Fonds F 439 - Paul Bonneau fonds

Paul Louis Bonneau was born on July 2, 1926 in Gravelbourg, Saskatchewan. He is the third of four children born to Solomon (Sam) M. Bonneau and Delisca Lebreche. Bonneau received his primary and secondary education in Gravelbourg and attended Thevenet College in Gravelbourg and Campion College in Regina.

During World War Two, Bonneau served with 104 Air Cadet Squadron in Gravelbourg. He also served three years with the South Saskatchewan Second Battalion (Reserve), training at the Dundurn, Moose Jaw and Swift Current Army camps.

Bonneau's publishing career began in 1945, when he apprenticed in the printing and publishing trades in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He returned to Gravelbourg in 1945 and worked as the editor and publisher of the Gravelbourg Star alongside his father, who owned the newspaper. They established ten weekly newspapers in various parts of Saskatchewan before Solomon Bonneau retired in 1962. Paul Bonneau became owner of Star Publications Ltd. and continued to publish the Gravelbourg Star and its French edition l'Etoile de Gravelbourg until 1974. During that time, Bonneau served as a regional correspondent for the Canadian Press, the Leader-Post, Moose Jaw Times Herald and for Moose Jaw radio station CHAB. He is an honorary life member of the Saskatchewan Weekly Newspaper Association.

Bonneau was very active in the Gravelbourg and area community. He was a member of the volunteer fire department; a member of the Board of Trade; a school board trustee; and a member of the advisory board for the establishment of a community college in south-west Saskatchewan. Bonneau belonged to the Lion's Club; the Royal Canadian Legion; and the Gravelbourg and District Heritage Foundation. He also researched and published a history of Gravelbourg and district.

Paul Bonneau has three children: Gabrielle, Roger and Camille.