Taps at LBH Battlefield?

[lizs]

(So when do I get the award for the newbie who started the most threads you can live without? I have my edited and re-edited acceptance speech ready...)

Just wondering... Is "Taps" played at LBH Battlefield? I was there in 2006 for the anniversary event, on Saturday and the sun was starting to really sink in the west.

I was by the Indian memorial and all of a sudden... wafting out of nowhere... "Taps" was being played. People, including park rangers, over by Last Stand Hill, cemetery and memorial were looking all over for the trumpeter, who was not seen. That led me to believe it is perhaps **not** a regular event? Please let me know either way

All I know was it brought a tear to my eye (much more so than your silly awards, anyhoo! ;D)

[stevewilk]

what you heard was likely John Doerner, park ranger/historian. He blows taps at a wreath laying ceremony held anniversary weekend courtesy of the CBHMA. As I recall last time I was there he held that last note several seconds.

BTW Liz, I am also a PITster; done three so far: Camp Rucker AZ and Carter Military Road UT twice. Found some neat things last July on the road. A few Springfield .45/70 cases, a spoon fragment, glass telegraph insulators and several horse/mule/oxen shoes. One lucky guy found a blouse uniform "eagle" button. I look for the projects dealing with the frontier army; I was told they were going to be excavating the site of Ft. Ruby Nevada this year. I hope to be able to take part.

[Diane Merkel]

If you'd like to read about Steve's Carter Military Road experience, go to www.littlebighorn.info/Features/CarterMilitaryRoad.htm.

[lizs]

Thanks, Diane.

And Steve, PIT's great, huh? I ran across your info before. Fun stuff. I had considered some of those Utah ones, just never quite got that far (been all over southern Utah, but not the North. Mountain Meadows Massacre is another crazy, interesting battle)

I've found I don't much like digs (really bad if I wanted to be a serious archaeologist... then again, maybe I'd learn to like with more education and training). I don't mind pedestrian surveys, but I seem to suck at finding things, lol. Although in Slim Buttes I'm happy (even proud, lol) to say I found the little point needed to get an occupation site written up when the guy who **always** finds everything couldn't.

I really like wandering around the Fort Robinson area, as well as SW and NW SD and eastern Wyoming. I seem to have a thing for those rolling plains.

I see PIT is starting to list events for this year. I got picked for Picketwire in Colorado last year, but it didn't time out well. I see that one is up. I'll have to see where Fort Ruby is. I try to keep in touch with Linea Sundstrom, who does the rock art ones. Am not sure how she does it, but hers often aren't listed on the Web site. She contacts her past PITsters and usually gets enough people that way. I luckily got in on a Craven Canyon one when someone else backed out, which started the association.

Last I heard Linea wasn't sure about a Black Hills project, as the Forest Service there now has all new people from the ones she'd worked with. She may go to Custer National Forest in NW SD again, to continue work on an oral history project around Slim Buttes. That was cool... got to spend a good three hours one night talking with a long time resident from a pioneering family. Although I learned that even I (a reporter) need a tape recorder along when chatting with people in areas I don't know. lol... We were looking at how that area went from small farms to the large ranches. And I learned about turkey drives! LOL! I thought the guy was pulling my leg, but this summer found a book at Devils Tower on the very topic.

This past year I was on a PIT near Devils Tower, but on BLM land. That archaeologist said she might do a rock art PIT this year at Whoop-Up Canyon, which is south of Newcastle.

I was happy when PIT started posting the events as they come in, but now I'm not so sure. I sign up for one, then another one I'd really like to do comes up. AAAACK!!!

[lizs]

Oh yeah and Steve, the wreath laying would have taken place earlier in the day, right? So, if it were him playing "Taps," it was just something he decided to do? It was certainly haunting and beautiful, whatever the case.