Past comes alive in program coming to Troy

The past will come alive this coming Tuesday in Troy through an evening of “Living History” with author Jack Nisbet and historian/entertainer Richard Baker.

The event is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., on Tuesday, March 9 in the Troy High School auditorium. There is no admission charge but the Troy Fine Arts Council hopes to draw donations to help support future community events.

Nisbet, a teacher, naturalist and writer, will present “The Mapmakers Eye: Tracking David Thompson Across the Rocky Mountians” and Baker, who is a master fiddler, will present “An evening with Pierre Cruzatte’s Ghost.”

Nisbet, who works out of Spokane, Wash., is the author of “Purple Flat Top: Singing Grass, Burning Sage,” “Visible Bones” and two books about Thompson – “Sources of the River” and “The Mapmakers Eye.” He has also appeared in the documentary films, “Shadows of David Thompson” and “The Uncharted Territory,” which have both been aired on public television stations.

Nisbet’s evening talk in Troy will focus on Thompson’s interactions with the Kootenai tribe between 1800 and 1812  as well as the plants, birds and animals he saw around Kootenai Falls.

Baker, from Great Falls, is the author of three books and has delivered many presentations in schools, libraries, historical centers and museums across the Northwest. He has portrayed Cruzatte, in character, at the Lewis and Clark Festival in Great Falls since 1991. He is also a master fiddler player and has won the Tucson Fiddlers contest three time and appeared as a television guest of David Letterman.

Cruzatte was a French-born boats man and fiddler on the Lewis and Clark expedition. In this presentation, his spirit, believing it is July 14, 1805, comes alive on stage with yarns of the expedition and fiddle tunes of the era. The show draws the audience directly into the experience of the exploration, making them feel they are actually sitting in a camp, listening to Cruzatte in person.

Both historians will also be involved with classroom workshops in both Troy schools during the school day as well as working with after-school students.

The event is made possible through the support of  Humanities Montana, the Montana Cultural Trust, the National Endowment for the Humanities’ “We the People” funding, the Troy Fine Arts Council, Troy Schools and the New Horizons Learning Center.

The Humanities Montana Speakers Bureau’s offers 70 speakers and more than 100 presentations on Montana history and literature, Native American affairs, Lewis and Clark, public issues and other topics to interested schools and organizations across the state.

For more information on the event, call Ralph Stever at 295-3016.