Simple living, history draws Fort Connah participants
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ST. IGNATIUS — A thick fog covers the Mission Mountains as the smell of sausages and firewood waft from a small wooden cabin on the emerald green valley below. Smoke rises from a humble home protected by a sod roof and decorated in animal furs, the door made of a single sheet of canvas.
It is a simple way to live, if only for a weekend.
Ted Hoglund emerges from the house in a red knit hat and long red coat wearing a choker and beaded pouch around his neck. Throughout the weekend, he has enjoyed the warmth of the fire, chats with friends and an exchange of knowledge.
He is more than happy to show visitors his flintlock pistol from the 1800s and share his wealth of information about the time period. He talks and laughs with MaryEllen Davis, a retiree from Lolo, as the two walk across the camp of teepees and one-pole tents. And though he resembles a mountain man or trader from the past, the man from Thompson Falls would drive home in a few days with the next rendezvous already on his mind.
“It just gets in your blood,” Hoglund said. “This group is like one big family.”
Hoglund spend his first night at the Fort Connah Rendezvous about five years ago and has been coming back ever since. He has been attending rendezvous for almost 10 years.
Davis also travels to different rendezvous throughout the year.
She has attended Fort Connah for the past four or five years.
“I’ve been at a couple of rendezvous where I was soaking wet and didn’t see my car for two weeks … but it was good,” Davis said.
The historic Hudson’s Bay Trading Post of Fort Connah was established in 1846, and the Fort Connah Restoration Society hosts two open houses each year. The spring event is May 5 and 6 with the next one coming up Aug. 17-18.
Fort Connah is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was active from 1846 to 1871.
The events give people a chance to immerse themselves in a history they love and to share their passion with others.
“You meet all these awesome people; there are quite a few characters,” Davis said.
Many folks like Hoglund and Davis camped at the fort days prior to the opening day and dress every day in frontier clothing typical of the mid-1800s.
Visitors could watch demonstrations, make crafts and see history come to life.
Event director Scott Cameron of Corvallis said each rendezvous and open house attracts an average of 350 people.
Cameron estimated that about 80 percent of the people who participate in these types of events do it throughout the year.
“I love it,” Cameron shared. “It creates the ability to share history.”
“It was so much fun. I had never done anything like this before. It was my first time sleeping in a teepee; it was comfy and warm,” said Lynda Holt of Stevensville. “It gives you a feeling of what it really was like and makes you appreciate turning on the heat or taking a hot bath.”
