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Versailles

Versailles today (you need a helicopter to see it all)
June 2, 2018
Versailles: Following many years at the Louvre in Paris, Louis XIV decided to move his palace from the Louvre in Paris to Versailles, a day’s ride (or walk) from the center of Paris. Originally a hunting lodge, Louis embarked on making it the grandest palace in history, a feat of many years, lives, and livres (old French currency). The move in 1682 gave the King and his Court more room, fresh air, freedom from crowds and of course a distance from the Parisian masses. This spectacular site of opulence remains one of the great tourist attractions of France. Read More 
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The Louvre, fortress or palace

The Louvre as seen today
May 26, 2018
The Louvre: Originally a fortress, the Louvre in Paris was converted to a palace in 1546. During the time of The Beaver Wars, it was the Palace of the King and it was here Louis IV first reigned, and here Pierre Boucher met with dignitaries during his time in Paris. It was not until 1682 that Louis moved his court to Versailles, we will discuss that another time. Image: The Louvre as a museum as seen today. Read More 
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Thanks to the St. Clair County Library Board

SCS Library
May 20, 2018
Many thanks to the Port Huron Library for inviting me to speak on my books. I was pleased and astounded at the audience. (I guess there wasn’t much else to do in Port Huron, ha, ha. I chose to speak on how I became an author, and maybe should have spent more time on the books. Following the talk, I was quite pleased by the degree of interest in the books and the number of attendees who had read one, some, or all of them.
I am back in town and plan to be back on the Beaver Wars next week. Read More 
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The Beaver Wars

Flag of Quebec
Why in the world would you leave France and go to Quebec in 1660? Great question. We all know about coming to America to avoid, overcrowding, religious persecution, hunger, disease, etc. But there was little of this in France. In fact, very few people ever came to The New World from France. The government was not interested in colonization, only fish and the fur trade and people to support those industries. Cartier had told the king about the Native Americans and he supposed if he sent French males, they would breed with the Indians and produce colonial Frenchmen. Unfortunately, the wilderness was more enticing than the towns and the men who did bond with the Indians frequently ran off to the woods. Read More 
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