CARNDUFF - When Paul Carriere married Pat Audet back in 1956, little did they know how big of a family tree they were about to plant.
He is 87 years old and widowed, as his wife Pat passed away in 2011. Carriere is still active, managing Carnduff’s landfill site.
Recently, the family had a reunion at the Merkley farm north of Glen Ewen, and family came from as far away as Chilliwack, B.C. That trip was made by Makenzie Rae, one of Carriere’s granddaughters.
The weather was beautiful for the weekend of celebrating family and allowed for a lot of outdoor activities like badminton, bocce ball and water hoses for the kids. Trailers were parked and tents were set up to accommodate the whole family. All the meals were home-cooked.
The family tree is very large. Paul and Pat had seven children, who in turn gave them 24 grandchildren, who provided 40 great-grandchildren (with two more on the way) and they have contributed two great-great-grandchildren. Add these up and throw in the spouses and the result was that there were about 80 mouths to feed that weekend.
This was the second time the Carriere family had a reunion. The first came three years ago when it was decided that Paul, the family patriarch, wasn’t getting any younger and that it would be great to enjoy family while everyone was able to.
Now the planning for reunion number three begins.
