"for the purposes of commerce..." wrote Thomas Jefferson to Congress in 1803, so began the lecture "The Remembering and Forgetting of Lewis & Clark" by a visiting professor and new author in the realm of experts on an epic journey that took the USA from sea to shining sea. Focus on the founding fathers - US developers as it were. Specifically President Thomas Jefferson who sent explorers to search for a water way to the Pacific for a cheaper, quicker trade route to the "Indies".

The basis of wealth lay with the landowners. People who owned land were wealthy and they served in Congress. Not all members were interested in exploration in itself but there were others very much interested in commerce. What made the Lewis & Clark exploration palatable to Congress (for modest funding) was the mapping of unknown lands for settlement and securing Indian tribes friendly for safe trade. The men returned in 1806 and the public waited publication of the discoveries.

Focus on hardships of the epic journey was replaced with boiling issues at work decrying wasteful slaughter of wildlife and a realization that "nature" was being destroyed.

The rigorous journey and unimaginable hardships were put out of the American mind - until a century had passed - in 1905. The Centennial of the completion of the Lewis & Clark expedition was celebrated with a special printing of a $10 bill with a picture of the Captains and a bison on its face. The awesome journey was celebrated with a push toward conservation and stewardship of natural lands and protection of wildlife, bringing not only awareness of the historical implications of the trip but some pretty good revenue from the public participating in the fun.

Then after WW II businesses began to note their heritage, "founded in 1900 etc" to establish a legacy of long time respect and integrity. Industry went for automation. Factories left for foreign soil. Tourism developed. Nature tours were invented and a wondrous lucrative goal was focussed on Centennials for the new millennium. Just about every environmental and social movement rushed to celebrate the Century - not in welcome of the Twenty-first - but remembering the past.

Lewis & Clark was - is - a gold mine for tourism. At Sacajawea State Park at the confluence of the Snake and Columbia rivers a second annual Heritage Day will occur October 9, 2004. Visitors are invited to relive history. Live vicariously the reenactment of mountain men, Indian dancers, tool makers and dugout canoes.

The parting note of the lecture was that if the millions and millions of dollars spent on the Lewis & Clark focus were to be spent on developing jobs for the communities, society would be the richer for it. And although I disagreed on some of Mark Spencer's premises, I know he is right about that because the only ones who benefit from tourism are the owners of the hotels, restaurants, and stores where tourists shop. And so echoes President Jefferson's statement..."for the purposes of commerce".