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.

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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

The Open House Approaches!

Hi all,

As we come into the last weekend before the big Open House we are all very excited about the continuing coverage of the project in the Niles Daily Star, WMU News, and elsewhere. For those of you just getting familiar with the project or unaware of the Open House Event I thought it might be a good idea to elaborate on this experience! First the logistics:

Open House
August 13th and 14th (Saturday and Sunday), 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
St. Joseph River Park at the intersection of Fort and Bond Streets in Niles, MI

Check out the wet-screen!

The Fort St. Joseph Archaeology Open House was first held in 2004 to give the public an opportunity to learn about all the hard work field school students have completed and give the students a chance to speak to the community about their experiences. In addition to ongoing tours of the excavation units there will be wet screening demonstrations, artifact displays, and Fort St. Joseph Merchandise. Also, lectures from Western Michigan University professors and others provide more in-depth information about specific aspects of the excavation as well as this year's theme: The Fur Trade. Speakers this year include Tim Kent, a historian and living history enthusiast, Barbara Schwaderer and Bob Myers, who will discuss the process of making clothing items out of pelts, Terrance Martin, an expert in faunal (animal bones, etc.) analysis, Michael Zimmerman, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi and native language speaker, Jessica Hughes, a former WMU student researching smudge pits, and Michael Nassaney, the principal investigator.

Artifact displays.

To round out the event and draw in the public a group of living history interpreters (re-enactors) has teamed up with the project to give demonstrations on 18th century ways of life. These folks are extremely knowledgable of their subjects and bring history to life with with spectactular dress and props. Do not miss out on the opportunity to see a Jesuit Priest, finger weaver, French Marine, and many others! The day will also feature a couple of canoe landings, book sales, a table hosted by Support the Fort, touchable animal furs, children's activities, a chance to try on voyageur (French trader) clothing, food, and more!

Public lectures.

Wait, did I mention that the entire event is FREE! So please bring your kids, bring grandma...well, bring everyone for a chance to see all of our new discoveries at the fort and get a taste of life as a fur trader in the 18th century. Here is a schedule of events:





Saturday

10:00  Event Opens

Living history demonstrations.

10:30  Lecture--Dr. Michael Nassaney: Background on the Fort St. Joseph Project
11:00  Arrival of the voyageurs, canoe landing
11:30  Lecture--Tim Kent: Life of a Fur Trader
12:00  Musket Drill
12:30  Lecture--Dr. Terrance Martin: Animals of Fort St. Joseph and the Fur Trade
1:30    Lecture--Barbara Schwaderer: From Beaver to Felt Hat
2:00    Musket Drill
           Lecture--Dr. Michael Nassaney: Archaeology Update
2:30    Arrival of the voyageurs, canoe landing
3:00    Lecture--Tim Kent: Material Culture of the Fur Trade
4:00    Event Ends

Sunday

10:00  Event Opens

10:30  Lecture--Dr. Terrance Martin: Animals of Fort St. Joseph and the Fur Trade

11:00  Arrival of the voyageurs, canoe landing

11:30  Lecture--Tim Kent: Life of a Fur Trader

12:00  Musket Drill

           Lecture--Michael Zimmerman, Jr.: Nishnabe, Native American Language

12:30  Lecture--Dr. Michael Nassaney: Background on the Fort St. Joseph Project

1:30    Lecture--Robert Myers: From Beaver to Felt Hat

2:00    Lecture--Tim Kent: Material Culture of the Fur Trade

           Lecture--Dr. Michael Nassaney: Archaeology Update

2:30    Arrival of the voyageurs, canoe landing

3:00    Musket Drill

4:00    Event Ends 

If you need more information please post a comment or e-mail me at kelleymwalter@gmail.com.

Hope to see you all there!
Kelley