SLIPPERY ROCK — Getting children kids interested in history isn't always simple.

To accomplish this goal, French and Indian War 250 Inc., a company dedicated to promoting the history of the French and Indian War, had to ask for a little help. They found the perfect person in Slippery Rock.

David Dixon, American history professor at Slippery Rock University, has been knee deep in that time period for most of his career, which has lasted for 30 years. Dixon created a character that will help the company and elementary teachers involve students in the history of the war.

His character, Phineus Cobb, is a fictional newspaper reporter who has filed reports from the war that can be received as e-mails after registering at the Web site created by the company. The reports are written in the style of the time with some adaptation into a wide variety of reading levels.

While there were no embedded journalists in the time of the French and Indian War, Dixon used other articles from the time period and his knowledge of Colonial America to create Cobb's biography and war reports.

Cobb apprenticed at the Boston Newsletter, for example, one of the earliest newspapers in New England, according to Dixon. He was the youngest of several children, and according to the social rules of the 1700s, he had to choose an apprenticeship to eventually make a living. Only the oldest son inherited his father's land at that time, said Dixon."You have to indeed place yourself in the 18th century," to create characters like Cobb, he said.Though he's a college professor, keeping things simple for children wasn't hard for Dixon."I've always tried to stick to the great rule — keep it simple," he said.Dixon wrote eight articles related to Cobb's findings on the battlefields. He hopes his work will help spread the word on that period of history."Public school teachers need any resources we can help with," he said. "They can't develop them. They don't have the time."As for Dixon, his interest in the time period will continue, especially the part of the French and Indian War related to Western Pennsylvania. Places like the Fort Pitt Museum, Fort Ligonier and Fort Necessity have always fascinated him.Dixon also shared the focus of French and Indian War 250 Inc. as far as promoting Web sites, television shows and other programs related to that period in history.The company was formed at the 250th anniversary of the beginning of the war (2004). That anniversary commemoration continues through 2013 since the war lasted from 1754 to 1763.The company's Web site, www.frenchandindianwar250.org, features an interactive map, destination planner, special events calendar, suggested trip packages and more to aid in planning visits to historic sites.One of the television programs promoted by the company will begin airing next week. "The War That Made America" will air from 9 to 11 p.m. Wednesday and Jan. 25 on Channel 13. Many scenes from the program were filmed in Western Pennsylvania, according to Dixon."This area figured very prominently in the French and Indian War," Dixon said.For more information about the Embedded Journalist program and historic sites associated with the war, call 412-281-4783, Ext. 3135 or visit frenchandindianwar250.org.