5/15/2008

How lucky I am to work in a facility where I get to meet people from all over the world! It is amazing to me that these visitors not only take the time to visit Washburn, North Dakota, but also make Washburn a destination to visit! When you enter our building we have a place for our visitors to list their home town and I am in awe daily when I read this board and see the places that these visitors are from.

5/8/2008

Have you read any good books lately? If you haven’t come on in and check out the books available at the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center and at Fort Mandan. If you want to learn about the Lewis & Clark Expedition, we have best selection you can find anywhere.

5/1/2008

Friday, April 18, the Interpretive Center hosted its first ever “Middle Missouri History Bee.” Fourth grade teachers from around the area were invited to bring as many teams of four as they could and they competed for ribbons, prizes and even a traveling trophy. The event was co-sponsored by the American Legion, Victor B. Wallin Post #12 of Washburn.

4/24/2008

This column is being written from the North Dakota Tourism Conference in Bismarck, where Senator Byron Dorgan opened the event Monday morning with news that his bill to create a “National Heritage Area” here is moving forward in Congress.

4/17/2008

On Tuesday the 16th of April 1805, Sgt. John Ordway wrote, “a clear pleasant morning, we set off early as usual. Proceeded on, the wind gentle from S. E. The trees are putting out Green. The Grass begins to grow in the bottoms & plains which look beautiful. We sailed some with a Southerly wind. The river crooked so that we could not sail much of the time”.

4/10/2008

Next Friday, April 18, our Foundation will be hosting the first ever “Middle Missouri History Bee” at the Interpretive Center. Planned by Events Coordinator Laura Gardner and Interpretive Coordinator Kevin Kirkey, the Bee is for fourth grade students from our area.

4/3/2008

When you think of explorers of North Dakota, you immediately think of Lewis & Clark, the dynamic duo of exploration of the early 1800’s. Half of that duo was a brilliant man whose life was both interesting and a mystery.

3/27/2008

Oscar H. Will was born near Syracuse, New York on September 9, 1855. By the age of 15 he was employed by his older brother William, where he gained experience in the Fayetteville Nursery and by the age of 22 he was operating his own business.

3/20/2008

June 19 will mark the beginning of another anniversary year for our region. It was on that date, 175 years ago, that Prince Maximilian and Karl Bodmer arrived at Fort Clark on their Upper Missouri Expedition.

3/18/2008

The annual Fort Mandan Easter Egg Hunt, sponsored by the Washburn Convention & Visitors Bureau, is this Saturday, beginning at 2:00 p.m. According to CVB Director Laura Gardner, “hundreds of eggs will again be hidden on the grounds of Fort Mandan, waiting to be discovered by kids.”

3/13/2008

National Geographic recently published a story by Charles Bowden entitled “The Emptied Prairie” that caused a bit of an uproar. Many residents thought it portrayed our state in an unfavorable light. The governor, commerce commissioner and many others commented that the article was “off the mark”. While the feeling is mutual, I also agree with the comments by a huge promoter of our state, Clay Jenkinson, who said "This is yet another in a long, long series of dying town stories, and we all need to take a deep breath."

3/6/2008

Wendy Spencer has been named Vice President of the Lewis & Clark Fort Mandan Foundation, according to Foundation President David Borlaug. Spencer, who has been employed the past seven years at the Foundation, has been the Visitor Services Manager.

3/6/2008

Last Friday was a great day for the Foundation, with the dedication of Erickson Gallery at the Interpretive Center. Bismarck artist Vern Erickson recently donated five paintings to our Foundation, and we have created a gallery to display them on a permanent basis, giving us the opportunity showcase works by Vern on a rotating basis, along with other traveling displays from other artists.

2/28/2008

I am very much not a morning person. However, I really am starting to enjoy mornings a lot more, but not for reasons one may think. It is a little harder for me, than the average person, to get out of bed and moving for the day. Then to also have the challenge of it being so dark outside, makes me feel as though it is the middle of the night! I am definitely one of those people that needs the sunlight to wake up and get moving!

2/21/2008

I’m feeling a little like Lewis and Clark—off on an Expedition. My family and I are heading out to Washington DC next week. It will be a chance for us to experience some of the unknown as the men sent by President Jefferson experienced on their quest.

2/14/2008

For three weeks in January, the Interpretive Center and Fort Mandan offered free admission to its facilities. More than 750 people took us up on the offer, and they were among the last folks to have the opportunity to see the exhibit “An American Family: The William Clark Family Collection” before it closed.

2/7/2008

Many of us like to venture out to historic sites to see and hear information that you may not have heard before, something new to share with others. You want to learn everything about everyone that is related to the site.

1/31/2008

There I stood in the comfort of my bathroom, preparing for Drill, sporting my ACU’s (Army Combat Uniform) complete with tan steel-toed boots. As I placed the last rubber band around my tightly tucked bun I couldn’t help but think about how much the Army has changed since Lewis & Clark’s time.

1/24/2008

Walking into a crowded reception, Agnes Sheldon Griffin would likely be the last person you would notice. She would be the one stepping back from the center of the room, taking in the scene with a shyness that you would later find surprising—because, after all, the reception was to honor her.

1/17/2008

I read an article this past weekend about an argument over the claim to “Ice Box of the Nation”. Fraser, CO and International Falls, MN are suing each other over use of the dubious motto. It was reported that an attempt was made to settle the situation with a duel, but one contestant wanted a snowball fight and the other a snowshoeing contest.

1/10/2008

As I began to think about writing this column my mind began to turn to many different topics. I just could not come up with one idea. So I have decided to do some rambling on many topics, and I hope they will be of interest to our readers. Have you seen the movie “Field of Dreams” staring Kevin Costner? And do remember the line from the film, “If you build it they will come?”

1/10/2008

Joe Hauer, Bismarck, Chairman of the Board of United Printing and Mailing was recently elected to the Lewis & Clark Fort Mandan Foundation Board of Directors. Hauer also serves on the board of directors of American Bank Center of Bismarck and its parent corporation, American Bancor and is a University of Mary Trustee.

1/10/2008

The Lewis & Clark Fort Mandan Foundation at Washburn is offering free admission through January 27 at both the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center and Fort Mandan. Both are located just west of Washburn.

1/3/2008

This past Sunday I had the privilege of meeting a wonderful woman that traveled all the way from Chicago, Illinois to come and visit our American Family Exhibit before it’s closing mid January. As I visited with her, she had told me of her interest with Lewis and Clark and that it started during the Bicentennial.

12/27/2007

• Meriwether Lewis • William Clark • Sacagawea • Prince Maximilian • Karl Bodmer • Chief Four Bears • Yellow Feather • Two Ravens • Art and Grace Link • Oscar Will • Clay Jenkinson • The North Dakota Farmer Quite a list, isn’t it? It’s just a sampling of the cast of characters driving the future direction of the Lewis & Clark Fort Mandan Foundation.

12/20/2007

Most of us are caught up in the holiday season, readying ourselves for Christmas and the New Year. There is another season on the horizon, election season. Media coverage of the candidates is a daily occurrence. Campaigners are busy lining up support, making public appearances and debating issues with fellow candidates.

12/13/2007

Those of you who have been to my house recognize that I am a Christmas fanatic. I have a holiday tree I keep up all year which I decorate for every holiday, birthday, celebration, etc. I keep my Christmas village out throughout the year and change the trees for the different seasons. It is fun when someone new comes into our home in June and looks in wonder at what they may consider Christmas decorations at such an odd time of year.

12/6/2007

This past week David and I had the opportunity to travel to Omaha, Nebraska for a visit to the Joslyn Art Museum. It took nine and a half hours to drive. The weather was very cooperative and the time went by quickly. As we were driving, I did actually think to myself that I was so glad to be traveling this stretch by car rather than on foot or by horseback. I wasn’t going to have to set up camp somewhere for the night under the stars in the cold! I guess those thoughts popped into my head because of the reason I was on the road trip to begin with. Next year we will be celebrating the 175th anniversary of the Maximilian-Bodmer Expedition in North Dakota.

11/29/2007

February 11, 1805 life at Fort Mandan was forever changed as Sakakawea, her husband, Toussaint Charbonneau , and the members of the Corp of Discovery welcomed little Jean Baptiste, or as most know him, Baby Pomp. 202 years later on September 10, 2007 life at the Gardner house was changed as we welcomed the birth of our daughter, Aubrey. I often wonder and am in awe of how in the world Sakakawea did it.

11/22/2007

Thanksgiving wasn’t a national holiday in 1804 when the Lewis & Clark Expedition members were nearly finished with their construction of Fort Mandan. Although Congress proclaimed an official Day of Thanksgiving for November 28, 1782, the day did not become recognized nationally as an official federal holiday until President Lincoln proclaimed it so in 1863. And then came Macy’s and the rest is truly history.

11/15/2007

Today I had the opportunity to sit in on orientation and training for new interpreters. We have a bumper crop of fresh new faces, eager to learn more about the history of our area and share it with others. Their enthusiasm is contagious and it reminds me of when I started working here three years ago. Not being a native of Washburn, I had never really paid much attention to things that happened around here in the past 200 years. When I started reading about Lewis & Clark , Sacagawea and the Indian peoples who lived along the Missouri River, I was fascinated and couldn’t get enough of it!

11/8/2007

Did your parents ever tell you that it is not very polite to point? I don’t think the parents of Lewis and Clark and also Sakakawea ever discussed it with them. The actual definition of pointing is the act of designating as a position or direction of some sort. But as interpreters for the Interpretive Center and Fort Mandan, we feel almost like the pictures of Lewis and Clark and Sakakawea sometimes. Whether we’re pointing to our exhibits or to the restrooms, we’re often in that position.

11/1/2007

In late October of 1804, the men of the Corps of Discovery approached the villages of the Mandan and Hidatsa. Winter was near and the Missouri would soon freeze; they discharged their French boatmen and searched for an appropriate place for their winter quarters in the neighborhood of these friendly tribes.

10/25/2007

Last night our Foundation had its 10th annual meeting, with a dinner attended by nearly 300 in Bismarck. It was a fantastic event, with displays of Karl Bodmer, Michael Haynes and artifacts from Fort Mandan and an inspiring presentation by Clay Jenkinson.

10/19/2007

Upon reaching the Mandan Villages on the 14th of August 1806, (Clark) wrote, “ we were opposite the Minetares Grand Village, we saw a number of the Natives viewing us, we directed the Blunderbusses fired several times.” The Expedition was at last back among their friends the Mandan and Hidatsa. It was here that one of the men. John Colter expressed a desire to join some trappers and return upstream. (Clark) Aug.15th “ we gave to Jo Colter some small articles which we did not want and some powder and lead.”

10/12/2007

Change: “to make different or to replace with another”. How lucky we are to experience the personal growth that comes from change. During my employment with the Lewis & Clark Fort Mandan Foundation over the past eight years, I have been in awe of the growth that has occurred in our employees that have been with us through the many changes we have encountered.

10/5/2007

As I was preparing to write this article, a list was running through my mind. That list was of important events in the past year that need to be added to the scrapbook before 2008 rolls around. Milestone birthdays, births, weddings, trips, and lazy days with the nephews all need to be organized so we can look back and remember the “little” things when the boys are 25 and I am 50. I have often wondered if Meriwether Lewis was conscious ...

10/1/2007

Laura Gardner of Washburn has been named Events Coordinator for the Lewis & Clark Fort Mandan Foundation, according to Foundation President David Borlaug. Gardner, who previously was an interpreter for the Foundation,....

9/28/2007

The 23rd of September this year marked the fall equinox and the first official day of autumn. This past Sunday was also the 201st anniversary of the return of the Lewis & Clark Expedition to St. Louis. Throughout history, this time of the year has been cause for celebration.

9/21/2007

As we grow older in this world, the more we leave behind like memories, legacies and a part of our former selves. I believe it was A. Sachs who once said, “Death is more universal than life; everyone dies but not everyone lives.”

9/13/2007

For the past 10 years, I’ve been trying to convince my husband that we should move to the country. And although he has presented every conceivable argument against it, and some very good ones, I might add – my persistence has finally paid off. (I may have just been lucky enough to catch him in a rare weak moment!)

9/6/2007

Is anyone else shocked by the fact that it is September, and that 2007 is nearly over? It seems as though yesterday was Christmas, but we’ve already passed Labor Day! Time always seems to go so much faster when you have something to look forward to, but it also makes it difficult to plan all the details. 2007 has been a very busy year, and it’s no wonder that it has just slipped past. It really is the little details that help make an event, and they are what help to tell the story behind anything.

8/29/2007

It is time for sweet corn again. I don’t know about you but I can’t pass by a farmers market without stopping and buying a dozen ears of that special corn. In fact this year I have already gone through at least two dozen of them.

8/23/2007

I’ve been on a “sentimental journey” of sorts the past few weekends, driving the countryside watching for the dust of combines lumbering their way through fields of wheat, with my camera on the seat next to me. I’ve been working with the McLean Growth Coalition on both tourism and economic development brochures, helping out by taking photographs, including some showcasing agriculture in our area. You may have noticed that I shared some of those photos with Editor Cory Neumiller last week, and they appeared on the front page.

8/15/2007

I spent last Friday afternoon at the North Dakota Heritage Center and had the pleasure to attend a program presented by Jim Dow. Dow has been traveling to North Dakota from Boston for 30 years and photographing the “human presence upon the land”. His book, Marking the Land, is a tribute to the landscape of North Dakota and contains photos of folk art such as murals, carvings, sculpture and many more symbolic expressions that have been added to the scenery along our highways and dirt roads.

8/9/2007

Just inside the doors of the Interpretive Center is a board for visitors to write down their hometowns. On any given day, when I walk past the board, it’s not unusual to note that we’ve had visitors from several different states, and often from foreign countries as well. Today, August 6th for example, visitors have signed in from Michigan, California, Manitoba, Missouri, Mississippi, Connecticut, Minnesota, Washington, Wisconsin, Montana, Kentucky, Delaware and London, England, UK. Of course, these are in addition to several from North Dakota, including the towns of Harvey, Anamoose, Jamestown, Carrington and Bismarck. And it’s only 2 o’clock! It just blows my mind to think that people from 15 different states and countries have been in this building today!

8/2/2007

I cannot believe that it has already been a year since we opened our exhibit, An American Family: The William Clark Family Collection at the Interpretive Center. It seems like just yesterday we were planning the exhibit- what it was going to look like, what kinds of artifacts were going to be in it, and what the exhibit was going to represent. They were big decisions that we needed to make to help ensure that the story William Clark and his family was told in the best way possible. This exhibit may just seem like a little family thing, but when you get right down to it, those little things often have the biggest impact.

7/27/2007

Clay Jenkinson, humanities scholar, author and presenter, has been named to the Board of Directors of the Lewis & Clark Fort Mandan Foundation, according to Board Chairman Al Christianson, Washburn.