Historic Site Dedication, L'Anse Aux Meadows, Newfoundland

Background

Jerry Fritzke (past Chair of the Golden Gate Chapter, 1979-80 and 1987-88) had worked for over seven years to win ASM’s acceptance of L’Anse aux Meadows (LAM) in its list of Historical Landmarks.  On June 30, 2003 he received notification from ASM of its acceptance and then shifted to planning for the dedication.  Noting that the season in L'Anse Aux Meadows ends early in September because of the weather the dedication would have to take place the following summer.  For this Jerry was receiving assistance from people in Canada and was contacting folks in ASM and other organizations who would find the ceremony interesting.

Jerry has also been working to have the Caterpillar plant in Stockton, California (see History Collection at the Haggin Museum) added to the list of historic sites and had plans for having the University of California, Berkeley, where almost a dozen of the transuranic elements (all metals, by the way) were created in their accelerators, included in this list.

About the Dedication

The following account of the dedication was taken from Jerry Fritzke's 18 November, 2004 letter to Leslie M. Taylor, Administrator, Awards & Committees at ASM International.

On 26 July 2004, several of us gathered at the “forging hut” at L’Anse aux Meadows (LAM) to dedicate this site as an ASM International Historical Landmark. Present were:

1. Loretta Decker, Site Manager, LAM National Historic Site

2. Birgitta Wallace, Archeologist Emeritus, Parks Canada

3. Mark Pilgrim,  Blacksmith docent

4. Wade Decker, Maintenance

5. Samuel Decker, Maintenance

6. Arthur Edison, Maintenance

7. Paul Tibbals, Past Chair, Golden Gate Chapter ASM International and his friend Lisa

8. Jerry & Irene Fritzke, Historical Landmark sponsor for ASM International

9. Several onlookers and LAM staff personnel

Jerry Fritzke started off the dedication with a short history of how ASM International started in Detroit Michigan in 1913 to finally result in the American Society for Steel Treating (ASST) in 1920. By 1924 there were 33 chapters of ASST when the Golden Gate Chapter was formed at that time. In 1933, ASST became the American Society for Metals (ASM) to reflect a broader range of activities beyond only that of heat-treating. More recently the name was changed to ASM International, the Materials Information Society, to reflect a more international scope and to disaffiliate the word “American” from our identity. This explanation was given to partially explain the prominent ASM International logo on the two plaques that were soon to be unveiled.

Jerry then thanked the cooperation of Debbie Anderson, former site manager, whose emails and letters materially helped getting this dedication “off the ground”. He also thanked Mrs. Birgitta Wallace (who was in on some of the early archeological digs in the 1960’s) for her assistance in providing a letter that helped convince the ASM International Historical Landmark committee that LAM was a worthy site.

Loretta Decker, present site manager, had taken over this job when Debbie Anderson (my original contact at LAM) moved to a different job at Gros Morne National Park, also in Newfoundland. LAM was discovered in 1965 when Helge Ingstad, an archeologist from Norway, was exploring several sites mentioned in the “Icelandic Sagas”, stories written down by Icelandic explorers some 1,000 years ago. Ingstad came to LAM after fruitlessly searching along the Labrador and Newfoundland coasts for possible abandoned Viking settlements. At LAM, he chanced upon a Mr. George Decker, grandfather of Loretta Decker—the present site manager. Decker pointed out several mounds near some gardens he was tending—he had thought they were originally built by the local Indian tribes long ago. Helge Ingstad’s wife, Anne Stine Ingstad, was an archeologist and during several subsequent years of summer archeological excavations, they found metal artifacts. These were made of wrought iron and the site also contained evidences of small smelting and forging activities. To Anne Stine Ingstad, this formed a clear picture that LAM was the abandoned Viking site her husband had been searching for since the local Indians did not know how to smelt iron.

Loretta Decker then said a few words about how pleased the site was to receive this recognition. Paul Tibbals also contributed several thoughts about the abilities of early explorers to produce much-needed articles that they required for their safe return to Iceland and Greenland.

Finally, the two plagues were unveiled as they were mounted on a semi-permanent stand made in the LAM maintenance building. This portable stand will (and can be) used to help direct museum visitors and its portability was deemed to be of good value by LAM staff.