by Nikki Rajala | Aug 7, 2021 | Voyageur
SUNDAY, SEPT. 26 Reserve your own room at River District Hotel for the nights of Sept. 26-28 https://riverdistricthotel.com/ 608-326-7878, 130 S. Main St., Prairie du Chien, WI 53821; block of rooms is under Abby Marier/French Canadian Family Group. Rate is $129.99...
by Nikki Rajala | Jul 4, 2021 | Voyageur
In these post-pandemic days, wages and work are in our daily conversations. Both have changed, and bring up questions like: What work are people willing to do? What wages and benefits lure them to choose work? In the French-Canadian fur trade, from the 16th to19th...
by Nikki Rajala | Mar 19, 2021 | Voyageur
My question exactly. How do you figure it out? Or, backing up a bit: What goods were profitable? Early on, fur traders discovered they needed more consumable goods — clothing, blankets, other fabrics, vermilion and beads, powder and shot, tobacco and alcohol. Fabrics...
by Nikki Rajala | Feb 25, 2021 | Voyageur
I need your ideas for Book 4. (Help me, François and Françoise — you’re my only hope!) In Book 3 (in progress): Instead of paddling with Antoine’s brigade, Andre fears he must stay at home and sees his life and career disappearing. But he lucks out with a...
by Nikki Rajala | Feb 3, 2021 | Voyageur
Singing. Sea shanties, sung by sailors on long journeys, have had great press lately — so you can see the tradition of work songs lives on! But wait — there’s more. The technique worked with voyageurs as well. Voyageurs, those jaunty hearty French-Canadian...
