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A Watch Fire for missing in action and prisoner of war service members burns near the Boat House on September 17. We're proud to be part of the community's recognition of service members and to honor those who sacrifice for our freedom. This month, the Boat House and Museum formalized its policy of discounting admission fees for active duty/retired members of the armed services and to holders of the America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass.

With a prime spot near the very front of the 100-plus parade teams, the Discovery Expedition and the City of St. Charles made a big impression and the Bicentennial Inauguration Parade in Jefferson City September 18. We were proud to have St. Charles Mayor Dan Borgmeyer on the float with us, and Governor Mike Parson joined the cadre for a few moments before the parade started. Thanks to all who participated and to our friends in the Mayor's office! (Thanks to Tammy Donelson for some of the photos!)

Our Christmas Party is fast approaching. We had to move our event to the weekend of 10, 11 and 12th of December. As in the past we will gather for our hospitality night at 5 PM at the Boat House on the 10th. Our Military Ball will be held at 6:00 PM on the 11th of December at the All Occasion Banquet Center. We will have our devotional service on the 12th at 10 AM at the Boat House. More details will follow as they are still being worked out. We will have a silent auction again this year. A very nice gift will be waiting for everyone that is in attendance.

I will be glad to reserve a block of rooms at the Hampton lnn for those from out of town. Tickets will be $37.50 per person again this year which includes a nice dinner and 4 hour wine, beer and soda bar. lf you have any questions please call Brigitte Bowers 314 304-7877 or email me at brigitteandnorm@gmail.com More news about this wonderful event will be coming shortly. ln the meantime, dust off your dancing shoes and be watching for detailed information.

The Keelboat has been busy, with an appearance in Jefferson City on Sept. 18 and a multi-day display in Mexico, MO Sept 24-26. Rather than returning to Saint Charles, we're saving fuel and giving Tom Young a lawn ornament that puts the neighbors' bird baths to shame!

Will there be electricity available for camp? Yes, there will be electricity run from the museum

at night but we will have to remove it during the day because of tripping hazards and primitive

ambience.

What is the correct contact information for the hotel? The first notification for the hotel was

incorrect. The hotel that has a block of rooms set aside for us is the Budget Inn 573-581-1440.

Are showers available? Yes, showers are available at the YMCA a few blocks from camp.

Transportation is on your own so we will need to carpool.

What about food? I’ve discussed food in the following itinerary with the exception of

breakfast. We will have cereal and fruit each day. If you need something more there may be

breakfast available at the hotels, (not sure) there are several local restaurants that serve

breakfast or there will be a lot of food vendors on site.

Wednesday September 22. Keelboat needs to be in place. Because of the tight space if

we wait until Thursday other camps will be in the process of setting up and will make

getting the keelboat to its location extremely difficult or impossible. I don’t think that

we will need any help for this operation. Kenny, Tom Ronk and myself can handle this.

Thursday September 23. I would like for a crew to arrive at the location by 2 PM to help

with camp setup. We will be setting a full camp with the Discovery Tent. After camp is

set we will go to a local restaurant for dinner.

Friday September 24. This is the day that camp is closed to the general public and we

will be doing stations for the local school kids. I would like the following stations for

each day, Captains/Orderly tent, keelboat, red pirogue, clothing/uniforms, Discovery

Tent, weapons, fire starting, medicine, and rope making. Brigitte will prepare her

famous chicken salad for lunch. The Historical Society traditionally has a fish fry on

Friday night and they are serving us at no cost.

Saturday September 25 10AM. We will be the lead all the re-enactors in the raising of

the flag. This is a big honor for us so we need to put on our best show. Full dress

uniforms, weapons and accoutrements please. We will be raising the 50 star flag with

our 15 star flag below it. Francis Scott Key will sing the Star Spangled Banner first and

we will follow up with Chester. Stations the same as Friday. Lunch will be pulled pork

sandwiches. Stations will end at 5:00 PM to allow us to attend the re-enactors only

dinner which is provided at no cost to us. After dinner there will be several events

performed by various re-enactment groups that you may want to attend. A cowboy

gunfight will happen at 8:30 that you won’t want to miss.

Sunday September 26. This is the last day of the event. Stations will be the same.

Lunch will be sub sandwiches. Camp must remain open until 4:00 PM so please, please

plan on staying until the end to help with camp breakdown and loading. Arrangements

for security have been made to allow us to leave one of our boats until Monday so our

primary objective on Sunday will be to remove camp and get the keelboat on the road

back to St. Charles.

We're very excited about the film series and preparing for roll out of episodes by the end of the year. To get some final key scenes on film and footage of the boats in action, we're hoping to assemble the cast the weekend of October 8. Watch your mailbox for a filming opportunity in St. Louis County that weekend!

Fort Massac Annual

Thanks to Bonnie Dillard for answering the call for landscaping with a generous donation!

Form 990, Annual Tax Filing As a 501(c)3 non-profit, the Discovery Expedition of St. Charles is required to file an annual statement for public viewing. We've just completed the 2020 report and it's published here for your reference.

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We're glad to accept gifts of cash via our online portal and we are a 501(c), with donations eligible for tax deductions. We hold Silver Certification from Guidestar, so you can feel comfortable donating.

Seeking a tax-advantaged way to handle your retirement plan's Required Minimum Distribution? Consider a Qualified Charitable Distribution, with our helpful IRS resources here.