"Lewis and Clark Expedition"

The Lewis and Clark Expedition has again claimed national attention during the 200th anniversary of their epic journey across America.

Four nickels have been minted in their honor along with the Sacajawea dollar. Our nation has dedicated 15 sites along their trail as special Bicentennial Commemoration points. Each site has had a 3- to 5-day extravaganza celebration including re-enactors, the National Park Service traveling exhibit tents and thousands of speakers, games, and activities of the period for families across the country.

This all began in 2003 at Monticello and will continue until this coming September when they returned to their starting point at St. Louis.

Helen Markwell, a Pendleton County teacher for 28 years and one of our local Lewis and Clark enthusiasts, has been fortunate enough to attend ten of the 15 events and has been honored as a guest speaker for some of these. In the last five years she and her husband John, and/or her sister and nephew have traveled the entire trail (4000 + miles) several times — on foot, by car and by boat. She has become familiar with distant places like Cape Disappointment on the Pacific coast in Washington; Lemhi Pass in Montana; the Bitterroot Mountains of Idaho; the Great Falls of the Missouri in Montana; and Ft. Mandan near Bismarck, North Dakota.

In 2002 Helen decided to combine her love of teaching with her enthusiasm for history by presenting a 45-minute program about the courageous explorers to our local students. She takes the part of our own West Virginian who went on the expedition — Sgt. Patrick Gass from Wellsburg. Through this character she explains in children's terms the adventures of the intrepid Captains from 1803 to 1806.

Students from Hardy, Grant, Mineral, and Pendleton Counties have continued to enjoy her performances. Over the past three years she has also presented for Arts Councils, Boy Scout Jamborees, Meriwether Lewis descendents, the Charlottesville L. & C. chapter, and twice at the state Social Studies Conference. Thousands of students and adults have now been exposed in a fun and memorable way to these fearless national heroes and their remarkable journey.

Years ago she was given several hundred dollars to buy costumes by Germany Valley Limestone and Grant County Bank. These funds gave her the opportunity to offer this program with no charge. She is not in a business — her passion for the story just continues to grow.

She was honored for her endeavors this past summer in Portland, Oregon by the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation by being selected to receive the "Outstanding Achievement Award" for the year 2005. Her most recent travels have been to Pendleton, Oregon where she was asked to speak by the National Park Service and the Tamasklict Cultural institute of the confederated Indian Tribes of the Umatilla. John and Helen will continue their learning and travels again this summer when they return to the Bitterroot River Valley to fish and camp along the National Lewis and Clark Trail.