“ He had been there so long , he couldn ’ t even speak English anymore ,” said St . Germain .
The priest had apparently only spoken Japanese and Latin , so when he brought their Catholic chaplain to visit with the priest , they had to converse in Latin . St . Germain says he often thinks about the priest and assumes he stayed in that monastery until he died .
While at the monastery they also visited with the young children who were there , entertaining them with games of basketball .
St . Germain came back to the U . S . and was stationed in Nashville for almost a year . After being discharged he began working in housing in locations across the country — for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and for the Department of Housing of Urban Development .
In Nevada , he worked to form a bookkeeping service for the Indian Housing Authorities to use across the country . It was there that he met his wife Sharon , although it was far from love at first sight .
“ She got a job there , and I didn ’ t like her ,” said St . Germain . “ I think she was saying the same thing about me . For some reason , we just didn ’ t hit it off .”
After some time to get to know each other , they eventually came around to each other .
“ One thing led to another , and next thing I know , we ’ re married ,” joked St . Germain . They have now been married for 47 years and there is “ never a dull moment ” said Sharon .
While still in Nevada , he raised Appaloosa horses while also working to completely remodel their house . Out of curiosity , they listed it for sale and to their surprise it sold in just two days . It was then that they made their move to Custer .
Sharon ’ s family lives in the Chicago area , and Albert ’ s in Montana , so they would often stop in Custer on their way to visit family . It was here that they would either head north to Montana or east to Illinois . They always enjoyed the area and after moving here have stayed ever since .
After working in housing for many years previously , it seems like a natural progression that he eventually began to work for himself in construction . His five sons eventually worked in construction too .
He has also used his skills in construction to help elderly and disabled people by building decks and ramps for their houses . He and his son also mow lawns for elderly people who can no longer mow their own lawns . He never asked for reimbursement for doing the work , but when asked would reply , “ apple pie .”
“ We must have had 12 apple pies out there in the freezer ,” Sharon said with a laugh .
Now , he focuses on building things for a much younger crowd . In the shop at his home he spends about four or five hours a day building wooden toy trucks for children at St . Joseph Indian School in Chamberlain , S . D ., and for St . Labre Indian School in Ashland , Mont .
He said that he has been making the toys for so long now that he doesn ’ t quite remember how or why he started with the project , but still following that advice from his father , it ’ s something to do and keep busy with every day .
He mainly makes toy trucks and can even make two a day . He used to make different toys for the little girls , but they weren ’ t interested , said Sharon . “ They wanted trucks too ,” she said . Each year he brings his toy trucks to the new children at the Custer ( S . D .) YMCA daycare . He also donated some trucks for an auction held by Living Outreach Church , which he and Sharon attend . The auction raised $ 2,500 and helped to buy shoes for children in Ukraine .
Albert St . Germain shows one of the toy trucks he created for children for a pair of schools in South Dakota . Germain spends hours working on the trucks .
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