WANDER WOMAN
EXPLORING HIDDEN GEMS oF SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON By Afton Nelson
Going Back in Time on a Fort Vancouver Lantern Tour Photo by Afton Nelson
Who needs a time machine when Fort Vancouver can transport you back to February 1846 with nothing more than a candle lantern and some fantastic volunteers in costume? The rain stopped one cool, February evening just long enough for me, my 12-year-old son, Isaac, and his 13-year-old friend, Thomas, to join Fort Vancouver’s very popular lantern tour. We arrived fifteen minutes prior to the tour and were taken from the electric light of the front office, virtually back in time to the candle lit bake house to await the tour.
Our lantern tour allowed us to peek in on costumed reenactors in various buildings to see how they were preparing for the play. The wood shop had men working on theater props instead of making repairs to chairs or other items. The kitchen housed busy cooks and servers hardly able to work for the excitement, and in the McLoughlin House, young ladies entertained one actress, recently arrived from Oregon City, who would be performing in the play.
To set the scene, a costumed volunteer explained that in February of 1846, feelings between the American settlers and the British settlers at Hudson’s Bay Company were starting to get a bit prickly. The British had claimed all the land north of the Columbia River. The Americans, on the other hand, were interested in the land south of the river . . . but also the land to the north.
As we made our way by candlelight from building to building, it was easy to feel transported back in time. That is, until a giant 747 boomed through the sky en route to Portland International Airport. However, returning my focus to the costumed volunteers reignited the magic.
Instead of fighting it out, the British sought to ease tensions by hosting plays aboard the H.M.S. Modeste anchored in the Columbia River as a way for Americans and British to come together at special events. Just let that sink in for a moment; art, in place of attack.
The tour lasts two hours and is perfect for kids who can walk, stand and quietly observe for that length of time, although there is time for questions and interaction with the volunteers at each stop. Fort Vancouver recommends the tour for kids 10 and up but concedes that younger kids may also be up for it. My favorite building on the tour was the Fur Store. Piles of animal furs caused my modern-day morals to play ping pong with my appreciation for history. In the end, I was in awe of the ins and outs of the fur trade, including the trapping, tanning, and bundling for market. There were plenty of hands-on items to check out too, like furs, ledgers, a horse drawn cart, and a beaver hat. The boys, however, were smitten with the blacksmith’s shop. And when I say smitten, I mean that Thomas approached the blacksmith afterwards and listened intently for no less than ten minutes as he described how the life of a modern-day blacksmith was more than just volunteering for historical reenactments.
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Vancouver Family Magazine • www.vancouverfamilymagazine.com • October 2017
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