Collier Lodge dig volunteers needed

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Updated: August 4, 2011 4:20PM

The Kankakee Valley Historical Society is looking for diggers — and not just the kind with shovels in their garages.

The society is inviting anyone interested in archaeology and history to a meeting to kick off a recruiting drive for workers at what has become a unique summer activity in south Porter County, the annual three-week summer excavation project at the Baums Bridge southwest of Kouts.

Society president John Hodson says planning is under way with Notre Dame anthropologist Mark Schurr to resume field work at the Collier Lodge, the last of the early 20th-century hunting clubs still standing in what used to be the Grand Kankakee Marsh.

“One of the biggest problems we’ve had is getting unit supervisors. We’ve always had plenty of people to do the digging, but we only have so many who have been with us long enough to oversee the opening of new units. We hope to get some new people who have anthropology backgrounds or experience,” Hodson said.

Hodson and Schurr will host a presentation for signing up prospective field workers for the amateur dig at Valparaiso University in room 112 of Kallay-Christopher Hall at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 5.

“Dr. Schurr will show the video that we prepared for our application to place the dig on the National Register of Historic Places, and then we will have a question-and-answer session,” Hodson said.

He said Schurr will also talk with candidates, who are encouraged to bring a resume or other evidence of their interest and experience. 

A degree is not required, but previous archaeological work is a plus. The dig has thrived for seven summers with over a hundred talented amateurs of all ages each year who need only to pay the society’s annual membership fee and sign a release.

Artifacts dating back up to 8,000 years ago have been unearthed, but with excavations concentrating on the historical period from the 1830s to the present in the past two years, the ability to dig into research for facts is just as important, Hodson said.

Last summer’s work filled in gaps in the story of a cabin that stood in the days when the site was the only way to cross the river between South Bend and the state line.

“This year Mark is working with Indiana University-South Bend to get enough students together for a field school,” Hodson said.

He said this year’s dig will be conducted Tuesdays through Fridays from July 5 to July 22.