The meeting will be held in conjunction with the Conference on Historical Archaeology in Illinois, at the Hilton Hotel just east of the Old State Capitol in downtown Springfield. The hosts for this event will be Tracey and Keith Sculle of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, Robert Sherman of the Elijah Iles House Foundation, and Floyd Mansberger of Fever River Research.

The theme for this year’s conference is: “Cultural Crossroads.” The Saturday field trip will focus on the Abraham Lincoln sites in and around Springfield. It will also include other important historic and architectural places within the city such as the Elijah Iles House, a mid-19th century dwelling that reflects central Illinois’s cultural crossroads, and the Dana Thomas House, an early Prairie School home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

The conference committee is currently soliciting proposals for papers, special sessions, and panel discussions relating to the conference theme. Papers on Illinois are especially welcome, but presentations on all material culture topics of interest to the Society will be considered. The abstract deadline is July 5, 2002.

Student membership in the Pioneer America Society is still $10 a year and includes subscriptions to the Society’s two journals, Material Culture and P.A.S.T. Students also receive a discount on conference registration fees.