FROM SIDESHOW TO RESEARCH CENTER

WICKLIFFE, Ky. -- Until donated to Murray State University in 1983, Wickliffe Mounds was little more than a distraction for vacationing families looking for a break from the road. Now the Wickliffe Mounds Research Center is known in archaeological circles for its study of the nearly 1,000-year-old Mississippian culture.

But among the general populace, says Director Dr. Kit Wesler, "A lot of the old sideshow reputation lingers on..."

Archaeology Weekend, which continues today, is one way the center is gradually erasing that image. The event is held to demonstrate how archaeologists work and how some of the center's artifacts were created.

"So many people say, How did they make this stuff? We're so used to going to Kmart," says Wesler.

At work in the steamy heat are a flintknapper, a basket weaver, a potter, a flute maker, a storyteller, a bow maker and others whose intent on sharing their knowledge of native crafts. Those attending also have an opportunity to shoot arrows and blowguns, both of which were used by the Mississippians.

Most of these crafts people taught themselves and only a few claim a Native American heritage.

Gordon Holmes is making bows from Osage orange, a tree that grows in Northern Texas and Southern Oklahoma. He salvages much of the brightly colored, durable wood from old fence posts.

He has been making and shooting bows and arrows since he was a kid. He just never stopped and is now 45.

A plastic factory supervisor in Jacksonville, Ill., Holmes is a member of a group called the Primitive Archers of Illinois. He uses modern tools in his demonstrations but also has made bows by going out into the woods and making his own tools.

Deer intestines make a good string, Holmes said. "But it's messy."

Mary Greer of Kuttawa, Ky., taught herself to make pine needle baskets. She says her hobby is relaxing.

Greer, the recreational director at Kentucky Dam Village State Park, adds, "I had a resource for pine needles. Most people don't care of you pick up their back yard."

Marilyn Kinsella became a storyteller in 1981. She tells all kinds of stories, not just native, and she's careful to check a native story with a member of the tribe it comes from.

"I discovered that many of these stories had been tampered with," she said.

One story common to many tribes accounts for mosquitoes. Another of her stories, "Coyote Dances with the Stars," provides a possible explanation of how the Great Lakes or the Grand Canyon were formed.

Kinsella, a former teacher, now tells stories three days a week at the Edwardsville Public Library. She says all good stories contain a lesson.

"Especially for children, dressing up the truth in a story is the way to get it across."

Ron Sapp and his wife, Brenda, are here from Chamois, Mo., northeast of Jefferson City. He is a traditional flute maker, she makes silver jewelry. Ron was introduced to the craft by a Seminole elder. Brenda, who is a Sioux, started making jewelry because of her fondness for rocks.

"I love cutting into a stone and seeing what I can get," she said.

Jerry Wilson is a site interpreter for the Department of Natural Resources in St. Charles. His site is Missouri's first capital. But on weekends he goes to pow wows and other gatherings with his painted gourds and gorgets, the latter round decorations made from whelk shells.

Wilson and his wife, Susan, a finger weaver, have been coming to Wickliffe Mounds for nearly 10 years. At gatherings like this, he hears lots of people claim a grandmother or great-grandmother who was a Cherokee princess (the Cherokee had no princesses).

Wilson has some distant native heritage of his own but says, "I don't claim it. I hear so many stories."

The Sapps say they haven't heard many "touristy" questions this weekend. "People who care come out when it's hot," he said.