January 2023 Minutes

Gilbert Tractor Club

January 10, 2023

Meeting Place: Gilbert High School Classroom – 7 p.m.

                                                                                                                                          Welcome \ Introductions:  Don kicked off our meeting.

Guest and family additions: speaker Jim Gilbert and guest Ed Engels wife, Julie (Steve’s sister)

Treasurer Report: $1,742.50 and we need to collect dues tonight, plus we have calendars for sell.  Get your calendar tonight.   We have the calendar bill that needs paid.

Old Business: none discussed

New Business:   Don is our new President. We need future presenters.  Please to see Don, Al, Ed or Bob if you know of someone who will present.  We will accept any topic.

Discussion Items: Not a lot happening this time of the year.  The Ames Lions are now handling the Jewell toy show and it’s going to be held on Sunday, March 5th at the Boone County Fairgrounds.   Don Johnson will have a table.  See Don if you have addition interest.   Don thought the hours were 9-3p.m.

Auction or Threshing events: None

For Sale or Wish List: Jim has a John Deere starter for sale.

Presentation:  Jim Gilbert  (Steve Larson’s brother-in-law, married to his oldest sister)

During Jim and his wife’s travels they discovered the Lewis and Clark trail makers. During their trip, Jim discovered an education center with facts about Lewis and Clark in South Dakota.  The site had first person narratives of their journals, replicas of the vessels they used in their expedition and movies filled with facts.  Jim was intrigued by them and decided to study more about the adventures of Lewis and Clark.  Being a former elementary school principal, he’d liked history and seeing the signs for Lewis and Clark sparked his interest in their travels.  In his studies Jim found Thomas Jefferson was president in 1801 with the majority of the United States population on the east coast.  There was British and French trade along the Mississippi River and the Missouri River. All goods were going through New Orleans and other countries wanted to purchase it for their country to control. Spain signed a treaty deal with France, returning the Louisiana territory to France. Napoleon wanted to send troops to New Orleans to defend it against the British.  The troops went to Hatti where he lost a lot of them due to illness.  Meanwhile, President Jefferson makes a deal with the minister of  France to purchase the Louisiana territory.  This became known as the Louisiana Purchase, where the U.S. bought the desired land for $828,000, about 4 cents per acre. President Jefferson now wants to find a way to connect the Missouri River to points west to  reach the Pacific Ocean for trading.  He commissions Lewis and Clark to map out the trade routes west. Both Lewis and Clark had been in the military and would make great scouts. Along the way they are to gather information and samples of soil, animals, minerals and information about the Native Americans.  Lewis and Clark took with them amo, food, surgical instruments, tents, tools, presents for Native Americans, and other goods. Clark starts creating maps of their journey.  They knew of the Columbia River from their prior travels as they set out for their journey westward.  Their journey starts from St. Louis, Mo. They had 45 people with them as they left on the expedition. Daily journals were kept by several so they could be compared for facts later. During their expedition as men went out the hunt or exploring, if they didn’t return in time the rest of group continued on and the explores would have to catch up later.  When men were lost, they’d fire guns to find their way back.  Sacajawea, a young Shoshone woman met Lewis and Clark in South Dakota and became their peacemaker among Native Americans as they headed west.  She was their interpreter and guide.  In April, the expedition left Fort Mandan and headed up the Missouri River in pirogues. They had to be poled against the current and sometimes pulled by crew along the riverbanks. By August 1805, the corps had located a Shoshone tribe and was attempting to trade for horses to cross the Rocky Mountains. They used Sacagawea to interpret, to barter horses for the group and to provide guides to lead them over the rugged Rocky Mountains. It’s here they learn the tribe’s leader, is Sacagawea brother.  The trip was so hard that they ran short of food. At one point, closer to the Pacific, they ate dried salmon and become sick due to it being new to their digestive systems.  Lewis & Clark notice, as the expedition approached the mouth of the Columbia River on the Pacific Coast, there is trading already happening. They realized ships were already here and trading with people. People were dressed different than others they’d encountered along their journey.  When the expedition reached the Pacific Ocean, all members of the expedition, including Sacagawea voted on the location for building their winter fort. It took them 1 1\2 years to get to the Pacific Ocean and only 6 months to return to St. Louis.  Coming back, they were going with the current.  We were also given a map which included the route going and returning.  Returning the map shows where Lewis and Clark split off for a while into different routes to explore before coming back together for the return to St. Louis. Once back congress met to discuss the amount of money allotted to Lewis and Clark for the expedition.   Lewis dies shortly after their return.

Secretary Report by: Marlene Youde