by Nikki Rajala | May 25, 2020 | Voyageur
If you have voyageurs in your French-Canadian ancestry, some of your forebears may be from Sorel. The hamlet provided many engages for the fur trade, actually. Why? Did some towns send more of their sons than others? And what attracted the men to doing such hard labor...
by Nikki Rajala | Apr 2, 2020 | Voyageur
Has your concern during the pandemic COVID-19 made you curious about what medical remedies voyageurs used? It piqued my interest. Here’s what I found about their “physick.” “3 purges & 3 vomits” for whatever ails you By age 17, George Nelson was...
by Nikki Rajala | Mar 24, 2020 | Voyageur
Here I thought my character Andre was too young to travel with a brigade of experienced canoemen (though he was taller than the usual 5’6” for voyageurs). But Margi Preus has envisioned a super-tiny one — a squirrel who longs to see what all the excitement is...
by Nikki Rajala | Mar 12, 2020 | Voyageur
Do you love maps as much as I do? When Bill drives, I’ve got a paper map on my lap. Sure GPS gives helpful info, turn by turn, but it doesn’t give me the whole picture. Old maps in particular fascinate me. Besides studying them, I’ve saved a few — like...
by Nikki Rajala | Dec 27, 2019 | Featured
You thought I made a mistake on the date? Nope, I was curious — what kind of paddles did the fur trade brigades prefer? Surprise! They aren’t paddles like we see nowadays. Read more to discover the characteristics of the best paddles from an earlier century! For...
