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At the Big Island Rendezvous &
Festival, the participants know each other as fur traders, canoeman
and beadworkers, but in their day-to-day lives they often work
regular jobs.

      "A lot of people don't seem to understand that we have other
lives besides this," said Derek Berg. It was his first trip to the
Big Island Rendezvous, held Oct. 1-4, but he's been to many other
reenactments before.


      At the Rendezvous, Berg was a voyageur nearing retirement around
1822. A voyageur was a French canoeman that Berg described as the
equivalent of a modern truck driver.

      While he said some traders participate in the Rendezvous for a
living, many other people work various jobs and will participate in
other festivals for fun and educational reasons.

      When he's not a voyageur, he's a quality control technician at
Peerless Chain Inc. and a part-time sports writer.

      Berg spent about a year studying books and studying in museums
to gain the knowledge about the time period and his role.

      "Sometimes I like pushing myself to see how well I can rough
it. I figured if my forefathers could do it for a lifetime, I could
do it for three days," Berg said.

      Despite the rain Oct. 2, Berg said he was warm and dry in his
diamond tent, which consisted of a dark piece of cloth with an oar
holding the canvas up.

      He said you learn ways to stay warm when sleeping outside.

      Brenda Kontz started coming to the Rendezvous and helping out
about 20 years ago. Kontz is also known as Many Trails at the
Rendezvous, but since she spends a lot of time helping when
students visit the Rendezvous, Kontz hasn't delved as deeply into
her character as some Rendezvous participants.

      "I'd say it's escaping from reality," Kontz said. "You can
take on a different character and be someone else for a couple
weeks."

      Kontz and Berg both said it's refreshing to get away from
technology and electricity for a few days.

      All the Rendezvous participants come from different areas and
different backgrounds to gather at the Rendezvous. When area
students and local residents aren't attending the Rendezvous, the
participants spend their time playing music, dancing and sitting
around the campfire telling stories.


      "Everybody out here is kind of like family, even though you
don't know them," Berg said.


      Berg said he brought his grandson to a different festival, and
he knew other people would help watch him.

      Another activity for Rendezvous participants Saturday night is a
paddle dance, where a girl is lined up in front of a boy. If she
doesn't want to dance with the boy in front of her, she passes the
paddle to the next girl.

      Despite the bonding between participants, Berg said he often
only knows other participants by their Rendezvous roles. He
referred to one family who are buckskinners at the Rendezvous and
he said he only knows them as buckskinners.

      "I spend some time going around to people going, You do
something for a living? What do you do for a living? I can't
picture you in any other scene than that. You meet up with one of
these skinners in Rochester or something like that, and you go,
whoa. You're dressed in blue jeans and a T-shirt," Berg said.

      "It's shocking when we meet outside of this setting," he
added.

      Leon StandsAlone portrays an ancestor who was half white and
half Lakota living in a camp around the 1870s. He wore a soldier's
coat he said he got from someone who didn't need it anymore.

      "It's really a gathering of likeminded people. We all have that
history interest. It may be a different point in history, but we're
all trying to remember the old ways, the old skills, and I always
like to pick other people's brains to learn some of the things
they've picked up and then share what I know," StandsAlone said.

      When he's not at the Rendezvous, StandsAlone is a truck mechanic
in the Twin Cities. After returning to work next week for a few
days, he'll go to Winona for another rendezvous.

      Dennis Polak and his son Andrew came out the Big Island
Rendezvous for their second year. The two set up a teepee, and
Dennis is a bead worker.

      When they're not at a rendezvous, Dennis works in construction
in Coon Rapids. Andrew is planning to join the Air Force.

      Marni and Erick Shelley also said the Big Island Rendezvous is
like a big family. The two stayed with their 2-year-old son,
Thorin, in a cabin that's 12 feet by 12 feet. The cabin is owned by
the Rendezvous.

      Marni attended her first rendezvous when she was 2-months-old.
She and Eric met at a rendezvous, Erick proposed to Marni at a
Rendezvous and the two were married at a Rendezvous.

      Marni's parents, grandpa and great-uncle were all rendezvous
participants.


      The two live in Rochester, where Marni is in nursing school and
Erick works for Rochester Armored Car Co.

      Erick said the cabin is a replica of homes built as part of the
land grants during the 1850s to 1870s, where people had to build a
cabin and grow a crop in one year or lose their land, Erick said.
He said more than 10 people would stay in the cabin.

      The winter is often a good time for the family to do research.
Erick said events like the Rendezvous is a great hands-on learning
experience.

      "It's a great vacation in funny clothes," Erick said. "It's a
hands-on living history."

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At the Big Island Rendezvous &
Festival, the participants know each other as fur traders, canoeman
and beadworkers, but in their day-to-day lives they often work
regular jobs.


Reenactors turn back the centuries in Minn.

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