Heaven in Packrat

Heaven, I’m in heaven
And my heart beats so that I can hardly speak
And I seem to find the happiness I seek

…when I can go and really be a geek!

Songwriters: DIAMOND, JOEL / BROWN, L. RUSSELL

Cheek To Cheek lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, EMI Music Publishing

Sung by Frank Sinatra

(except the last line, of course)

I had a most satisfying trip in the last days of August. It centered around Black Hawk; through him we were involved in the War of 1812. An historian who planned a commemoration for the 20th anniversary of one of the battles invited our participation and wrote narratives that included our perspective through Black Hawk’s words.

I know little about our involvement in the War of 1812, knowing that we were part of it but not much else, and that we allied with the British and that’s why we’re known as “the British band”. I started to read more because I felt I should learn. Although I work in historic preservation, I was not initially hired for that; I was hired because I knew our burial practices and traditions, the whys and the whatfors, and I was hired to implement the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). Mine, however, was the only program dealing with history in any way at all, so all history questions would be referred to me. I learned as I went. The more you learn, the more there is to learn, and I’m geek enough to find all of it fascinating.

So when the War of 1812 questions started to come in, what I knew was fresh in my mind, but I didn’t have more to offer than what the historian already knew. He wanted our presence at the commemoration, though, and said we’re all learning and all the sites are right there.

I still wasn’t convinced that I should go until I received a call from “a concerned citizen” about commercial development on a lot, a fort site, that’s already in the National Register of Historic Places. I knew nothing of the issue nor did any of the agency people I called whose business it is to know. One suggested that if I came, he could arrange a meeting on site with the archaeologists who worked on it and the local preservationists. I am not a morning person, but I got up at 3 a.m. to take an early flight to be able to take that opportunity.

So I entered geek paradise. I was thrilled to get the archaeology reports, a history publication with articles about the fort and the War of 1812, a tour of the fort replica where we shared information, a tour of the museum, even a can of tomatoes with the fort name on them. On the way back to the city where I was staying we were able to visit sites connected to the Underground Railroad.

I had an early morning meeting with the historian so he could give me directions (I got lost anyway and my friend had to come and get me) and just meet and greet. Various folks have asked why I put myself through the long days and very early mornings (it’s far from the first time I’ve had to leave for the airport before the sun is up, and I’m not quite an hour away), but later flights mean I may not have the time to squeeze in meetings or visit the sites. It’s more than having meetings onsite; it’s being where my history happened, and if I can do that, I will. The historian laughed with recognition.

Since I was up anyway and didn’t know when I would get to eat later, I decided to take advantage of the free breakfast the hotel provided. I looked around for a place to sit, but all tables were occupied. Two ladies sat at a table and I asked if I could sit with them; as it turns out, one of them is an author and historian herself, currently studying an English commander from the War of 1812. She has also done Chautauquas, and that topic led to our discussion about what really happened to York, William Clark’s slave who went on the Lewis and Clark expedition. (In the Chautauqua I did was a man who studied and portrayed York. We disagreed but agreed that there was more to learn there. She based her opinion on her research, but York was not her field of study. I based mine on my friend’s research; he received a grant to study York, and as a law student he knew how to research. What he said had been told to me by an entirely unrelated source as well, but York isn’t my field of study, either.) We chatted away and exchanged contact information. I certainly never thought that I’d be able to have a breakfast conversation like that!

Once the commemoration was over, someone I used to work with when he was with one of the state agencies in Missouri and his wife showed up. I had never met her, but we’re all in related fields, so we talked all day - until the stands were put away, the stage driven away, the tents down, and hardly anyone left in the park but us. We later all went to dinner together and talked about ghosts and crazy dogs.

She’s a Lincoln scholar, having previously worked at the Lincoln Home in Springfield, Illinois. Of course that captured my attention immediately. I’ve been to the Lincoln Home on several occasions, always thinking how ironic it is that one of Black Hawk’s band is walking around in Lincoln’s house.

The commemoration featured a lacrosse demonstration; turns out the one of the adults who brought the kids had formerly been a mediator between the tribes and the Illinois Department of Transportation. He remembered me because of my accent.

I also went to a pow wow that I’ve long heard about that’s held where our most well known village site stood, where Black Hawk was born. Well, I can say I’ve been there. I had more fun during the supper break when I wandered around “to see who would claim me” and saw cousins from the settlement, cousins from out of state, and those who came in from Oklahoma. My uncle performed there.

All in all, it was heaven to be able to converse with like minds. It isn’t that there is no one to talk to here, but their eyes start to roll back in their heads when I talk about history related things. (Just like some of yours are likely doing right now! haha)

My only disappointment on this trip is that the Oklahoma State Cowboys lost by a touchdown - but they lost by a touchdown to #1!