PARTNERS, PIONEERS & PATRIOTS

Lewis and Clark triggered the expansion of the frontier.

In 1804 President Jefferson gave Lewis and Clark a formidable assignment: explore the frontier west of the Missouri River and find a route to the Pacific Ocean. In 1980 I gave my ten-year old son a difficult assignment: read a book about the Lewis & Clark Expedition and write a 500-word report.

Lewis and Clark took two years to complete their task so I gave my son his summer vacation to write his report. Six weeks later he said, "Here's that report, Dad. I hope you like it." Like it? I was profoundly moved by it. He had explained what he learned from the book and how the Expedition had affected him personally. Where had this young man found the insight and resourcefulness to write such an informative and inspiring report?

Lewis and Clark had a more difficult assignment than the one I gave Andy. But they were young men themselves. Where had they found the courage and motivation to face the wilderness with limited supplies, 18th-century tools and equipment, and only a vague idea of where they were going and how to get there?

They trekked 4,000 miles across rugged terrain enduring physical and emotional challenges most of us will never have to face. And after reaching the Pacific they had to back track those same grueling miles to be home again with their friends and family.

Lewis and Clark were the first Americans to cross America, and they did it without maps, cell phones or fast food restaurants. Writers shouldn't use exclamation points more than once in a lifetime, but I'm breaking that rule for Lewis and Clark—they were partners, pioneers and patriots!

You and I can travel the route they explored without even packing a suitcase because we can buy clothes, supplies and food anywhere along the route and enjoy the comfort and convenience of getting there and back in our own car.

Jefferson's goals for the expedition were political, economic, geographical and scientific. Most Americans back then didn't fully appreciate the significance of the Expedition but you and I can look back and understand that Lewis and Clark made it possible for America to stretch from sea to shining sea.

Writing those words reminds me of a day when I was about the same age as my son was when he wrote his report on Lewis & Clark. My YMCA team and I were standing on a football field listening to a woman singing America the Beautiful. As our coach wiped tears from his eyes, I felt tears in mine. I had just finished reading about Lewis and Clark, and knew they and everyone with them on that Expedition had experienced the same things filling the hearts and minds of everyone on that football field. The Expedition is still a powerful reminder of the natural, expansive beauty of America. It's also a reminder that great things happen when Americans do something for their country because our country has and is doing great things for us.