October 2004, Volume 4, Issue 10
CONGRESS PASSES LEWIS AND CLARK LEGISLATION
U.S. Rep. Brian Baird and Senator Maria Cantwell have announced that Congress passed the Lewis and Clark National Park Designation Act of 2004. This legislation will re-designate 560 acres in Washington and Oregon as the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, making these sites a part of the National Park System. The acreage includes the Fort Clatsop National Memorial in Oregon, and the Megler Safety Rest Area (Clark's Dismal Nitch), Station Camp, and a portion of Cape Disappointment State Park in Washington.
"Lewis and Clark's journey is a triumph of human ingenuity and courage against the vastness of nature," said Rep. Baird. "We are very proud of Washington state's part in this historic event and pleased that the park will be ready in time for the bicentennial next November. Visitors to the park will provide a much needed economic boost to our region, and we look forward to showing them the beauty of our state."
"Lewis and Clark's expedition to explore and chart the western frontier has enormous significance in American history, particularly to those of us in the Pacific Northwest where the Corps of Discovery reached the Pacific Ocean almost 200 years ago," Senator Cantwell said.
Baird continued, "I'd like to thank Senator Cantwell for her tireless efforts on behalf of this legislation. Her hard work has been invaluable in ensuring its swift passage."
Prior to the introduction of legislation, Rep. Baird worked to build coalitions among community leaders, state, and federal officials in support of the Lewis and Clark National Park. Along with Rep. David Wu (D-OR), he introduced H.R. 3819 the House version of the legislation on February 24, 2004, and Senator Cantwell introduced S. 2167, its companion legislation in the Senate soon after. The legislation received strong support from all members of the Washington and Oregon delegation, as well as the Department of the Interior.
Cantwell added, "I want to thank Congressman Baird for his leadership on this issue in the House. These federal and state lands will help tell the story of the explorers for future generations, and I urge the President to sign the bill soon so that we can prepare for next year's bicentennial."
TOURISM LOOKS TO PUBLICIZE LEWIS AND CLARK EVENTS STATEWIDE
CTED's Tourism Office has created a Master Calendar to feature all Lewis and Clark Trail events and new attractions that will be added to the tourism consumer website. The master calendar will also be a resource for other state agencies or local communities to know what is happening along the Lewis and Clark Trail in 2005/06.
To see if your new attraction or event is listed go to www.experiencewashington.com/industry and click on the "Lewis and Clark Master Attractions/Events Calendar".
They continue to need details about events already listed so let them know as soon as you have more information.
Send your information in a WORD format to: Betsy Gabel (betsyg@cted.wa.gov) or provide us with a web link that we can add to the calendar listing. Or you can call Betsy at360-725-4180
LEWIS AND CLARK TRAIL INTERPRETIVE WAYSIDES PROJECT STATUS REPORT
Installations in the last few weeks included the kiosks at Columbia Hills State Park (formerly Horsethief), Lewis and Clark Trail State Park near Dayton, and Chief Timothy Park on the outskirts of Clarkston.
This week all remaining panel posts are being installed (with the exception of Sacajawea State Park and Madam Dorion.
For Sacajawea State Park, the park is still awaiting the cultural resources clearances needed for installation of the kiosk. Madame Dorion park (near Wallula) is undergoing some construction near where the panel is proposed to be installed.
At the close out of this project there will be 7 kiosks installed along the trail (with 4 panels each) and 1 waiting to be installed as soon as possible (by State Parks) at Sacajawea. Plus 2 additional kiosk panels at an existing kiosk at Maryhill State Park (nine kiosk locations total). There will also be 72 individual panels installed at 60 separate locations along the trail in Washington (including partnership projects) and 1 panel waiting to be installed by the site owner/manager (Madame Dorion). Certainly the most comprehensive outdoor interpretive project along the entire national Lewis and Clark Trail!
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE ANNOUNCES 2005 CHALLENGE COST SHARE PROGRAM FOR THE LEWIS AND CLARK TRAIL
The National Park Service announces the 2005 Challenge Cost Share program for the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, pending enactment of Congressional appropriations for the US Department of Interior. The program will distribute matching funds to non-federal organizations for projects that educate the public about the Lewis and Clark story and preserve the resources of the National Historic Trail, including projects that commemorate the bicentennial of the historic expedition.
"This year we are looking for projects that will provide a lasting legacy of education and interpretation on the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail for many years following the bicentennial" said Trail Manager Richard Williams. "However, we also expect a number of organizations will apply for funds to assist in production of bicentennial events and activities in 2005 and 2006" Williams said.
Local communities, states and non profit organizations are encouraged to apply for the Lewis and Clark Challenge Cost Share funds. Application packets and more information may be obtained at the Internet Web site www.nps.gov/lecl or from Challenge Cost Share Program Coordinator Midori Raymore, 402-661-1826, toll free 888-237-3252, or midori_raymore@nps.gov.
On-line applications must be submitted by January 14, 2005.
The Challenge Cost Share Program for the National Park Service was first authorized by Congress in 1995. Each year Congress appropriates funds for this program for use on National Scenic and Historic Trails, including the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail.
The National Park Service is sponsoring grant-writing workshops on Monday, November 8, 9am- 12pm, at the Howard House in Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, Vancouver, Washington, and Wednesday, November 3, 9am- 1pm, at the United Way Building at 401 North Young St., Kennewick, Washington (509-783-4102 for directions). These workshops will provide an opportunity for applicants to review the elements of a well-written and organized proposal including project criteria. Also covered will be Program changes and requirements for funded projects. Please contact Arlene Johnson at 360-906-7119 or Midori Raymore at 888-237-3252 x 1826 for more information about the workshop.
LEWIS AND CLARK EXHIBIT FOR SALE
John Langellier, who works for the National Archives at the Reagan Presidential Library in California, has put together an exhibit on Lewis and Clark. The exhibit comes to an end in October, and includes mannequins dressed in historically accurate clothing, including military uniforms for Meriwether Lewis and a private soldier. The exhibit includes a nearly full-size keelboat replica, the front gates of Fort Mandan and Fort Clatsop, a scene with President Jefferson and Lewis discussing the expedition in Washington, and would be especially good for educational programming with school-age children. The asking price is $10,000 for the entire exhibit. You can contact John directly at john.langellier@nara.gov
He would be glad to send you some images of the exhibit and further information.
WEBSITE OF THE MONTH
By Sharon Hultman, WSHS Digital Projects Manager
TRAILBLAZERS: LEWIS AND CLARK WERE NOT ALONE
Mike Trinklein, whose first website, Oregon-trail.com was listed by Forbes Magazine as one of the top ten history sites on the Internet, has entered into Lewis and Clark territory with Trailblazers. Trinklein's company, Boettcher/Trinklein, has produced several documentaries for PBS including "The Gold Rush," "The Oregon Trail," and the soon to be completed "Trailblazers," based on material from the website. .
The "Trailblazer" website is esthetically and technically excellent, but the colloquial tone of the content is what makes it particularly special. The author has a very modern, less-than-reverent view of history that delights in deflating the myths and focusing on the bumbles and mistakes that contributed as much to the expedition as the maps the explorers took with them. The whole site reads like a lecture from the coolest history teacher you could ever have.
Although the site's title does feature Lewis and Clark, the captains and Corps are not the primary focus of the site. It also examines the contributions of other explorers coming to the Northwest both before and after the Corps of Discovery.
The "By Ship?" page examines the frustration of the early explorers who kept bumping into the Americas on their way to Asia, and the unsuccessful attempts to find a water route through North America. The Mackenzie section chronicles the intrepid explorer's shock at finding himself at the wrong ocean. The Lewis and Clark segment indicates that Mackenzie's efforts were a major incentive for Jefferson to launch an American expedition, but again the hope of a Northwest Passage was entirely baseless.
Trinklein also tells of John Jacob Astor's plan to dominate the fur trade, sending his men overland and the supply ship by sea. The mishaps of both men and ship are detailed, as is the decision of Astor to keep the overland route a trade secret, thus making it necessary for others to "rediscover" it at a later date. A section called "Fur Traders" covers the story of those men who made it to the west before Astor conceived of his scheme.
The final explorer covered is John Fremont, and this page opens with "John Fremont married well. His wife was the daughter of Senator Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri." It goes on to poke a few holes in Fremont's account of his feats during his first expedition, comparing it to the accounts of the men who accompanied him. The site suggests that the record of first expedition, a highly popular adventure tale, may have actually been written by been written by his wife, Jesse Benton Fremont, and that it may have had much to do with igniting the massive westward migration that following short thereafter.
While acknowledging the very real contributions made to scientific knowledge by all these brave men, it humanizes them wonderfully by showing us their shortcomings, their uncertainties, and their sometimes not-so-altruistic ambitions. The overall effect is to paint these individuals as very real human beings, with characteristics not unlike the rest of us, and to help us better understand just how very arduous the journeys truly were.
EVENTS LISTING
We are now listing bicentennial events and promotions in a large, searchable database, with several different search criteria, freeing up space in the electronic newsletter for more news-related items. If you would like to have an event or promotion listed in this new database, please direct all information to Mark Vessey at mvessey@wshs.wa.gov and he will post the listing.
To access this new feature, visit our website at www.washingtonhistory.org/lewisandclark and click the Bicentennial Events Calendar Database at the top of the page —or click on the link below.
PLEASE LOOK for additional information and updates on Bicentennial planning activities and projects in next month's e-newsletter.
ALSO - if you have articles or news-worthy information that you would like to contribute to this e-newsletter or to Washington's quarterly bicentennial newsletter, please contact Mark Vessey at 360.586.0219 or mvessey@wshs.wa.gov.
The Washington State Historical Society, lead agency of the state's Agency Assistance Team (AAT) for bicentennial planning, will send this newsletter via e-mail on a monthly basis to provide updates on events, projects, and activities going on around the state in preparation for the commemoration.
Your name is in the state's Lewis and Clark Trail database as someone who has expressed interest in the bicentennial. If you do not want to continue to receive this newsletter and/or other bicentennial communications, reply to this e-mail or contact Mark Vessey at the Heritage Resource Center 360.586.0219.