Dear Liza,
I have been to Fort Vancouver a few times, and every time I go, I learn something g new. I went with Cynthia last Friday and got so busy talking with the docents and guides that I almost forgot to take pictures!
I always have to remind myself that Fort Vancouver was not, in its earliest role, a military fort. It was the trading center for the Hudson's Bay Company, a Canadian (therefore, English) run company.
At the historic reconstruction of the Fort, I asked about this symbol, which is posted prominently over the door of the Counting House.
On of the fellows explained that "Pro Pelle Cutem" translates to "A skin for a skin", meaning that the men of the Fort were literally putting their skin (their lives) on the line to acquire skins, or pelts, for the folks back in Europe to use. In the logo are deer, beavers and a fox, to show which skins are the most important.
Later, we went to visit The Marshall House, one of the houses for Officers built after the U.S. Army took over the fort.
This grand Victorian house had been built in 1886 for use by whoever was in charge of the Fort at any given time. It had 12 fireplaces, a steam heated boiler in the basement, and stained glass in some of the windows.
Our guide, a charming gentleman named Jim, explained that the house was set up to show how it was when General George Marshall lived there from 1936 to 1938. This was the man who had created and carried out the Marshall Plan that helped with the reconstruction assistance to Europe after the devastation of World War II.
This was (to me) a whole new page from history !
In 1937, a Russian long-distance aircraft, called "Stalin's Route", and its crew of three flew 62 hours from Russia, over the North Pole, and were headed to California. Bad weather over the Pole caused them to run low on fuel and they had to land at Fort Vancouver.
The folks at the fort were caught by surprise, but in spite of the language barrier, did all the right things. The soldier manning the air field allowed the plane to land and protected it from being disturbed. General Marshall had the pilots escorted to his house where he provided baths, breakfast, and suits to wear, since all they had were their dirty flight suits. The crew were interviewed for the local newspaper and General Marshall invited them to sleep at his house.
The crew had a month-long tour of the U.S., ending in Washington D.C. where there was a state dinner with President Franklin Roosevelt before heading home to Russia.
Always something to learn, if you keep your eyes open.
Love,
Grandma Judy
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