The Wahkiakum County Eagle - Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891

Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, Fort Clatsop has announced the next In Their Footsteps free speaker series event. The Astorians – Vision and Desperation in the Pacific Northwest by Robert Heacock will be held Sunday, April 14 at 1:00 p.m.

The Lewis and Clark Expedition is considered an epic success, the result of years of planning and substantial efforts by those involved. Five years later, the expeditions of the Astorians also had years of planning, and involved an epic amount of effort, but for various reasons did not have the direct success enjoyed by Lewis and Clark. Of the 56 or so individuals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, only one man died on the journey. For the Astorians, 65 of the approximately 140 people involved lost their lives. Robert Heacock will share the story of the Astor Expeditions and discuss the challenges they faced.

Heacock is an historian onboard riverboats cruising the Columbia and Snake Rivers. He has been active in the Lewis and Clark story for more than 20 years and is a past president of the Washington Chapter of the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, Inc. Heacock is a frequent contributor to the chapter’s newsletter Worthy of Notice, and the author of Wind hard from the west - The Lewis and Clark Expedition on the Snake and Columbia Rivers. This book is available at the Lewis & Clark National Park Association bookstore in the Fort Clatsop visitor center. There will be a book-signing at this bookstore following his presentation.

In Their Footsteps is a monthly Sunday forum sponsored by the Lewis & Clark National Park Association and the park. These programs are held in the Netul River Room of Fort Clatsop’s visitor center and are free of charge.

For more information, call the park at (503) 861-2471, check out http://www.nps.gov/lewi, or Lewis and Clark National Historical Park on Facebook.