The Museum of Work & Culture will host the fourth installment of its free Valley Talks series this Sunday, February 21, at 1:30pm.
Writer and historical reenactor Paul Bourget will examine the Sentinelle Affair, the local underground movement to preserve French Canadian culture that led to the excommunication of 61 congregants. The Movement Sentinelliste, one of the most divisive periods in Woonsocket’s history, caused battle lines to be drawn among French-Canadians in St. Ann’s Parish and throughout New England. Bourget will discuss the roots of the movement, its impact on the city, and the long-term ramifications of the members’ actions.
Paul Bourget is the owner and president of Bourget & Associates, with more than forty years of public accounting, asset-based (ABL) field examination, and consulting experience. He was the editor, researcher, and co-writer of Towers of Faith and Family, a history of Woonsocket’s St. Ann’s parish, and was the founding president of St. Ann Arts and Cultural Center. He currently serves as the President of the Museum of Work & Culture’s Preservation Foundation, Treasurer of the Stadium Theatre Preservation Foundation, and a member of the Woonsocket School Committee. Bourget is also an experienced historical reenactor, portraying Brigadier General George Sears Greene, a native Rhode Islander and forgotten hero of Gettysburg.
The final Valley Talk will be:
March 6: Baseball historian Greg Rubano presents on his upcoming book, In the Shadow of Ty Cobb: The Life & Times of Napoleon Lajoie, recounting the meteoric rise of Woonsocket native Nap Lajoie from mill worker to Hall of Famer.
