The Domaine de Méjanes has seen many important figures grow within its walls.
Amongst them, the Pellen family.
Gabriel Pellen moves to Méjanes as a steward in 1953. In 1961 during the trip to Rome, he is the one to offer a symbolic sheaf of rice to the Pope.
This enthusiastic man, generous and passionate about agriculture, quickly organises the domain’s orchards to be ready. More than 8500 pear trees, five hectares of plum trees to counterbalance rice’s overproduction (1955-1956). He is also in charge of the entire agriculture and rice production, the Arènes de Méjanes's management, the Manade de Méjanes, la Bergerie de Méjanes restaurant.
He is much appreciated for his hard work, kindness, excellent ability to listen, and openness to others. He and his wife Jacqueline welcome with great care all the important figures coming to discover the domain.
Their children, just like the other children of the workers living on the domain, go to the Méjanes school created during the war.
Amongst the Pellen family children is Gérald.
Gérald keeps moving memories of his life in Méjanes. Here are some of his stories.
“I wasn’t a very hard-working student. Our teacher Roger Gonfond used to itch his nose when he was angry. One day, I must have done something very wrong because he starred at me while itching his nose harder than usual.
To escape his fury, I jumped out of the window (we were on the ground floor) and ran across the mas’s yard. I went to seek shelter under my bed, in our little house called the “square house”, located right in front of the Méjanes’s Cross.
That day, Marie-Thérèse Ricard and my mom came to my help by stopping the fuming teacher running after me.
One of my classmates, much more behaved than me, is Michel Bouix. His parents are at the time in charge of the bull-rearing of the lower Méjanes. He will later become the greatest Picador that we know.
At the time, we are about 20 children living on the Domain. It is a childhood full of magic, lived freely and carefree.
Every week, Paul Coulé comes to Méjanes with his Citroën truck used for food distribution. Instead of sweets, we go crazy for alicipicant (spicy anchovies). We used to sit in our treehouse made of ivy to enjoy the succulent treat.
All the families living on the Domain are used to meet up during the winter evenings at Chez Bob restaurant (now known as the Mazet du Vaccarès). We sit by the fireplace for the Castagnades, and we cook delicious chestnuts.
During the winter, the Vaccarès pond is completely frozen. Flamingos and ducks get ensnared. A little tourism plane also ended stuck in there, and the freezing wind with the water transformed it into some sort of iceberg. It is beautiful.
After school days, during the harvesting season, we help the workers pick the fruits and fill the crates. We put them on trolleys pulled by horses. My greatest pleasure is to ride the horse for a few hundred meters all the way to the stables. This is how my passion for horse-riding started.
When I was 12 years old, my teacher – the one that itched his nose – Mister Roger Gonfond, went away for his compulsory military service. As he knews that I really liked his horse, he let me take care of it while he was away. He wasn’t the type to hold a grudge!
Artaban, his horse part Camargue, isn’t really docile. You have to tame it and mostly be able to stay on it.
Every morning, once he is saddled, I climb the trough to get on top him. We go to the fields to try and gallop a bit. However, every time, after a few minutes, he abruptly turns back and makes his way back to the stable; Leaving me on the floor, on my own in the middle of the swamps.
At the time, we learn as we go. Other riders don’t bother giving us bits of advice, and if they do, they aren’t good ones. Sore players…
German Bonnaud and André Rebuffant are the ones to kindly give me advice when they come for their visits in Méjanes.
We go livestock branding on Thursdays and Sundays. We learn about bulls and how they work, we learn how to horse ride, sort things, and end up doing some “raseting”. Horses are trained and also have fun that way. The Camargue way of learning horse riding is a fantastic one.
At 12 years old, I decide to do horse-mounted bullfights.
I end up meeting the legendary César Giron at the Domaine de Méjanes. This meeting will be decisive of my fate as the master teaches me everything. My national and international career is kickstarted. I keep meaningful and intense memories of the time I spent in my life on the Domaine de Méjanes. I was such an admirer of Paul Ricard and his son Patrick. And of course, of Michèle Ricard, for whom I also had a lot of affection for."
