had 
     
     supper, which was usually 
     
     a pot-en-pot [type of 
     
     stew] or a poutine en sac 
     
     [steamed pudding]. That 
     
     was mainly what we had 
     
     for supper.” 
     
    
   
   
    
     Lucie-Anne Arsenault, 
     
     92 years old in 1991 
     
    
   
   
    
     Social and 
     
     Cultural Life 
     
    
   
   
    
     Acadians in the Evangeline Region have always enjoyed a 
     
     strong community life defined by a spirit of mutual help. The 
     
     bees and frolics so typical of the past illustrate this funda- 
     
     mental characteristic. Friends and neighbours would get to- 
     
     gether to accomplish various tasks, such as barn-building, 
     
     cutting firewood, ploughing, spinning, and rug-making. Al- 
     
     though bees and frolics are a thing of the past, the commu- 
     
     nity spirit is still very much alive, as evidenced by the numer- 
     
     ous co-operatives and associations for which the Region is 
     
     renowned. 
     
    
   
   
    
     The bees of the past are remembered, not only for the work 
     
     and the solidarity, but also for the pleasure and enjoyment. 
     
     These get-togethers offered an ideal opportunity to socialize 
     
     and to have fun. A successful bee always ended with a good 
     
     meal -— a chicken fricot or a hearty rapure — and, invariably,