Grand Portage revisited, pt 1

This year's trip to Grand Portage started earlier than usual, picking up Gene Tisdal, Henri, at the Duluth airport before arriving late at night, well early in the morning, in the 18th century of Lake Superior's premier historic site and encampment. You can see a few of the sights on FrontierFolk postings such as this one (check a few others on the Colonial Nouvelle France/New France section of FF).

As usual, the week in the countinghouse talking with visitors to the site and interpreting both fur trade history and the business end of the . . . business was terrific! In addition, the Department of the Interior has been filming a movie for the interpretive center at the site since July and was using the August Rendezvous to move into high gear, filming canoe brigades on the Lake, the Native inhabitants of the Portage, and the frenzy of activity that took place during the summer while trade goods from Montreal where unloaded for distribution to the interior and furs from the interior posts were readied for the journey to Montreal.

Many photos from the week, and the shoot, have been posted on Frontier Folk and FaceBook. If you have trouble finding some of them, let me know and I'll pass along the URLs since there are just too many to post here.


A few here may whet your appetite. The partners meeting is a traditional event, with the various wintering partners reporting on the year's returns and the trade good needs for the coming year.

 At the end of the Rendezvous, the partners who don't winter over leave for the safety and comfort of their hearths in Montreal, while the rest of us return to the interior and the search for our "gold", the beaver fur.


Next up, part two, Punch and his wife attend the Rendezvous at Grand Portage.