Val
Gagné is a largely francophone hamlet of about 50 houses 30 minutes
south of Iroquois Falls.
|
||||||||||||||||||
Val Gagne isn’t directly on Highway 11 – it’s about a 10 minute drive east of the main highway. Val Gagné is one of many tiny little farming communities that typifies northern Temiskaming.
In town, Sunshine Café and Variety on rue Principale serves cold beer and also has an LCBO outlet. Last time I was there the store was for sale (I know a lot of people who would love to own their own liquor store, just maybe not in Val Gagné.) There are a few other businesses, including Guay’s Garage, a caisse, a foodmart, and of course, a church.
I took a photo of the old National Tavern as a tribute to the town’s past. I thought it was shut down and boarded up, but infact I’ve been told that it’s still open.
Val Gagné apparently has one of the nicest baseball fields in all of Ontario and hosts an annual baseball tournament on the August long weekend named Val Gagné Days. There is also an annual corn roast that attracts 10 000 people from across the north. If you explore the cemetery there is a statue to be found commemorating the people who died in the Great Fire of 1916.
A former Val Gagné resident emailed me regarding the website and alerted me to the fact that I’m making their hometown (and many others) seem like a "ramshackle collection of abandoned huts". While that’s definitely not the case, nor the intent (at least not on purpose) there may be more to the town than met my eye that rainy afternoon in August.
(Photo is poor due to incessant rain.)
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Spent
some time in ValGagné? Have a story to share?
Post your experiences in Val Gagné below.