Saturday, August 20, 2011

End of the season wrap-up!

Lance explaining his unit.
Hi fellow Fort St. Joseph fans!

Our Open House last weekend was a huge success! We hope you were able to make it out to speak with the students, see the excavations and artifacts, interact with the historical interpreters, enjoy some lunch, and partake in all the other great events and activities. Here is a generous helping of snapshots from those two days:




Larry talking canoes and voyageur life.
Erica D., Theresa, Zach, and Brian demonstrate wet-screening. 




Public Scholar Tim Kent discusses the fur trade.
French Marine Ray engages the public.



























Devora and Xiaomeng at the children's craft tent.







Barbara explains a beaver pelt.








There are many more photos in our Picasa web album so be sure to follow the link on the bottom of the page to see more snapshots of the event.

Greg and Rachel ready for guests at our great artifact display!









As usual the peak of the Open House is followed by the sadness and relief of the end of the Fort St. Joseph field season. Monday through Wednesday were spent filling in the units, packing up the trailer, finishing paperwork, and heading back to Kalamazoo to organize the lab and say good-byes until next time. So, be sure to mark your calendars for August 11-12, 2012 for our Open House next year! In the meantime check back for occasional updates from the lab, and feel free to post comments or check out our facebook page to stay in touch.

Me with long-time Fort supporter and
gracious host/friend Barb Cook.
On a final note thank you to everyone in Niles and the surrounding areas of Michiana for all of your support and interest in the project this year; you make it possible to continue to discover life at Fort St. Joseph. Also, thank you to all of the students and staff of the field school this year--there were some tough, long days out there but everyone did a spectacular job, especially when it came to bringing everything together at the Open House. Thank you all again.

Until next time!
Kelley