Introduction

Hi,

I am Brock Schmeling and I am a sophomore history student at NDSU this summer where I am employed at Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park as an interpretive guide. As this is my second summer working in the park my expectations of what is to be expected is quiet clear I am to: give living history tours of the Commanding Officer's Quarters (the Custer House) as a member of the 7th Cavalry, give tours of the On-A-Slant Mandan Village, act in the Melodrama, and keep the historic sites clean. Such things as dusting the Custer House, sweeping the Barracks, and sweeping Earthlodges is included in the latter.

My first week back at the Fort included lots of school groups. It also included me trying to recall facts that had been learned over the coarse of the previous summer and looking up anything that I may have forgotten. The school groups were a lot of fun to give as I was at the Cavalry side I marched them up to the house and pretended that the students had just enlisted in the army. Then if they mentioned something that was not time period I was either look at the offender like he or she was crazy or mention that he had better have his or her head examined by the post surgeon. The students are also interesting tourists because they tend to ask interesting questiong. I hope the rest of the tourists that come through the park this summer are as interested in the history as these students have been.

Brock's Summer at Fort Abraham Lincoln

This weblog is established for the use of Brock Schmeling, who is enrolled for field experience credit at NDSU this summer in connection with his employment at Fort Abraham Lincoln. I'm Brock's contact for the field experience at NDSU. As for the rest of what he's doing, I'll let him tell you about it.