FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 5, 2007

Contact: Mark Sundlov

(701) 572-9034

THE ORIGINAL JOURNALS OF CHARLES LARPENTEUR
PROGRAM, BOOKSIGNING AT CONFLUENCE CENTER SEPTEMBER 23

WILLISTON – Williston author, editor, and historian Mike Casler will discuss, answer questions, and sign his newly published work, The Original Journals of Charles Larpenteur, at the Missouri-Yellowstone Confluence Interpretive Center on Sunday, September 23, beginning at 2 p.m.

Casler’s new work provides a greater understanding of the fur trader and post sutler Charles Larpenteur while also challenging some of the information previously published in Forty Years a Fur Trader on the Upper Missouri: The Personal Narrative of Charles Larpenteur, 1833-1872. Although Larpenteur was primarily known as a fur trader on the Upper Missouri, he additionally served as a sutler at the-then newly constructed Fort Buford. Casler’s publication is a must-have for those searching for a more complete understanding of the fur trade on the Missouri River and a more complete history of Fort Union and Fort Buford.

Located one-half mile east of Fort Buford, the Missouri-Yellowstone Confluence Interpretive Center tells the story of the confluence of these two mighty rivers, as well as provides the same magnificent view that Lewis and Clark Expedition members enjoyed when they visited in 1805 and 1806. The Confluence Interpretive Center is open year-round, and managed by the State Historical Society of North Dakota (SHSND). From May 16 to September 15, its hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Central Time, seven days a week. From September 16 to May 15 it is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesdays through Saturdays, and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays. It is closed on New Year’s Day, Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas. Admission is $5 per adult, $2.50 per child, ages 6-15, and children 5 and under are admitted free. The fee also covers admission to Fort Buford State Historic Site, and vice versa.

The Center also includes a meeting room, rotunda and an open plaza facing the Confluence. The meeting room is available for use during and after operating hours. Equipment is available for no charge, including a slide projector, overhead, screen, easel with white board, public address system, and a coffee percolator. The rotunda and open plaza are available to groups after operating hours only. A $25 security fee is charged for after hours use, with a minimum use requirement of two hours. The admission fee is waived for groups that rent the facility.

Free admission to all sites administered by the SHSND is one of the many benefits for members of the SHSND Foundation. Others include a 15 percent discount on museum store purchases, and the quarterly publications North Dakota History and Plains Talk. To become a member, call the Foundation at (701) 222-1966 or click on the membership button on the agency’s website www.nd.gov/hist.

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