My Adventures at the SHA

Hi everyone,

This is Cameron getting back to you all on some of my recent happenings with the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project. A month ago, a few of us from the Project (past and present) took a trip to Boston to attend the Society for Historical Archaeology’s conference (the SHA). This conference is what Dr. Nassaney calls “The granddaddy of all the historical archaeology conferences,” and it would be my first archaeological conference. Better yet, I would be presenting a poster about public archaeology during the 2019 field season at Fort St. Joseph. So, you could say that I had waited in anticipation for this trip for months. 

During the beginning of last field season Dr. Nassaney had suggested that I should organize some students to make a poster for the SHA. I proposed that it could be about public archaeology, given that I have learned a lot from and enjoyed that facet of the Project. After I had put my initial idea out there, I organized a group of us to work on the poster, which included Raegan, Erika, Alex, Dr. Nassaney, and Hannah. So, throughout the rest of last year we worked on the poster, prepping it for the conference. 

The poster we produced for the conference. Design courtesy of Cori Ivans. 

Getting to the conference was an adventure in itself. Alex and I carpooled to Erie Pennsylvania in a rental car to stay the night at Evan’s apartment. Evan had spent the last semester at Mercyhurst as a graduate student under the tutelage of Dr. Malischke, so he hooked us up with a ride from Erie to Boston in a large van with four other people. We really hit it gold on our ride there, as we had a spacious van to relax in as we traveled through the rest of Pennsylvania, the entire length of New York, and into Massachusetts. 

Once we arrived at our hotel in Boston, we crammed six of us into a double, which included Evan, Alex, Raegan, and two other students from Mercyhurst. Let’s just say that we were all living in close quarters for the next five days. But this wasn’t too bad. All of the best memories are made with a slight tinge of adversity. And besides, most of our time was spent meandering about the hotel and the city. 

All of this transpired between Monday morning and Tuesday night. But, once I had my early rise on Wednesday, the conference had finally begun, and I was ready to have at it. I spent my first day going from to presentation to presentation, listening to a variety of archaeologists discuss their research. This is what the majority of the conference consisted of, along with networking with other archaeologists. Which combined with all the late-night revelry, could easily lead me to burn out too quickly. I had to remind myself that I should treat my time like a marathon not a sprint, I had the entire week to meet new people. 

            By the time Thursday night came around somehow a group of us managed to sneak our way into a party thrown by the University of Massachusetts Anthropology department. You could say we were unofficially invited, but we didn’t know anybody there. So yeah, technically we crashed their party. This kind of carousing around while attending presentations and networking, continued on throughout the entire conference, and when Friday rolled up, I had burned out. I just didn’t have the will to pace myself knowing that I could be missing out on the next potential adventure. So, with my presentation coming up on Saturday, I knew that I would have to get up early since it was scheduled in the morning. A commonsense approach to time management would obviously imply that I should go to bed early, but this wasn’t the case. 

With a bit of caffeine, I woke up feeling invincible and ready to take on my first presentation. Fortunately for me, despite my depletion the presentation went well. People were interested in the poster, and honestly it was much more of a relaxed setting than I had anticipated. People would stop by to check out our poster and ask questions. It was a good opportunity to show people what I have done for the past two years at FSJ, and how the Project conducts public archaeology with the Niles community. Afterwards Alex and I celebrated by having some oysters for lunch. But once again my exultant mood from my recent success started to wane, and the effects of the conference began to hit me. I tend to get despondent when I am feeling depleted, so despite my fear of missing out I had to get some rest if I wanted to enjoy the rest of my stay. 

Raegan and I the morning of our presentation. Photo by Erika Hartley. 

            With my final hours of the conference at hand, I had managed to utilize the most of my time to meet more professionals. This was one of my most important goals I had in my mind. Initially when I first arrived, I thought it would be best to playthings safe and act formal. But, after a few days immersed in the conference atmosphere, I realized that I had to lighten up a little or else people would think I was a rookie. Not that I wasn’t honest about my status as a burgeoning archaeologist and a first-time attendee, I just didn’t want to seem too green. This worked in my favor as I accomplished my goal, as I had met potential employers and professionals whose work interests me. And with the conference coming to a close I spent my final hours enjoying my time with friends over some Italian cuisine, and drinks at the hotel bar. 

Fort St. Joseph members past and present reunite during the SHA. Photo by Amber Neeley.

            Overall attending the SHA was a rewarding experience that I plan on repeating in the future. I made some good memories and good connections. Leaving the conference was a hassle given that six other people were packing at the last-minute on about three or four hours of sleep. We still managed to get by without harming one another. It was an eight-and-a-half-hour ride from Boston back to Erie, and another five for Alex and I to drive back to Michigan. It was a quiet ride back, but we all survived the SHA. And reflecting back on it all, I realized that my adventures with these people aren’t over, as we are all working towards our future as archaeologists. 

Until next time,

Cam

Mary Ellen's Fort St. Joseph Story

Hi everyone,

My name is Mary Ellen and I am an FSJ addict. I was asked to share the story of how that came to be. Over the years, I have had privilege to be part of the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project in many different ways—as a summer camper, volunteer on the site, member of the Advisory Committee, cook, etc. But the interest and commitment to FSJ began long before there was an archaeological project, and, I am not the only member of my family to be involved. So, how did it happen?  (If you were ever my pit partner, you have heard all of this so can just skip to the end?)

Mary Ellen's niece Abby was a summer camp participant in 2002. Photo by Mary Ellen.

For as long as I can remember, my mother would frequently drive past the giant Fort St. Joseph boulder at the intersection of Bond and Fort Street in Niles. She would tell us all about the day her third grade class had walked there in 1933, and the teacher would say “someday they are going to find the fort”. But it wasn’t just my sisters and I that she would tell this story to. In later years, she would find a way to drive by the boulder when she took her grandchildren or great-grandchildren to preschool or to McDonald’s for lunch. Obviously, finding the fort and keeping its history alive has been her passion, and she has made it ours too.  

The 2015 Appreciation Award stands as a recognition to the commitment of the Drolet family to the history and legacy of Fort St. Joseph. Photo by Mary Ellen. 

She would also tell us about how the Fort St. Joseph boulder had been dedicated in 1913. Moving the 7-ton boulder, which is nearly 11 feet in diameter, from a farm about a mile away to its current location, was a project of the Women’s Progressive League. When the project proved more expensive than expected, the school children in Niles had collected nickels to complete the project. The point being that preserving the fort’s history has always been a grass roots and community-based effort.

            Mom’s walk to the site was 20 years later. But it was another 65 years before, as a result of another community lead effort, archeologists from Western Michigan University came to Niles in 1998 and found credible evidence that the location of the boulder was very close to the actual site of the fort.

  

            From the 1930s to the present, the City has hired consultants to recommend ways to promote the local economy—and every report has included “build on the unique history of Fort St. Joseph”. And throughout that time, there have been many efforts to “find the Fort” and build a replica.  For years, whenever the City was considering a proposal involving the fort or development in the area, we would spend an afternoon delivering her letters to members of the City Council expressing her support.

In the late 1970’s, when the City hired Dr. Joseph Peyser to translate French historical documents to help locate the site, my Dad was a member of the City Council. He encouraged my Mom to enroll in Dr. Peyser’s class on Fort St. Joseph at IUSB.  Not surprisingly, for months conversation at home was dominated by what she had learned in that class.

In 1991, Mom was particularly chagrined that the 300^th anniversary of the Fort had passed without a celebration, and although there were many people interested in the fort, they were not working together and there was no common vision.  So, there was another day of hand-delivering invitations to anyone who had expressed interest in a meeting at the lower level of the Mini Mall.  The outcome of that meeting was an agreement to form Support the Fort, Inc., a non-profit organization, with the mission of preserving the history of Fort St. Joseph, and eventually constructing and operating a reconstruction. Support the Fort has raised money, put on reenactments, educated local groups, and worked with schools to increase the visibility and importance of our local history.

Mary Ellen with her mother, cousin, and nephew at a rendezvous in the late 90's. 

            By 1998, Support the Fort had gained community support and had raised enough money to finance limited exploration.  In October 1998, Professor Michael Nassaney from WMU’s anthropology department, with the help of student volunteers and some of our local Support the Fort members, explored the site and found enough artifacts and other evidence to believe that the actual fort site had been found.  

            Since that time, public archaeology has offered so many opportunities to be involved. And as the project continues, these opportunities keep expanding!   

           
            It’s in the DNA!

                                     
Best,

Mary Ellen Drolet

A Summer Camp Experience Recounted by Jamie Bennett

Hi everyone, this is Jamie Bennett from the Fort St. Joseph Advisory Committee!

A little over a year ago, the City of Niles announced it had openings for several committee positions available.  Since I have a love of history and felt like I had too much free time, I applied to join the Fort St. Joseph Archeological Committee.  In January of 2019, the city approved adding me to the committee, and I was excited to be involved with Fort St. Joseph Archeology!!  

At one of our spring meetings, Dr Nassaney invited the committee members to join the summer camp. While Dr Nassaney gave an amazing account of the activities to the committee, it is a completely different experience being there yourself.  My older son had attended the camp and enjoyed it. So I decided, yes, I’m in!! But due to a scheduling conflict with work, I signed up for the 2nd week with high schoolers from July 22nd until July 26th.  

Before the camp began we were given a packing list of items to bring, and were informed that we would meet at the Niles History Center for the first day of camp. There, we were introduced to our instructor for the week, Tim Bober. The camps are broken down into two parts: We would meet in the morning at the Niles District Library at 9 AM for a lecture and classroom work. In the afternoon, the campers ride over to the site for lunch with the college students and archaeology team. After lunch, campers work with their own camper excavation units!   

Tim Bober is currently a college professor of archeology at WMU. He passed out binders with reference materials about general archeology, nomenclature, and history related to Fort St. Joseph in Niles. The materials were extra reading and unassigned, which I find is the best. Honestly, I was exhausted everyday after camp. I asked Tim if he uses the same lectures each year, which he replied he does. Tim was very animated and engaging during the lectures. He definitely has a passion for the materials he presents. He was also a great source of information for those interested in pursuing archeology as a non-academic career.

While we didn’t work with the WMU students, we did tour their units every day after lunch. The students provided details about their units, such as features and artifacts of interest. This year, the project had done something new. We had decided to take a look underneath the 20th century landfill. It was a bit surreal to be standing on piles of garbage and looking down into their units. The WMU students worked inside these trenches surrounded by mounds of modern day waste.  

Afterwards, we headed down to the camper units where we would work in pairs. The site had three camper units. Each unit had its own individual uniqueness. The campers rotated often, so we all excavated in each of the units, and worked at the wet screens.  Personally, I enjoyed leaning over scraping small areas in the units, only digging 2 or 3 centimeters of the rich dark soil, and standing in the blazing sun with a hose getting muddy and wet at the wet screens. To each our own as there were several campers who enjoyed the wet screening!!  

During the excavations, there is a lot of down time. During our first day, Tim encouraged us to talk about our hobbies while we excavate. And each morning, we had an exercise to discuss something fun that had happened during the previous evening. That made the experience more enjoyable for me. Not only were we learning about the history of the fort and archeology, we were connecting and learning about other people.

The units I worked on were started by the middle school campers during the previous week. And after the work we had accomplished, the life long learners would continue to work in the same units the following week. The camper units in themselves did hold several interesting discoveries. There was a large piece of pottery which held my interest and imagination. We also found lots of bones. The campers learned skills completing documentation, troweling, and wet screening. Our instructor, Tim Bober, was very supportive and fun. It was a great experience. My younger son can’t wait until he can go to the camp as well!! 

Happy New Year,

Jamie Bennett

Comstock Middle School Visit

             Greetings fort followers! This is Cece here to tell you about our recent visit to Comstock middle school. On Wednesday morning, Cam and I ventured over to Comstock with our artifact case, an archaeologist’s toolbox, and some fun activities in hopes of getting Mrs. Bloom’s seventh grade social studies class interested in archaeology. 

            After the first bell rang and morning announcements were given, Cam gave a brief presentation on what it means to be an archaeologist. One central point was the importance of viewing other cultures from a neutral standpoint, with an open and curious mind. Without this, we risk comparing other cultures to our own preconceived notions and making false judgements. 

          

             The first activity was meant to emphasize the importance of context to an archaeologist. The kids broke into small groups, and each group received a notecard with a place written on it; we used a farm, grocery store, garage, and restaurant. Each group had to draw four different items that might be left behind at their given place, and then pass them on to the next group, who then had to guess where the items might have come from. With each round, one item was taken away, making it more difficult to accurately infer the context of the items. The kids did really well and had a lot of fun! 

           

            Next, Cam and I distributed a bag of garbage (which, of course was washed), to each group. The kids emptied the bags and were challenged to come up with inferences about the garbage. Who might have thrown away fast food bags and coffee cups? A family? A college student? Someone who has little time to cook? I assembled a garbage bag of my own with empty cans of beans, an empty carton of tomatoes, and a few bottles of coffee drinks made with almond milk. I asked them what they thought, and they said the person was probably a vegan, maybe in their twenties…they nailed it! 

           

            After this activity, the kids got to look at the case of artifacts we had collected from Fort St. Joseph. The bones and musket ball brought about many questions, as well as the ear bob, and the fur. This gave us an opportunity to tell them about the fur trade, and the relationships between the French colonists and the Native Americans. Afterwards, we displayed an archaeologist’s toolbox. We told them the importance of digging slowly and carefully with a trowel, and about making accurate measurements with our measuring tape and plum bob. 

           

           In the final moments of class, the kids got to ask us questions. Of course we got the famous, “do you dig up dinosaur bones?” But, one of the kids came up after class was over to get more of an inside scoop on how to make it into the field. Cam and I were able to visit two classes, and both Cam and Lucy returned on Friday to see two more. It was a great experience, seeing the subjects of archaeology and anthropology through the young and excited minds of seventh graders. Thank you so much to Mrs. Bloom, the seventh graders, and Comstock Middle School for having us! Hopefully we get to see some of you again during the field season, whether it be during the middle school summer camp, a Friday pit tour, or the archaeology open house. 

Until next time,

Cece

Curating FSJ: Behind the Scenes

Hello FSJ Friends!

I hope everyone is enjoying the start of their holidays! Decorations, lights, parades, and holiday open houses are just a few of the fun events available to communities around the globe. This year, the Project has teamed up with our friends at the Niles History Center (NHC) to offer a special behind the scenes look at the Fort St. Joseph collection during the Chapin Mansion’s Holiday Evening Open House. The event is open to the public and will occur on Saturday, December 14 from 4 pm – 7 pm. This behind the scenes look will offer a chance for visitors to see items from the collection, where the artifacts are housed, and what progress has been made in preserving the past for the future.

As many of you know, I have been working as the Fort St. Joseph Curatorial fellow over the past year. Through a generous donation, the fellowship program was developed to address the challenges of curating recovered artifacts from Fort St. Joseph so that they are available for exhibits, research, and preserved for future generations. From this opportunity, I have researched ways to improve our curation practices, developed a plan, and began to implement these initiatives starting in September. To start, I have been working on taking an inventory of the Project and pre-Project artifacts on display in the Fort St. Joseph exhibits (Figure 1 and 2). Currently, we do not have a complete list of the artifacts in the exhibits which makes it difficult to answer research requests and account for all of the collection’s items. During this process, I have also been assisting with updating the exhibits with new information and selecting additional artifacts for these displays (Figure 3).

Figure 1. Artifacts from this display were inventoried in October. The process involved assessing their condition and identifying the accession number for the artifacts not labeled with one. I also worked on identifying the accession numbers for the plaque rings, medallions, and crosses in the pre-Project collection.

        Figure 2. In order to identify the accession number for the pre-Project items, I had to look up their paper catalog cards and match the artifacts with the descriptions provided.

Once these steps are complete, I will move on to compiling a complete inventory of the artifacts in storage. This involves making sure that all of the artifacts found from excavations at the fort as well as the pre-Project artifacts discussed in Hulse (1977) are accounted for. During this step, I (with the help from some friends) will be transferring the artifacts into new acid-free storage boxes! Each item will be checked to make sure that it is in its correct storage location and the location for each will be recorded to ensure that all of the artifacts are easily locatable. This will reduce the staff time involved in pulling artifacts for future research projects and exhibits. As I move through this process, I will also be making sure that each artifact bag is still intact, the silica packets are in good standing, and that boxes are not overcrowded. We have attempted to transfer a few items thus far in order to work through the process and have learned a bit along the way (Figure 4). For instance, the NHC and Project staff like the idea of having smaller boxes within the larger storage boxes to help organize the contents. However, they can be quite costly. To help reduce expenses, other museums have built their own boxes. This is something we have begun experimenting with, but it is a learning process that requires a fair amount of planning. 

   Figure 3. This case was recently painted by a very helpful volunteer! Some artifacts used in the old exhibit will return with updated information and newly recovered items will be added. You can see the progress we have made the next time you visit the NHC!

  To ensure continued work, we are seeking additional funding to implement the plan. Our fellowship founder has issued a challenge grant. If we can raise $5000 by December 31, 2019, the donor will double the amount, allowing us to move forward more quickly with our initiative. A detailed rationale for the curation of the collection and the scope of the task will be available Saturday during the behind the scenes tour or I can email you the information. You can get in touch with me by email at hartleyerikak@jccmi.edu. As always, I will continue to update you as we move forward, but at this time the best way to find out more information is to attend the behind the scenes tour. If you already have plans for that night, you can stop by the NHC (Wed-Sat, 10 am – 4 pm) for more information or contact myself or another Project member at any time. We may also offer another behind the scenes event in the future if there is interest. 

Thank you everyone for your continued support! Hope to see you Saturday,

Erika Hartley     

Life After a Field Season at Fort St. Joseph

Hello Fort St. Joseph followers,

           This is Alex Michnick from the 2019 field season, reporting back to you from Grand Valley State University. When I walked back on campus in Allendale, to begin my third year of undergraduate studies, the field season I had spent in Niles was still fresh in my mind. The day to day routine of working in my unit was an awesome memory, and another formidable experience in my archaeological career. While I reflected on this memory with satisfaction, I looked forward with ambition to the next step of my journey. 

            Near the close of the last week spent at WMU digitizing field notes and unit summaries, I applied for a laboratory position with my home institution, Grand Valley State University’s Department of Anthropology. With two field seasons under my belt going into my junior year, I felt confident that my experience would make me a competitive applicant. I was also excited about the prospect of getting my first paid position in archaeology. Two weeks later, I received a job offer from our Collections Manager, Wesley Jackson.

Alex enjoying his work at the GVSU Archaeology lab. Photo by Wesley Jackson.

            I am glad to have two seasons of field experience at this point in my academic career, and I appreciate the support of my supervisors and professors. On that note, while I find two seasons in a primarily-excavation and survey setting extremely useful and foundational, having a job exclusive to a lab setting is a change of pace that I feel has benefitted me. At the start of my involvement in the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project, my goal was to hone my field techniques and learn more about historical archaeology. I believe I walked away with an achievement of that goal, and a great deal more. I learned how to recover, classify, and interpret 18^th-century artifacts associated with one of the more prominent archaeological sites in the Western Great Lakes region. The staff that I worked with were an exceptional group of people, and assisted my professional growth as much as my personal growth. I firmly believe that it was this integrative, community project that provided me with a unique experience that I could not have gained elsewhere. It also provided me with more tools in my toolkit for engaging with the public, developing a deeper understanding of the importance of curation, and working in historic archaeological contexts.

Ceramic pipes from the DeMarsac collection at Grand Valley State University. Photo by Wesley Jackson.

At my current job with Grand Valley State, I wear a variety of hats that revolve around curational duties. My job description requires me to assist faculty in the department with class projects, such as preparing forensic anthropology kits and comparative faunal and ceramic collections for hands-on experience. The job also calls for assisting students in preparing archaeological collections for analysis. However, these tasks have been about 20% of what I have undertaken this year.

 My first day on the job, my supervisor Wesley Jackson informed me that I would be re-inventorying Grand Valley’s collection of the Daniel DeMarsac trading post, one of the last fur trading posts on the Grand River, and even in Michigan. DeMarsac’s post operated in the 1830s on the banks of the Grand River near present-day Lowell, maintaining ties and ultimately burning a bridge with local Odawa natives. It has not been excavated in about 45 years due to land development in the area. Curating the collection has entailed a great deal of ceramic research and analysis on my part to organize the materials. I was hand-picked out of the three lab assistants working this year due to both my interest in and recent experience with historic artifacts and the fur trade. My task then has been to see what can be further identified in terms of ware type, production, chronology, and function. Many Staffordshire-produced ceramics are present in the DeMarsac collection, including the William Adams and Sons “Caledonia” print, and “Spanish Convent,” of Jackson’s Warranted both of which were produced in the 1830s. In addition, the common “seaweed” print can be found on much of the DeMarsac site’s Mochaware. 

Reconstructed tableware fragments from the DeMarsac collection. Photo by Wesley Jackson.

A Staffordshire fragment, with a partial "Caledonia" maker's mark. Photo by Wesley Jackson.

In addition to working with the DeMarsac ceramics, I have also helped in further identifying many of the gunflints in the collection. Many are similar to the French honey-colored flints found at Fort St. Joseph and numerous other French sites in the New World. The exposure to this artifact type while at Fort St. Joseph has helped me to recognize these gunflints, and enabled me to assist Grand Valley in better understanding the DeMarsac site. I have also worked to classify glass by functional types based on their color, shape, and other attributes. 

A French honey-colored gun flint. Photo by Wesley Jackson.

The primary goal of Grand Valley’s Anthropology Department is to bring our curation standards up to speed digitally and physically. As Erika Hartley, the Fort St. Joseph Curatorial Fellow reminded me throughout the summer, curation is an ongoing process, and is never complete. I now know what she means!

At Grand Valley, we have a reference card containing catalogue information for each provenience in an accession, and we also have a corresponding digital database powered by FileMaker Pro software that allows us to compile, update, and create new entries for the entirety of the Grand Valley’s anthropological collections. On that note, another aspect of curation that I gained experience in at Fort St. Joseph was data entry into an existing system, which certainly came in handy in the first week of my time at Grand Valley when I began re-inventorying the DeMarsac site. In addition, three primary categories of artifacts – prehistoric, historic, and faunal, are now the delineation of general artifact types for the DeMarsac collection, whereas before, many of the artifact types were simply sorted into smaller bags and placed into a larger bag for an individual provenience. 

A photograph of Alex, taken during the 2019 field season at Fort St. Joseph. Photo by Hannah Rucinski.

In closing, I would like to thank Dr. Nassaney and the rest of the 2018 crew for providing me with the experience at Fort St. Joseph that allowed me to further my goals and aspirations. I am pleased to be able to put my experience into practice at Grand Valley. I also enjoyed being a part of the collaborative archaeology community in Niles. It taught me that even non-archaeologists care about archaeology! It is a privilege to work in a job that I thoroughly enjoy, and which allows to continue pursuing my passion of archaeology. Who knows where my next adventure will find me?

It has been a pleasure reporting in to all of the Fort St. Joseph followers,

Until next time, adieu!

Alex Michnick

Laboratory Assistant

Department of Anthropology

Grand Valley State University

Fort St. Joseph Goes To Michigan Archaeology Day!

On Saturday the 19^th, a small group from the Fort St. Joseph community drove to Lansing for Michigan archaeology day at the history center. This was my first time here and I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I do know that it exceeded my expectations! This was a family friendly, fun, and informative gathering for all the Michigan archaeologists to show off their work. 

   In order from left to right, Shailee, Cece, and Lucy. Photo by Cameron Youngs

We had our own table for Fort St. Joseph where we got to inform people about our project, and all the exciting artifacts we had discovered this year. I talked to people who had never heard about Fort St. Joseph and told them all about all the amazing archaeology we do at the Fort. We had an artifact case for people to see some of the things we had found, and I noticed that the kids really enjoyed being able to see this display. There was a scavenger hunt where kids were encouraged to explore all the tables to find the ones that had keychains, and if they asked a question, they would get an archaeology-themed keychain. Our table was one of the stops for the scavenger hunt, and we had plenty of kids and adults come by and ask questions about Fort St. Joseph. It made the whole experience more fun because people asked questions they might not have said otherwise, and we got to talk about all different aspects of the project. Many people were excited to hear about our annual open house and all the different activities we have!

Not only did I get to teach people about Fort St. Joseph, but I also got to learn about other projects in Michigan. I found out there is a small project right near my hometown that I didn’t even know about! I got to see all the different universities in Michigan and their field schools. Central had a pretty interesting field school, and some really cool artifacts being shown at their table. 

Overall, I had a great time, and this archaeological convention is an amazing time for all types of people and families who are looking for something fun to do on a Saturday! You get to learn about the archaeology in your own state! I know I will be attending again next year, and you should too.

Until next time,

Lucie