Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Simpson (Nov 23/01) - A colour photograph of two boys standing on the front steps of the Sacred Heart Parish has kindled a myriad of memories for two Fort Simpson men.

This photo, found in the Sacred Heart parish collection in Fort Simpson, depicts Billy Villeneuve, left, and Nick Sibbeston in the mid-1950s. - Derek Neary/NNSL photo

The boy on the left, clad in a brown robe and gripping a crucifix that hangs around his neck is Billy Villeneuve. To his right stands Nick Sibbeston, brown hair combed ever so neatly, wearing a dress shirt, long pants and a broad grin.

To the best of their memories, the photo was taken by Father Lesage, a Catholic priest, between 1955 and 1957, when they were 10 to 12 years old.

Villeneuve recalled the occasion and mentioned it to Sibbeston one day. Sibbeston found the photograph and a number of others in the Sacred Heart Parish collection. Then, a couple of months ago, Sibbeston gave Villeneuve an 8x12 framed copy of the photo as a gift.

"We grew up together. I mentioned (the photo) to him and, somehow he got a hold of it," Villeneuve said, before staring at the picture once more and then chuckled, clearly delighted with the image. "I remember getting dressed up like that and I remember he (Father Lesage) took my picture."

Apparently Lesage took many pictures, thousands of them, according to Sibbeston. Neither he nor Villeneuve know what happened to the vast majority of them.

"He was here for a long time," Sibbeston said of Lesage. "He was very good with kids ... he used to take us on camping trips. We'd go across to Harris Creek to swim. Basically it was to keep us out of trouble."

It was common for young men to be altar boys and assist with mass in those days, Sibbeston said. On the other hand, Fort Simpson was like a farm setting at that time, and many boys would spend their time making mischief in the barns and gardens around the community, he said.