First, many thanks to everyone who helped with the (re)opening day of the Mound
City Archaeological Society's excavations around University City's Sutter-Meyer
Farmhouse on Saturday, May 26. Besides the volunteers (who we can never thank
enough), we especially want to recognize:

- Glen G. for trimming the grass around the tarps covering the units that the
lawnmowers can't get to,
- Kathy S. for the hot coffee,
- Elsie G. for the delicious home-made soup,
- Fred B. for the tasty jam bars that provided the little extra sugar rush that
some of us needed in the afternoon, and
- Doug C. for agreeably letting his wife Aimee volunteer him for yeoman duty.

Although the dicey morning weather probably put a few people off visiting or
volunteering, we were able to open the units as planned to see how well they had
fared over the winter months.

The only real issue we found was unit #5E near the cistern, which happened to be
right next to where the basement's sump pump was draining; unit #5E, as well as
part of the adjacent unit #5, was little more than a mucky mosh pit, but we
added several extra feet of PVC pipe to extend the drain further out into the
yard. We'll find out how well unit #5E has dried out when we return this
Saturday, June 9.

If you'd like to volunteer for this coming Saturday, please e-mail
bgpaulus@... or (314) 704-3507. We'll begin around 9am and end
around 3pm. Please be prepared to work at least three of those six hours, if
possible.

Visitors are also welcome to stop by and observe our work anytime during those
house (note: kibitzing is optional).

We'll provide plenty of sunblock and cold, bottled water for everyone.
Volunteers should dress appropriately (we recommend wearing layers which you can
easily take off or put back on, as necessary). We also strongly recommend that
all volunteers should have received a tetanus shot within the past five to ten
years; as usual, we'll ask you to sign a "hold harmless" agreement before we put
you to work.

One final piece of good news: the house has been de-winterized, so volunteers
should have access to the bathroom inside the house, if the need arises.

The Sutter-Meyer Farmhouse was built around 1873 and is believed to be the
oldest standing house in University City. It is located at 6826 Chamberlain
Court, which is one block north and west of the intersection of Ferguson and
Olive. For more information about this project, please see our brochure at
http://moundcity.missouriarchaeology.org/brochures/SutterMeyerbrochure20070416.p\
df

Note: to view this PDF file, you'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader, a free copy of
which you can download at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html .

Hope to see you this Saturday,

Greg

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