The second annual meeting of the Potawatomi Trail of Death Association was held Sept. 15 in the Fulton County Museum. Attending were members from Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana. Most of them had attended the dedication of the new PTDA highway signs across Fulton County that day. The new signs were sponsored by Manitou Chapter of Daughters of American Revolution, Rochester, Indiana.

George Godfrey, president, conducted the meeting. Shirley Willard, treasurer, gave the treasurer’s report. She also reported on her trip to address the National Trail of Tears Assn., Little Rock, Arkansas. They have chapters in each state, and offer public programs on history and sites along the Trail of Tears. They were interested in how the 78 Trail of Death historical markers were funded. Shirley told them that they were sponsored by donations at no expense to taxpayers. Nearly 30 Trail of Death historical markers were erected by Boy Scouts for their Eagle Award. Two were erected by DAR, the one at Rochester in 1922 and the one at Springfield, Illinois, in 1995.

Election was held, retaining the present slate of officers: George Godfrey, Athens, Illinois, president; Sister Virginia Pearl, Pawnee Rock, Kansas, vice president; Dolores Grizzell, Winamac, Indiana, secretary; Shirley Willard, Rochester, Indiana, treasurer; Susan Campbell, Kalaheo, Hawaii, editor; and two board members: Don Perrot, Tecumseh, Oklahoma, and Dora May Craven, Huntsville, Missouri.

Discussion was held on finding sponsors of more Potawatomi Trail of Death Regional Historic Trail highway signs. Mike Woolfington, Marshall County Tourism, has offered to purchase the signs needed from Chief Menominee monument to the Fulton county line. Daughters of the American Revolution have expressed an interest in helping with other signs. It is hoped that the highway signs can be erected the whole 660 miles from Indiana to Kansas.

Discussion was held about planning programs in other states along the Trail. There are four states and 25 counties on the Potawatomi Trail of Death Regional Historic Trail.

The public is invited to join PTDA. Dues are $20 individual and $30 family or group. Send dues to PTDA, c/o Fulton Co. Hist. Soc., 37 E 375 N, Rochester IN 46975. This supports the web site www.potawatomi-tda.org and publication of a semi-annual newsletter.

Why do we need a Trail of Death Association now that we have all the historical markers done?

Twenty-eight (28) Trail of Death historical markers were placed by Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts. We thank these young people for their efforts to preserve history and to learn more about the American Indians and their hardships during the removals.

Nine (9) of the Trail of Death markers were sponsored by individuals or families. We are very grateful to them too.

Thirty-nine (39) of the Trail of Death markers were sponsored by groups such as historical societies or clubs. These groups are to be commended for their interest and their efforts. .

We keep in contact with all of them and send them our Indian Awareness Center newsletter.

The point is that not all the TD markers have an organization to look after them. Scouts grow up and sometimes move away. So do individuals and families.

We are now in the process of organizing a Trail of Death Association to serve as a non-profit permanent organization to help look after and care for the markers but also to publicize them and to educate the public about them and the Removal Period.

We are contacting all 25 counties that the Trail of Death passes through and asking their help, for them to join the TDA and to be a Trail of Death Interpretive Center. We hope to get a web page for the Trail of Death Association. But for now, updates on this effort will be posted on our web page at www.icss.net/~fchs.

The first meeting took place in Indiana on April 2, in Fulton County Museum at 2 p.m. Shirley Willard gave a brief history of the Trail of Death Regional Historic Trail and its needs (as stated above). Don Perrot, Dowagiac, Michigan, descendant of Chief Menominee, was the main speaker. Dan Lybarger, Cherokee, Lawrenceville, Ill., came to play his Indian flute. Also attending were John Harris of Indiana Historical Society, Indianapolis; Lyn Ward, reporter for Plymouth Pilot News; Michael and Cecily Schneider, great great granddaughter of frontier artist George Winter, Lafayette, Ind.; Judy Cecrle, Walkerton; Marsha Glassburn, Rochester; Chris Akin, Marion; Dolores Grizzell, Winamac; Valerie Berkshire, Kewanna; and J. R. Ryan, manager of Rochester Wal-Mart. Ryan said he would apply for a grant of $1,000 for the Trail of Death Assn. At this meeting, they went over the constitution and bylaws, previously written by the Trail of Death Commemorative Committee (Shirley Willard, George Godfrey, Susan Campbell, Tom Hamilton and Sister Virginia Pearl). They proposed some changes and voted that the new TDA should be made a separate organization. This was a long meeting but it was necessary in order to fulfill the laws of incorporation in the State of Indiana. Attending were 14 people, including Bill and Shirley Willard. Melinda Clinger, FCHS Museum Director, came in for a while. Note that at this time we were calling it simply Trail of Death Association.

Bill and Shirley Willard drove to Kansas, Missouri and Illinois to meet with members of the county historical societies and others who erected Trail of Death markers.

The format for each meeting was similar. Shirley gave a presentation to each group about the Trail of Death history, how it became a Regional Historic Trail with 75 historical markers, and our plans to erect highway signs and form a Trail of Death Assn. She passed out the TDA constitution that the committee had drawn up. She asked each group to vote on two questions: should it be called Trail of Death Assn. or Potawatomi Trail of Death Assn.? She explained that she typed Trail of Death into www.google.com and got hundreds of hits, including "a tornado made a trail of death," and "a trail of death in Iraq," etc., so she realized that trail of death is a common term that is used in the news media today. So they all voted to make it Potawatomi Trail of Death.

The other questions she presented to them was whether to make the new association a separate non-profit organization or establish it as a branch of the Fulton County Historical Society. They debated all the pros and cons, and each group voted to keep it a part of FCHS because it is easier and cheaper. None of the groups have any money to spare. They can support TDA verbally but could not promise that their society would even pay dues and join. They did seem to think that they could all have a Trail of Death exhibit. Several of them already have a good sized collection of materials relating to the Trail of Death. For instance, the Swan River Museum at Paola, Kansas, has artifacts from an archeological dig at the St. Philippine Duchesne Memorial Park where the Potawatomi lived the next years after the Trail of Death.

There was not a big turn-out for any of the meetings.

Our Kansas meeting took place May 24 at 1 p.m. at the Swan River (Miami County) Museum in Paola, Kansas. The meeting had representatives from the Kansas State Historical Society, and two counties: Miami and Linn. Those attending were Ola May Earnest, Linn County Historical Society, Pleasanton; Kathy Kinder, Pleasanton; Mary Asker, Mound City; Suzette McCord-Rogers, Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka; Betty Bendorf, Bettie Ore, Vera Dakin, Bernice Chitwood – all of Paola. There were 10 in attendance, including Bill and Shirley Willard.

The Missouri meeting was held May 25 at 2 p.m. in the Huntsville Museum, 107 N Main Street, Huntsville, Mo. The meeting had representatives from two counties: Chariton and Randolph. Attending were Louise Rice, Salisbury Historical Society; Mary E. Jones, Margaret Block, Fannie Lou Wilhite, and Dora May Craven – all of Huntsville. Tim and Patricia Schisler came from Tipton, Mo. – they were the ones who gave us Tecumseh tobacco at Brunswick in 2003. The Huntsville ladies brought refreshments of cookies, brownies and punch. There were 9 in attendance, including Bill and Shirley Willard.

The Illinois meeting was held May 26 was held at 2 p.m. in the Lincoln Public Library, 326 S. 7th St., Springfield IL. The meeting was in the Carnegie Room on the First Floor. The meeting in Illinois was the smallest, having only Vicki and Dean Mountain from Perry, Ill, and Nathan Hall, a college student serving as an intern for the Illinois State Historical Society. Nathan is writing an article to be published in the Illinois Magazine of History.

The Willards did some outreach while traveling. They stopped at the Holy Rosary Church at Stillwell and talked to Father Larry again about moving the Trail of Death marker from the rural crossroads near Stillwell. They stopped at the land owner’s house to again inquire about moving the Trail of Death marker to the church. The land owner Dr. Carol Foulds was not home but her husband gave us the phone number and we called back that night. Carol said she did not want the Trail of Death marker moved, she will not permit trespassing on her land, and she will put up a fence. When asked about the Potawatomi who might like to say prayers and sprinkle tobacco on the Trail of Death marker, she said they could do it on the road side.

We stopped at Brunswick and saw that they now have a big blue metal sign: HISTORICAL MARKER, above our Trail of Death marker. And we stopped at the James Pecan Farm. They are expanding in order to accommodate buses of tourists. They will install rest rooms and a museum room, and also add to the gift shop and sell ice cream. Now that is a good idea! They are enthused about our plans to put up highway signs. Maybe it will increase tourism for them. I told them we will put their pecan farm on our PTDA web page when we get it done.

On Tuesday morning Bill and Shirley visited the Salisbury MO museum. Always before when we went through on the caravan, we had to stick to the schedule and had no time to see the museum. Louise Rice, the museum curator, was a joy to talk to. The museum is very large with several rooms and a building out back for farm machinery. The Chariton County Historical Society president Jim Hutchinson came by to get acquainted. His uncle Marvin Hutchinson had helped the Trail of Death committee with research in 1988 and led the caravan across that county in 1988.

After leaving the Huntsville meeting Tue. afternoon, Bill and Shirley stopped to visit Josephine Gander at her farm near Monroe City, Mo. She is doing well and is in good health but misses Clifford very much. He died in Feb. 2005. They would have celebrated their 70th anniversary this year.

On Wednesday morning the Willards toured the new Lincoln Museum in Springfield, Ill. It is fantastic! The life-size white house entrance, the life-size replica log cabin of Lincoln’s boyhood home in Indiana, the battle scenes in the movies, the Emancipation exhibit, the funeral and assassination exhibit – all are magnificent in scope and very life- like in detail. You feel like you have been to the Civil War when you get done.