We're wrapping up the 2005 field season of the St. Ferdinand Church Complex in
Spanish Land Grant Park in historic Florissant, Missouri, this weekend. There've
been a great many discoveries, some of which include domestic items from the
French Colonial period, some Native American artifacts, and a few other items
that we haven't yet identified. As soon as the project's principal investigator,
Joe Harl, comes up for air, he'll write up a short summary which we'll post on
the Mound City Archaeological Society's e-mail listserve
(http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/MAS-MCAS/ or
http://moundcity.missouriarchaeology.org/).

The excavation is open to visitors from 9am to 5pm both Saturday and Sunday.
After that, the backhoes will fill it in and it will sit until we return in the
Spring of 2006. If you need more information, such as directions to the site,
please call (314) 795-6306 or (314) 704-3507 and someone will be happy to help
you.

Of course, to run a multi-year project like this costs money. We've received a
grant from the Missouri State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), as well as
some private contributions. We're also selling souvenirs like pins, magnets, and
shirts commemorating the excavation, but we still need to come up with more
funds to help pay for both this year's and next year's work.

To that end, we've also created a raffle with a grand prize of $1,000.00. There
are also six smaller prizes:

-> 2nd prize, $100.00
-> 3rd prize, $50.00
-> 4th prize, $40.00
-> 5th prize, $30.00
-> 6th prize, $20.00
-> 7th prize, $10.00

Not including two $50.00 Early Bird prizes, which were awarded back in mid-May
at the start of the excavation, there are seven different prizes totaling
$1,250.00. Apart from the prize money, every dollar we collect goes straight to
this archaeological project.

Tickets are only $5.00 each and no more than 1,000 tickets will be sold. The
winners will be drawn on Thursday, June 23rd, and winners need not be present to
win. This raffle is being sponsored by The Friends of Old St. Ferdinand, Inc., a
501(c)3 not-for-profit organization.

If you'd like to purchase tickets, please fill out a slip of paper with your
name, address, phone number, and e-mail address, along with a check for the
correct amount (the number of tickets you want times $5.00) payable to "The
Friends of Old St. Ferdinand, Inc." and mail it to:

Greg Paulus
Mound City Archaeological Society
4484 Westminster Pl
Saint Louis, MO 63108-1813

If we receive your check by June 23rd, your tickets will be entered in the
drawing. Your ticket stubs will be mailed back to you. Those stubs plus your
cancelled check will be your receipt. We'll contact you if you're one of the
lucky winners. If we don't receive your check by June 23rd, we'll return your
check to you without depositing it.

If you have any questions about the raffle or any other aspect of the
excavation, please contact me at bgpaulus@... or (314) 704-3507 or
Gretchen Crank at gdcrank@... or (314) 838-5085.

Remember, even if you don't win, your participation wlll help us continue adding
to an important chapter in the story of some of the early inhabitants of the St.
Louis area.

Thanks for your time and hope to see you at the excavation this weekend,

Greg

Greg Paulus
President, Mound City Archaeological Society
bgpaulus@...
(314) 704-3507