Celebrate the 250th Anniversary of the French and Indian War

Day-Long Celebration! French & Indian War 250th Anniversary
Commemoration, February 11th, Noon – 8 pm



CANTON – Native Americans, beaver pelts, French traders, and the
British Empire- find out what happens when you mix them altogether in
18th century North America! Join the St. Lawrence County Historical
Association and the Fort La Presentation Association in commemorating
the 250th Anniversary of the French & Indian War on February 11th,
Noon - 8 pm at the SLCHA, 3 East Main St., Canton. You’ll be amazed
at the historic events that occurred on, and predated the founding of,
the City of Ogdensburg!

The lineup for the 250th commemoration program on Thursday, February 11 is:

12 noon Exhibit opening- Battle for the St. Lawrence: The
French & Indian War

12 noon Bob Bearor presenting an overview of the French and Indian War

3 pm Jack Vargo presenting The Fur Trade and the French
& Indian War

5:30 pm French Folk Songs and Sacred Music of the 1750s

7 pm Jack Vargo presenting A Blast from the Past:
Remembering deLery’s Daring Raid on Fort Bull, March 1756

Bob Bearor from Keene, NY will speak at noon. Bearor is an
internationally known expert on French and Canadian partisan leaders
of the war. His fifth and newest book Leading By Example, Partisan
Fighters & Leaders of New France, 1660-1760: Volume Three has been
heralded as one of the most definitive works on the French & Indian
War. Bearor will give the big picture view of the war; including its
causes and how French forces in North America were able to stand up to
the overwhelming might of the British Empire for so many years.

In February 2006 Bearor, dressed in period clothing, walked along
major segments of the route used by French Captain Gaspard Joseph
Chaussegros deLery from Ft. La Presentation (Ogdensburg, NY) on a
historic winter raid against British forces at Ft. Bull (Rome, NY).
Bearor’s trek was done in subfreezing temperatures and included stops
along the route to speak at schools, historical associations, and
colleges. Bearor has been honored with the Nouvelle Croix de St.
Louis at a ceremony at Ft. Ticonderoga and was the first recipient of
this award on the North American Continent.

Jack Vargo from Croghan, NY will speak at 3 pm and 7 pm. Vargo will
explain during his 3 pm talk why the fur trade was so important to
both the French and English. He will also discuss how Native
Americans were involved with these European powers that were the Super
Powers of the 18th century. At 7 pm Vargo will give an exciting
presentation on Gaspard Joseph Chaussegros deLery’s daring winter raid
on Ft. Bull, and the tremendous damage visited upon British forces
from this risky attack during frigid weather.

Vargo is co-owner and head artisan for the Beaver River Trading
Company, a business started in 1995 to provide historically accurate
museum quality reproductions of 17th and 18th century colonial
artifacts for use at historic sites, museums and by re-enactors of the
colonial period. Some of Beaver River Trading Company’s reproductions
were used in the movies “Last of the Mohicans” and “Tecumseh” and an 8
hour PBS documentary on the “Lost Colony of Roanoke”. In addition to
operating a colonial blacksmith shop focused on the production of
knives, trade axes, and other metal trade material, Jack produces
items from brain tanned buckskin and uses Native American decorative
techniques, such as porcupine quill embroidery and loomed quillwork,
for other objects he produces. Jack and his wife Donna teach classes
on brain tan buckskin production, quill decoration and practical
blacksmithing, and have published 3 scholarly archeological papers
together.

The February 11th program is a lead up to the final signature event of
the NYS French and Indian War 250th Anniversary Commemoration
Commission to be held at Fort La Presentation’s Founder’s Day in
Ogdensburg the weekend of July 17-18, 2010. The Fort La Presentation
Association is working to build a replica of Fort La Presentation at
Light House Point in Ogdensburg.

During the day-long commemoration the new exhibition Battle for the
St. Lawrence: The French & Indian War will open, featuring military
artifacts from Fort La Presentation, Native trade goods, and a variety
of 18th century North American household objects. The exhibit is part
of Canton’s Winterfest Celebration and will be on display through
2010.

Refreshments will be served during the February 11th program. Join
the St. Lawrence County Historical Association and the Fort La
Presentation Association in commemorating the anniversary of this
truly historic conflict and the 1760 Battle of the Thousand Islands
which occurred at the site of the City of Ogdensburg.

Parking is available in back of the SLCHA, next to the main entrance
to the museum. For more information, call the SLCHA at 315-386-8133 or
e-mail info@slcha.org. This program is made possible with public
funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.
Visit the SLCHA’s website, www.slcha.org, for more information on St.
Lawrence County History. There is no cost for this program.