|
|
| The
first of the avid Lewis and Clark bibliophiles was Dr. Eldon Chuinard. Dr.
Chuinard wrote Only One Man Died on the medical aspects of the Lewis and
Clark Expedition and he spent over forty years collecting books on all aspects
of Lewis and Clark. His donation to Lewis & Clark College of over four
hundred books and journals, pamphlets, and periodicals formed a solid basis
for the current collection. Highlights of his collection include the following:
• 1814 History of the Expedition Under the Command of Captains Lewis and Clark. 2 volumes. Philadelphia edition of the Journals • 1810 French edition of Patrick Gass journal in original wraps (Thomas Streeter’s copy) • 1811 Jefferson’s Report to Congress, printed in German • All of the editions of the Journals printed in London, 1814, 1815, 1817 • Dublin 2 volume edition of the Journals, 1817 |
 1810 French edition of Patrick Gass journal in original wraps (Thomas Streeter’s copy) |
 Dublin 2 volume edition of the Journals, 1817 |
Eldon “Frenchy” Chuinard was born in 1904 in Kelso, Washington. He went to college at the University of Puget Sound and Oregon Health Sciences University. “ Frenchy” went into practice as an Orthopedic Surgeon, and served as a Chief Surgeon at Shriners Hospital for crippled children. He retired at the age of 76. Chuinard had a life long interest in Lewis and Clark and served as the founding father of the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation. He also served as chairman of the Governor’s Lewis and Clark Trail Committee. He donated his library to the College in the late 1980’s. His Lewis and Clark Library set the foundation for the other collections that followed. Dr. Chuinard died Feburary 9, 1993. His legacy lives on in his writings, library, and life long comitment to Lewis and Clark scholarship. |