After
graduation, Reid headed to the University of Illinois, took a BA in French, and
then continued his studies in California and France. He became a teacher of
French.
Reid headed two modern day expeditions in the 1970s to reenact the explorations
of Frenchmen Louis Jolliet and Fr. Jacques Marquette (playing Jolliet) and
Robert Cavalier Sieur de la Salle (as LaSalle), the first white men to visit the
Chicago area. He gives special credit to his brother, Ken, who was a member of
both expeditions, his parents, Perry and Berniece, and his wife Janice who was
the LaSalle II expedition's liaison with some 500 communities along the
voyageurs' 1976-77 canoe route from Montreal to the Gulf of Mexico.
More than three decades later, Lewis continues to give presentations to schools
and corporations, inspiring new generations to realize that ordinary citizens
can live out their dreams too. He says, "We've got to believe, and once we
believe - take the step."