Historical performance at museum Thursday

Sometimes, during a cool autumn walk, do you wonder what life was like for the people who traversed our land 200 years ago?

The Spokane Valley Heritage Museum will help the curious visualize the day-to-day trials of one of the most celebrated adventurers in U.S. history.

Capt. Meriwether Lewis, of Lewis and Clark fame, will come to life Thursday at the new museum, 12114 E. Sprague Ave. Actor and historian Tim McNeil will don period clothing and portray Lewis, based on journals the explorer kept during his three-year expedition from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean and back again.

“I’ve sifted through hundreds of pages of the expedition’s journals to find the right words and events which capture the beauty, excitement and sometimes danger of this amazing exploration,” McNeil said in a press release from the museum. “This wasn’t a summer canoe trip, but an 8,000-mile wilderness journey, made accessible to us through their daily journals.”

McNeil will have tools and supplies on hand to show how Lewis survived and performed daily tasks.

The Idaho Humanities Council, a state-based program of the National Endowment for the Humanities, is sponsoring the performance in part.

McNeil’s performance is free and will run from 6:30 to 7:15 p.m., followed by a 15-minute question-and-answer period. Reservations are requested. For more information, call 217-2737 or visit www.valleyheritagecenter.org.