Let's Talk Books With Robin Van Auken

Today I chatted with my good friend Tom “Tank” Baird about his passion for archaeology, and how he's become a local expert on the topic of prehistory and Native American cultures. I met Tank in 2005 when he rolled up to my dig site in Muncy on his Harley Davidson, with his beautiful, blonde wife, Anita, on the back. The two were clad in black leather, on a loud motorcycle, and just a little intimidating. I was teaching people, including children, how to excavate at a public archaeology dig in Muncy at the newly formed Heritage Park and Nature Trail. Tank had read about the public dig in the newspaper and was curious. Soon, he muscled the kids out of the way and became my best pupil. Over the next few months, Tank proved to be the best volunteer a project director could find. His wife, Anita, however, saw a snake at the site and beelined out of there. She would occasionally visit, standing along the road, but her heart wasn’t in it like Tank’s. During the next few years, I talked Tank into working at the