Gironde: Saint-Médard-en-Jalles rediscovers its history and tells its story in images

Lfull of history for some, pictures for others, there is no doubt that the work is a family record going through the history of the town. Effectively, the cover image instantly sticks the memory device in your lap. We see a group of cyclists from the past proudly parading in front of the lens. The scene seems to have been taken from the movie “Les Cracks” with Bourvil as the inventor of the revolutionary bicycle, with the added charm of a carnival treat. Note that there are old trains attached to the electric fairy in the background of the photo, proof that the tramway once ran in Saint-Médard-en-Jalles.

This book, the first act of a trilogy that aims to recall local history, is the result of joint work funded by the town. “In fact, the city has changed a lot in a few decades,” explained Mayor Stéphane Delpeyrat-Vincent. We went from a rural area of ​​6,000 to 7,000 souls, with neighborhoods with a strong identity, to a town of 33,000 inhabitants. The revolution related to aeronautics and space was important. » And to continue: “Simplifying, we can say that there are two sections of Saint-Médardais today: long-established families who remember places, traditions, and people a thousand miles from experience on everything. This book is a way to create a connection to share this story. »

The project was given to photographer David Levasseur. An expert in the restoration and coloring of old photographs, he worked in partnership with the association Le Patrimoine de Saint-Médard and Richard Balestrat, archivist and historian of the City.

Colored by AI

In detail, collecting materials (pictures, postcards) is a never-ending task. “I’ve been collecting and digitizing everything I can for five years,” said David Levasseur. The author had access to 17,000 documents in the municipal archives. Paper prints or negatives that had to be examined, sorted, selected. Society has pulled obstacles out of their drawers. Individuals have done the same. “99% of the pictures were in black and white, some badly damaged, almost impossible to read. » They needed to be restored before coloring them using artificial intelligence and retouching software. Furthermore technology is not infallible. “Sometimes there can be mistakes,” the expert admits. Arlette Capdepuy, René Daix and André Deris, who were all members of the Le Patrimoine society, kept a watchful eye to prevent the traps. The latter wrote part of the texts and wrote the subtitles that set the images and shed light on the centuries.

The laundry

One chapter shows cultural heritage, another class portrait, with clocks, blouses and dresses for the older ones. In the middle of the 1960s, the Saviem town bus took children out to discover the joy of skiing​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​front. Then comes the time of the fairs, flower parades, costume poses by the runners-up… A space themed floating carnival pays homage to the Diamond rocketand at La Poudrerie at the same time. 1966: the Muse festival in Gajac takes on an American or “Jallifornian” parade. Still amazing is this image of laundresses washing clothes in the Jalle, while cows water a little further away.

Clairaux

The composition and color sometimes make it look like paintings. Like this group of mustachioed men sitting at the Le Petit Caporal bar restaurant, built in 1904 in Caupian. A few pages later, the reader sees the Cassayres returning from a hunt displaying their trophies in front of “Chez Valentine”. Before smiling in front of a snowball fight in the middle of winter 1956 on the main street, Doisneau style (but in color). Saint-Médard is also a sports festival. In front of the Café des sports (today’s Bistrot Régent), berets and boatmen celebrate the bicycle races. Rugby, gym, canoe-kayak games on the Jalle, Grand Prix Bordeaux (automatic) arriving on the road to Lacanau testify to an unexpected vitality. In 1981, the swimming pool known as Tournesol landed as a flying super in the Hastignan area. With her, generations of children will learn to swim.

Printed in an edition of 2,000 copies, this first book is sold at a price of 15 euros. Already available at the media library and the game media library, its distribution will be extended in the coming weeks to several businesses in the city. Two more preparatory works will follow in 2025 and 2026, one on forgotten professions and public services at the time, the other on built heritage. The yarn of the ball has not finished revealing its wonders.