Local Lewis and Clark scholar enjoys Canada

There she was on Page 7A of Le Soleil, the top French-Canadian newspaper in Quebec.

She wore a beret on her head and held up a copy of a Lewis and Clark manuscript for the photographer. The smile on her face said it all -- Jane Randol Jackson was having the time of her life.

Jackson, the director of the county archive center in Jackson, recently returned from a trip to Canada where she addressed Canadian historians about the influence that French Canadians had on the Lewis and Clark expedition.

In all, she made five speeches, along with a newspaper and radio interview. Most of her speaking was done in French.

"I never gave the same speech twice," Jackson said. "I'm glad I went. It was kind of scary before I did it. It was great."

Jackson, who was asked by Canadian government officials to come speak, was a French teacher in the Cape Girardeau school district for 20 years.