o What: Cathlapotle Plankhouse, season opening.
o When: Opening ceremony noon to 4 p.m. March 28. The plankhouse will be open for tours on weekends from noon to 4 p.m. through Nov. 5.
o Where: 28908 N.W. Main Ave., Ridgefield.
o Cost: $3 vehicle fee, which covers admission to both the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge and the River S-Unit Discovery Audio Tour.
o Information: 360-887-4106 or http://ridgefieldfriends.org/plankhouse.php and http://www.fws.gov/ridgefieldrefuges/ridgefield/index.html.
Tom Wilson sees the irony. And the 54-year-old Astoria, Ore., man, a retired elementary school teacher who’s made a venerable second career as a Lewis and Clark living history re-enactor and educator, doesn’t sugarcoat it: “If you are Native American, this is not good history,” Wilson said.
Which is why, as part of the Cathlapotle Plankhouse’s March 28 seasonal opening at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, he plans to talk to children (and their parents) not only about the what ifs of the Lewis and Clark voyage, which changed the course of U.S. history, but also about the at-the-time thought processes.
“I kind of tie this into and talk about why did Lewis and Clark think, why did our country — and a word used ‘civilized’ people — think they had the right to come across and purchase this land?”
The Cathlapotle Plankhouse is a replica of a Chinookan plankhouse that the expedition team, headed by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, would have seen as they traveled through the area.
There is no admission fee for the refuge and plankhouse, which is in the Carty Unit, although there is a $3 vehicle fee, which is valid for both the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge and the River S-Unit. After the seasonal opening, the Cathlapotle Plankhouse will available for touring on weekends from noon to 4 p.m. through Nov. 5.
On the second Sunday of each month, special presentations are offered. The schedule has yet to be firmed up, but the special presentations this year will include basketry demonstrations, fishing talks and traditional foods. An artists-in-residence program will feature talks and demonstrations from wood carvers, painters and designers during the months of May and June.
Wilson, who’s traversed all but a couple hundred miles of the Lewis and Clark Trail, most often in buckskins, and has worked on documentaries about the expedition, plans for a third-person chat for his March 28 presentation. That’s a departure from his living-history presentations, when he often takes on the persona of Clark.
“What I love about history is (examining) the decisions and how they affected people then and how our decisions can effect us and those around us and in times to come,” Wilson said.
Wilson’s presentation is at 1 p.m. inside of the Cathlapotle Plankhouse. Docent-led tours and children’s activities run from noon until 4 p.m.
Plankhouse Details
The path to the plankhouse from the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge leads over a steep bridge, although Harrison said that park staff will accommodate those with physical impairments by driving them to the site.
Larger-than-life artwork of a human figure, extends above the womblike traditional entrance. Tradition dictates entering backward, which explains the shoe scuffs on the red-ringed threshold.
“When you come out, it’s like giving birth,” said Katie Harrison, who coordinates events at the plankhouse.
The interior of the house is adorned with bands of black and red. Its cedar scent giving the air a comforting, earthy aroma.
“Black and red are really important,” Harrison said, explaining that red represents the spiritual world, and black represents the physical world.
Two fire pits are focal points of the interior. Meat and fish would have smoked above the pits and plankhouse residents would have slept atop fur skins in the bunks. Cattail mats would have cordoned off living space, those with the highest status dwelling farthest from the door. Replicas of these artifacts will be on display Sunday and throughout the season, Harrison said.
“The plankhouse is such a great form for talking about history, the environment and culture,” Harrison said.
