LUSK – Rabbit hides, walking sticks, wooden knives, sling shots, pillows and baked goods piled up on blankets and hides and those in attendance walked around. Dickering, trading, fun and a general atmosphere of a party were felt by those in attendance. They enjoyed trading and trying to get the most for their wares possible. Students from the Lusk Elementary were feeling much as those mountain men, American Indians and fur companies must have felt at the annual rendezvous held two hundred years ago. 

Students enjoyed making beaded bracelets and painting “rawhide” skin pictures with Hannah and Fiona Kerkes, identified fur-bearing animals in scavenger hunt with Heidi Sturman from the Niobrara Conservation district and learned how to make fry bread with Teri Goddard. This was part of a cumulative project with the fourth, fifth and sixth grade classrooms that are shared by Cora Fitzgerald, Sandra Johnson and Holly Kerkes. 

The rendezvous was held in the beef barn at the Niobrara county fair grounds. They were served a “rendezvous soup” for lunch and then watched a demonstration by trapper John Graham. Graham discussed the fur trade industry both then and now and also allowed students to get up close and personal with this collection of animal hides also giving out samples of various animal furs. Then the fun really started.

Students had brought homemade items to “trade” for other items. Student creativity was showcased with everything from brownies to homemade pillows to bows and slingshots. Students traded and dickered each going home with a pile of new “goods” and a new found appreciation for the rendezvous tradition.