1913-1924, Verizieu village, Ain

Four districts in the Ain departement : Bresse, famous for its poultry and delicious food, Pays de Gex, border to Switzerland, Dombes with its innumerable lakes and ponds, and Bugey. "Life is good", between moutains and Rhone valley.

1913 : Verizieu-de-Briord, 5 km from the Rhone, has 300 inhabitants, mainly farmers. That year, Josephine, born there, marries Marius, born in Tournon, Ardeche, 120 km South of Lyon. They are both 26. Verizieu being a too small village to have its own church, the wedding [2] takes place in Briord, on the riverside. Among the guests are farmers, wine growers, the baker in charge of the communal oven where everyone cooks tarts and gratins after the batch, a midwife, a wheelwright, a fruit grower, an uncle who builds the boats that link Aix-les-Bains to Lyon via the Rhone, parents, grand-mother, brothers and sisters, family and friends. Second row on the left : the bride's maternal grand-mother [3]. She is 88 in 1913. Marius and Josephine's first kids will have time enough to know her : she died at the age of 101 years. On her left, the groom's parents. The father works [4] for the P.L.M. (Paris-Lyon-Mediterranean), former southern network of the S.N.C.F. (National French Railways).

1915, mobilized during World War 1st on the frontline as a first-grade mechanic, Marius sends a photo-postcard [5] to his parents in Tournon with these few words : "For my parents as a souvenir of the 1914-1915 campaign. Keep it in the event of a tragedy. Marius" [6].

Verizieu, 1923. Gilbert, Josephine's younger brother, is 20. Some of the young men aged of 20 are fit for military service : they have gone through the Army "conseil de revision". The recruits carry a special scarf on their shoulders. With the help of the Mayor and a friend at the drums [7], the noisy band plays from house to house and is given money, fruit, maybe a kiss, and empties lots of demijohns !

Verizieu, January 1924 : Saint-Vincent Celebration (patron saint of winegrowers). Everyone gathers in Briord church for the solemn mass and a photo-souvenir. The parish priest sits next to the Lord Bishop of Belley and the mayors of all the neighbouring villages [8]. In the foreground, two men have laid down their cone-shaped decorated baskets, but kept on their heads their carriers' cushions. The band is ready to play. Some of Josephine's brothers are there. In many regions, the celebration is called "turning" Saint-Vincent : it takes place every year in a different village and comes back in each of them about once in a generation. This is why making it a success is of utmost importance. The delegations meet for the procession : the statue of Saint-Vincent is shown through the village and the vineyards. Then, time for fun : banquet, tasting wine, bands and games.

Mid-August 1924 - Threshing time in Verizieu. The steam threshing-machine and its mechanic [9] work in the villages according to their calendar. Everybody in on duty, gathering the grain, building up the stacks and feasting in the evening around a copious meal cooked by the women, often in Josephine's mother birthplace [10], before working on the following day on another neighbour's farm and so on.

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