When the Corps of Discovery settled at Fort Clatsop during the winter of 1805-1806, the group led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark had a brief reprieve from travel but their days were far from leisurely or easy.  Just ask any student in Sandy Yarmonshik’s fourth-grade class at Cannon Beach Elementary School.

As part of its study of Oregon history, the class recently took a trip to Fort Clatsop to learn first-hand about some of the skills necessary to  survive life in the fort. After a month of reading books, looking at pictures and watching videos about the expedition, the class got a taste of what life in the fort was like for Lewis and Clark’s group.  (Photo: Jordan Hadley guards the fort.)

The 22 students were introduced to the sometimes difficult frontier skills of how to start a fire, make candles and write with a quill and ink during their day of discovery at the fort.   “They definitely get hands-on experience,” said Yarmonshik. “It’s really great for them to see and experience the things we’ve talked about in class. It really brings it home to them.”

She added that although the rainy weather on the class’s Feb. 20 visit made the day a little more uncomfortable, it also provided a more realistic glimpse into life at the fort during Lewis and Clark’s stay.

“Today is truer to the exact experience. During Lewis and Clark’s time here it rained almost every day,” she said. According to the explorer’s journals, it rained on 94 of the 106 days they spent at the fort.

Moisture created some difficulty for the students and chaperones but spirits remained high despite the rainy weather. As another way of making the experience more real, each student was assigned the identity of one member of the Corps of Discovery.
                
Lead by Captains Lewis (Logan Ward) and Clark (Rebecca Sarpola), students spent about 30 minutes at each of four stations inside different rooms in the fort. Nine adults guided the students through the stations where they tried their hand at starting a fire with steel and flint, making candles and recording the day’s events in their journals, as well as learning about how animal furs and pelts were used and preserved. 

Stephanie Villegas was among those who were successful in creating a fire by hitting a piece of fling with a piece of steel and feeding it wood shavings.

“I like striking,” she said. “I like making fire. I like standing by the fire, it makes your feet warm.”  The flint and steel station was also a favorite of Julio Granillo, who liked it “because you get to make fire.”

One of the most challenging activities of the day was learning to write with quill and ink. Using journals they made before their trip to the fort, students recorded highlights of the day using quills dipped in jars of ink.

Joel Slovak noted that writing with the quill was “much harder than pen and pencil. Ink gets all over.” 

In her journal, Avigail Perez recorded her favorite parts of the day (like looking at the animal fur) and things she learned about Lewis and Clark from her day at the fort. Avigail noted that one of the most important things she learned was about teamwork and that fort dwellers shared in the duty of guarding the fort.

While classmates worked inside the fort, students, equipped with a leather jacket and a “rifle,” took turns patrolling at the fort’s front gate. Drew Cooper was not bothered by the rain duringhis five-minute patrol.

Taking a cue from the patrollers of nearly 200 years ago, Drew demanded of visitors, “What is your business here?”

Following a morning spent patrolling and learning frontier survival skills, the students had lunch in the fort. In the afternoon the group watched a muzzle loading and firing demonstration and went on a plant identification hike on trails around the fort. The field trip concluded with a visit to Fort Clatsop’s exhibition hall with information about Lewis and Clark’s journey.

“The whole day is fun,” Yarmonshik said. “I enjoy watching the kids get involved with the fort, and I hope they gain greater appreciation for the community and what we have to offer as a place that has national historical significance. I hope they become ambassadors to keep teaching others about Lewis and Clark.” 

(OMED: We are old fashioned.  Mr. Clark should have been played by a boy.)

© 2003 Cannon Beach Gazette