Douglas to take part in Quadricentennial events
Burlington Free Press
July 7, 2009
Link: http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200990707024
MONTPELIER – Governor Jim Douglas will host dignitaries from Canada, France and Britain on Friday for the signature celebration of the 400th anniversary of Samuel de Champlain’s exploration of the lake that bears his name.
“The Lake Champlain Quadricentennial is an exciting opportunity to celebrate, learn and deepen our appreciation of Vermont’s fascinating history, rich culture and scenic landscape,” Douglas said in a prepared statement. “Vermont is looking forward to hosting leaders and thousands of visitors from around the world for this historic event.”
Douglas will attend numerous events later this week and into the weekend as part of the Burlington International Waterfront Festival Quadricentennial celebration.
Among the events will be the unveiling on Friday of Quebec’s gift to Vermont for the Lake Champlain 400 celebration at Waterfront Park in Burlington, welcoming speeches in City Hall Park on Saturday morning and a performance parade down Main Street in Burlington Saturday night.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Suspense archéologique à Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu (Québec)
Suspense archéologique à Saint-Jean
Stéphanie Morin
La Presse
Publié le 10 juillet 2009 à 09h09 Mis à jour à 09h09
Lien : http://www.cyberpresse.ca/voyage/quebec-canada/200907/10/01-882994-suspense-archeologique-a-saint-jean.php
Les cartes anciennes sont formelles: il y a un fort français datant de 1666 sur le terrain du Collège militaire royal de Saint-Jean. Seulement, personne n'a jamais pu le retrouver.
C'est ce qu'espère réussir une équipe d'archéologues de l'Université Laval qui découperont en petits morceaux le terrain attenant au Collège et au Musée du Fort Saint-Jean, aux abords de la rivière Richelieu. Les fouilles ont commencé le 29 juin pour se prolonger jusqu'au 2 août.
Geneviève Treyvaud, chargée de projet au laboratoire d'archéologie de l'Université Laval, sera responsable des fouilles. Qu'espère-t-elle trouver, presque 350 après la construction du fort par le Régiment français de Carignan? «Des palissades en bois, des structures de pierre, les fondations... On sait déjà que sur les lieux, il y a eu une forge, un hôpital, une boulangerie. On a des cartes qui attestent de la présence du fort. On sait qu'il est ici, quelque part. Mais où exactement?»
Le suspense pourrait s'étirer sur cinq ans, durée prévue des fouilles au Collège militaire. Le public pourra suivre de près l'évolution des recherches: chaque jour, un archéologue sera à disponible pour répondre aux questions. Le Musée du fort Saint-Jean, qui présente dans l'ancienne chapelle protestante du collège une collection d'artefacts et de documents sur l'histoire militaire de la région, est ouvert tout l'été du mercredi au dimanche, de 10 h à 17 h.
Goûter à l'histoire de Montréal
Le guide Ronald Poiré (à droite) lors d'une pause dégustation au Marché de la Villette, un bistro français situé dans le Vieux-Montréal.
Photo: Visites de Montréal DMC
Photo: Visites de Montréal DMC
Goûter à l'histoire de Montréal
Simon Diotte, collaboration spéciale
La Presse
Publié le 10 juillet 2009 à 13h13 Mis à jour à 13h17
Publié le 10 juillet 2009 à 13h13 Mis à jour à 13h17
Les potagers de la Nouvelle-France, l'impact de la Conquête, Expo 67 et le pâté chinois: le guide touristique Ronald Poiré fait un pari inusité. Celui de nous faire découvrir l'histoire de Montréal et du Québec à travers son évolution gastronomique. Son circuit à pied, Saveurs et arômes du Vieux-Montréal, relate 400 ans d'histoire et d'anecdotes culinaires.
Fou de gastronomie, Ronald Poiré, guide chez Visites de Montréal DMC, a lu des rayons de bibliothèque pour concevoir ce circuit de 2 h 30. Résultat: il est intarissable sur le sujet. Posez-lui une question et vous en êtes quitte pour un monologue passionnant sur l'histoire du melon de Montréal ou sur l'origine scandinave ou écossaise de la banique, le pain sec des Amérindiens. «Chaque visite, je m'adapte à l'intérêt des participants. Il n'y en a donc pas deux pareilles», affirme M. Poiré.
Le point de départ du circuit: l'Europea Espace Boutique, rue Notre-Dame. Le choix de cet établissement n'est pas le fruit du hasard. «Son propriétaire est Jérôme Ferrer, un Français débarqué au Québec en 2002 qui possède deux autres restaurants phares de Montréal, l'Europea et le Beaver Hall. Ce chef-vedette symbolise l'effervescence que connaît Montréal sur la scène culinaire», dit-il.
Après un bon café, on se dirige vers la place d'Armes, où Ronald Poiré rappelle quelques faits historiques. Petit résumé: la découverte du Nouveau Monde crée une révolution dans l'alimentation. De nouveaux produits font leur apparition. Mais certains prendront du temps avant de conquérir les papilles gustatives du Vieux Continent. C'est le cas de la pomme de terre, qui provient de l'Amérique du Sud.
«Pendant longtemps, les Européens (ainsi que les colons) ont boudé ce légume, le jugeant uniquement bon pour les animaux. Ce n'est que sous Louis XVI qu'Antoine Parmentier réussit à convaincre la royauté française des qualités inestimables de la pomme de terre pour mettre fin aux disettes», raconte-t-il. On doit à cet apothicaire la création du hachis Parmentier, un plat à base de purée de pommes de terre et de viande hachée, l'ancêtre de notre pâté chinois.
Après cette introduction, on entreprend notre marche dans le Vieux-Montréal. Tout en parlant cuisine, le guide donne des informations sur l'histoire et l'architecture du plus vieux quartier de Montréal. On en profite pour visiter le somptueux hall de l'édifice de la Banque Royale, rue Saint-Jacques, prétexte pour parler de l'influence anglaise dans notre alimentation (à qui l'on doit entre autres l'industrialisation de la bière), et puis on fait un détour par la place Royale, lieu du premier marché public montréalais.
Est-ce qu'on y vendait de la viande de castor? Peut-être que si! Au début de la colonie, de graves questions turlupinent les colons, dont celle-ci: avec son énorme queue et son milieu de vie aquatique, le castor est-il un mammifère ou un poisson? Les spécialistes de la Sorbonne tranchent: eh bien, il s'agit d'un poisson! «Il sera donc permis d'en manger pendant le long et difficile carême», raconte M. Poiré. Des anecdotes comme celle-ci, on vous en sert tout un plateau.
On passe à l'action!
On passe à l'action!
C'est bien connu, la marche creuse l'appétit. Ça tombe bien, le circuit de M. Poiré comprend trois pauses dégustation (mais pas de castor au menu!). La première se fait au Marché de la Villette, sympathique bistro français de la rue Saint-Paul. Pendant que les rillettes de canard et le foie gras font le bonheur de nos papilles gustatives, Ronald Poiré entame un monologue sur l'impact d'Expo 67.
«C'est lors de cet événement que les ponts se rebâtissent entre la France et le Québec. Les chefs de l'Hexagone débarquent en force au Québec (plusieurs s'y établissent), amorçant une révolution dans notre alimentation, qui mènera à l'ouverture de plusieurs grands restaurants. Résultat: Montréal est aujourd'hui une ville réputée pour sa gastronomie», dit-il.
Au Marché du Vieux, on fait la dégustation des fromages québécois, offrant une richesse unique en Amérique du Nord, et par la suite, on va se sucrer le bec aux Délices de l'érable, une boutique qui met à l'honneur ce produit du terroir québécois. La visite se termine au jardin du Château Ramezay, où l'on recrée chaque été le potager typique de la Nouvelle-France. Incroyable comment histoire et gastronomie font bon ménage!
**************************
Le parcours Saveurs et arômes du Vieux-Montréal est offert tous les samedis d'été jusqu'au 17 octobre 2009. Réservations: 514-966-9193 ou en ligne au http://www.visitesdemontreal.com/. Coût: 55 $, incluant dégustations, guide et taxes.
The life and times of Louis Cyr (Photo Gallery from The Globe & Mail)
The life and times of Louis Cyr
The Quebecker may have died in 1912 but he is still known as the World's Strongest Man
The Quebecker may have died in 1912 but he is still known as the World's Strongest Man
Photo Gallery Published in the On-Line Version of The Globe and Mail
Site Accessed on July 10, 2009
Brute force: Quebec's link with the past (Strongmen Louis Cyr and Louis-Philippe Jean)
Hometown hero Louis-Philippe Jean recently tried to outmuscle the strongest men on the planet. But who are they really competing against – each other or the ghost of Louis Cyr?
Focus
Brute force: Quebec's link with the past
Brute force: Quebec's link with the past
Gare Joyce
From Saturday's Globe and Mail Last updated on Friday, Jul. 10, 2009 07:41PM EDT
The Globe & Mail (Toronto)
Link: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/brute-force-quebecs-link-with-the-past/article1214546/
— Montmagny, Que. —
Louis-Philippe Jean strides into the bright lights in a skin-tight suit that looks like a superhero's hand-me-down. He's about to crouch, take 1,209 kilograms on his back and try to raise that weight eight inches.
He has already watched a succession of fellow mastodontes, as the announcer describes the massive muscle men, fail in their attempts and collapse into 350-pound heaps on the concrete floor. Still, he remains undaunted, managing to smile between explosive breaths that puff out his cheeks like small balloons.
The 1,800 ticket-holders in l'Expodrome Boulet cheer: “Allez, allez Louis.”
They consider him one of their own, if not a true Magnymontois, at least an adopted son. He has lived here on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River almost an hour's drive east of Quebec City for a couple of years and people have seen him driving around in his Hummer, almost too wide for the narrow streets of La Vieille Montmagny. Photos of him appear in local brasseries, and one, Chez Hagar, has a smiling, life-sized likeness standing at its entrance, at once greeting customers and terrifying small children. And they've watched him at the supermarket, the guy with a spiked-up Mohawk who has to shuffle sideways to squeeze past the checkout.
They know that the genial, tattoo-festooned 24-year-old auto mechanic has a passion for strength and that he aims to become the world's strongest man one day. The aspiration isn't as quixotic as it sounds. Mr. Jean is a pro – as well as fixing cars, he earns his living as a strongman.
MUSCLES OF MONTMAGNY
A truly historic place, Montmagny was founded in 1678 and named for the man who succeeded Samuel de Champlain as governor of New France. In late summer, it draws accordionists from the around the world to a squeezebox Woodstock; every fall, it holds a festival to celebrate its unofficial status as Canada's “snow goose capital,” but now the city of 12,000 feels a little crowded with the arrival of 13 ridiculously burly tourists. The smallest weighs 310.
They have come to take part in Montmagny's newest spectacle: Fortissimus, an elite event for international strongmen. Only in its second year, it has, as the superlative title implies, already established itself as the most demanding on the sport's calendar. “No winners, just survivors,” as Australian contestant Derek Boyer puts it.
Fortissimus made its debut under a big top in a nearby hamlet, but this year TV and Internet coverage has attracted enough patrons with $80 for a weekend pass that it has shifted to l'Expodrome, a three-minute Hummer ride from the garage where Mr. Jean throws around engine blocks.
At 6-foot-2 and 315 pounds, he is a world-ranked competitor in a sport that has spent decades trying to escape being associated with the lament-able World's Strongest Men, launched by CBS-TV in 1977.
Now, after “30 years of pain” (as the WSM calls its anniversary video), the strong men have broken into the mainstream at least enough that, every weekend, it seems, broad-shouldered habitués of hard-core gymnasiums are contesting some nation's championship by pulling tractor-trailers across parking lots, lugging beer kegs and enduring other ordeals that test their strength and dignity.
Last summer in Quebec City, Mr. Jean became the youngest-ever Canada's Strongest Man, and now he's looking to expand his domain. “First Canada, then the world,” he says.
Now called the World's Strongest Man, the “premier event” in strength athletics, the WSM title is “the prize that I have my eye on,” he explains. Yet, “to win the statue of Louis Cyr that goes to the winner of Fortissimus, that's something I want in my career,” he says.
THE CYR SYNDROME
Louis Cyr died almost 100 years ago, but his name is invoked regularly at Fortissimus. Contest founder Paul Ohl clearly had the famous son of Saint-Cyprien-de-Napierville, just south of Montreal, in mind when he launched the competition: The author of the definitive French-language biography of Cyr, he spent 10 years researching the man.
“Louis Cyr was the torch-bearer for les Canadiens,” he says. “Cyr became a symbol of La Survivance movement, the fight for language, for culture, even for St. Jean de Baptiste.”
Mr. Ohl argues that Cyr's influence persists in Quebec. At the Canada's Strongest Man competition last summer, Quebec athletes took five of the first six places. Since 2000, five Canadians have competed at the World's Strongest Man event, four of them Québécois. And now the province has a worthy competition of its own.
“There's no doubt that Fortissimus is the toughest contest … the heaviest, the most gruelling,” says Iceland's Magnus Ver Magnusson, four times the World's Strongest Man in the 1990s and in Montmagny as a celebrity referee.
“Most contests have six or eight events in two days. This has 10. And all the events have been torqued up. Everything is 10-, maybe even 20-per-cent heavier than other places. The risk of injury is great, chance of success very small.”
But “that's what we do,” says Lithuania's Zydrunas Savickas (a.k.a. Z), the most decorated modern-day strongman and the favourite in Montmagny. “We look for things that are hard, not easy, the most weight. We go where only the strongest is [left] standing.”
They're too preoccupied to contemplate the Cyr legend while lugging 525-pound weights up a flight of stairs (the first event on the program), but the contestants are well aware that Fortissimus has a historical dimension. Its most demanding tests are designed to replicate legendary feats of strength.
For instance, one event has them lifting five successively heavier logs and barbells that each represent a world record of the past – from the 366 pounds hoisted by Apollon the French Adonis in 1892, to the 415-pound Z-log lifted by Mr. Savickas a few years back and yet unmatched.
In reality, they seem to be measuring themselves against Louis Cyr. Mr. Savickas alone manages, barely, to raise with one arm a bulbous 225-pound weight that looks like two metallic beach balls attached to a handle. Cyr reportedly did the same with a dumbbell almost 50 pounds heavier.
In the grand finale, the strongmen are called upon to make waist-high lifts of a succession of jagged chunks of rock, the last being the Cyr Stone, a replica of he 517-pound slab the hero heaved in 1883, when he was just 20. Derek Poundstone pulled off the feat en route to victory over Mr. Savickas in the first Fortissimus, but this year the U.S. champion misses two attempts with the Cyr Stone .
Yet some of Cyr's more famous feats aren't on the agenda. “There is no way to ask the strongmen at this event to hold back a team of horses like Cyr did, or to lift 18 men,” Mr. Ohl admits. “It's not practical.”
While in Boston in 1895, Cyr was reported to have squatted under a platform bearing 18 men and lifted it. The total weight topped 4,300 pounds – three-quarters of a ton heavier than Louis-Phillipe Jean's back lift at Fortissimus and one reason why, even to a Quebecker following in his footsteps, some Cyr lore defies belief.
“You know, I never say ‘never,' ” Mr. Jean insists. “I just say, ‘Show me.' That's how I feel about Louis Cyr. A 4,300-pound back lift? You have to show me. All these lifts from a guy who was 5-feet-11 and never trained? Show me.”
There seems no point in asking his opinion of the apocrypha-tinged tale of how Louis Cyr discovered his strength as a teenager by single-handedly lifting out of a ditch a heavy wagon that farm horses couldn't budge.
Mr. Jean's emergence as a strongman is less dramatic. He was born and raised in Port-Cartier, a 10-hour drive east of Quebec City on the St. Lawrence's north shore, where “my father has a garage and a trucking business, so I always worked hard.” Instead of playing games while growing up, he worked out. “I think that's the story for a lot of us. We don't fit other sports.”
In contrast with Cyr, who had no workout regimen, Mr. Jean splits his time fairly evenly between the garage, the gym and home. And while Cyr believed himself to be mystically gifted with strength, Mr. Jean takes the scientific approach, tracking every workout, counting every carb and calorie, right down to his 10th potato in one sitting during the run-up to a competition.
“I know that I won't hit my peak for a few years yet,” he says. “Most strongmen are in their prime in their late 20s or 30s. Last year, I was the youngest in Fortissimus and finished fourth. I want to do that well, maybe better this year.”
FANS ARE ECSTATIC
It doesn't quite turn out that way. Mr. Jean struggles in the first five of the 10 events, standing ninth in the field of 14. On day two, he rallies, starting with the back lift.
Straining under the 1,209 kilos, first he budges it and then slowly raises it to a height of eight inches. When the judge signifies the lift is good, the Montmagny mechanic drops the weight with a colossal thud. Instead of taking a knee or falling face first on the concrete floor like other Fortissimus competitors, he bounces up as if spring-loaded and cavorts for the ecstatic fans.
All that stands between him and a clean win in the back lift is the considerable form of Mr. Savickas, who admits to 385 pounds in the program but surely tops 400 after a hearty breakfast. Unlike Mr. Jean and the rest, he sees no need to guard against a hernia by cramming his vast girth into a reinforced compression suit.
Impassive, the pride of Lithuania scrunches under the 1,209 kilos and straightens out in an instant, almost as though rising from a low chair. Clearly he's capable of more, and the forklift brings extra weight.
But the officials wave it back. After a quick and amicable conversation, the two rivals agree to pass on further attempts, split the first-place points and spend the extra time in the overworked hands of the official Fortissimus chiropractor. “There are three more events left today and it makes sense to save energy,” Mr. Jean reasons.
It pays off for the hometown hero. He beats Mr. Savickas in the next event, the power walk (imagine a businessman chasing a bus for 60 metres with a 355-pound briefcase in each hand). In fact, Z can't even finish the course.
Still, after the 10 ordeals, Mr. Savickas is the one on the podium with the prized statue of Louis Cyr. Louis-Philippe Jean finishes eighth, but takes consolation from the fact that he has been Mr. Savickas's equal in the back lift, the heaviest event of the sport's heaviest contest. As for the idea that Cyr did a back lift with more than two tons – montrez-moi.
Magnus Ver Magnusson seems to share this sentiment. “Z is the strongest there is now,” he says. “I think he is the strongest man of all time.”
Thankfully, Paul Ohl doesn't overhear this.
Gare Joyce is a Toronto-based writer with ESPN The Magazine. He is currently working on a cultural history of strength.
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Link to Photo Gallery on Louis Cyr (from The Globe & Mail)
Blogger's Comment: In his youth Louis Cyr lived in Lowell, Mass.
Quebec marks Champlain's visit to explorer's namesake lake
Quebec marks Champlain's visit to explorer's namesake lake
Canwest News Service
National Post (Toronto)
Published: Friday, July 10, 2009
Link: http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/story.html?id=1776132
One year after celebrating Quebec City's 400th anniversary of its founding by Samuel de Champlain, the province will mark the historic trip the French explorer made a year later to the lake that now bears his name in Vermont. International Affairs Minister Pierre Arcand will be in Burlington, Vt., today to unveil a statue, Quebec's gift to Vermont for the 400th anniversary of de Champlain's arrival at Lake Champlain. Last year, Vermont Governor James H. Douglas made the
trip to Quebec City to mark the milestone anniversary and offered the city a granite monument.
"It's a gesture of reciprocity, but also the occasion to underline that Champlain is
part and parcel of both Vermont and Quebec's history," Louis Hamann, Mr. Arcand's press secretary, said.
Celebrating Champlain: Quebec Day (Burlington, Vermont)
Celebrating Champlain: Quebec Day
Jack Thurston - WCAX News
Burlington, Vermont - July 10, 2009
Link: http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=10708547
The Burlington International Waterfront Festival celebrating Lake Champlain has brought some top dignitaries to town.
There were street performers and musicians from Quebec entertaining people in downtown Burlington Friday for Quebec Day, but there was another VIP visitor here-- the French Ambassador to the United States.
He is Pierre Vimont and he was onboard the Shelburne Museum's steamship Ticonderoga for a special ceremony. He says there are two main ways this state and his country can work together. There's already a tourism promotion agreement in place, and Vimont suggests Vermont and French food producers hold a series of meetings since both places pride themselves on local, fresh, regional foods.
This is Vimont's first trip to Vermont, but he says, it won't be his last.
"Look at the weather, look at this beautiful place. How can I {go} back to Washington without saying, 'You have to go to Vermont as quickly as possible!'? This is a beautiful state, and I very much intend on coming back, and even coming back on a private tour of my own, and not on an official visit!" Vimont promised.
Vimont has high hopes for U.S.-French relations, saying Presidents Barack Obama and Nicolas Sarkozy both want closer cooperation between the countries.
Jack Thurston - WCAX News
Isle La Motte to celebrate Champlain (Vermont)
Isle La Motte to celebrate Champlain
Press Republican (Plattsburgh, New York)
July 9, 2009
Link: http://www.pressrepublican.com/archivesearch/local_story_190232804.html
ISLE LA MOTTE, Vt. — A Mass at 10:30 a.m. will kick off a "Celebration of Champlain" at Saint Anne's Shrine in Isle La Motte, Vt., on Sunday, July 19.
At 2 p.m., there will be a presentation at the statue of Samuel de Champlain, located on the shrine grounds, with guest speaker professor Sylvia Beaudreau of Plattsburgh State.
A barbecue with music will follow.
Isle La Motte is the northernmost island in Lake Champlain. Samuel de Champlain made European discovery of the lake in July 1609. Saint Anne's Shrine is the site of Fort Ste. Anne, erected in 1666 under the command of French captain M. de LaMotte and dedicated to "La Bonne Ste. Anne." The Society of St. Edmund, founded in early 19th-century France, was entrusted with the direction of the shrine in the spring of 1904 and continues its care and direction today.
A COLLABORATIVE CULTURAL PERFORMANCE
eye candy for you...brought to my attention by my daughter, Bridget Robbins:
ATC GALLERY
ARTIST TRADING CARDS
A COLLABORATIVE CULTURAL PERFORMANCE
http://www.artist-trading-cards.ch/index.html
TRANSLATIONS
the languages used on this website are english and german. since this is an International Collaborative Cultural Performance we would like to make the contributions available to as many readers as possible. we'd like to invite everybody to translate texts into other languages and to send the translations to us. please translate whenever possible from the english or german original text to your mother tongue and not from a translation of that text.
ÜBERSETZUNGEN
die auf dieser website verwendeten sprachen sind englisch und deutsch. da es sich bei diesem projekt um eine International Collaborative Cultural Performance handelt, möchten wir, dass möglichst viele leserinnen die texte verstehen können. wir möchten euch dazu einladen, texte auch in andere sprachen zu übersetzen und uns die übersetzungen zuzusenden. wenn immer möglich sollte vom englischen oder deutschen originaltext in die muttersprache übersetzt werden und nicht von einer übersetzung her ausgehend.
TRADUCTIONS
Les langues utilisées sur ce site sont principalement l'anglais et l'allemand. Étant donné que ceçi est une Performance Culturelle Collaborative, nous aimerions partager les contributions faites à ce projet avec autant de lecteurs que possible. Nous invitons les interessés à traduire ces textes en tout autre langue, et à nous faire parvenir les traductions. Si possible, veuillez traduire dans votre langue maternelle à partir de l'anglais ou de l'allemand, et non pas à partir d'une autre traduction du texte original.
ATC GALLERY
ARTIST TRADING CARDS
A COLLABORATIVE CULTURAL PERFORMANCE
http://www.artist-trading-cards.ch/index.html
TRANSLATIONS
the languages used on this website are english and german. since this is an International Collaborative Cultural Performance we would like to make the contributions available to as many readers as possible. we'd like to invite everybody to translate texts into other languages and to send the translations to us. please translate whenever possible from the english or german original text to your mother tongue and not from a translation of that text.
ÜBERSETZUNGEN
die auf dieser website verwendeten sprachen sind englisch und deutsch. da es sich bei diesem projekt um eine International Collaborative Cultural Performance handelt, möchten wir, dass möglichst viele leserinnen die texte verstehen können. wir möchten euch dazu einladen, texte auch in andere sprachen zu übersetzen und uns die übersetzungen zuzusenden. wenn immer möglich sollte vom englischen oder deutschen originaltext in die muttersprache übersetzt werden und nicht von einer übersetzung her ausgehend.
TRADUCTIONS
Les langues utilisées sur ce site sont principalement l'anglais et l'allemand. Étant donné que ceçi est une Performance Culturelle Collaborative, nous aimerions partager les contributions faites à ce projet avec autant de lecteurs que possible. Nous invitons les interessés à traduire ces textes en tout autre langue, et à nous faire parvenir les traductions. Si possible, veuillez traduire dans votre langue maternelle à partir de l'anglais ou de l'allemand, et non pas à partir d'une autre traduction du texte original.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
La guerre de Sept Ans comme si vous y étiez (reconstitution de bataille au fort Ticonderoga (Carillon), état de New York)
Plus de 200 bénévoles, provenant des États-Unis et du Québec, ont participé samedi dernier à la reconstitution d'une bataille de la guerre de Sept Ans, au fort Ticonderoga, dans l'État de New York.
Photo: Simon Diotte, collaboration spéciale
Photo: Simon Diotte, collaboration spéciale
La guerre de Sept Ans comme si vous y étiez
Simon Diotte, collaboration spéciale
La Presse
Publié le 09 juillet 2009 à 10h30 Mis à jour à 10h34
Publié le 09 juillet 2009 à 10h30 Mis à jour à 10h34
À coups de mousquets et de boulets de canon, les armées française et anglaise se sont affrontées de nouveau, samedi dernier, au fort Ticonderoga, sur les rives du lac Champlain, pour commémorer le 250e anniversaire de la prise de ce fort français par les Anglais en 1759.
Des milliers de spectateurs ont ainsi assisté à la reconstitution spectaculaire d'une bataille de la guerre de Sept Ans, jouée par plus de 200 bénévoles provenant du Canada et des États-Unis. Si la controverse n'avait pas éclaté au Québec, ces mêmes bénévoles se seraient retrouvés cet été sur les plaines d'Abraham pour rejouer la bataille décisive entre les armées de Wolfe et de Montcalm.
C'est maintenant une tradition à Ticonderoga. Chaque année, ce lieu historique organise la reconstitution de batailles ayant façonné l'histoire de cette forteresse située dans l'État de New York, à trois heures de route de Montréal. La semaine dernière, c'était le «French and Indian War Grand Encampment», où 750 acteurs bénévoles (les soldats et leurs épouses, ouvriers, artisans, etc.) campaient sur place pour faire revivre le XVIIIe siècle.
C'est maintenant une tradition à Ticonderoga. Chaque année, ce lieu historique organise la reconstitution de batailles ayant façonné l'histoire de cette forteresse située dans l'État de New York, à trois heures de route de Montréal. La semaine dernière, c'était le «French and Indian War Grand Encampment», où 750 acteurs bénévoles (les soldats et leurs épouses, ouvriers, artisans, etc.) campaient sur place pour faire revivre le XVIIIe siècle.
La guerre en direct
À 14h samedi, soldats français, miliciens canadiens et Amérindiens ont délaissé leur campement pour se rendre sur le champ de bataille, suivis une dizaine de minutes plus tard par les Anglais, qui sont venus les défier.
La tension était à son comble avant cet affrontement. Quand les premiers coups de canon ont brisé le silence, un sentiment de frayeur a parcouru la foule. On s'imagine alors, en tant que spectateur, la peur qui devait tenailler les soldats faisant face, de si près, à leurs ennemis. Cette reconstitution historique, terriblement réaliste, s'avère aussi effrayante que divertissante. Pendant que les soldats, entièrement costumés, s'échangeaient les coups de feu, la foule conservait le silence. J'avais vraiment l'impression d'assister à la guerre en direct. Beaucoup plus saisissant qu'une bataille au cinéma.
Des Québécois en renfort
Si la plupart des acteurs-soldats étaient américains, un grand nombre de Québécois se sont déplacés lors de ce week-end pour garnir les régiments français. C'est le cas de Louis Valiquette, Pierre Paolitto et Sébastien Denis, rencontrés dans le campement français alors qu'ils se cuisinaient une soupe aux pois!
Ces passionnés d'histoire participent à plusieurs rassemblements du genre chaque été. «Notre objectif n'est pas seulement de reconstituer le plus fidèlement possible les affrontements de la guerre de Sept Ans, mais aussi de vivre comme les soldats de l'époque», a expliqué M. Valiquette. Donc, pas question de s'empiffrer de hot-dogs ou de dormir dans une tente à la fine pointe de la technologie pendant ce week-end; les acteurs mangent, s'habillent et se divertissent comme au temps de Montcalm!
Cette activité historique n'est pas un rassemblement unique à Ticonderoga. D'autres reconstitutions de batailles de la guerre de Sept Ans (qu'on désigne chez nos voisins du Sud comme la French and Indian War) ont lieu tout l'été aux États-Unis, entre autres à Fort Niagara (ce week-end), à Fort La Présentation et à Fort Saint-Frédéric (Fort Crown Point). L'année 2009 est d'ailleurs une année charnière en matière de reconstitution, car on y souligne le 250e anniversaire des batailles qui ont scellé le sort de la Nouvelle-France.
Au Québec, des reconstitutions de campement militaire, avec démonstration de tirs, ont également lieu cet été au fort de Chambly, à Fort Lennox et au lieu historique de la Bataille-de-la-Châteauguay, pour ne nommer que ces endroits. Ces activités donnent une raison de plus de visiter les ouvrages militaires qui ont marqué notre histoire.
Peu connu des Québécois, le fort Ticonderoga s'avère un incontournable. Érigé par les Français à partir de 1755, il a été le théâtre d'une importante bataille en 1758 entre 17 000 soldats anglais et 4000 soldats français retranchés dans le fort. Malgré l'avantage numérique des assaillants, ils ont été repoussés victorieusement par les troupes de Montcalm. L'année suivante, les Anglais ont cependant pris leur revanche.
Stratégiquement situé sur une péninsule du lac Champlain, le fort Ticonderoga offre un panorama sublime, du haut de ses remparts, sur les montagnes Vertes du Vermont et sur les Adirondacks. Les bâtiments restaurés abritent plusieurs expositions qui retracent l'histoire des lieux et le domaine comprend également un magnifique jardin, le King's Garden. Prévoir une journée complète pour faire la visite des lieux.
Programmation des activités soulignant le 250e anniversaire de la guerre de Sept Ans: http://www.frenchandindianwar250.org/
Fort Chambly, Fort Lennox et lieu historique de la Bataille-de-la-Châteauguay: http://www.pc.gc.ca/
Louisiana’s bid for Congrès Mondial Acadien (CMA) 2014
Louisiana’s bid for Congrès Mondial Acadien (CMA) 2014
Video produced by the Cinematic Arts Workshop
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Approximate duration: just over 11 minutes
Posted on Vimeo
Posted by Allison Bohl 13 days ago
Language: Louisiana French with English sub-titles
Langue : français de la Louisiane avec sous-titres en anglais
Link to video / Lien vers la vidéo
Commentaire du blogueur : une excellente production vidéo... Bravo aux participants et bonne chance pour 2014!!!
Merci au site Le Canard Réincarné de nous avoir fait connaître cette vidéo!
July 4 parade preparation in Plattsburgh (NY) paved way for holiday fun
Samuel de Champlain makes a special appearance during the Plattsburgh Fourth of July parade. This year marks the 400th anniversary of Champlain exploration of the lake that would later bear his name. Michael Betts / P-R Photo
Parade preparation paves way for holiday fun
Annual event paves way for holiday fun
By ANNA JOLLY Contributing Writer
Press Republican (Plattsburgh, New York)
Press Republican (Plattsburgh, New York)
July 5, 2009
Link: http://www.pressrepublican.com/archivesearch/local_story_186065139.html
PLATTSBURGH — It's an hour before the Fourth of July parade starts to roll.
Participants situate themselves in the lineup and polish the fire trucks and vintage cars that will soon wind around Plattsburgh city streets.
Parade coordinator Kelly Donoghue glances down at his watch as he drives up Cumberland Avenue. At this moment, his job is to ensure that the bustling staging area is organized and safe.
"There's a lot of last-minute adjustments that happen at this point," he says. "Some show up with more vehicles or people than they originally thought so the space projections change."
Another time check shows just 40 minutes until Donoghue must get the parade moving.
Some participants have yet to arrive while others search for the numbered traffic cone that corresponds to their position in the parade.
Donoghue is prepared for these hectic last minutes, as this is his fifth time coordinating the Fourth of July parade for the City of Plattsburgh.
"The same challenges present themselves every year," he explains as he picks up speed in a small open vehicle. "That mostly involves traffic concerns, but that's why communication with City Police and DPW (Department of Public Works) is so important."
His cell phone rings and he's hailed down repeatedly during the short drives on Cumberland Avenue.
Safety both for parade participants and the public is always on his mind. This comes naturally to Donoghue, who serves as assistant director for Clinton County Emergency Services.
"There are a lot of children here and some of these vehicles are so large that drivers won't be able to see them," he says.
One of the newer parade rules is that candy must be handed to children and can't be thrown into city streets.
Children chase the candy, so again this is a safety measure, he explains.
As the minutes pass, Donoghue knows Plattsburgh residents are setting up lawn chairs along the parade route and chatting with friends.
"Once it gets under way, I'm still concerned about everyone's safety, but I also feel a sense of pride to know that people are enjoying the day. That's what all the volunteers and the City of Plattsburgh wants."
That sense of pride is evident in the parade's first float, a birch-bark canoe that represents the quadricentennial of Samuel de Champlain's discovery of Lake Champlain.
"This year is special because of this historical celebration. It brings the community together," says Jane West, who showed off the float at Fourth of July parades in Champlain and Altona.
Richard Favreau, the man playing Samuel de Champlain, takes his place in the canoe just before 2 p.m.
That's precisely when Donoghue reappears to get the celebration started.
Donoghue watches that canoe round the first corner of the parade route.
With that part of the job complete, the focus shifts to the expectant crowd.
PLATTSBURGH — It's an hour before the Fourth of July parade starts to roll.
Participants situate themselves in the lineup and polish the fire trucks and vintage cars that will soon wind around Plattsburgh city streets.
Parade coordinator Kelly Donoghue glances down at his watch as he drives up Cumberland Avenue. At this moment, his job is to ensure that the bustling staging area is organized and safe.
"There's a lot of last-minute adjustments that happen at this point," he says. "Some show up with more vehicles or people than they originally thought so the space projections change."
Another time check shows just 40 minutes until Donoghue must get the parade moving.
Some participants have yet to arrive while others search for the numbered traffic cone that corresponds to their position in the parade.
Donoghue is prepared for these hectic last minutes, as this is his fifth time coordinating the Fourth of July parade for the City of Plattsburgh.
"The same challenges present themselves every year," he explains as he picks up speed in a small open vehicle. "That mostly involves traffic concerns, but that's why communication with City Police and DPW (Department of Public Works) is so important."
His cell phone rings and he's hailed down repeatedly during the short drives on Cumberland Avenue.
Safety both for parade participants and the public is always on his mind. This comes naturally to Donoghue, who serves as assistant director for Clinton County Emergency Services.
"There are a lot of children here and some of these vehicles are so large that drivers won't be able to see them," he says.
One of the newer parade rules is that candy must be handed to children and can't be thrown into city streets.
Children chase the candy, so again this is a safety measure, he explains.
As the minutes pass, Donoghue knows Plattsburgh residents are setting up lawn chairs along the parade route and chatting with friends.
"Once it gets under way, I'm still concerned about everyone's safety, but I also feel a sense of pride to know that people are enjoying the day. That's what all the volunteers and the City of Plattsburgh wants."
That sense of pride is evident in the parade's first float, a birch-bark canoe that represents the quadricentennial of Samuel de Champlain's discovery of Lake Champlain.
"This year is special because of this historical celebration. It brings the community together," says Jane West, who showed off the float at Fourth of July parades in Champlain and Altona.
Richard Favreau, the man playing Samuel de Champlain, takes his place in the canoe just before 2 p.m.
That's precisely when Donoghue reappears to get the celebration started.
Donoghue watches that canoe round the first corner of the parade route.
With that part of the job complete, the focus shifts to the expectant crowd.
Plattsburgh's Clinton Community College celebrates region's exploration with two-day quadricentennial event (New York State)
Pepin and Mouso Livery in Plattsburgh, c. 1885. Photo Provided /
Log drivers on the upper Saranac, c. 1885. Photo Provided /
Susan M. Ouellette (photo provided)CCC celebrates quad
CCC celebrates region's exploration with two-day quadricentennial event
By ROBIN CAUDELL Staff Writer
Press Republican (Plattsburgh, New York)
July 9, 2009
Susan M. Ouellette found the absence of French-Canadians in the standard histories of Plattsburgh and Clinton County really weird.
"I knew from my own experience there were a lot of French people living in Plattsburgh," said Ouellette, who is chair of the History Department of St. Michael's College in Colchester, Vt. "I was one of them."
Ouellette grew up in Keeseville, where she attended Our Lady of Grace Academy and St. John the Baptist Church. Today, she will lecture on the French-Canadians in the North Country at Clinton Community College's quadricentennial programming, "The Legacy of the Lake and Its People."
"This talk is based on an article I published in the 'Journal of New York History' a few years ago," she said. "Essentially, this article grew out of a research project that I had been working on looking at French-Canadian immigrants."
Though standard sources were devoid of any mention of French-Canadians and their contributions, she turned to original sources such as the Federal Census.
"Something like three-fourths of all the population of Plattsburgh in the second half of the 19th century (1850-1900) were immigrants. And the bulk of those immigrants were French-Canadian. More than half of Plattsburgh's population was French-Canadian."
She wondered why they were present in such large numbers yet were invisible in the historical record.
"Because these people were laborers, mainly unskilled laborers, working for very low wages, they were not considered important enough to memorialize. It was important to talk about Dr. Kellogg and the railroad barons. These thousands of ordinary workers got paid practically nothing. They were living in dire poverty and working in the mills. They were completely unimportant, disposable in some ways."
A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE
Aside from Ouellette's natural outrage, she was trying to discover why this historical amnesia occurred.
"The people who were in charge of commissioning these historical works were Anglos. They were very ambivalent about the presence of immigrants in their towns because these were not like them. French-Canadians were especially difficult. Not only were they not like them, they spoke a different language and they were Catholic. So, you couldn't even trust them. One guy referred to the French-Canadians as the Chinese of the Northeast."
Ouellette was surprised to learn that Francophones hosted the biggest Fourth of July fetes in Plattsburgh. Trainloads of celebrants came down from Canada for the speeches and parades. The newspapers of the time had op-ed commentary on the French-Canadians' star-spangled exuberance.
"Someone wrote, 'We should take back the celebration of our nation's independence from these foreigners.' The City of Plattsburgh put on French-speaking constables to control the crowds. Everyone knows the French-Canadians get drunk, get in brawls and are disorderly. They were celebrating what they saw as their citizenship. If you asked them if they felt they belonged, they would have said yes."
While helping to write the centennial history of Plattsburgh, Ouellette discovered how pervasive the French-Canadian presence was here. She found a letter from one of the first women to attend the Normal School.
"She wrote, 'When you got off the train in Plattsburgh, you would think you missed the stop and wound up in Montreal.' Everyone around her spoke French. That's at the end of the century. I would be willing to bet for a long period of time, for a very long time afterward, the same was true."
The woman wrote about hearing a bread seller in the street.
"He was yelling out his wares in French. That's what my talk is about," Ouellette said. "There are all these people contributing to the larger growth and expansion of this new industrial town. The Yankees were the ones who benefited from this. They were incredibly ambivalent. They didn't feel guilty about the money they made on the backs of these people. They worried about the influence of these foreigners in their town."
CONSTANT MIGRATION
Ouellette points out the strange irony that the French were here before the Yankees. The same Anglo-Franco dynamic played out in Burlington.
"When Nathaniel Hawthorne visited Burlington in 1838, he noticed the French-Canadians. When his travelogue got published in 'New England Magazine,' he wrote, 'Canadian bank notes circulate as freely in Burlington as American because there are so many French-Canadians.'"
Time and population were on the French side.
"There were never many Yankees to begin with. Immigrant populations were always a feature of the town because of the way in which Yankee people located to Plattsburgh. They came as landowners and businessmen. They came with wealth. They established themselves and became the elite of the city and town."
In the first half of the 19th century, Anglophones had as many progeny as their Francophone counterparts. Because there weren't as many overall, they didn't produce as many children.
"The truth is there is a constant migration of people coming all through the centuries. French-Canadians came before the revolution. They filtered into Plattsburgh and upstate New York from the very first days."
During the era of Henry Delord, around the time of the War of 1812, a smallpox epidemic broke out.
"The French-Canadians living around the lower Saranac were blamed for it," Ouellette said.
"I knew from my own experience there were a lot of French people living in Plattsburgh," said Ouellette, who is chair of the History Department of St. Michael's College in Colchester, Vt. "I was one of them."
Ouellette grew up in Keeseville, where she attended Our Lady of Grace Academy and St. John the Baptist Church. Today, she will lecture on the French-Canadians in the North Country at Clinton Community College's quadricentennial programming, "The Legacy of the Lake and Its People."
"This talk is based on an article I published in the 'Journal of New York History' a few years ago," she said. "Essentially, this article grew out of a research project that I had been working on looking at French-Canadian immigrants."
Though standard sources were devoid of any mention of French-Canadians and their contributions, she turned to original sources such as the Federal Census.
"Something like three-fourths of all the population of Plattsburgh in the second half of the 19th century (1850-1900) were immigrants. And the bulk of those immigrants were French-Canadian. More than half of Plattsburgh's population was French-Canadian."
She wondered why they were present in such large numbers yet were invisible in the historical record.
"Because these people were laborers, mainly unskilled laborers, working for very low wages, they were not considered important enough to memorialize. It was important to talk about Dr. Kellogg and the railroad barons. These thousands of ordinary workers got paid practically nothing. They were living in dire poverty and working in the mills. They were completely unimportant, disposable in some ways."
A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE
Aside from Ouellette's natural outrage, she was trying to discover why this historical amnesia occurred.
"The people who were in charge of commissioning these historical works were Anglos. They were very ambivalent about the presence of immigrants in their towns because these were not like them. French-Canadians were especially difficult. Not only were they not like them, they spoke a different language and they were Catholic. So, you couldn't even trust them. One guy referred to the French-Canadians as the Chinese of the Northeast."
Ouellette was surprised to learn that Francophones hosted the biggest Fourth of July fetes in Plattsburgh. Trainloads of celebrants came down from Canada for the speeches and parades. The newspapers of the time had op-ed commentary on the French-Canadians' star-spangled exuberance.
"Someone wrote, 'We should take back the celebration of our nation's independence from these foreigners.' The City of Plattsburgh put on French-speaking constables to control the crowds. Everyone knows the French-Canadians get drunk, get in brawls and are disorderly. They were celebrating what they saw as their citizenship. If you asked them if they felt they belonged, they would have said yes."
While helping to write the centennial history of Plattsburgh, Ouellette discovered how pervasive the French-Canadian presence was here. She found a letter from one of the first women to attend the Normal School.
"She wrote, 'When you got off the train in Plattsburgh, you would think you missed the stop and wound up in Montreal.' Everyone around her spoke French. That's at the end of the century. I would be willing to bet for a long period of time, for a very long time afterward, the same was true."
The woman wrote about hearing a bread seller in the street.
"He was yelling out his wares in French. That's what my talk is about," Ouellette said. "There are all these people contributing to the larger growth and expansion of this new industrial town. The Yankees were the ones who benefited from this. They were incredibly ambivalent. They didn't feel guilty about the money they made on the backs of these people. They worried about the influence of these foreigners in their town."
CONSTANT MIGRATION
Ouellette points out the strange irony that the French were here before the Yankees. The same Anglo-Franco dynamic played out in Burlington.
"When Nathaniel Hawthorne visited Burlington in 1838, he noticed the French-Canadians. When his travelogue got published in 'New England Magazine,' he wrote, 'Canadian bank notes circulate as freely in Burlington as American because there are so many French-Canadians.'"
Time and population were on the French side.
"There were never many Yankees to begin with. Immigrant populations were always a feature of the town because of the way in which Yankee people located to Plattsburgh. They came as landowners and businessmen. They came with wealth. They established themselves and became the elite of the city and town."
In the first half of the 19th century, Anglophones had as many progeny as their Francophone counterparts. Because there weren't as many overall, they didn't produce as many children.
"The truth is there is a constant migration of people coming all through the centuries. French-Canadians came before the revolution. They filtered into Plattsburgh and upstate New York from the very first days."
During the era of Henry Delord, around the time of the War of 1812, a smallpox epidemic broke out.
"The French-Canadians living around the lower Saranac were blamed for it," Ouellette said.
"There was a fairly visible population of French-Canadians then, and it just grew. They continued to come in the 1820s and 1830s. There was a growing population of Irish immigrants and other immigrant groups from the 19th through the 20th century. The city grew exponentially based on its immigrant population, never on its native-born population."
*********************
IF YOU GO
WHAT: "The Legacy of the Lake and Its People," Clinton Community College's quadricentennial event.
EVENTS:
EVENTS:
TODAY [THURSDAY]: "French-Canadian Culture & Heritage"
11 a.m. "French-Canadians in the North Country" by Dr. Susan Ouellette, St. Michael's College. Stafford Center.
1 p.m. "French-Canadians and the 1909 Tercentenary" by Dr. Sylvie Beaudreau, Plattsburgh State. Stafford Center.
All-day re-enactment with Herrick's Vermont Regiment of Rangers. Outdoor event.
6:30 p.m. Concert, Josée Vachon, Franco-American singer. The Pavilion.
FRIDAY: "Legacy: 400 Years of History in the Northern Champlain Valley."
11 a.m. Supreme Court of Clinton County Naturalization Ceremony. Outdoor event.
11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Food and beverage concession, Stafford Center Atrium.
2 p.m. "Transportation on Lake Champlain" by Rick Norcross, musician and Bret Corbin, Lake Champlain steamboat memorabilia collector. Stafford Center.
6:30 p.m. Concert on the Bluff featuring Beartracks, bluegrass trio. The Pavilion.
Through August 3: "View from the Eastern Door" featuring the artwork of David Fadden, John Fadden, Joe Francis, Linda Jackson and Niio Perkins. Alumni Art Gallery.
ADMISSION: All events are free.
11 a.m. "French-Canadians in the North Country" by Dr. Susan Ouellette, St. Michael's College. Stafford Center.
1 p.m. "French-Canadians and the 1909 Tercentenary" by Dr. Sylvie Beaudreau, Plattsburgh State. Stafford Center.
All-day re-enactment with Herrick's Vermont Regiment of Rangers. Outdoor event.
6:30 p.m. Concert, Josée Vachon, Franco-American singer. The Pavilion.
FRIDAY: "Legacy: 400 Years of History in the Northern Champlain Valley."
11 a.m. Supreme Court of Clinton County Naturalization Ceremony. Outdoor event.
11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Food and beverage concession, Stafford Center Atrium.
2 p.m. "Transportation on Lake Champlain" by Rick Norcross, musician and Bret Corbin, Lake Champlain steamboat memorabilia collector. Stafford Center.
6:30 p.m. Concert on the Bluff featuring Beartracks, bluegrass trio. The Pavilion.
Through August 3: "View from the Eastern Door" featuring the artwork of David Fadden, John Fadden, Joe Francis, Linda Jackson and Niio Perkins. Alumni Art Gallery.
ADMISSION: All events are free.
Historic marker unveiling kicks off lake celebration -- Clinton Community College kicks off celebration of Champlain's arrival (Plattsburgh, New York)
Former Clinton Community Interim President Fredrick Woodward and Jim Brangan of the Lake Champlain Basin Program look at one of the three Wayside Exhibits that interpret the natural and historic surroundings visible from the Bluff Point overlook on the Clinton Community College campus. Kelli Catana / Staff Photo
Historic marker unveiling kicks off lake celebration
CCC kicks off celebration of Champlain's arrival
By JEFF MEYERS Staff Writer
Press Republican (Plattsburgh, New York)
July 8, 2009
PLATTSBURGH — The Plattsburgh area kicked off its quadricentennial celebration of Samuel de Champlain's arrival on the lake with a ceremony to highlight the connection between past and future.
Dignitaries, history buffs and event organizers met at Clinton Community College Wednesday morning to unveil three interpretive signs designed to summarize the history of Bluff Point and Valcour and Crab islands.
The signs, erected on the college's back lawn — overlooking Lake Champlain and the two historic islands from Bluff Point — are a part of the Lake Champlain Basin Program's Wayside Exhibits Program to recognize cultural and historical landmarks across the region.
"One of the things that really struck me is the historical significance of this particular site," said John Jablonski, the new president of Clinton Community College, as he welcomed visitors to the unveiling.
"Of all the places rich in American history, there are some very unique things about this area," he added, while a steady rainfall pounded the canvas tent that sheltered the group before the unveiling.
Jablonski praised the work of the college committee that organized both the unveiling and the three-day "Legacy of the Lake and Its People" quadricentennial celebration.
"Because of your efforts, we bask in the warmth of this event, despite the weather."
Jablonski briefly summarized what he called five periods of history surrounding the Lake Champlain region, including the time before arrival of Europeans and the early days of trade between French Canada and the British colonies.
He also highlighted the significance of the building that rose behind the gathering as both a historic hotel and as an institution of higher education.
"How fitting it is that we are here at Clinton Community College celebrating our stewardship of this institution and all that has led us to this day."
Celine Paquette, vice chair of the Regional Quadricentennial Commission, praised the college for its efforts to give a thorough presentation in recognition of the quadricentennial.
"The story of this very important site needs to be told again and again and again," she said, imagining aloud how overwhelmed Champlain would have been by the beauty of Bluff Point as he passed by on his initial visit to the lake.
Jim Brangan of the Basin Program emphasized the need to promote lake-related education.
"The more people learn about the lake, the more they appreciate the lake and the better stewards they become."
Assemblywoman Janet Duprey (R-Peru) praised the location, saying the only people with a better view were those in Vermont looking toward New York.
Frederick Woodward, former interim president at Clinton Community, who played an integral role in the college's quadricentennial celebration, reminded the crowd of the gathering on the site 100 years ago, when President Howard Taft and others celebrated the lake's tecentenary.
"Over the next three days, you will see and hear a lot of the history of the region," he said, adding that the events provide an opportunity for people over the next 100 years to learn of the lake's history.
Dignitaries, history buffs and event organizers met at Clinton Community College Wednesday morning to unveil three interpretive signs designed to summarize the history of Bluff Point and Valcour and Crab islands.
The signs, erected on the college's back lawn — overlooking Lake Champlain and the two historic islands from Bluff Point — are a part of the Lake Champlain Basin Program's Wayside Exhibits Program to recognize cultural and historical landmarks across the region.
"One of the things that really struck me is the historical significance of this particular site," said John Jablonski, the new president of Clinton Community College, as he welcomed visitors to the unveiling.
"Of all the places rich in American history, there are some very unique things about this area," he added, while a steady rainfall pounded the canvas tent that sheltered the group before the unveiling.
Jablonski praised the work of the college committee that organized both the unveiling and the three-day "Legacy of the Lake and Its People" quadricentennial celebration.
"Because of your efforts, we bask in the warmth of this event, despite the weather."
Jablonski briefly summarized what he called five periods of history surrounding the Lake Champlain region, including the time before arrival of Europeans and the early days of trade between French Canada and the British colonies.
He also highlighted the significance of the building that rose behind the gathering as both a historic hotel and as an institution of higher education.
"How fitting it is that we are here at Clinton Community College celebrating our stewardship of this institution and all that has led us to this day."
Celine Paquette, vice chair of the Regional Quadricentennial Commission, praised the college for its efforts to give a thorough presentation in recognition of the quadricentennial.
"The story of this very important site needs to be told again and again and again," she said, imagining aloud how overwhelmed Champlain would have been by the beauty of Bluff Point as he passed by on his initial visit to the lake.
Jim Brangan of the Basin Program emphasized the need to promote lake-related education.
"The more people learn about the lake, the more they appreciate the lake and the better stewards they become."
Assemblywoman Janet Duprey (R-Peru) praised the location, saying the only people with a better view were those in Vermont looking toward New York.
Frederick Woodward, former interim president at Clinton Community, who played an integral role in the college's quadricentennial celebration, reminded the crowd of the gathering on the site 100 years ago, when President Howard Taft and others celebrated the lake's tecentenary.
"Over the next three days, you will see and hear a lot of the history of the region," he said, adding that the events provide an opportunity for people over the next 100 years to learn of the lake's history.
Plans in making for anniversary of the 250th anniversary of the Battle of the Restigouche and the destruction of Petite-Rochelle village
Plans in making for anniversary
The Tribune (Campbellton, New Brunswick)
Published Wednesday July 8th, 2009
Link: http://tribunenb.canadaeast.com/rss/article/722184
In one year, the region will commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Battle of the Restigouche and the destruction of Petite-Rochelle village.
To emphasize the 250th anniversary of the last naval conflict between France and England, a committee of citizens joined forces in order to revive this critical time in the history of the Baie des Chaleurs. Made up of people from different cultures (Acadian, English, Aboriginal, etc.), this committee began meeting six months ago with the goal to develop a variety of activities for the July 2010 weeklong historical celebration.
Plays, tall ships on the bay, recreation of a typical 1760 village, carriage tours, fireworks are just some of the activities being planned.
This event is certainly a commemoration of the conflict, but it also aims to highlight the multicultural coexistence that followed.
To organize the event, help from volunteers will be needed. In fact, the committee is actively looking for people interested in giving some time toward the cause.
The commemoration and heritage festival will be held from July 4 -11 next year. For more information, visit http://www.restigouche1760.ca/.
Activities in 2009:
July 11- Recruitment of volunteers at the Kiosk Park on the Campbellton waterfront. (Restigouche1760 kiosk).
August 2 - Participation in the Dalhousie's Bon Ami festival parade. The public is invited to dress up (periods of 1760) and join the members of the committee.
December 31 - New Year's Eve Ball
Film created about Acadian refugee village of Petite Rochelle
At the official opening of the Petite Rochelle Interpretation Centre last week, the Machault Historical Society honoured the memory of Acadian privateer Charles Dugas by presenting a cannon to one of his descendants Gaetan Dugas of Caraquet.
Film created about Petite Rochelle
The Tribune (Campbellton, New Brunswick)
Published Wednesday July 8th, 2009
Pointe-a-la-Croix - A documentary based on the history of Petite Rochelle, an Acadian refugee village burned by British troops in 1760, was launched last week in Pointe-a-la-Croix.
A film crew brought to life the era of the mythical village through a short fifteen minute documentary. Petite Rochelle, refuge de l'Acadie was presented to the public for the first time July 2. The date is highly symbolic because exactly 249 years ago the village was torn down by the British.
Michel Goudreau, member of the Machault Historical Society, dreamed about this film project for several years. He hopes now that this film, witness to a past not so distant, will be use by schools for educational purposes.
"What we want to emphasize the resistance of the Acadians. These families, which the British described as rebels, refused to be sent away from this land," he said. "What happened at that time did not prevent the Acadians to take root in the region. We realize, when we did genealogical research, that many people who were in Petite Rochelle have descendants on both shores of the Baie des Chaleurs. There were 160 families in this village. Their names still remain everywhere in Gaspe and New Brunswick."
Both Tele-Quebec Gaspesie / Iles-de-la-Madeleine and Parks Canada helped the Society with the film project by providing some material and human resources.
Alain Bernier, director of Tele-Quebec Gaspesie / Iles-de-la-Madeleine, said the project fits well with the vision of his organization, which is education and cultural promotion. According to him, although carried out with limited funds, the film is a quality product.
"Initially, I had some concerns because we talked about historical reconstruction when on our side, we could only provide one cameraman, a camera, an editor and editing room. The challenge was very high. However, after viewing the film, I can say that I'm very pleased with the result. The team showed a lot of imagination."
Several artists from the region took part in the film offering narration, drawings and soundtrack.
The movie is directed by Maryse Goudreau who said it was the first historical documentary she directed.
The movie is directed by Maryse Goudreau who said it was the first historical documentary she directed.
"My motivation was to leave a trace and a recognition that the Bay of Chaleurs is an important place in Acadian history," she said. According to her, the film summarizes the history of the "refugee camp" of Petite Rochelle. It also gives credit to the privateers who helped these people survive.
The film will be aired all summer long at the interpretation center of Petite Rochelle in Pointe-a-la-Croix (formerly Young's House, near Rte. 132). Copies of the film will be available for sale.
The Societe de l'Acadie du Nouveau Brunswick is considering the possibility of making it available free on the Internet.
The Societe de l'Acadie du Nouveau Brunswick is considering the possibility of making it available free on the Internet.
Congress to celebrate roots -- 114-year-old named honorary president of Arsenault family association
Congress to celebrate roots
114-year-old named honorary president of Arsenault family association
By Jesse Robichaud
Times & Transcript (Moncton, New Brunswick)
Published Wednesday July 8th, 2009
Link: http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/rss/article/722270
When large Acadian families gather to celebrate their roots on occasions such as this summer's World Acadian Congress, there is always room for rekindling of old rivalries.
But while bragging rights can be fought for over on a variety of family specialties, the Arsenault family thinks there will be little debate over longevity.
At the age of 114, Mary Josephine Ray, has accepted an invitation to serve as the honorary president of the family's association.
Mary Josephine, who was born an Arsenault on Prince Edward Island before her life led her to Maine and then New Hampshire, is the third oldest person in the world.
"We think we have one over on any other family that will be holding a meeting," said Frederic Arsenault, the newly incorporated association's president. "I don't think they can find anyone even close to being that old."
Of course, Frederic, 66, is not suggesting that longevity is by any means a competition. However, he said he is among many members of the Arsenault family would like to follow in Mary Josephine's footsteps for as long as he can.
He said members of the family are honoured to have Mary Josephine serve as an extraordinary symbol of the family's tenacity and vitality.
"What is interesting is that you can see she still seems to be quite active, and apparently she plays cribbage and beats people half her age," said Frederic.
For those keeping track, that means Mary Josephine can beat 57-year-olds at her favourite game.
Mary Josephine is also an enthusiastic Boston Red Sox fan, and she even attended a game at Fenway Park back in the summer of 2003.
Mary Josephine's granddaughter, Kathy, 56, said the supercentenarian was happy to accept the honorary presidency, although she took the new title in stride.
"She is a woman of few words; it was more of a thank you."
As a woman of strong will who loves to party, Mary Josephine seems to be perfectly suited for the honorary position with the family association that will do plenty of celebrating this summer.
"She loves her birthday parties and she really doesn't think about her age," said Kathy.
"She doesn't say, 'Wow, I am the third oldest. She doesn't think about how old she is. When her birthday comes around she wants her party."
Mary Josephine doesn't speak French, but she can sing and pray in her Acadian tongue.
"She still sings songs in French, and her schooling education only went to the third grade, and she was self-taught in writing," said Kathy.
"She knows prayers. She still has some of her papers from her school. She has a notebook with French songs and things."
Overall, Kathy says her grandmother has maintained a strong body and personality despite losing some of her vision in recent years.
"She has a strong personality, she doesn't act like she is ever going to die. She is very healthy, very strong, and she doesn't think about dying either."
Mary Josephine is the oldest Red Sox fan, and the third oldest Canadian-born individual on record, and Frederic points out that Mary Josephine is clearly the oldest person of Acadian origin to have ever lived.
The P.E.I. native has two sons, and eight grandchildren, and all are still living.
Mary Josephine moved to Maine as a young girl and lived in Rumford, Madison and Anson. Her parents died when she was eight, and she eventually moved to New Hampshire. She now lives in a nursing home near Kathy's home in Westmoreland, a small town of about 1,800 residents.
Frederic, a former deputy minister in the provincial government and a Rhodes Scholar, said Mary Josephine's migration is typical of waves of Acadians who left the Maritimes for opportunities south of the border.
"You have quite a few Arsenault families in the northeast U.S. I know Massachusetts has the highest number in the phone book, more than 1,400," said Frederic, noting that the phenomenon was particularly evident in families from Kent County.
He said the rural economy of Prince Edward Island also pushed many Acadians from large families to seek new homes.
The Arsenault reunion will take place this summer in Saint Isidore on Aug. 14, but Mary Josephine will not be able to make the trip.
During a meeting of about 800 members of the Arsenault family in Amherst in 2004, during the most recent World Acadian Congress, a committee was given the mandate to take steps to incorporate a family association, which was done earlier this year. Frederic said the objective of the association is to bring together the descendants of Pierre Arsenault, who was the first Arsenault to settle in Acadia. The association also intends to recognize the contribution of Pierre Arsenault and his family to the history of Acadia with a monument at Beaubassin in Nova Scotia.
Arsenaults lay claim to oldest Acadian
Mary Josephine Ray (née Arsenault) est l'ainée des Acadiens.
Arsenaults lay claim to oldest Acadian
Adam Huras
Telegraph-Journal (Saint John, New Brunswick)
Published Thursday July 9th, 2009
The oldest living Acadian and currently the world's third-oldest living person will be at the centre of the Arsenault family reunion at the 2009 World Acadian Congress.
Mary Josephine Ray was born Mary Josephine Arsenault in Bloomfield, Prince Edward Island in 1895. Now a resident of New Hampshire, she is the oldest person from the Island ever recorded and is currently the 65th oldest person ever.
A new association created to compile the Arsenault Acadian bloodline tracked down the woman, who turned 114 years old on May 17.
More recently, Mary Josephine has been named honorary president of the Arsenault Family Association.
"She was honoured when I told her," said her granddaughter Katherine Ray. "And then she asked me if I was there to play cards.
"She loves playing cards."
Described by her closest granddaughter as a woman of few words with a strong and youthful heart, Mary Josephine still sings French-language songs when asked and is a lifelong fan of the Boston Red Sox.
At 108 years old, she was invited to take part in singing a rendition of Take Me Out to the Ball Game in centre field at Fenway Park during a game against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Her Acadian roots are also still with her in notebooks from school.
"She never spoke French to us growing up, but she still remembers things in French," Katherine Ray said. "She only went to Grade 3 in school, but she still has a notebook which is all in French. Notes and songs in French, too."
More than 300 events are planned for roughly 60 communities for the fourth edition of the World Acadian Congress.
A record number of families have already confirmed they will make the pilgrimage to New Brunswick's Acadian peninsula for this year's reunion bash, which runs from August 7-23.
While Mary Josephine will be unable to make the trek to New Brunswick from her residence at the Maplewood Nursing Home in Westmoreland, N.H., a video narrated by her granddaughter that depicts the life of the oldest living Acadian will be shown.
The association found the woman after reading media reports of the 114th birthday of a woman from Prince Edward Island with the maiden name Arsenault.
Tracing back through the Arsenault family tree, Mary Josephine comes seven generations after Pierre Arsenault, the first person of that name to settle in Acadia.
The association voted unanimously to grant her the honorary presidency at a recent meeting.
"She is obviously the person of Acadian origin who has lived the longest throughout history," said Frederic Arsenault, president of the Arsenault Family Association.
"She is obviously the person of Acadian origin who has lived the longest throughout history," said Frederic Arsenault, president of the Arsenault Family Association.
The previous Acadian congress was in Nova Scotia in 2004, when more than 800 Arsenault descendants came to learn about their roots.
"What we found in 2004 that people were really interested in terms of going back and learning their family history," Frederic Arsenault said. "We had people on site that if you could say your grandfather was named this, or you have relatives named that then we could go right back and trace it to Pierre Arsenault."
He said Mary Josephine adds a new significance to the Arsenault name going into a celebration where each Acadian family demonstrates its pride and heritage.
"There would not have been an Acadian that lived that long before and it's a sense of pride," Frederic Arsenault said. "It feels like we have one up on the other families celebrating."
Organizers said they expect a large turnout of Arsenault family members. The Arsenault family reunion is scheduled to he held in Saint-Isidore on August 14.
Le chanteur québécois Paul Piché lance le Mois de l'archéologie dans la ville de Québec
Paul Piché a aussi découvert qu'il était difficile de passer par Québec sans rencontrer le maire Labeaume...
Le Soleil, Jean-Marie Villeneuve
Le Soleil, Jean-Marie Villeneuve
Paul Piché lance le Mois de l'archéologie
Le Soleil
Publié le 08 juillet 2009 à 05h00 Mis à jour le 08 juillet 2009 à 10h58
Publié le 08 juillet 2009 à 05h00 Mis à jour le 08 juillet 2009 à 10h58
(Québec) Si «y'a pas grand-chose dans l'ciel à soir», comme le dit sa chanson, alors fouillons la terre! aurait pu dire Paul Piché, qui était de passage à Québec, mardi, pour dévoiler la programmation du Mois de l'archéologie au Québec.
Peu le savent, mais l'auteur et interprète d'Heureux d'un printemps a passé une partie de son jeune temps à creuser minutieusement le sol, truelle et grattoir en main. Technicien en archéologie, il a fouillé un site iroquoien à Sorel-Tracy, dirigé des recherches à la baie James et mené des travaux de reconnaissance à l'île d'Orléans.
«C'est à partir de ce que les gens laissent qu'on peut reconstruire l'histoire», a lancé Paul Piché, dans une défense passionnée de l'archéologie.
«La mémoire, c'est fondamental pour l'être humain, car sans elle, il n'y a pas d'intelligence», a-t-il poursuivi, tout en confiant qu'il avait hérité de ses années d'archéologie l'habitude de travailler lentement, comme en témoigne l'attente qui s'étire pour la sortie de son nouveau disque...
Venu à Québec pour annoncer les activités à saveur archéologique qui se dérouleront pendant tout le mois d'août à travers la province, Paul Piché mise sur l'intérêt «naturel» des gens pour l'archéologie. «Quand les gens voient un artéfact, ils s'approchent. C'est naturel», croit-il.
Dans la région
De la centaine d'activités qui auront lieu dans 61 lieux à travers la province, une quinzaine se tiendront dans la région de Québec. Parmi celles-ci, notons la visite sous la terrasse Dufferin, où s'étale une collection de projectiles d'artillerie datant du siège de Québec, en 1759.
Ceux qui voudront voir les archéologues en action devront quant à eux se rendre sur d'autres lieux, dont le site Marais du Nord, voisin du lac Saint-Charles. Là-bas, un sentier de huit kilomètres sillonne les caches où les archéologues fouillent la terre à la recherche d'outils de pierre, de restes culinaires et de fragments de terre cuite.
Et comme l'histoire sur le territoire québécois a commencé bien avant la venue des premiers colons, la Ville de Lévis offrira pour sa part des ateliers sur la fabrication des projectiles de pierre, selon les techniques des Amérindiens.
Pour plus de détails : http://www.moisdelarcheo.com/
Service to New Hampshire: Honoring Manchester Attorney Ovide Lamontagne
Service to NH: Honoring Lamontagne, PSNH
New Hampshire Union Leader (Manchester, New Hampshire)
Sunday, Jun. 28, 2009
Link: http://www.theunionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Service+to+NH%3a+Honoring+Lamontagne%2c+PSNH&articleId=9de3944a-c7c3-4a97-837f-f78dfcee3049
The Daniel Webster Council of the Boy Scouts of America last week honored an individual and a corporation whose combined service to all things New Hampshire sets a gold standard from which we all profit and could all learn.
Public Service of New Hampshire is not your typical large, faceless company. Even with out-of-state ownership, PSNH has retained its local feel and roots. Its direct donations to local non-profits across the state are mirrored by its encouragement for its employees' own community involvement.
Its 1,320 employees volunteer at more than 250 nonprofits. Its program of offering cash grants on behalf of employees who volunteer for those groups has resulted in $650,000 in donations in the last 10 years.
Since 1980, its workers have raised for Easter Seals alone $2.5 million.
The world of big business has been taking it on the chin in recent times, with politicians in Concord and Washington running it down even as they expect more out of it. It is good to remember that companies like PSNH do a world of public service.
The Scouts also honored an individual, and they couldn't have picked anyone more deserving than Manchester attorney Ovide Lamontagne.
It took several minutes just to read through the list of Lamontagne's volunteer efforts in the private and public sectors, and that was only to touch some of the highlights:
Chairman of the Catholic Diocesan School Board, chairman of the state Board of Education, chairman of St. Mary's Bank, past president of the Franco-American Center and Daniel Webster Council, service on the boards of Manchester Crimeline, CASA, the Mayhew Program and Club Richelieu.
Lamontagne was humble and gracious in his Boy Scout remarks, turning attention from himself and instead thanking his family, fellow lawyers, and contributors to Scouting and other worthy causes.
It is no wonder, one admirer told him, that he lost two attempts at political office: You're too nice a guy.
But if there is a future for public-spirited companies like PSNH, perhaps there is a political future yet for sharp, talented and humble individuals like Ovide Lamontagne.
Fêtes de la Nouvelle-France: une odeur de poudre à canon à Place Royale
Il ne sera pas rare, cette année, de voir déambuler des soldats en costume d'époque dans les rues de Québec.
Le Soleil, Jean-Marie Villeneuve
Le Soleil, Jean-Marie Villeneuve
Fêtes de la Nouvelle-France: une odeur de poudre à canon à Place Royale
Le Soleil
Publié le 07 juillet 2009 à 17h10 Mis à jour le 07 juillet 2009 à 17h13
Publié le 07 juillet 2009 à 17h10 Mis à jour le 07 juillet 2009 à 17h13
(Québec) Aujourd'hui comme au temps de la colonie, les militaires ont toujours fait partie du tissu urbain de Québec. C'est donc pour souligner ce fait historique que les 13es Fêtes de la Nouvelle-France, qui battront leur plein du 5 au 9 août, se dérouleront sous le thème de la vie militaire.
«On veut mettre en évidence la vie militaire à cette époque-là. C'était une constante dans la Nouvelle-France d'avoir des soldats [et ça a eu] un impact important sur la colonie», a justifié mardi Alain Laberge, président de la Corporation des fêtes historiques de Québec, lors du dévoilement de la programmation.
Il ne sera donc pas rare, cette année, de voir déambuler des soldats en costume d'époque dans les rues de Québec.
L'effigie, qui fera office de laissez-passer, a été frappée en conséquence, aux couleurs du régiment de Carignan-Salière.
Pour la petite histoire, ce sont ces 1200 soldats et officiers qui avaient été dépêchés dans la colonie en 1665 afin de sécuriser la bourgade de Québec assiégée par les Iroquois. «Et pour faire des enfants et peupler la colonie», d'ajouter M. Laberge.
La marche à 20 $
Tradition oblige, la thématique militaire n'a pas évincé du programme les activités habituelles. Personnages en costumes d'époque dans les rues, défilé avec les Géants, conférences historiques et archéologiques, spectacles de musique, animation pour tous et bien d'autres seront donc au rendez-vous des Fêtes.
Notons, entre autres, la Marche d'une basilique à l'autre. En payant 20 $, un montant qui sera versé intégralement aux Petits Frères des pauvres, un organisme qui vient en aide aux personnes âgées, les marcheurs accompagneront Sieur de Saint-Sauveur le long de la route de la Nouvelle-France pour aller de la basilique-cathédrale Notre-Dame de Québec à la basilique Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré.
Un seul niveau
Petit changement cette année, les festivités se dérouleront sur un seul niveau. Fini, donc, les allers-retours entre la Haute et la Basse-Ville. Toute l'activité sera concentrée dans les environs de la place Royale. Exactement là où battait jadis le coeur de la Nouvelle-France. Plus de détails au http://www.nouvellefrance.qc.ca/.
Burlington Exhibit showcases artist's Franco-American roots (Franco-Vermont artist, the late Roland Rochette)
Exhibit showcases artist's Franco-American roots
Free Press Staff Report • July 3, 2009
Burlington Free Press (Burlington, Vermont)
Link: http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20090703/LIVING/907030311/1004/RSS04
A special exhibit of paintings at the Burlington International Waterfront Festival's 90 Church St. headquarters by Franco-Vermont artist, the late Roland Rochette, underscores the "piecework" that Abby Paige's show dramatizes.
Born in Montreal in 1887, Rochette was placed in a Catholic orphanage at age 6 when his father died and his mother couldn't afford to raise her children. He went back to his mother at age 11 but completed schooling at 12 and began a series of jobs that included coal delivery boy, cook for a lumber camp and construction worker on a Quebec dam. Rochette ferried people across the St. Lawrence, sold newspapers, delivered tobacco, harvested in Saskatchewan and worked as a telephone operator for a country store. He also built Hudson and Essex car bodies.
Rochette's paintings are drawn from his own rich experiences: "I only paint what I have seen with my own eyes," he said.
Rochette developed a spontaneous creative voice, making paintings affixed with found materials like sticks, stones and feathers. His work gives vivid form and articulation to the Franco-American cultural roots celebrated by the Champlain 400 festival events.
The exhibit is curated by the Hardwick-based GRACE Project.
Taste of Champlain: Cross cuisine borders (Burlington, Vermont)
Taste of Champlain: Cross cuisine borders
By Jay Craven, Special to the Free Press • July 2, 2009
Burlington Free Press (Burlington, Vermont)
Link: http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200990701020
Editor’s Note: This column is one in a series of previews and behind-the-scenes looks at the upcoming Burlington International Waterfront Festival.
The Burlington International Waterfront Festival’s “Taste of Champlain” food events, to be held July 8-12, will highlight distinctly Native American, French, and Quebec cuisines and use Vermont’s own impressive and diverse network of fresh foods as ingredients. Food provides our most accessible and widely practiced international experience. Even rural Vermont boasts fine restaurants for Indian, Mexican, Thai, Japanese and Italian meals. We love our food — and our experience of it informs us about other people.
Our Champlain-themed festival examines our historical and cultural connections with each of our historical partners, including the French, whose wines and cheeses have long branded each province. Indeed, former French President Charles DeGaulle once quipped, “How can you govern a country that has 246 varieties of cheeses.” Today, that number is even greater, and the assortment of French wines and small vineyards is even larger than that.
The food festival’s opening day on July 8 will focus on “taste of place” and include a special evening tasting event of prestigious French and Vermont cheeses and wines from 7 to 9 p.m. at Burlington City Arts. Earlier that day a series of informative discussions will include French and American experts sharing case histories about regional food production. Vermont producers will compare notes with their European peers, on ways to enhance local industry’s impact for sustainable economies, tourism, nutrition and cultural identity.
The Essex Resort and Spa will host a July 9 French dinner featuring celebrity chef Loic LeGarrec, courtesy of the French Consul General in Boston. On July 9 Magnolia Bistro and chef Shannon Reilly will host a special Native American dinner featuring Iroquois strawberry bread, wild Mohican succotash, fluffy cranberry pudding, and Misty Knoll honey-basted roast turkey breast with blueberry gravy. I remember asking Abenaki historian Marge Bruchac what she thought would be right for an American Indian festival meal. “Thanksgiving dinner,” she said.
July 10 marks the festival’s Quebec Day so Magnolia Bistro will feature a Quebec-flavored Franco-American dinner, with browned rainbow trout with mushroom gravy, leg of lamb, poutine with fingerling potatoes, and local berries and cream. Also on July 10, a Quebec Blues Cruise will tour the lake, offer food and drink, and feature music by Quebec City blues master Bob Walsh, Huron Indian guitarist Gilles Sioui, and harmonica ace Guy Belanger.
The festival’s central day, July 11, will be marked by a huge performance parade, indigenous Abenaki encampment, Native American concert, and post-parade performances including “From the New World,” Heddy Maalem’s Champlain-themed piece featuring 60 dancers from Vermont, Quebec and the American Indian Dance Theater. On the food front, July 11 will include the City Market Specialty Food Fair, in partnership with the Farmers Market (8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. at City Hall Park), and an old-fashioned strawberry festival (11 a.m.-5 p.m. on the corner of College and St. Paul streets), to benefit Burlington City Arts.
Attention turns on July 12 to Burlington’s Intervale for family events including a wild edibles tour (9:30-11:30 a.m.) and visits to the Center’s Abenaki Traditional Garden, where storytelling and crafts will provide the backdrop for “wheat to bread” and flatbread cooking demonstrations.
I love the experience of “border crossing” through food, but I had a hair-raising experience several years ago in a remote part of central Asian Turkmenistan. It taught me more than I ever wanted to know about “taste of place.” After showing one of my films in a local middle school, I was invited to eat at the home of the head teacher. I was feeling more than a little queasy from food sickness so I asked for something light. But before I knew it, the family’s lovely pet sheep that greeted me at the door was boiled and staring at me from the center of the tablecloth spread out on the floor.
With my stomach throbbing, I tried to be a good sport as the “honored American guest” but could not stop from leaning back against the wall, hoping for a reprieve. That’s when Guyip, my host, brought on the steaming bowls of internal organs. “You must eat from each of them,” he said, personally doling out my portion of liver, kidney, lungs — and eyes. Wanting to please my hosts, I tore into the boiled sheep stomach and tongue. “Good,” I said, giving Guyip a thumbs-up sign. “Very fresh.” The truth is that boiled mutton is a long way from the leg of lamb that will come from the Magnolia kitchen.
Filmmaker Jay Craven teaches at Marlboro College and directs Kingdom County Productions. He’s producing Burlington’s 2009 Samuel de Champlain Quadricentennial celebration. For more information on Champlain Festival events, visit http://www.celebratechamplain.org/.
Francophiles unite to mark Bastille Day in Western Pennsylvania
Francophiles unite to mark Bastille Day in Western Pennsylvania
Buzz up!
By The Tribune-Review Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Mark Brewer/For the Tribune-Review
In Pittsburgh, we hear a lot about the city's Irish, German, Italian and Eastern European heritage. But as Bastille Day approaches, let us consider the French influences in our region. You don't have to look any further than the Fort Duquesne Bridge to realize the French play a role in our history and in our present.
Bastille Day
Francophiles can celebrate Bastille Day in style.
The Alliance Francaise de Pittsburgh and the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh will host events on Tuesday to mark Fete de Federation, the celebratory feast held the year after the storming of the Bastille prison in 1789.
The events start at 5 p.m. at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Oakland, with a private champagne reception and "Paris to Pittsburgh: Sevres Porcelain With an American Connection," a lecture by Jason Busch, the Alan G. and Jane A. Lehman curator of decorative arts.
From 6 to 9 p.m., a strolling buffet of French cuisine will be offered featuring made-to-order crepes and wine in the Carnegie Cafe, followed by a dessert buffet. Entertainment includes the Steve Vance trio and mime Mark Thompson. There also will be a silent auction. Attire is chic casual.
Versailles Level tickets ($225) include the private champagne reception, lecture, dinner and dessert. Bastille Level tickets ($125) include the dinner and dessert. Proceeds will benefit the Carnegie Museums and Alliance Francaise de Pittsburgh. Reservations: 412-578-2477.
— Rege Behe
Western Pennsylvania beginnings
It is possible to trace the War for Independence directly back to small, lead plates planted by the French at the headwaters of the Ohio River, says Andy Masich, CEO of the Senator John Heinz History Center.
It would seem, then, the French play a massive role in the history of Western Pennsylvania and its role in the emergence of the nation.
On the orders of the government of New France, which was centered in Quebec, Pierre-Joseph Celoron in 1749 led an expedition of French marines to claim the land of the Ohio Country. They moved down the Allegheny River to the Point, where they would later set up Fort Duquesne, and began planting the plates, claiming the land for France.
The move would lead Virginia Gov. Robert Dinwiddie to send the young George Washington to talk to the French in 1753, putting Washington in the middle of a dispute that would lead to the French and Indian War.
It is an easy argument to make that the French and Indian War led to the War for Independence. The colonists objected to taxation imposed by the British to help pay for this war and decided they could claim the land as their own.
"The Americans got a sense of a chink in the British armor, and when (Gen. Edward) Braddock was defeated in 1755, they saw that this army could be defeated," Masich says.
The British triumph over the French largely was a matter of numbers, he says. British settlement in the colonies was much larger than that of New France. The British were establishing colonies built on farming and business, greatly different from the hunting and trapping trade of the French.
— Bob Karlovits
Artistic influence
Pittsburgh museums showcase many famed French artists. Their works include paintings, bronzes and decorative pieces spanning eight centuries. For a brush with French art history, don't miss the following masterpieces on view at the Carnegie Museum of Art:
• "Nympheas"/ "Water Lilies" by Claude Oscar Monet
• "Self-Portrait" by Paul Cezanne
• "Henri Rouart in Front of His Factory" by Edgar Degas
• "Landscape With Three Figures" by Paul Gauguin
• "Still Life With Brioche" by Edouard Manet
• "Odalisque With Green Headdress" by Henri Matisse
• "The Sower" by Jean Francois Millet
• "The Garden in the Rue Cortot, Montmarte" by Pierre Auguste Renoir.
• "House on the Outskirts of Paris" by Henri Julien Rousseau
The Frick Art & Historical Center has several works by French artists, but most notable is "1806, Jena" by Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier, which depicts Emperor Napoleon observing the Battle of Jena.
— Deborah Deasy
Penguins fever
Pittsburghers, lately, have been a little more comfortable slinging French pronunciations around for one simple reason -- the Stanley Cup champion Penguins' bountiful supply of French-Canadian talent.
Let's be honest, the Cup would have stayed in Detroit without goalie Marc-Andre Fleury -- from Sorel, Quebec, a small town outside Montreal. His sunny, toothy grin never seemed to waver.
Next is Maxime Talbot, whose timely bursts of energy and off-the-wall sense of humor have made him a fan favorite. In French or English, Talbot is a one-man party waiting to happen, and the Pen most likely to be found sitting next to you at a bar in the South Side.
The Pens' super season couldn't have happened without young defenseman Kris Letang, a Montreal-born prodigy quietly developing into a star.
There's also speedy forward Pascal Dupuis, veteran defenseman Phillipe Boucher and backup goalie Mathieu Garon.
Oh, then there's that guy named Mario Lemieux. He's kind of a big deal around here.
For hockey fans, given the never-ending pipeline of French-Canadian talent, it never hurts to know your Remparts (Kris Letang's junior hockey team in Quebec) from your poutine (a cheesy French-Canadian snack).
— Michael Machosky
Pittsburgh-Paris connection
A number of Pittsburgh artists were either born in Paris or moved there from the Steel City. Among them:
Gertrude Stein: The feminist, poet and experimental writer was here just long enough to draw breath. Born in Allegheny City, in what is now the North Side, on Feb. 3, 1874, she was an infant when her parents took her off to Austria and France. Stein moved to Paris permanently in 1903 and presided over literary salons at her apartment, where she lived with her companion, Alice B. Toklas. Guests included Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jean Cocteau, Pablo Picasso and T.S. Eliot. Her only comment on her hometown: "I only saw it from the air, so what can I say except that I was born in Allegheny."
Kenny Clarke: Born in Pittsburgh in 1914, Clarke provided the crucial transition from swing to early bebop drumming. He moved to Paris in 1956 and died there in 1985. In the late 1940s, he played at the legendary jam sessions at Minton's Playhouse in New York City, where he helped create bebop along with Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Christian and Theolonius Monk. He later played with Miles Davis on the "Birth of the Cool" recording sessions and co-wrote "Salt Peanuts" with Gillespie.
Mary Cassatt: The female impressionist painter was born in Allegheny City in what is now the city's North Side on May 22, 1844. Cassatt defied her father and moved to Europe to study art in 1866. She studied painting at the Louvre and had a painting accepted for exhibit in the 1868 Paris Salon. She returned to the United States in 1870 after the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War. Her career stalled, only to be resuscitated by the archbishop of Pittsburgh, who commissioned her to travel to Europe to create copies of two paintings by the Italian master Correggio. She was able to resume her painting in Europe and developed a close friendship with Edgar Degas. She became famous for her portraits of women and children.
Lorin Maazel: The maestro was born in Neuilly, an affluent suburb on the Western edge of Paris. His family moved to Los Angeles and later to Pittsburgh. Maazel began violin lessons at age 5 and took conducting lessons at age 7. By the time he was 12, he had conducted most of the major American orchestras. He attended Peabody High School in Pittsburgh, and enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh when he was 17. He served as music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony from 1988 to 1996.
— William Loeffler
Architecture and design
It's not hard to find examples of classical French architecture and design in Western Pennsylvania.
• Heinz Chapel, University of Pittsburgh, Oakland, is an example of French Gothic architecture, inspired by La Petite Sainte Chappelle in Paris.
• Chateau Lafayette at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, Fayette County, is designed to replicate the Ritz Paris hotel, with its Lautrec restaurant serving French cuisine.
• Henry P. Hoffstot House, 5057 Fifth Ave., Shadyside, is modeled after the Petit Trianon at Versailles in France.
• The French Classroom, Nationality Rooms, University of Pittsburgh, Oakland, inspired by the Napoleonic Empire period, includes copies of ornaments in the Louvre Museum in Paris, a 16th-century French tapestry and objets d'art in a wall cabinet.
• Broderie Room at the Phipps Conservatory, Oakland, is in the style of French knotted gardens from the time of King Louis XIV.
— Mark Kanny
Fine dining
For many, the best thing about France is the food. Here are some local options for French dining:
• Jean Marc Chatellier's French Bakery, Millvale. Quiche Lorraine, brioche and croissants, creme brulee and fresh fruit tarts made by a third-generation French baker. There's also a selection of freshly baked breads. But these go fast. If you're planning to arrive after 11 a.m., call and ask them to set aside a loaf.
• Le Pommier, South Side. A contemporary French bistro with white tablecloths, an extensive list of French wines and classic French dishes such as Moules (mussels) or Lgneau (lamb) a la Nicoise, as well as some more contemporary takes.
• Chez Gerard, Hopwood, Fayette County. The menu is full of entrees such as Sole Meuniere and Filet de Boeuf Gril with Sauce Bernaise. Chez Gerard serves lunch, dinner and a Sunday Champagne brunch inside a former inn that dates to 1790.
• Crepes Parisiennes, Oakland and Shadyside. As close to a fast-food enterprise as any respectable French person would patronize, this casual cafe offers multiple options for crepes both savory and sweet.
• Cafe des Amis, Sewickley. A bistro-style cafe offers the traditional petit dejeuner (breakfast) along with crepes, quiches, croque Monsieur sandwiches and soupe a la oignon. A $65 special three-course dinner is planned for Bastille Day (Tuesday) with a choice of baked salmon or rack of lamb for an entree.
• Paris 66 Bistro, East Liberty. Opened on June 21, this crepe bistro celebrates everyday French cuisine. The narrow dining room is filled with 43 tabletops decoupaged with vintage postcards of Paris. Additional tables on the back patio seat another 20. The menu features casual dining options -- quiches, salads, soups, pissaladieres (French pizzas) and desserts -- for lunch and dinner.
— Alice Carter
Speaking the language
Parlez-vous Francais? Then you'll want to join the Pittsburgh French Meetup Group, which is for French speakers of all ages and abilities to meet and practice French conversation and share interests in French culture.
Topics of the group include French language, culture, dining, international travel, cooking and recipes, says Marc Snyder, a professor and leader of the group, who learned French growing up in Vietnam and attending school in Paris.
"French is in my blood," he says. "I speak it every day at home and with friends. There are a lot of people in Pittsburgh who speak French. French is absolutely huge here."
Details: www.meetup.com/FrenchLessons
— Joanne Klimovich Harrop
Keeping to themselves
In Clearfield County, tucked into the Allegheny Mountains near the center of the state, sits the hamlet of Frenchville.
If the town's name doesn't clue you in to its heritage, the names on the local church records should: Renaud, Roussey, Boutellier, Mignot.
The residents of this isolated town spoke French well into the mid-20th century.
Frenchville's origins date to about 1830, when settlers from the French regions of Normandy and Picardy came to America. The settlers made their way from Baltimore to the middle of Pennsylvania. They settled down to mining, logging and farming. Unlike French dialects spoken in Quebec or New Orleans, Frenchville residents spoke pure, perfectly accented French.
Frank Merat, associate professor of electrical engineering at Case Western Reserve University in Euclid, Ohio, was born in Frenchville and grew up in the '50s. The French language already had started to die out by then, he says.
"The parents would speak French when they would talk about things they didn't want you to know," he says. "In my parents' time, the school actually taught in French."
The language and customs started to decline after World War II, Merat says.
"Remember, all these people from isolated communities go out. They learn an awful lot about the world. They go back, and they're not going to be kept as isolated and down on the farm as they once were. That was also a great time of national pride. We all wanted to be as American as possible."
Television's arrival spelled fini, he says.
One tradition remains: The annual Frenchville Picnic, now in its 139th year, will take place July 18 and 19.
— William Loeffler
Local ambassador
Pittsburgh has its own Honorary Consul of France: Jean-Dominique Le Garrec, who says he loves the job he has had since January.
Le Garrec, who works from his home office in Squirrel Hill, splits his time between being a French consul and his regular job as a Westinghouse engineer. His duties as consul include protecting the rights of French citizens living in the Pittsburgh area, and representing the French government by helping French citizens visiting Pittsburgh when they are in need.
Le Garrec -- a native of Boulogne Sur Mer, in northern France -- also promotes relations between France and the local community. For instance, if a Pittsburgh resident wants to do business in France, Le Garrec does his best to help. He also represents France at many Pittsburgh-area French-themed events, such as Bastille Day celebrations.
— Kellie B. Gormly
French names
Here are just a few of the locations in the area that bear French names:
• Duquesne, the town, the school, the bridge and the road, was named in honor of Marquis Duquesne, the governor-general of New France (Quebec).
• Charleroi, Washington County, is French for Charles the King, referring to King Charles II of Spain.
• Fayette County was named for the Marquis de Lafayette, a wealthy French citizen who came to America to support the Revolution and became friends with George Washington.
• DuBois, Clearfield County, was named for local lumber magnate John DuBois, who came from a longstanding American family of French Huguenot descent.
• North Versailles was named for Versailles, a wealthy suburb of Paris that was once the de facto capital of France.
• Brunot's Island, in the Ohio River, was named for French physician Felix Brunot (1752-1838), who had a practice in Pittsburgh but lived on the island.
• Jumonville, Fayette County, was named for French Canadian military officer Joseph Coulon de Villiers de Jumonville, who was killed nearby after surrendering to Washington in the opening battle of the French and Indian War.
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/ae/more/s_632791.html
Can surfing save the world? This man thinks so
Can surfing save the world? This man thinks so
Michael Gordon
April 15, 2009
WA today
Welcome to WAtoday.com.au
Roy Fleming
The media landscape in Western Australia has changed with the launch of watoday.com.au, a brand new Fairfax website dedicated to breaking news and information.
WHEN Yvon Chouinard's private company, Patagonia, hit a big speed bump during the global recession of 1991, his was not a classic textbook response.
"I took 10 of my top people and we sort of did a walkabout, down to the real Patagonia," Chouinard says. In between walks, the group
would sit down and reflect on what had gone wrong and, in particular, how a company that had enjoyed years of growth of 50 per cent a year - and was still looking at 30 per cent growth at the time of the recession - was staring at the corporate abyss.
The answer was simple enough. Buying materials for the anticipated growth meant taking on debt, and this proved problematic when the company's bank found itself in trouble and dramatically cut Patagonia's line of credit.
So bad did things become that Chouinard had to lay off 20 per cent of his workforce, many of whom he considered family.
His accountant even felt compelled to introduce him to another source of funds: the Mafia.
"They wanted 28 per cent interest, which is ironically what credit cards charge these days," he says, chuckling.
The trip prompted a bout of soul searching that ended with a new philosophy of business, one Chouinard says has enabled his company to withstand the ravages of the global financial crisis - and one he believes provides a way forward for others, and the planet.
In Australia for the opening of a Patagonia store at Torquay, Chouinard comes across as a kind of contrarian guru, utterly pessimistic about the planet's prospects for survival, but convinced that a gentle revolution is under way in business.
The contrarian streak is evident soon after our conversation begins, overlooking the surf at Torquay. "I don't like authority and I always wanted to do it my way," he says. "I wanted to have a company where I could do things differently and not end up like a grease-ball businessman."
As for the guru status, it was reflected when Chouinard made the cover of Fortune magazine in 2007, and his business was dubbed "the coolest company on the planet".
Both qualities are explained by the life journey of a man imbued with an abiding sense of self-belief and a high threshold for witnessing, and experiencing, pain.
One of his early childhood memories is watching his French-Canadian father sitting in the family kitchen and drinking whisky while pulling out his teeth, good and bad, because he needed dentures but thought the price asked by the local dentist for removing teeth was too high.
Born in Maine in 1938, Chouinard soon moved to California, where he says he was the smallest in the class, could not speak English and was constantly teased because he had the name of a "girl".
An aptitude for sport was undermined by a public nervousness that led him to shy away from team sports in the direction of private pursuits, especially fishing and climbing.
Soon enough, he reached the conclusion that he could make more reliable climbing equipment than was available in shops, and began manufacturing his own steel pitons in a second-hand, coal-fired furnace.
When friends began asking him to make their equipment and word spread to others, a business was born.
"I never wanted to be a businessman. That's my main problem, really," he explains. "I'm just kind of a craftsman. I love working with my hands and I can't help it. Everything I look at, I just think to myself, 'I can make that better'."
In 1968, Chouinard embarked on the journey that inspired the company, a six-month trip from California to the tip of South America, surfing at breaks that had never been surfed and climbing rock faces that had never been climbed.
Now 70, he still likes to ride waves, but the love of dangerous climbs has given way to another passion, fly fishing. "My favourite thing is to go off to Tahiti with my fly rod and my surfboard, and surf when the tide is just right in the channels and go fish for bone fish for the rest of the day," he says.
"I still like to climb, but I don't like to stick my neck out any more. I'm totally out of testosterone. Bankrupt!"
But that does not stop the climbing nightmares that have a recurring theme. "I had one last night. I'm always on a rotten rock, and everything I'm touching is just crashing down. I don't need to do that any more."
Chouinard says he has never had nightmares about surfing, simply because he has never had any close calls in the water.
"Climbing is a dangerous sport. I've had a lot of friends die. I've been in avalanches and friends dying next to me. Oh, Christ! That's what brings the nightmares. But surfing? Surfing's a safe sport, other than getting hit by your fin or something."
During 12 days in Victoria, Chouinard went on a surfing and sailing trip with one of the partners in Patagonia's Australian licence, the local surfing legend, pioneer and adventurer, Wayne Lynch.
The two met last year and the chemistry was immediate. Lynch says he admires Chouinard's integrity and his vision; Chouinard describes Lynch as a hero and an icon.
The Patagonia founder says his formula for success has not changed since it evolved on the walkabout almost two decades ago.
"We'd write down our values, and the number one value was to make the best product. We were coming from a company that had made the best climbing equipment and we wanted to do the same thing in clothing," he says. Nothing remarkable there.
The other values were more novel. The group wanted a company that struck the right balance between work and family and was determined to, at the very least, minimise the harm its activities did to the environment.
The biggest revelation was the need to apply the values that determined Chouinard's approach to climbing - and not go over the edge.
That meant a far more conservative fiscal strategy and bucking the conventional track for successful companies. It also meant opting for more modest growth and investing less than competitors in marketing.
As he explains: "Most businessmen want to grow their business as fast as they possibly can, and then at a certain point they go public and they sell a bunch of this worthless stock to a bunch of suckers at 40 times earnings or whatever."
It is an approach that, according to Chouinard, explains why so many big players have come a cropper in the past year.
"All of these public companies have just grown to the maximum for so many years that they've just hit the wall, and it's all been dependent on consumers just buying and discarding, buying and discarding.
"You know, your average product bought in a mall is discarded within 90 days, and we just can't keep going on like that. We need a different economy."
The new approach also resulted in a very flexible approach to working hours.
"A surfer knows that you go surfing when there is surf. You don't go next Tuesday at 2 o'clock. So people come and go and they work when they can and a lot of people work from home. As long as the job gets done, I don't care."
Finally, the approach necessitated a stronger commitment to sustainability, in the form of a commitment to devote 1 per cent of sales - or about $3 million a year - to environmental causes.
"We started this organisation called '1 per cent for the planet' and we now have about 1070 members in 30-odd countries, and each company makes out their own cheques to their own organisations," he says.
There is also a pledge to make all its products from recycled or recyclable fibres by 2010. "We're 80 per cent there," he says.
"We're constantly having to push the limits and then prove to other companies that what we have done is not so radical, that they can take small steps because we've taken big steps. That's the fun part.
"The message that Patagonia is trying to get across is that if you do the right thing for the environment, you'll be even more profitable. And if you don't, you're going to go down."
It is a message that has already struck a chord with the giant American retailer, Wal-Mart, which Chouinard describes as the 11th-biggest economy in the world.
The two companies are co-writing a manual on how to make sustainable clothing, a relationship he describes as "David and Goliath".
Wal-Mart, according to Chouinard, is now leading the way on sustainability. He says the company has made it plain to suppliers that it will not do business with those unwilling to embrace best environmental practice.
He is also encouraged by the approach Barack Obama has taken since becoming US President. "He's convinced that the old style of doing business is finished and, while I've been the biggest critic of government, this may be the start of something."
You'd think all of this would temper the ingrained pessimism of the man described as one of the leading climbers of the Golden Age of Yosemite climbing. Not so.
"I'm a doom bat," he insists. "But, you know what? I'm a happy doom bat. Because as long as I feel I'm part of the process of doing something, I'm not part of the problem. I'm part of the solution, and I feel fine about it."
Michael Gordon is The Age's Saturday editor.
http://www.watoday.com.au/small-business/entrepreneur/can-surfing-save-the-world-this-man-thinks-so-20090619-cr03.html
Michael Gordon
April 15, 2009
WA today
Welcome to WAtoday.com.au
Roy Fleming
The media landscape in Western Australia has changed with the launch of watoday.com.au, a brand new Fairfax website dedicated to breaking news and information.
WHEN Yvon Chouinard's private company, Patagonia, hit a big speed bump during the global recession of 1991, his was not a classic textbook response.
"I took 10 of my top people and we sort of did a walkabout, down to the real Patagonia," Chouinard says. In between walks, the group
would sit down and reflect on what had gone wrong and, in particular, how a company that had enjoyed years of growth of 50 per cent a year - and was still looking at 30 per cent growth at the time of the recession - was staring at the corporate abyss.
The answer was simple enough. Buying materials for the anticipated growth meant taking on debt, and this proved problematic when the company's bank found itself in trouble and dramatically cut Patagonia's line of credit.
So bad did things become that Chouinard had to lay off 20 per cent of his workforce, many of whom he considered family.
His accountant even felt compelled to introduce him to another source of funds: the Mafia.
"They wanted 28 per cent interest, which is ironically what credit cards charge these days," he says, chuckling.
The trip prompted a bout of soul searching that ended with a new philosophy of business, one Chouinard says has enabled his company to withstand the ravages of the global financial crisis - and one he believes provides a way forward for others, and the planet.
In Australia for the opening of a Patagonia store at Torquay, Chouinard comes across as a kind of contrarian guru, utterly pessimistic about the planet's prospects for survival, but convinced that a gentle revolution is under way in business.
The contrarian streak is evident soon after our conversation begins, overlooking the surf at Torquay. "I don't like authority and I always wanted to do it my way," he says. "I wanted to have a company where I could do things differently and not end up like a grease-ball businessman."
As for the guru status, it was reflected when Chouinard made the cover of Fortune magazine in 2007, and his business was dubbed "the coolest company on the planet".
Both qualities are explained by the life journey of a man imbued with an abiding sense of self-belief and a high threshold for witnessing, and experiencing, pain.
One of his early childhood memories is watching his French-Canadian father sitting in the family kitchen and drinking whisky while pulling out his teeth, good and bad, because he needed dentures but thought the price asked by the local dentist for removing teeth was too high.
Born in Maine in 1938, Chouinard soon moved to California, where he says he was the smallest in the class, could not speak English and was constantly teased because he had the name of a "girl".
An aptitude for sport was undermined by a public nervousness that led him to shy away from team sports in the direction of private pursuits, especially fishing and climbing.
Soon enough, he reached the conclusion that he could make more reliable climbing equipment than was available in shops, and began manufacturing his own steel pitons in a second-hand, coal-fired furnace.
When friends began asking him to make their equipment and word spread to others, a business was born.
"I never wanted to be a businessman. That's my main problem, really," he explains. "I'm just kind of a craftsman. I love working with my hands and I can't help it. Everything I look at, I just think to myself, 'I can make that better'."
In 1968, Chouinard embarked on the journey that inspired the company, a six-month trip from California to the tip of South America, surfing at breaks that had never been surfed and climbing rock faces that had never been climbed.
Now 70, he still likes to ride waves, but the love of dangerous climbs has given way to another passion, fly fishing. "My favourite thing is to go off to Tahiti with my fly rod and my surfboard, and surf when the tide is just right in the channels and go fish for bone fish for the rest of the day," he says.
"I still like to climb, but I don't like to stick my neck out any more. I'm totally out of testosterone. Bankrupt!"
But that does not stop the climbing nightmares that have a recurring theme. "I had one last night. I'm always on a rotten rock, and everything I'm touching is just crashing down. I don't need to do that any more."
Chouinard says he has never had nightmares about surfing, simply because he has never had any close calls in the water.
"Climbing is a dangerous sport. I've had a lot of friends die. I've been in avalanches and friends dying next to me. Oh, Christ! That's what brings the nightmares. But surfing? Surfing's a safe sport, other than getting hit by your fin or something."
During 12 days in Victoria, Chouinard went on a surfing and sailing trip with one of the partners in Patagonia's Australian licence, the local surfing legend, pioneer and adventurer, Wayne Lynch.
The two met last year and the chemistry was immediate. Lynch says he admires Chouinard's integrity and his vision; Chouinard describes Lynch as a hero and an icon.
The Patagonia founder says his formula for success has not changed since it evolved on the walkabout almost two decades ago.
"We'd write down our values, and the number one value was to make the best product. We were coming from a company that had made the best climbing equipment and we wanted to do the same thing in clothing," he says. Nothing remarkable there.
The other values were more novel. The group wanted a company that struck the right balance between work and family and was determined to, at the very least, minimise the harm its activities did to the environment.
The biggest revelation was the need to apply the values that determined Chouinard's approach to climbing - and not go over the edge.
That meant a far more conservative fiscal strategy and bucking the conventional track for successful companies. It also meant opting for more modest growth and investing less than competitors in marketing.
As he explains: "Most businessmen want to grow their business as fast as they possibly can, and then at a certain point they go public and they sell a bunch of this worthless stock to a bunch of suckers at 40 times earnings or whatever."
It is an approach that, according to Chouinard, explains why so many big players have come a cropper in the past year.
"All of these public companies have just grown to the maximum for so many years that they've just hit the wall, and it's all been dependent on consumers just buying and discarding, buying and discarding.
"You know, your average product bought in a mall is discarded within 90 days, and we just can't keep going on like that. We need a different economy."
The new approach also resulted in a very flexible approach to working hours.
"A surfer knows that you go surfing when there is surf. You don't go next Tuesday at 2 o'clock. So people come and go and they work when they can and a lot of people work from home. As long as the job gets done, I don't care."
Finally, the approach necessitated a stronger commitment to sustainability, in the form of a commitment to devote 1 per cent of sales - or about $3 million a year - to environmental causes.
"We started this organisation called '1 per cent for the planet' and we now have about 1070 members in 30-odd countries, and each company makes out their own cheques to their own organisations," he says.
There is also a pledge to make all its products from recycled or recyclable fibres by 2010. "We're 80 per cent there," he says.
"We're constantly having to push the limits and then prove to other companies that what we have done is not so radical, that they can take small steps because we've taken big steps. That's the fun part.
"The message that Patagonia is trying to get across is that if you do the right thing for the environment, you'll be even more profitable. And if you don't, you're going to go down."
It is a message that has already struck a chord with the giant American retailer, Wal-Mart, which Chouinard describes as the 11th-biggest economy in the world.
The two companies are co-writing a manual on how to make sustainable clothing, a relationship he describes as "David and Goliath".
Wal-Mart, according to Chouinard, is now leading the way on sustainability. He says the company has made it plain to suppliers that it will not do business with those unwilling to embrace best environmental practice.
He is also encouraged by the approach Barack Obama has taken since becoming US President. "He's convinced that the old style of doing business is finished and, while I've been the biggest critic of government, this may be the start of something."
You'd think all of this would temper the ingrained pessimism of the man described as one of the leading climbers of the Golden Age of Yosemite climbing. Not so.
"I'm a doom bat," he insists. "But, you know what? I'm a happy doom bat. Because as long as I feel I'm part of the process of doing something, I'm not part of the problem. I'm part of the solution, and I feel fine about it."
Michael Gordon is The Age's Saturday editor.
http://www.watoday.com.au/small-business/entrepreneur/can-surfing-save-the-world-this-man-thinks-so-20090619-cr03.html
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