The Lewis and Clark Bicentennial observation got off to a rousing beginning in Charlottesville, Virginia, with events at the University of Virginia and at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home near Charlottesville.
"Jefferson's West" was the title for a four-day conference celebrating the origin and inspiration of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, and it was the first of 15 "Signature Events" which will highlight the nation-wide observance of the famous Corps of Discovery Expedition.
The events in Charlottesville culminated in a three-hour combination of special events and ceremony at Monticello on January 18, exactly 200 years from the day on which Jefferson obtained $2,500 from Congress to fund the Expedition.
Although the Expedition eventually cost close to $40,000, it is interesting to note that the original appropriation from Congress would have only paid for 11 registrations out of the 3,000 attendees at Jefferson's West!
With temperatures below 10 degrees and snow on the ground, participants and audience at the Saturday ceremonies were glad for the handy "warming tents" which gave them a break as they sat on chairs on the west lawn at Monticello; however, everyone agreed with the President of the National Council for the Bicentennial when he said, "It's cold - Who cares?!"
The events began with stirring marches by the Charlottesville Municipal Band and a flag ceremony by the Old Guard Fife and Dram Corps of the U.S. Army, who later fired a volley of shots over the grounds to signify the beginning of the Bicentennial commemoration.
The flag ceremony continued with stage flags and members of the Circle of Tribal Advisors of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial carrying tribal flags; the combination of Indian tribal dress and military uniforms made a beautiful pageant out of this part of the event.
One unique part of the pre-ceremony show was the appearance of 25 Newfoundland dogs from the Colonial Newfoundland Club, and these modern-day representatives of Seaman, Lewis's dog who accompanied the Expedition, were very friendly and much-photographed.
Another treat was authentic military music of the early 1800's by the Lewis and Clark Fife and Drum Corps made up of 25 boys from St. Charles, Missouri, all dressed in red and black uniforms of that period.
The Commencement Ceremony included speeches by the Secretary of the Interior and all of the directors of the National Council of the Bicentennial, the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, the National Congress of American Indians, and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation.
Dayton Duncan, the immensely talented writer and producer of the great documentary film Lewis and Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery, was emcee for the ceremony, and his friend and fellow filmmaker Ken Burns gave a tribute to Stephen Ambrose, author of Undaunted Courage, who died of cancer last October.
The keynote address was given by James Ronda, noted historian who has studied and written about all aspects of the exploration of the American West and who is the author of Jefferson's West, a book whose title became the name of the whole event at Charlottesville.
Rhonda asked us all to enjoy the journey, to experience all of the trail and national events which we could, and also to welcome the positive change which can come from our nation's awareness of its history and of its precious environment.
There were moments - many moments - during the days in Virginia when I found myself barely breathing, so filled with the moment that I was afraid that a deep breath or a pinch would awaken me to reality somewhere else. When I found myself in the theatre of Old Cabell Hall -- humanities center for the University of Virginia just across the lawn behind Thomas Jefferson's Rotunda - focusing on a stage beneath a mural of the School of Athens, the dream began.
Speaking to us from that stage was a panel of four writers who have touched my life:
The evening before, after my arrival in Charlottesville, we were treated to the artistry of Kevin Locke, Lakota educator and storyteller who is the "preeminent player" of the cedar-wood flute and an inspiring hoop dancer. Locke played 12 different flutes from tiny soprano to huge bass (the latter had a low pulsing vibrato which filled the room) and sang Indian songs. Then he began hoop dancing with wooden jointed hoops of various colors, and by the time he was done he was twirling and dancing through 28 hoops. He finished the performance by teaching the children present to dance with one hoop, crawl through it, etc. All of this was accompanied by the Fort Berthoud singers on Indian drums.
On Thursday we toured the Rotunda of the University of Virginia and spent time at the Monticello Visitor's Center, where they have a walking tour of Jefferson's life and accomplishments along with many items all the way from his reading glasses, which are incredibly tiny, to the moldboard plow which he invented. Outside of the Visitor's Center were the tents housing "Corps of Discovery II", the traveling educational exhibit created through the National Park Service which I have been working with through the thirteen "trail states" library associations. Corps of Discovery II and its "Tent of Many Voices" storytelling tent will be traveling through Montana during the Bicentennial years, and you will get a chance to see it.
Thursday evening in Old Cabell Hall, we were treated to "An Evening with Jefferson and Lewis" performed by Clay Jenkinson, one of the most talented authors, essayists, and actors involved in the Lewis & Clark story. He appeared as both Jefferson and Lewis and has studied their characters and mannerisms to a fine point and gave us a marvelous "living history" lesson as well as insight into their minds and motivations.
Friday found me at another panel discussion, this time "Honoring the Legacy: Discovering and Restoring the Rivers of Lewis and Clark" hosted by the American Rivers association. Anyone who loves the Yellowstone and Missouri as I do could enjoy the studies of these rivers and attempts to preserve at least part of them as Lewis and Clark found them. The White Cliffs area of the Missouri and sections of the un-dammed Yellowstone are among those parts.
In the afternoon I again was breathless as I sat in Old Cabell Hall a couple of seats away from Ken Burns, talented filmmaker partner of Dayton Duncan, and realized that I was again "in the presence of greatness". This panel -- assembled to honor Donald Jackson, the first historian to delve fully into the Lewis and Clark story, as well as to give insight into the new ways that scholars have come to understand the story -- included the greatest of the authors and editors of the books in our library about Lewis and Clark. The moderator was James Ronda, a specialist in all areas of exploration of the American West and author of Jefferson's West, the source of the name of this whole conference. With him was John Logan Allen, principal researcher and author of books on the historical and environmental geography of the Expedition and the American West, Clay Jenkinson, Dayton Duncan, and Gary Moulton, the erudite editor of the 13-volume Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The two hours with these men was magic, with scholarly study and insight mixed with genuine love of the story and camaraderie among a group who all love it. I could have stayed for as many more hours as they could have talked.
Late that afternoon we were off to Monticello, Jefferson's lovely self-designed home on the "little hill" (meaning of Monticello) above Charlottesville. You can see the University of Virginia in the distance below and imagine Jefferson riding down to oversee the design and construction. Monticello is so beautiful and full of Jefferson's belongings and creative projects. The entryway contains artifacts brought back by Lewis and Clark (some are now replicas) including Indian hides, clothing, and tools, and some of the pressed and stuffed botanical and zoological specimens. Like the Rotunda, Monticello is all designed for light and room use, with very few square corners. In the dining room are busts and portraits of all of the people whom Jefferson admired, including John Locke (inspiration for republican democracy), Lafayette, and of course George Washington, Ben Franklin, and John Adams.
Friday evening we enjoyed Corps of Discovery, A Musical Journey, an original opera commissioned by the University of Missouri, written by librettist Hugh Moffatt and composer Michael Ching, and presented by the Show-Me Opera company. It was marvelous - my favorite choral number was "Write It Down" (every bird, every beast, every turn of the river, etc.). The soprano who sang Sacagawea, the baritone who sang York, and the two tenors who sang Lewis and Clark were all especially outstanding, and the chorus and the accompanying orchestra did a fine job, also.