STRONG — The Strong Historical Society will feature Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation member Richard Brooks, a speaker who has a passion for his topic, at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 2. 

“In retirement, I planned to pursue some study of the Plains Indians, and I focused on Chief Crazy Horse,” Brooks said. “My wife Agnes and I made trips many summers to Wyoming, Nebraska, Montana and North and South Dakota.” 

They visited the place assumed as Crazy Horse’ birth, his battle sites, including the Little Big Horn, where, Brooks said, “Lt. Col. Custer overstepped his own authority and capabilities and was annihilated by the Sioux and Cheyenne.” 

While exploring that battle scene and the site of Crook’s Battle of the Rosebud and other historic places, the Brooks frequently encountered references to Lewis and Clark, who transited that area in 1804-05, and again in 1806, on their return to St Louis. The Brooks went to Cut Bank, Mont, in 1997, to meet the Larry Epstein, the resident Lewis and Clark guru. 

Epstein agreed to guide them into remote sites like the Blackfeet Reservation, if Brooks agreed to join the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation. 

“Therein lay the beginning of one of the most interesting and exciting adventures of my life,” Brooks said. “Each year, we go to the annual meeting somewhere along the (Lewis and Clark) Trail, which extends from Philadelphia, Pa., to Astoria, Ore.” 

His slides cover the story from Jefferson’s 1803 purchase of Louisiana to the Sept. 23, 1806, completion of the expedition. 

“I enjoy speaking about Lewis and Clark and the 31 people who made the whole trip,” he said. “Mostly, I talk with school kids who are studying explorers, but I also have enjoyed talking with library and civic groups.” 

The society’s meeting will be at its headquarters in the Vance and Dorothy Hammond Home, Main Street. A potluck supper will begin at 6 p.m., followed by a short business meeting and Brooks’ presentation. The public is welcome. For more information, call 684-3613 or 684-2195.