Elsie Picyk

Without a doubt, one of the biggest supporters of the Port Tobacco Archaeological Project has been Elsie Picyk. If there is dirt to be moved, either out of a unit or off of an artifact, she is likely to be in the thick of it. Elsie has also taken a lead role in conducting archival research on the people and place of Port Tobacco, building on the work of previous generations of scholars.

Elsie has long been enamored with old things: canals, railroads, her husband George. (Sorry about that George...I lack discipline.) The photograph to the right shows Elsie visiting one of the locks on the Lehigh Canal near White Haven, Pennsylvania. These structures are simple in concept, but monumental in scale and difficult to build.

The other photograph shows Elsie facing down a speeding locomotive at Steamtown, Pennsylvania. "Big Boy' is another example of American engineering of the 19th century: simple in concept, monumental in scale and complex in construction.

When Elsie isn't delving into America's industrial and Colonial pasts, she is cooking and, until recently, growing grapes from which she made her own wine.

Elsie is an integral part of the Port Tobacco Archaeological Project, as well as of the new Charles County Archaeological Society, bringing lots of energy and good cheer. Thank you Elsie: folks like you make it extra special fun to come to work.

Jim