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Acknowledgements

It is curious how often one thing leads to another. Publication by Natural Heritage in 1997 of Spring Again, a collection of my poems, had much to do with the conception of this present book. Several poems in Spring Again reflect upon my archaeological interest, two in particular, “Thrasher” and “The Site,” being inspired during my visits to the archaeological site that is described herein. It was partly the satisfaction of seeing “The Site” poem in print that sparked the idea of expanding on that topic. Thus, once again I am especially indebted to publisher Barry Penhale for his interest and support, with that book as well as this one.

The idea of a popular account of this topic gained momentum during the preparation of a technical archaeological report. I kept getting ideas for things to write about that went beyond the limits of a formal presentation. Gordon G. Graham, who read an early draft, enthusiastically supported the concept and urged me to keep writing. For encouragement in preparing the technical report, and thus indirectly this book, I am grateful to Tony Buchner, Gordon Hill, Erik Nielson, Leo Pettipas and Jack Steinbring. I owe special thanks to Armand and Yvette Hacault for their enthusiastic encouragement of my prowling about on that small eroded portion of their pasture that became The Site.

For assistance in sifting through yards of sand, I owe thanks to my grandson, Ashley Nero, and Robert P. Berger.

The Manitoba Conservation Department has continued to provide me with office space and supplies long after my retirement from the Wildlife Branch.

Elizabeth Struthers, as always, greatly encouraged my writing efforts, expressing interest and excitement just when I needed it, exclaiming over nearly every new paragraph or idea I brought to her. Betty also entered my typed (and cut out and pasted, and retyped) copy on her word processor, and helped produce the final clean version of the manuscript.

Ardythe McMaster kindly reviewed the manuscript, providing reassurance that I was on the right track and, as usual, offering significant critical comments that improved the final draft.

This book would not have been possible without the solid support granted to me by my wife, Ruth. I am especially grateful to her for accompanying me to The Site, and especially for encouraging me to take off, with the dog, day after day over several years to relax and enjoy and indulge myself. Thanks is hardly enough, Ruth.

I am grateful to my publisher, Barry Penhale, for providing me with this opportunity to express my gratitude to all those people, many of whom have passed on, who helped me along the way.