Terry,

I have obviously given you a very wrong idea about my "bad experience." Actually, my experience with rehabilitating a 'lost' Civil War fort has been absolutely fantastic. I was involved in digging a fort out of the underbrush and in a five year time period turning it into a State Historic Site with visitors coming from all over the world to see it. The amount of cooperation from the local population - individuals, businesses, government and private organizations, etc - has been inspirational. The fort is now in the hands of the Office of State Parks and should be developed in the very near future. The only way I could have "better luck in the future" with this project is if . . . well, no, it couldn't get any better than it has been.

All I am trying to say is that our success came about through the efforts of the local people. State Parks took the fort because we gave it to them on a silver platter with a big red ribbon tied around it. Once we got things started, we were able to get state money, and the Red River Waterway Commission was very generous, too. My point is just that no one from the State or Federal government is going to show up asking if they can do something for you, or write you a check, until they see that the locals are serious about developing the site. That is the key.

Steve