The Sanche House
245 Papineau Street

This house, built in 1890-1891, was initially the home of Marie and Basile Dompierre, who also kept a bakery there. After the death of her husband in 1894, Marie maintained the business until 1897 when Sévigny Chénier, another baker, took it over. Bazile Carrière bought the house from the first owner, named Simard, at an unknown date, and then sold it on August 3, 1898 to the stonecutter Calixte D'Août, who moved in soon after. In January 1908, the grocer Philorum D'Août acquired the house for the price of goods received and the mortgage loan. Calixte D'Août lived there until it was purchased by Wilfrid Sanche on February 20, 1909.

Wilfrid Sanche, the son of Jérémie Sanche and Delphine Desrosiers, was born on August 15, 1879 in Saint- Scolastique. He was about eight years old when his parents moved to Hull. On October 19, 1903, in the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Church, he married Dona Laflèche, born in Hull on February 18, 1882, the daughter of Isaïe Laflèche. The couple had 11 children: Lucien, Jeannette, Aldège, Jean-Paul, Antonio, Gilberte, Thérèse, Jacqueline, Alice, Madeleine and Suzanne.

A typographer by profession, Wilfrid Sanche worked for 35 years at the National Printing Bureau, where he became foreman in 1941. This great citizen of Hull was recognized as a contributor to the city's cultural life, particularly its amateur theatre. The Sanche collection, in the Archives nationales du Québec en Outaouais (National Archives of Quebec in the Outaouais), testifies to his commitment and the numerous plays he directed, produced and performed, from 1902 to 1940. These amateur productions filled the hall several times a year. Sanche the actor was also the director of the Cercle dramatique de Hull (Hull Drama Circle). He performed at the Monument National theatre, the Salle Notre-Dame, the Odéon, and the University of Ottawa and on several stages in the Hull area. The Sanche troop included fellow citizens and members of his family. The history of the theatre in the Outaouais owes a tremendous debt to Wilfrid Sanche, who was held in high esteem. He died at the age of 61, on January 2, 1941.

His wife, Dona, lived in the house until her death on November 6, 1974. Some of their children lived with her: Jacqueline, married to Roland Roy; Alice (J.-L. Maltese); Suzanne (Rodolphe Trépanier); Aldège (Jeanette Bertrand) and Thérèse (Victor Pouliot). Another daughter, Madeleine, entered the Grey Nuns of the Cross.

One of the Sanche sons, Jean-Paul, born in 1908, followed in his father's theatrical footsteps. Having worked for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, he then worked on the radio station CKCH, where he was head newscaster in 1958. Two months after his marriage to Juliette Sauvé of Hull, on June 23, 1932, he was one of the first people to water-ski on the Ottawa River. The couple were living at 150 Notre Dame when their son, Guy, was born on July 5, 1934. It is unlikely that this child was born in Wilfrid's house, as has been written. The infant's maternal grandmother, Clara Sauvé, and an uncle, Aurélien Sauvé, were the godmother and the godfather. Jean-Paul died in 1990 in Saint-Hubert, Quebec.

Guy Sanche was the actor famous for the role of Bobino, a character in a patched jacket with a daisy in the buttonhole, a derby hat, grey gloves and a cane. His performances on television delighted the very young from 1957 to 1985. At first, Sanche improvised his texts, creating a whimsical universe. After a year, Michel Cailloux became his collaborator in writing scenarios that included a mischievous little sister, the puppet Bobinette. More than 5,000 scripts entertained toddlers and introduced them to geography, history, biology, rules of safety, and lessons in life. When Radio-Canada wanted to cancel the series in 1983, tens of thousands of letters and phone calls of protest, petitions, and even questions on the floor of the House of Commons in Ottawa, obtained a one-year reprieve for the program and the promise of reruns. Identified with this role, Guy Sanche had few opportunities to play other parts, although it was occasionally possible to admire his talent on a major television series. He lived in Saint-Fabien-sur-Mer, Quebec. He died of cancer in the Rimouski hospital, on January 27, 1988.

Lucien, Jeannette and Gilberte Sanche lived in the family home until November 1988. Dorothy Digby then became the owner of the house until June 2, 1989, followed by Linda Cole and Gilbert McElroy of Aylmer, and then Edmond Eyamie. After that, this house was transformed into an inn called "Un Pied à Terre".