grand mission — everything that makes a great tale. And it doesn’t hurt that all the people involved in the expedition were so friendly and eager to share their memories.”

That starts with Lewis, himself. He still lives in Elgin and loves to tell groups about the transformative expedition — one of five he has taken.

“Our purpose was to make it an educational tool,” he says. “We did over 500 re-enactment presentations along the route for schools and communities, promoting its history and environmental message.”

Lewis says he originally drew 65 students to sign up, and over the course of the two years that number whittled down to 16 who were selected.

One of those was Rich Gross, who now is a science teacher at Conant High School in Hoffman Estates. He has furthered his interest in the explorer LaSalle by becoming involved with the Great Lakes Exploration Group, which is working to find his lost ship, the Griffon.

Another of the members was Terry Cox, a social studies teacher at the time at Downers Grove North High School, whose wife taught at Larkin. Cox was 28 at the time and he says the adventure changed the way he taught U.S. history, from a “top-down” to more of a “bottom-up” approach.

“The expedition was a very complex endeavor,” he says. “Everyone had a job to perform in the canoe and a job to perform on land — cooks, fire starters, wood cutters, shelter builders, quartermasters.

“The trip taught me the real meaning of teamwork,” he adds. “There were numerous occasions where our very lives depended on how well we functioned as a group — be it individual canoes, modules, or the entire six-canoe group.”

Lewis agrees that there were multiple lessons learned from the expedition, which can be applied to overcoming different challenges in life.

“Our biggest success was our decision to do it,” Lewis says. “It was an expedition for life.”