(died 31 Oct. 1946, aged 60), hockey-stick manufacturer. (Joe Choquette) Born at St-Grégoire, Que. He manufactured hockey sticks at his workshop on City Hall Avenue, Montreal, and at the Alexandria, Ont., plant which he had established about 10 years before his death, called Alexandria Wood Products. ”Known wherever hockey is played as the foremost maker of hockey sticks of his day,” Choquette is said to have made all the sticks used by the Montreal Canadiens, the Boston Bruins, the Chicago Black Hawks, and by some of the New York Rangers. He stated that he knew every NHL player personally. “He was part and parcel of Canadiens’ dressing room, stood behind their bench to watch them play, and often advised them what sticks to use–advice they invariably followed.” He also made skis and other sports equipment, and had a sporting goods store in Montreal.

     In his obituary, the Glengarry News said, “the acquisition of his plant meant much to the welfare of the town, coming here as it did [in the depths of the Depression] when relief rolls were at their highest. Generous and civic minded to a fault Mr Choquette put friendship and neighborliness before profit and he had a host of admirers here…” A Montreal resident during much of his life, he maintained at least a summer home in Alexandria, but apparently Montreal remained his principal base. The Alexandria Wood Products firm, which made “other wood products” besides hockey sticks, had at least one war contract, which was for the making of detonator boxes. (GN 12 Dec. 1941, 9 Jan. 1942; see John Gelineau)

     Joseph Choquette was married to Ernestine Filion. He was killed in a car accident near Dorval, Que., when motoring from Alexandria to Montreal. Roman Catholic. He was buried at Iberville, Que. At the funeral in St. James Church, Montreal, where those attending included many people noted in the hockey world, Camillien Houde the mayor of Montreal, headed the cortege.

Standard Freeholder 2 Nov. 1946 & Glengarry News 8 Nov. 1946 with CP tribute (quotes from this grouping of sources) * Marin 212-213