Admittedly with delay, the 145 years of the Saint-Tho association will be celebrated with dignity in a few days, as strongly desired by its director, Hélène Millier, who had first hoped to mount it last spring. The health crisis has disrupted the project and there will be no other activities for the moment than the one that will begin this Saturday, September 19. But this exhibition, which required a lot of work from the leisure association, a former patronage born in 1874, had to be at the heart of the event anyway. It will take place in the hall of the town hall of Le Havre, until Friday, September 25.
Le Havre institution created by the Catholic Church and today secular, mother of sports clubs foremost among which Saint-Thomas Basket, Saint-Thomas-d’Aquin has welcomed thousands of people during its long history. But this saga has rarely been traced. It has not been the subject of a sum for a long time. And its archives appeared to be very dispersed.
Seeing moreover several of their administrators disappear, and with them a memory, during the last years, the leaders of Saint-Tho thus first plunged back into their drawers, to find rather recent documents, but also requested the Archives. municipal authorities and obtained some first treasures from Agathe Cahierre, former first deputy mayor of Le Havre and granddaughter of Louis Delamare, a figure in patronage at the start of the 20th century.
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Donations dedicated to municipal archiving
The team then launched an appeal, at the end of last year, to find other documents, photographs from all periods, objects, but also oral testimonies of former members. The “Saint-Tho, I remember” exhibition will therefore be the result.
To talk about their Thomist memories, more than thirty people responded to the call relayed in our columns last December. These are mainly retirees, some of whom also spoke of their parents, who also stayed in Saint-Thomas. The Le Havre association Les Cueilleurs d’histoires is responsible for listening to these “elders”, at home, individually, and most often during collective meetings between the walls of the headquarters of Saint-Tho, in the Ormeaux district, in January. From these interviews and discussions with eight children from current leisure centers, she realized “ nineteen thematic panels », With iconographies, announces Hélène Millier (read below). Books, documents and other objects, many donated by private individuals, will be visible, such as an 1897 photo album and some sixty other original photographs placed under glass. ” We will also leave a guestbook available to the public for those who would like to leave comments … »Said the director. A few donations of money made it possible to complete the financing of all this work, which we hope will find an extension in other exhibition venues, perhaps as part of a partnership with the City.
Also, objects, books and other papers are doomed to be deposited in the Archives of Fort de Tourneville, according to the wishes of many donors. ” This is where they will be best preserved », Rejoices Hélène Millier.
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Exposition « Saint-Tho, I remember », From September 19 to 25 in the lobby of Le Havre town hall. Free entry, in accordance with sanitary protocol, during opening hours to the public (Saturdays from 9 h at 11 h 50, Monday to Friday from 8 h at 16 h 50 ; close on Sunday)
Facebook : association.st.tho
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Themes to select
What spotlight on 145 years of history? ”
There have been biases. We assume it », Says Hélène Millier. On the nineteen thematic panels installed in the hall of the town hall, the birth of the adventure of Saint-Thomas-d’Aquin, the life of the patronage and the colony of Castillon during the Second World War will be shown. world, but also the role of women, the importance of commitment and especially that of volunteers. Or the 1960s, an important turning point, basketball and football … ”
With Karine Chevallier [fondatrice des Cueilleurs d’histoires, NDLR],
we wanted something visually modern and lively », Insists the director. Alive thanks to the testimonies recently collected, and which will not all have been exploited, obviously, in the exhibition. Living because the association, strong in this past, also intends to forge a bright future.
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