Combining history with historical place
By Joanne Fox, Journal staff writer | Posted: Monday, February 19, 2007
Surrounded by maps, mementos, and memories, Edwin Blackburn combines a love of history with one historical place.
Blackburn has volunteered at the Sergeant Floyd River Museum and Welcome Center, 1000 Larsen Park Road, since November 1996, averaging close to 140 hours each year. Typically visitors will see him behind the desk from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Monday, ready to provide directions or answer questions about Floyd, Lewis, Clark, or the Corps of Discovery.
Blackburn said volunteering at the museum -- actually it's a boat -- is a joy for him. He likes the opportunity to assist people and show them all of the information displayed about the boat.
"I tell them they can't leave until they pull the rope that rings the bell," he said, gesturing up toward the top of the tourist attraction. "That always brings a smile."
Visitors from all over the world have stopped in to learn about not only the Lewis and Clark expedition, but the Sergeant Floyd vessel's historic significance to the Siouxland area.
"I've met people from Japan, Australia, Slovakia, Korea, China, Canada; that's just to name a few," Blackburn said. "This area and the boat is just a unique kind of place."
The Sergeant Floyd boat was originally launched at the shipyards in Jeffersonville, Ind. in 1932. The vessel was named in memory of Sergeant Charles Floyd, a soldier who accompanied Meriweather Lewis and William Clark on their epic 1804 trek to the Pacific Northwest. Floyd was the only fatality on the trip.
Until 1975, the Sergeant Floyd boat traversed the Missouri River moving men, materials, supplies and setting navigation equipment. The City of Sioux City obtained the boat in 1983 and brought her to Chris Larsen Park on the riverfront. Once dry-docking was completed, the Sergeant Floyd opened as a combined museum and state tourist welcome center.
In addition to curiosity about the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Blackburn fields questions from tourists about activities, events, and sites in the Tri-State area.
"People want directions to places, but they also want suggestions on where to eat and where to sleep," he noted. "And we have the unique perspective to talk to them about sites south of Sioux City like DeSoto Bend and destinations as far away as Wall Drug in South Dakota."
Visitor numbers peaked at just over 47,600 during the 2004 bicentennial year of the expedition. Last year's attendance at the Sergeant Floyd River Museum and Welcome Center was almost 28,600. The center is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Armed with three degrees in history, Blackburn enjoys interjecting teaching moments as he talks about the hardships faced by the Corps of Discovery.
"Especially with the kids, I talk about how the soldiers ate seven pounds of meat a day," he said; then the 79-year-old added with a grin, "Then I ask them how many quarter pounders would that be."
Joanne Fox may be reached at (712) 293-4247 or joannefox@siouxcityjournal.com.
VITA
Name: Edwin Blackburn
Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.; moved to Sioux City in 1980
Education: 1944 graduate of Evansville, Indiana, High School; awarded a 1949 bachelor's degree in history from Hobart College, Geneva, N.Y., a 1950 master's degree in history from Indiana University and a 1956 PhD. in history from the University of Michigan
Military: two years with the United States Army
Professional: professor at several college in the Midwest before joining the administration at Briar Cliff College in 1980; retired in 1990
Personal: married to wife Pat from 1950 until her death in 1999; four children; 10 grandchildren; two great-grandchildren on the way in the next few months
How he's making a difference: by volunteering at the Sergeant Floyd River Museum and Welcome Center
Blackburn has volunteered at the Sergeant Floyd River Museum and Welcome Center, 1000 Larsen Park Road, since November 1996, averaging close to 140 hours each year. Typically visitors will see him behind the desk from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Monday, ready to provide directions or answer questions about Floyd, Lewis, Clark, or the Corps of Discovery.
Blackburn said volunteering at the museum -- actually it's a boat -- is a joy for him. He likes the opportunity to assist people and show them all of the information displayed about the boat.
"I tell them they can't leave until they pull the rope that rings the bell," he said, gesturing up toward the top of the tourist attraction. "That always brings a smile."
Visitors from all over the world have stopped in to learn about not only the Lewis and Clark expedition, but the Sergeant Floyd vessel's historic significance to the Siouxland area.
"I've met people from Japan, Australia, Slovakia, Korea, China, Canada; that's just to name a few," Blackburn said. "This area and the boat is just a unique kind of place."
The Sergeant Floyd boat was originally launched at the shipyards in Jeffersonville, Ind. in 1932. The vessel was named in memory of Sergeant Charles Floyd, a soldier who accompanied Meriweather Lewis and William Clark on their epic 1804 trek to the Pacific Northwest. Floyd was the only fatality on the trip.
Until 1975, the Sergeant Floyd boat traversed the Missouri River moving men, materials, supplies and setting navigation equipment. The City of Sioux City obtained the boat in 1983 and brought her to Chris Larsen Park on the riverfront. Once dry-docking was completed, the Sergeant Floyd opened as a combined museum and state tourist welcome center.
In addition to curiosity about the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Blackburn fields questions from tourists about activities, events, and sites in the Tri-State area.
"People want directions to places, but they also want suggestions on where to eat and where to sleep," he noted. "And we have the unique perspective to talk to them about sites south of Sioux City like DeSoto Bend and destinations as far away as Wall Drug in South Dakota."
Visitor numbers peaked at just over 47,600 during the 2004 bicentennial year of the expedition. Last year's attendance at the Sergeant Floyd River Museum and Welcome Center was almost 28,600. The center is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Armed with three degrees in history, Blackburn enjoys interjecting teaching moments as he talks about the hardships faced by the Corps of Discovery.
"Especially with the kids, I talk about how the soldiers ate seven pounds of meat a day," he said; then the 79-year-old added with a grin, "Then I ask them how many quarter pounders would that be."
Joanne Fox may be reached at (712) 293-4247 or joannefox@siouxcityjournal.com.
VITA
Name: Edwin Blackburn
Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.; moved to Sioux City in 1980
Education: 1944 graduate of Evansville, Indiana, High School; awarded a 1949 bachelor's degree in history from Hobart College, Geneva, N.Y., a 1950 master's degree in history from Indiana University and a 1956 PhD. in history from the University of Michigan
Military: two years with the United States Army
Professional: professor at several college in the Midwest before joining the administration at Briar Cliff College in 1980; retired in 1990
Personal: married to wife Pat from 1950 until her death in 1999; four children; 10 grandchildren; two great-grandchildren on the way in the next few months
How he's making a difference: by volunteering at the Sergeant Floyd River Museum and Welcome Center
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