Réal Hébert (1908-1994) : Sweetsburg Merchant and Sherbrooke Daily Record Hunting and Fishing Columnist
In 2002-2003, in the process of naming the trout pools on the Magog River in the Sherbrooke limits, the one near Maurice-gingues Bridge of Hwy 410 autoroute was named for an Eastern Townships merchant cum hunting and fishing enthusiast, Réal Hébert.
Réal Hébert was born in 1908 in Lachine. He was the son of Marie-alma Valois (1883-1964) and Joseph Louis Hébert (1877-1960) from Bury, both printers in Lachine. Réal attended grade school and high school. When his parents were separated, he began to work quite young to help his mother support the family, doing deliveries by bike and also selling various consumer goods at train stations and stores around Montreal when he was in age to have his driver’s licence. In 1934, he married Gladys Adams (19081982) in Montreal’s Notre-dame-de-grâce Catholic church. As Gladys was an Anglican, the wedding could not be performed in the sanctuary and she had to promise that she would not oppose her future children being baptised as Catholics. The couple had three children : Monica (Monique), Louise and Norman (Normand).
The couple settled in Montreal where Réal continued as a salesman. Around 1940, wishing to be self-employed, Réal moved to Sweetsburg (Cowansville since 1964) where he bought their home in front of the Courthouse. With his friend Paul Francoeur, Réal opened a general store (then the only one in Sweetsburg) at the corner of the Main Street, facing the Brome-missisquoi-perkins Hospital. Few years later, in an extension to his house, he decided to sell building materials. His most important client was then construction promoter Roland Désourdy, of the well known family in the area. He operated his businesses until 1952. In that year, because he had been a good salesman of Glidden Paints for the previous ten years, the Glidden Company (later Betonel/dulux) proposed that he become their representative for Eastern Quebec. As his affairs in Sweetsburg had slowed down, he sold his properties and settled in Rimouski. In 1958, the Glidden Company offered him the position of manager for their Eastern Townships district. The family settled for good in Sherbrooke and Réal renewed his link with nature and his passion for hunting and fishing. He retired in 1968. Living near Beckett Park, he became one of the most dedicated defenders to preserve this wooded area.
In 1970, he decided to share his knowledge and experience of hunting, fishing and living in the great outdoors. Because he suffered from emphysema, he had to give up his hunting trips and his salmon fishing expeditions in the 1980s. He settled for fishing hikes in the area, often with his friend Sirice Huard, columnist at La Tribune. Réal first became known as a columnist with CJRS radio station and also in a series of 55 programs in 1973-1974 for CHLT TV station. At the request of the City of Sherbrooke, he also offered fly-casting courses. He wrote articles for a few magazines such at the periodical Sentier chasse et pêche and the almanac Guide De Kuyper du pêcheur et du chasseur. In the spring, he gave conferences at a few fishing fairs. For a few years, during lunch hour, he met with high school students interested in fishing and passed on his knowledge and his tricks of the trade. Having caught the bug for fishing when his father had given him his first fishing rod when he was 8 years old, he convinced the City of Sherbrooke, for a few years, to stock trout in June in the Domaine-howard Park pond, so as to give yougsters a taste of the sport. And finally, for over 20 years, starting in 1970, he was a faithful hunting and fishing freelance columnist for the Sherbrooke Daily Record. His last article was published the day before his death in Sherbrooke, March 19, 1994. He was buried beside his father in Sainte-rose-de-lima cemetery in Cowansville, Gladys having been interred in St. Peter’s Anglican cemetery in Sherbrooke.
Réal Hébert had been made an associate member of the Federation of Fly Fishermen in 1967 and an honorary life member in 1989 of The Eastern Townships Fish & Game Club Alliance. He was also a member of the Canadian Wildlife Federation and of the Outdoor Writers Association of Canada. In 1990, the Quebec Community Newspapers Association awarded him a Certificate of Excellence, and in 1991, the Association de presse de plein air et de tourisme du Québec awarded him their Certificate of Merit.