If we were suddenly dropped back into Fort Vancouver of the 1840s, some people would consider it a survival situation.
Yet the local inhabitants of that era didn’t just survive: They thrived.
And they did it without duct tape.
Some skills that were routine aspects of life 180 years ago will be the focus of a new Fort Vancouver summer program, “Survive and Thrive: Lifeways of the Fur Trade.”
National Park Service rangers Mike Twist and Brett Roth will lead the free workshop, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, June 24.
It is designed to provide background for historic re-enactors, but the program’s skills are useful for anybody who spends time outdoors.
If You Go
What: Survive and Thrive: Lifeways of the Fur Trade
When: June 24, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Where: Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, 1001 E. Fifth St.
Registration: Free, but advance registration required. Call 360-816-6244.
Participants: Must be 16 and older; must dress for the weather and be in good enough condition to be on their feet most of the day; limited to 20 people
“They are skills people can take camping,” said Twist.
The skills include tying knots, starting a fire, using tools, cooking and building improvised shelters.
“We live in a world of duct tape. People will come away with a few basic knots to get you through the rest of your life,” Twist said.
“Fire starting is a very critical skill,” said Twist, who will focus on the flint-and-steel technique. He also will provide a look at the fire-by-friction method, using a bow, which Twist said is a very difficult way to generate a flame.
“Proficiency with tools will be a big draw,” Twist said. In a digital world, many people don’t get an opportunity to swing an ax. In this session, they will get to “saw and chop and whittle.”
Cooking, meanwhile, will always be a useful skill.
And in keeping with the mission of Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, “We are giving people the historical context,” Roth said.
The materials will reflect centuries-old technology: axes that were hand-forged in the fort’s blacksmith shop, hemp rope instead of polypropylene, canvas instead of nylon.
And participants will get a very real taste of the Hudson’s Bay era when lunch and dinner are provided, cooked using historical techniques from the fur trade.
There also will be a segment on medical skills, another valuable resource for surviving. But this lesson will not be a living-history exercise, and you won’t get to take home your own leech.
“Modern medical skills,” Twist said. “Not 19th century.”
