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We can say that it all began on a summer day, at Pointe-au-Père, at my mother’s, on July 5, 1971. 
A few years ago. I was interested in the history of my family and my ancestors. I had in my possession some notes on Nicolas and his first descendants. Notes probably taken from the genealogical dictionary Tanguay by an uncle or an aunt. So I was planning to spend my time in retirement researching the Paquin genealogy. It was my mother. Ms Yvonne Audet Paquin who had then told me about Brother Pasteur and his researches. She recommended that I meet with him. The opportunity presented itself on a summer day in 1971 at Pointe-au-Père. Brother Pasteur was visiting my mother and I happened to be there on vacation. After discussion, I finally persuaded Brother Pasteur that the occasion to celebrate the 3rd centenary of the arrival of our ancestor Nicolas should not be missed for it was in the coming year 1972. Our collaboration sealed by the birth our friendship.
During the fall, we formed a committee of three people, each with specific functions for the organization of the 3rd centenary celebrations. Brother Pasteur would chair the committee and be in charge of contacting key people for the organization of this first Paquin rally. I would act as secretary, advertising, and media relations. Brother Jules Paquin e.c. would prepare a slideshow about Nicolas' country, Normandy, and the places in New France where he lived. He would also take care of the archives. On page 207 of the «Petite Histoire des Familles Paquin en Amérique» a photo-souvenir recalls the first meetings of this committee.
We decided that the first rally would take place in Deschambault, the cradle of the Paquin families in America. The creation of the Genealogical Bulletin "Origin of the Paquin Families in Canada" by Brother Pasteur in April 1969 placed in the hands of the committee the means of communicating with many Paquin in Canada and throughout America. A questionnaire was published in the February issue (Vol. 4. No. 2) to survey the opinion of the Paquin on the 3rd centenary celebrations. The response was spontaneous and enthusiastic. The committee could proceed.
Press releases were sent to the various dailies and weeklies of the province to present the program of the 3rd centenary celebrations. Meanwhile, the Paquin of Deschambault had mobilized under the chairmanship of Paul Paquin to form an organizing committee with more than 25 Paquin (see page 208 of La Petite Histoire…). Several meetings were held with this committee to ensure maximum coordination and effort. As early as June, we already had more than 300 enthusiastic responses from Paquin. I arranged an interview with Brother Pasteur for the CHRC post. The commercial soon paid off: Radio-Canada’s CBC (English channel 6) wanted to make a film about family celebrations that were taking place across the province and was looking for an opportunity. Reading a press release about our project caught their attention and one day in July I received a phone call from Pierre Leduc asking for a meeting with director Mark Phillips. The committee agreed.
Thus, for four days before the holidays of August 20, the television crew of the English channel circulated in Deschambault and the surrounding area, taking pictures, questioning people. They were there on the Sunday of August 20 during the Thanksgiving Mass. The illumination of the church for the shooting added to the splendors of the ceremony. The church was not large enough to contain all the Paquin present, more than 1000.
The ceremony was followed by a picnic on the grounds of the provincial farm of Deschambault, a visit to the genealogical paintings prepared by Brother Pasteur and a slide show prepared by Brother Jules. All the Paquin people who attended the August 20th holiday surely kept an excellent memory of this wonderful day. An account of this was given in the genealogical bulletin Vol. IV, No 9, September 1972, in Petite Histoire. . . . pages 222 to 224. If the success of these celebrations was attributable to the Paquin de Deschambault and the Comité de Québec, in particular to Brother Pasteur, he acknowledged that Pointe-au-Père’s meeting with the secretary had been the spark that had triggered everything.
After the celebrations of the 3rd centenary, the Committee did not remain inactive. Brother Pasteur planned a monument that would remind the descendants of Nicolas of the Festivals of 1972. Two places were selected to place this monument: the halt of Deschambault or the ground around the Old Rectory, classified historical monument. Provincial authorities could not accept the monument on the staging grounds because of the precedent it would create and the dangers of vandalism. Deschambault’s municipal authorities accepted the monument on the grounds surrounding the old rectory, but also raised the dangers of vandalism that had already damaged it. It was then that Paul Paquin, the president of the Fêtes de 1972, intervened: he was ready to transfer by lease a lot of 5 x 4 for the erection of the monument with a pavement of access of 32 x 2 from the lot P3 of the cadastre of Deschambault on which Paul Paquin at his home, 116 Chemin du Roy. The proposal was accepted and the monument erected on this lot was blessed by Father Jacques Paquin p.m.e. on August 24, 1975. The address of Father Jacques and the minutes of the meeting appeared in No. VIII of the Genealogical Bulletin “Origin of the Paquin Families in Canada”. A copy of the minutes drawn up on the spot by the secretary was inserted into the monument with the seals. In 1977, Paul Paquin agreed to a life servitude for the lot on which the monument was erected, thus ensuring permanence for future generations.
The committee of 3 still active is preparing another rally to celebrate the 3rd centenary of Nicolas' marriage with Marie-Françoise Plante. A questionnaire is prepared for this purpose and appears in Vol. VII, No 1 of January 1975. Trois-Rivières was chosen for the site of this rally because of the many Paquin who live in the region. Meetings were held on October 3, 1975, with the secretary, on December 5, 1975, and on March 2 and 11 and May 19, 1976 in Trois-Rivières. The rally took place at the Armoury on August 8, 1976 and was a great success despite the rain. The Bulletin, Vol. VIII, Nos. 8, 9 and 10, provides a summary of these celebrations. Brother Pasteur took advantage of this rally to launch his book “Petite Histoire des Familles Paquin en Amérique”.