”The Air Gun of Meriwether Lewis on Brunot’s Island” will be presented by Dr. William K. Brunot and Michael Carrick at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 15 at the Beaverton Historical Society’s Beaverton History Center. Donations accepted.

12412 SW Broadway St., Beaverton
503-430-0106
www.historicbeaverton.org

The program will be repeated at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 16, at the Fort Clatsop Visitor Center.

503-861-2471
www.nps.gov/lewi/planyourvisit/directions.htm

When Captain Meriwether Lewis left Pittsburgh on August 31, 1803, his crew of 11 included three young men whose identity has been unknown until recently. Who were they? Why did Lewis’ party stop that afternoon at Brunot’s Island, only three miles downstream, and what happened there? Which Brunot’s Island residents were involved in an accident with the air rifle demonstrated by Lewis? New research by William Brunot, a descendant of Dr. Felix Brunot, the island’s owner, provides surprising answers to these questions.

Michael Carrick, former president of our chapter, specializes in research and identification of pre-1900 firearms and swords. Mike will discuss the innovative air rifle used by Meriwether Lewis and show an air pump and reservoir kit of the type issued to Austrian army soldiers of the period. Lewis likely had a similar kit for his air rifle.

We have been invited to join the Washington State Chapter for their fall meeting at Sacajawea State Park in Pasco, WA on September 24, 2011.

• The fall meeting of the Washington Chapter LCTHF will be Saturday, September 24, 2011 at Sacajawea State Park in Pasco, WA
• September 23-25 is Heritage Days at the Park, with music, reenactors, booths, tribal people, and etc.
• The chapter's business meeting will be at 1 pm on Saturday. The Kubiks will provide light refreshments

We will offer two hikes that weekend

• Saturday morning, we will meet in Plymouth for a hike to the April 26, 1806 campsite near present-day Plymouth (where Clark described the young Walla Walla boy, and his fishing techniques)
• Sunday morning we will take an easy hike up the east side of Wallula Gap, near Two Sisters

Chapter members are encouraged to spend the weekend, either in a motel, or camping in the park, and enjoying the activities in the park. We are arranging a meeting place in the park for the chapter business meeting and for an area for camping (look for our 15-star, 15 stripe flag).

• The programs will be the hikes, Heritage Days, and the chapter's business, of which there is much right now!

Please RSVP to Barb Kubik, President (chemna@aol.com) no-later-than September 19th!

If you want to learn more about Heritage Days, simply type in Sacajawea Heritage Days on your favorite search engine!

Oregon might have been part of Canada today if Captain John McClallen had not interrupted British plans. Northwest historian John C. Jackson will share this story from his new book on Tuesday, June 7 at Tualatin Heritage Center, 7 p.m. The book is titled By Honor and Right: How One Man Boldly Defined the Destiny of a Nation.

McClallen followed Lewis and Clark West of the Rockies in 1807-08 on a mission to further define the international fur trade race. He was the first U. S. officer to claim the Pacific Northwest as far north as 50 degrees north latitude.

While pushing up the Missouri River on his journey West, he picked up one of the boatmen who helped Lewis and Clark get their keelboat as far as present-day North Dakota. Francois Rivet later settled in French Prairie, Oregon and is buried at the St. Paul Catholic Church cemetery.

Jackson, who lives in Olympia, Washington, has been described as an original history detective. He recently co-authored a book with Thomas Danisi dealing with the death of Meriwether Lewis in 1809. His other books on Pacific Northwest history include The Piikani Balckfeet: A Culture Under Siege and Jemmy Jock Bird: Marginal Man on the Blackfoot Frontier.

The presentation is sponsored jointly with the Oregon Chapter, Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation. The Tualatin Heritage Center is located at 8700 SW Sweek Drive adjacent to Tualatin Police Station. The presentation is free but donations are welcome.

(For further information, contact Larry McClure, 503-476-4882, larry.mcclure@gmail.com)

Where: Old Aurora Colony Museum, 15018 Second Street NE, Aurora, Oregon.

Museum admission fee: $5 per person.

Willie Keil caught Oregon fever and convinced his father, Wilhelm, to guide a wagon train to the Oregon Territory in 1855 with Willie as the driver of the lead wagon. Just days before they left Bethel, Missouri, Willie died. In his grief, Wilhelm fulfilled Willie’s wish, taking the young man along in a lead-lined coffin, and founded the Aurora Colony, a Christian commune.

For the Oregon Trail’s sesquicentennial (1993), Laurel Cookman of Aurora was one of 30 who reenacted the Keil wagon train’s journey from Missouri to Oregon. “Except for the hunger, we experienced everything they did: animals dying, people getting sick,” recalls Ms. Cookman, who will share her adventures at the Old Aurora Colony Museum.

The day will begin with a tour of the museum followed by Ms. Cookman’s presentation and lunch. We will then move to the Pacific Hazelnut Candy Factory,14673 Ottaway Rd NE, Aurora, where we get to see how hazelnuts are roasted, removed from their shells and sprayed with chocolate. Their signature Hazelnut Toffee is made in copper kettles. The L&C Journals mention hazelnuts in several places in the Columbia territory. There will also be a special viewing of busts of the members of the Corps of Discovery carved by the former owner of the factory. After spending your money on the delicious goodies at the factory you will have ample time left in the day to visit the City Park and the many intriguing Aurora Antique Stores.

RSVP by April 26 to: Lyn Trainer, trainerlyn@yahoo.com, 503-246-0451. Bring a brown bag or order a box lunch when you RSVP (no later than April 26).

• Whole sandwich, chips, pickle, cookie and beverage, $8
• ½ sandwich, chips, pickle, cookie and beverage, $6
• Sandwich choices: Smoked turkey, Black Forest ham or vegetable
• Bread choices: Healthnut wheat, sourdough white or dill rye
• Beverage choices: Coke, Diet Coke, Caffeine free Coke or Fresca

Coordinator: Chuck Daughtry
Coordinator Contact: 541 374-8619, cdaughtry@portofcascadelocks.org
Starting Location: Marine Park, Cascade Locks

The Port of Cascade Locks has commissioned a local artist, Heather Soderberg, to cast two bronze statues. One statue is of Sacagawea w/Pomp and one of Seaman. The Sacagawea casting will be over 9 feet tall and weigh over 1,000 pounds and the Seaman statute will be appropriately sized in relation to Sacagawea.

The Plankhouse at Cathlapotle near Ridgefield, WA, will be having a guided walk exploring the local legacy of the Lewis & Clark Expedition. There are other activities scheduled as well. You can check them out at: www.plankhouse.org.

Times: 12:00 noon, 3:00 p.m.

Presenter: Lisa Brown
Event Start Time: 1:00 pm
Event End Time: 2:00 pm
Coordinator: Sally Freeman
Coordinator Contact: 503-861-4424, sally_freeman@nps.gov
Starting Location: Fort Clatsop visitor center (Netul River Room) of Lewis and Clark National Historical Park
Event Summary: Our park has a free monthly guest speaker series, generally held on the third Sunday of the month from September through May. These programs are open to the public and feature a variety of topics.