6-16-2019 5 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Five years can be a long time. It comes down to relativity, in one sense. Five years can be a long time in jail, or it could be a short time watching a child grow up. I'd like to think it to be the latter rather than the former in the case of my blog.

Five years ago, I had toyed with the idea of starting a blog to highlight my career as a historical interpreter and show off all the neat things I get to do or participate in. In some way, that is what this blog has done, so my original intent is still here.

2014 Ryan worked as a seasonal interpreter on a farm.

Over time, it became more of a place where I can show my depth of interest, concern, and understanding of the art and skill of interpretation and the issues surrounding it. Like all things in five years, it has changed. It has changed in becoming deeper, more impacting content than a fun and flashy "look at me" self serving showcase.

Because of this change, it has also been difficult to continue to provide meaningful content. The need to make content interesting, relevant, and important became a struggle to be able to do it. It is one of the reasons why the blog became less spontaneous and a more metered monthly publication.

2019 Ryan is still seasonal but with the National Park Service

Finding content and committing to a monthly deadline has been an education and a discipline that I have had to cultivate as the low hanging fruit of my imagination began to run out of readily available ideas and I have had to look for things that inspire from my career and daily life.

Over the five years, here are five things that I have learned in blogging:

1. Pictures are worth a thousand words. If you look back on my very first blog post, there is not one image. Actually, neither did the second post. Honestly, those were a little boring. They were my first ones, so that can be easily overlooked. More often than not, I have added too many photos and not enough text. I generally plan for between 5- 7 images but only end up using 4-6 depending.

Editor-in-Chief on location in Atlanta

2. You have to make your own noise. Not many people are going to be in your cheer squad, so recruiting people to share and spread is essential.However, I must admit this is an area in which I can improve. I presently only self advertise on Facebook and LinkedIn, but I have to learn more about Twitter. Networking with other bloggers and people who do things that you do helps create community and shared experience. It also seems less like "crying in the wilderness" where no one can hear me make noise. One way for me to improve is to explore better advertising and sharing platforms.

3.Editing matters! Writing is hard work, especially under a deadline. I try to use the Hemingway App to help improve my writing style. About my biggest complaint is that it does not like passive voice. Since much of the content I write about takes place in the past and sometimes by course of natural action and not active participation, the passive voice is simply part of the writing style. I also have an head Editor-in-Chief! She has helped me untangle some frazzled threads that made it onto an editable region on the blog software and turn it into something that makes sense to someone reading it. She has her own blog that she adds to when inspiration and time allow. 

David Connon, the author of the "Maserati"
guest blog post and author of his own blog
Confederates From Iowa

4.Snazzy titles. Perhaps I have yet to learn this one. My most visited and popular post was not written by me, but by a guest. The Me in a Maserati blog post just celebrated its release just 3 years ago. This post has been very popular in Europe, especially in Russia. I think it is because "Maserati" shows up in the title and the search engines worldwide pick it up. Or, maybe it is because David Connon's winsome blog post and his network far outshines my readership ."I think...that it has been your most viewed post because of the wording of the title, and probably particularly because of the word 'Maserati'. " I corresponded with David about the popularity of his post, initially to look at what made the post the most successful one yet but he also had this bit of advice about titles,"I think that writing good, snappy, and/or interesting titles is important if we want to attract readers. But it is hard to do, and sometimes it's like pulling teeth."
5. L shape writing. This kind of writing is similar to using the Hemingway App, in that the short curt sentences are broken up into smaller paragraphs that are easier to read. I still need to revise my earlier posts that use full paragraphs and break them into smaller chunks.

With all things, it is hard to say how much longer this blog will continue to bring the reader fresh content, but it is my intention to keep it up as long as I am able.

If you are a regular reader, then thank you for reading. Please continue to read and learn and give feedback. I appreciate all the help, support, and inspiration over the years!

A New Course Charted for the English Speaking World Sept 27, 1066

William as depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry 

On this day in history, Sept 27th 1066, William of Normandy set sail for England. Change had already been in the wind for England since the death of Edward the Confessor, the previous king of England, without an heir. Several claimants had made raids into England but nothing had been settled. Harold Godwinson the English lord had been crowned King earlier in the year but his challenges to the throne came from William, who had a claim to the throne, and Harald Hadrada, King of Norway.

In what may seem only somewhat understandable today, given the popularity of the television show Game of Thrones, even then office did not mean legitimacy, power, and clear ascension. Sometimes breaking the rules and making the rules made the rules. It was certainly the case with William who survived in a lord-eat-lord world of the 11th century Europe. But much has changed since then in the world. These days peaceful changes of power happen at a fairly even rate and frequency now, but they are still not without pitfalls, such as the first televised debate of the 2016 election. It would also seem a bit naive to also ignore the amount of violence in the world in matters of control and power. The world is still a dangerous place to be, and will probably always be so.

Whether Old English or Middle English, Anglo-Norman, French, Latin or whatever, men on horse with spears and swords send a pretty clear message.

The Norman Invasion also changed England's lexicon; ushering in Middle English from Old English. Up until this time, "English" was still very German as a result of the Saxon invasions. The earliest known English classic, "Beowulf", was written in this language. The Norman Conquest happened not only in force but in language. English was relegated to common people while Anglo-Norman was the language of the court. This meant the importation of the French language as well as more Latin into business and legal vocabulary. It also changed pronunciation and grammar into a form that we can recognize today.

Still, the decision of William to assemble his armies and ships and press his claim for good or ill fundamentally changed the English speaking world, even the US. The lesson I choose to learn from this is that bold endeavors have the chance to change everything, and they can affect the outcome of so many people's lives. Be bold and press on.

National Park Centennial Celebration Part II

Limited Edition' Junior Ranger Badge for the Centennial

Earlier last month on this blog I described the goals and interpretive offerings of the National Parks. This second part was supposed to be done quickly for August but it did not work out as planned, so this blog post will look at what a local park did for last month's event. Since the actual date of the signing of the Organic Act took place on August 25th, it fell on a Thursday this year. I was at Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park on that day, but being a weekday it was not very busy. In fact, many of the visitors were not very aware that it was the 100th anniversary of the creation of the Park Service until Park personnel told them so. Perhaps wisely, the Park did not have any special events that day and were going to have a special events on the weekend. Still, it was a good time to get a few of those free cancellation stamps for the Passport book I own with the 100th date on there. They even had a 'limited edition' Centennial Junior Ranger Badge.

Actual Woodrow Wilson

Abraham Lincoln NHP's weekend program included a historical presenter of President Woodrow Wilson, Judd Bankert. The program included a meet-n'-greet, formal presentation program by "Mr. Wilson", and an afternoon program with the staff. Mr Wilson turned out nattily dressed in sport coat, slacks, and straw boater hat, each of which was meticulously researched. His interpretive program covered his presidency, the Great War, and his stroke, and he took questions and answers. The afternoon program included a brief speech by the Park's Chief of Interpretation and the speech that Mr. Wilson made on his arrival at the park in Sept. 1916 to accept the deed of the park on behalf of the American people. Following this speech "Mr. Wilson" reenacted the signing of both the Park's enabling legislation (the law that created the park) and the Organic Act which created the Park Service. From then on the formal special event was over for the day.

Historical Presenter of Woodrow Wilson

Having a historical presenter channel President Wilson and give first and third person interpretation is a great way to make a connection to a historical person, especially a presenter that really researches his subject. The classic presentation followed by Q&A is a great way to introduce a subject, explain it, go into detail, and check for questions afterward. Having a flexible first and third person format allows the presenter to answer the question more fully in a way that allows the research to speak but also reveals the opinion of the researcher. Giving the same speech that was given 100 years ago on a similar occasion has the power to use Power of Place, time in context, and quotation to move people to think about what these places mean to us. On the other hand, it can be difficult for a visiting crowd to long endure heat, humidity, and long speeches followed by signing two pieces or paper.

Signing legislation: cutting edge interpretation?

The 100th anniversary of the National Park Service will continue to go throughout the rest of the year. There is still plenty of time to go enjoy the 412 Parks and celebrate with them and see the rugged beauty or experience our American past, or go on a Ranger tour, or go do something you have never done before. The Parks are a great resource and something special that we get to enjoy, so please go out and visit, support, and promote the National Park Service.

National Park Centennial Celebration

NPS Logo

This month of August is the 100th anniversary of the creation of the National Park Service. I briefly talked about the creation of the National Park Service in this blog post, but in the context of the dual mission of protection and enjoyment as a balance. The National Park Service is one of the most prestigious interpretive institutions in the United States that daily interacts with the public regarding its environment and history. This month will feature a two part blog post. Part one will talk about the Parks' programming in general and their interpretive goals. The second will talk about the local National Park Centennial celebration close to the actual date of Aug 25.

The National Park Service is a wide government agency within the Department of the Interior. It oversees national parks, monuments, sites, trails, recreation sites, and seashores. The Parks in the system chooses to actively engage visitors coming to their respective unit sites through interpretive programming and campaigns. A few branding campaigns had been launched in the last few years to draw the ever decreasing visiting public to the parks: the "Find Your Park" campaign, as well as the Centennial campaign. Find Your Park is aimed at connecting people to the parks by emphasizing 'ownership'.

I've found my Park, have you?

As national public lands, the Parks belong to the people of the United States. Since they belong to each and every one of us, it is up to us to take care of them, whether that is visiting our favorite park or the local one. By 'finding your park', you identify with it like a favorite color or food or movie; it becomes part of a definition of your personality. We take care of and prioritize things that are personal and meaningful to us and that logic is extended to the park of choice. It also emphasizes 'finding', as in to 'seek out' and compare and contrast other parks, and thereby encourages visits.

The Centennial campaign is more of an awareness program to draw attention to the fact that the Parks will be 100 years young.  It means new branding for NPS gear and limited edition collectibles that highlight and popularize the National Parks.  The intention is to increase dwindling visitor numbers and connect visitors, especially young visitors, so that future generations will continue to visit and appreciate.

Another unexpected way that people are connecting with the Parks is through a game released this summer called Pokemon Go. It is an augmented reality game played on smart phones where the players capture these digital creatures (Pokemon) wandering around in physical settings but can only be seen through the lens of the mobile phone screen. These settings include public locations like the Parks. The game's reception has mixed emotions and reactions from all quarters since being released. The Parks generally welcome and encourage the visitors searching for the Pokemon, and a few of them are apparently going to lead tours exclusively to sate players.

If you need this new-fangled game explained to you,

 ask a kid or teen. 

They want the visitors to look around and enjoy the Park rather than simply visiting to collect digital creatures as well.

The Parks also stress using tact when searching in places of solemn reflection such as memorials, cemeteries, and battlefields. Collecting things in the Parks is not totally unusual, (although collecting things like rocks, fossils, and leaves are illegal!); the Parks have their own version of this called National Parks Passports. Each National Park has cancellation stamps that collectors can place into a purchased passport book, so that they can "catch 'em all", including limited edition stamps especially for the centennial. They also have sticker stamps that can be collected. In the last few years the Parks had a Civil War to Civil Rights trading card series that were location specific. Of course, there are also the Junior Ranger badges that children and adults can collect which I mentioned last month.

But far and wide the daily Interpretation talks, walks, and programs are the real highlight of the Park system. While nature and wilderness often speak for themselves, many people do not or cannot hear what they are saying. It is the job of the interpretive staff to speak in understandable terms what is both obvious or hidden from mere observation to visitors, whether it is a 'natural' park or a historical one. These people help make meaningful connections between the visitors and the protected resource the Park offers and make the visit worthwhile. The Park System protects the resource designated at the site and tries to make full use of the enjoyment of the visitor. It is not a perfect system and it does have a lot of problems, but the National Park system works for the visitor to help them learn to appreciate, protect, and enjoy the parks and sites. Here's to another 100 years, National Parks!

End Part One

Part two Local National Park celebration Aug 25-27

Me in a Maserati? Going places with story [Guest Post!]

The month of May has been a very busy month with traveling and relocating to a new destination that will be the part of a later blog post. In the chaos of trying to pack everything up and resettled, as well as relearning and training at an exciting new career, I have decided to ask David Connon to write a guest blog post to cover the May edition of the blog. After numerous edits and delay, the written piece should post on May 29th, 151 years after Albert H. Newell's death, detailed below. 

Me in a Maserati? Going places with story

Guest blog post by David Connon

I wear the hats of researcher, historical interpreter, and blogger but I lack formal training in history. My degrees are in English and Education. In addition, I have read about the Civil War all my life, but always from a Northern perspective. To compensate for my deficits, I have looked to authors that I admire, editors who have given encouraging feedback, and colleagues who have offered insights and hope. I am passionate about good stories. A good story is a Maserati with the top down, waiting to be taken for a drive. Many of the world’s greatest teachers, including Jesus Christ and the Buddha, have tapped into the power of story, and so can you. Good stories can make history relevant, illuminating, and powerful.

Fourteen years ago, I began walking a historical path, munching an energy bar of stories. My experience has fleshed out a principle from Freeman Tilden’s insightful work, Interpreting Our Heritage. Tilden wrote:

The purpose of interpretation is to stimulate the reader or hearer toward a desire to widen his horizon of interests and knowledge, and to gain an understanding of the greater truths that lie behind any statement of fact.

It started when I opened Dorothy Schwieder's book, Iowa Past and Present. She included the letter of an eyewitness to the first riot in Grinnell, Iowa, which was an abolitionist town. The riot occurred over the presence of fugitive slaves in the public school, about a year before Fort Sumter. I read the following excerpt:

Men maddened with hate and rage ran through the streets with insulting words ever on their lips. When I bade my husband good morning, I did not know but he would be the first victim of the fury. - Sarah Parker to her mother, March 1860

The riot was in stark contrast with present-day Grinnell, a peaceful town with a progressive college. The events leading up to the riot captured my imagination. Dramatic elements included the Underground Railroad, a religious revival, and a contentious school board meeting. I wanted to know who was responsible the riot and who he was as a person. Eventually, through patient research, it was clear: The chief instigator was Captain Nathaniel W. Clark, a former New England sea captain and father-in-law of a co-founder of Grinnell. I was convinced that I might find clues about him that others had missed. I also studied Leonard F. Parker, the school superintendent who stood up against Capt. Clark and the rioters. Months of research turned into years, and I ended up with a Frankenstein-like database, with hundreds of primary and secondary sources. 

During my Grinnell research, I learned about an unusual crime. In fall 1864, during Iowa's first draft, three men did not report for duty. Two deputy marshals went to round them up. Bushwhackers killed the deputy marshals. My imagination was again engaged. I asked," Did any Iowans actually leave the state and serve the Confederacy?" Answering that question has kept me busy for the better part of seven years.

So far, I have documented seventy-five Iowa residents who left the state and served the Confederacy. They are doppelgangers (shadow images) of their Union counterparts. The most powerful stories touch upon our common humanity, and they may be surprising. For example, 22-year old Albert H. Newell was a long time resident of Danville, Iowa. He was the son of an itinerant preacher and farmer.  Albert spent time with cousins and uncle in Tennessee. After the war came, Albert followed his cousins' lead and enlisted in the 2nd (Woodward's) Kentucky Cavalry [CSA]. Albert was returning from furlough when he was captured on the banks of the Tennessee River. He was taken to Fort Delaware Prison - the thing he feared most. Albert got sick and died May 29, 1865, and his body was buried on the New Jersey shore.

His sister, Fredonia, traveled to New Jersey to bring Albert's body back to Danville. According to family tradition, when Fredonia arrived with Albert's body at the train station, no one would load his casket onto the wagon. Then a gentleman helped (a lady should not have to man-handle a casket). Albert and Fredonia's parents were out of town, so she handled the burial arrangements. But the cemetery committee told her," No rebel in OUR hallowed ground." So she finally buried his body just outside the cemetery fence. 

Family tradition relates that the cemetery expanded to include Albert's grave. Years later, when feelings had begun to soften, the most decorated grave was that of Albert H. Newell.

Four principles have guided me as a researcher, interpreter, and blogger. 

"The past is indeed and foreign country; it is well worth a visit precisely because of that fact." - Carl R. Trueman.
I am naturally curious about life and Trueman's quote stimulates that curiosity. 

Historians engage in "evidence identification, verification, interpretation, and narrative construction." - Carl R. Trueman.
I need Trueman's "guard-rails" as I maneuver the Maserati [the story or narrative] around hair-pin turns and through dark tunnels. 

The best historian has "discovered and weighed all the important evidence available [and] has the largest grasp of intellect, the warmest human sympathy, the highest imaginative power." - G. M. Trevelyan.
Setting aside my books filled with notes in the margins, Trevelyan encourages me to think hard, feel deeply, and use my imagination in historical interpretation.

"You do not invent history, nor apologize for it. You recognize forces behind facts, and instincts and desires behind actions; and you record in the vignettes which you try to make alive and understandable." -Ariel Durant.
Following Durant's advice, I can trust that the Maserati's engine is well tuned.  

Three things I have learned

• It is very useful to focus on an individual and/ or his or her family
• Context is king
• It is best to appeal to all three learning strengths (visual, auditory, tactile/kinesthetic)

Author's background: David Connon in an independent historical researcher, writer, and speaker. His blog "Confederates from Iowa: Not to defend, but to understand" is found at Confederates From Iowa. He works as a historical interpreter at Living History Farms. He is listed on the Humanities Iowa Speakers Bureau and his topics are “Josiah Bushnell Grinnell and the Iowa Underground Railroad” and “Iowans who Fought Against the Union.”
  

  

Demonstration Animal Butchering and Dressing for Consumption: a Quandry

--This topic may be controversial and may include some pictures that some people might object to. If you feel you can handle it, read on.--

Oct 17 and 19, 1781, the Surrender of Lord Cornwallis to Washington

A white flag of truce held aloft. A simple symbol that meant so much on that 17th of October. It was 1781 and it had been six hard years of fighting since Lexington and Concord. With the flag of truce, the Continental Army had a decisive victory over Cornwallis' army pinned against the James River in Yorktown using a coalition of French troops and navy with the Continental Army. The 18th was a day of negotiations and deliberations. A thrill of victory elated the spirits of the victorious as they watched their British foes march away with arms reversed on October 19th when the terms of surrender were agreed upon; however, their feeling was temporary. The fighting was not over. Indeed, it would not be over until the peace brought by the treaty made it ashore and into the farthest frontier places of the British Empire and the new American nation. This happened nearly two years later because of difficulties in traveling around the world to inform everyone that the war was finally over. But at that time and place they had a significant victory, and to the British, it was a significant enough of a victory to realize that it was useless to continue. It was only later that Cornwallis' surrender at Yorktown was viewed as the final battle of the Revolutionary War.

The Surrender of Lord Cornwallis is an oil painting by John Trumbull. The painting was completed in 1820, and hangs in the rotunda of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. - From Wikipedia

Some might recognize July 4th, 1776, as the most significant date in the history of the United States, since that is the date most associated with our national independence. But July 4th would only be a vague date of a piece of trivia had not Lord Cornwallis given the order to surrender. Nor would it be remembered had the war ended badly for Washington. As October 17th and 19th come and go this year, it is easy to not remember their significance. They will probably pass without much media or social comment since 2015 is not a significant anniversary year (The 234th anniversary). Still, without that surrender, the war could have dragged on. The United States, for all it's worth, good or bad, would not have existed if the British held out. Because of that surrender, our national history began, our independence was validated, and the separation from Britain was complete.

Just some thoughts I have on this date.

Interpretive writing piece about my present exploits in national service

This summer I took an online class on Interpretive Writing. As a result of my completion of this course, I decided to write a brief interpretive piece on my present work that I have been at for the last year as a way of both informing my readership of my present activities and of starting to use the knowledge I have gained from this course.

***

Gardening is a dirty business. As we develop new gadgets and technologies that keep us happy indoors in our sanitized little worlds, there are those of us who are still outside getting dirty, because food just does not appear without some work. Though, most of the time, it's fun. It takes time, planning, planting, and tending to get a seed to sprout, mature, and begin to produce a product that we can eat. Think about some of your favorite foods for a second. Which ones are fruits or vegetables? What foods are meat or dairy? Do not the animals that meat and dairy come from eat vegetables? Food is a very important topic to many of us. We are born hungry and will be hungry in a matter of time, so it is important to have food to eat. The sweat on our brow, muddy boots, dirt under out nails, and full baskets proclaim our good work in making that happen for some people.

Last year when I worked at Living History Farms, the gardens were an important part of the exhibits there. Gardening was important for healthy lives in the past just as eating healthy is today. I learned a lot about growing and resources to use from Living History Farms and I was able to apply them to what I do now at the Northeast Iowa Food Bank. I am an AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers In Service To America) and I give a year of my life in national service. I recruit, train, and manage volunteers for the Food Bank's quarter acre garden. I choose the growing strategy for the garden and thus selected to plant fruits and vegetables that the Food Bank does not get a lot of donations for, and pick a wide variety for people to enjoy once the produce is harvested and sent to the onsite pantry. Bright tomatoes, supple beans, hearty peppers, brightly colored Swiss Chard, leafy kale, spicy radishes, petite peas, prolific squash, and heavy watermelons are some of the things we grow.

Why do we grow a garden at the Northeast Iowa Food Bank? 

We grow a garden because we care about people. 1 in 5 children are food insecure in Northeast Iowa; that means that you probably know someone's child that does not know when they will next eat a meal (if you are living here in Iowa). Also 10% of senior citizens in the Northeast use the Food Bank. Some have difficulty living on a a fixed income; others are shut-ins and cannot provide for themselves. At a time in our history that we have the most amount of food in America, people cannot get enough to eat in some communities, or have access to healthy foods. Something must be done to help these people.

Ryan with some of the produce; Georgia 

collard greens in the foreground, Toscano 

kale behind me, and Bright Lights 

Swiss Chard after and Marigolds beyond.

Hunger affects us all, for we all get hungry. Perhaps you can recall a time when you were hungry. Were you agitated? Weak? Unfocused? Image being like that for a week or more. This is the reality of some people not just here in Northeast Iowa, but all over the United States, and all over the world. We all hunger, which is one of the traits that unites all living things, yet there are things that we can do to help. September is Hunger Action Month. Orange is the color that we wear to raise awareness to bring the cause of fighting food insecurity. I garden to fight this, to provide nutritious food, but I also teach students how to grow their own food, and next year I intend to prompt the next Garden Coordinator to teach classes for our pantry clients. You may have heard a phrase,"Give a man a fish and he will eat for the day, but teach a man to fish and you will feed him for a life-time." I can do that same thing, but with growing food. But that is what I can do; there are ways that you can help too if growing food is not what you do. As I am nearing the end of my term of service with AmeriCorps VISTA, I can see how I have grown as a gardener, and as a person who cares for people. What I can say is this: find out how to help others, and maybe it will grow on you.  

Produce from the Garden

***

Break down

Categories for structure and content are in blue, my answers are in red.

Possible Audience: Diverse adult audience

Great interpretive stories include three things:

• Memorable character development of a tangible resource at the site.
• The intangible meanings and/or universal concepts related to the tangible resource.
• Some degree of conflict or tension.

Outline of interpretive concepts:
Gardening, food, work - tangible
Hunger Action Month - intangible
Hunger/eating and helping others - universal
Food insecurity - conflict

To identify the good stories at your site, consider answering the following questions about the resources at your site:

• Is there conflict between people and natural systems? Yes, unequal access or ability to obtain proper amounts of food.
• Is there a resolution or non-resolution of conflict? Non-resolution, the problem continues.
• Are there consequences of action or in-action? Implied consequences of inaction, positive consequences for action.

Interpretive writing should have Goals and should do the following:

• Describe broad desired outcomes.
• Connect to the website's purpose and significance.
• Connect to the interests of the visitor.

Goal of the the Interpretive piece: To inform readers as to my recent activities, display interpretive writing techniques and concerns, and raise awareness to a great cause.

Objective statements should:

• Clearly describe what you hope the reader will be able to know, do or feel as a result of the writing.
• Use action verbs.
• Allow you to get a sense of whether you are accomplishing your goals.
• Include specific, measurable outcomes that could be evaluated.
• Objectives for interpretive products should include specific measures of the interpretive outcomes.
• When writing your objectives, be sure to include interpretive outcomes instead of purely knowledge based objectives.

Objectives of this interpretive piece:

The reader will be able to identify where I have been working for the last year.

The reader will be able to state some of the produce grown in the garden.

The reader will be able to state some reasons why gardening is important.

The reader will be provoked into making a decision about food insecurity.

Themes: Themes reveal the topic's relevance to the audience. Themes examine something meaningful about the resource, are relevant to the audience, and provide opportunities for the reader to find their own meanings in the topic of the writing. Your theme will be relevant to your readers if you include a universal concept and answer the questions "So what?" and "What's in it for them?"

"Ryan's experience gardening for the Food Bank has helped him see how gardening helps the hungry, food insecure people of Northeast Iowa, and wants others see this too."

***

By breaking down an interpretive piece, the main basic components of interpretive writing can be seen and examined. I hope that you can see now what I did and how I did it and why it is important to answer some of the tougher questions, like, "So what?" Making a topic relevant and meaningful is not easy, but is essential for making it worthwhile. I cannot write to inform people and expect those people to care if it does not touch them or appeal to them. I hoped you liked this brief interpretive piece and I may spend some time to make a few more here and there.

The Long Road to Appomattox: 150th anniversary of the surrendering of Lee's troops

 For the 150^th anniversary of the assassination and death of Abraham Lincoln, I present to my recent experience at the 150^th anniversary of the surrender of General Lee's troops at Appomattox Court House....

It was the morning of April 9^th, the day Lee surrendered 150 years ago, when I started my journey east. Weather delayed the flights all day. It could be worse; I could be a surviving Confederate soldier, hunted, hungry, and struggling with the realization this morning that the last four years of hardship were coming to a miserable end. The destination for my flights was Richmond, for the former capital of the Confederacy that was abandoned and still smoldering at the time of the surrender. There waited my father.

The gallant men of the 28th Mass.

I fell-in with my dad’s unit, the 28^th Mass. Co. B, US Volunteers. It has been over ten years since I last fell in with them, at the 140th anniversary Cedar Creek in 2004. This is a dad-n-lad thing for us. Some fathers and sons have camping, fishing, hunting, or cars. We have Living History. Sometimes when we get together that is all we talk about. We both started at the same time and have included other family members such as my brother and my cousin and even my sister.

Fridays are usually setting up days. The event had to make due for the weather and bad dirt roads, not much different than the armies during the Civil War but havoc for pedestrians and drivers alike today. Our camp was at the end of the road, second farthest from everything and made decisions like wandering down to Sutler Row a daunting time consuming task. I met my dad’s unit, but I didn’t recognize any of them from my time before. My dad’s group is your average slightly better than mainstream unit, mostly older with a few younger guys, a loud mouth or two, and a Jonah (a term for “that guy” everyone wishes was not present). We get on well enough and there was no drama. The fire-pit conversations were lively, we sang songs, and the craic was great. After hours around the fire are often the best part of this hobby.

The 'optional' battle from the crowd; the Confederates

right company comes on to line

Saturday morning held several changes; indeed the plan changed every hour or so. The battles were held on some lovely green rolling hills. The fight itself was like many I have been in before, which this one was an attack by the Confederates and and brief stand up fight, followed by repeated flank maneuvers to box them in and drive them back. The boxing-in maneuvers meant we were constantly “dressing the line” to the left. The second battle was optional and I took it to go peruse the Sutler’s Row. A sutler was a vendor who sold goods to soldiers of a particular unit that the government did not provide like canned goods or candy like the PX today; the modern equivalent sutlers sell whatever they want. Most sell a little bit of everything: uniforms, leather gear, tinware, accessories, tents, books, hats, and toys for kids. Some specialize in hats or women’s clothing.

The Parole line

One of the highlights that attracted this event was Living Historian-led scenarios of Confederate surrender. The US Volunteer organization prepared a weapon surrender ceremony, guards for the gear, a parole station for the Confederate soldiers to sign paperwork that would mean they could go home without further obstruction, and provided some food such as ground coffee, hard crackers, and potatoes. This scenario was why I came, to see it end. What should have been a bang was more of a pop, but it was still pretty neat to see that and be a part of it.

The climatic payoff was on Sunday. Not much

 was going on at the event site but the USV was

Troops receiving food

invited to participate at the surrendering of the troops at the Appomattox Court House National Park. It was going to be a very busy day to make that happen. We marched down to a back gate of the event,  were loaded onto six tour buses, and were dropped off at the site. We formed and marched to the end of the Richmond stage coach line, supposedly the direction the Union troops came from to accept the surrendering Confederates. As we swung into town I was seized by a sudden gravity of the moment when I recognized the McClain house, the site of where Generals Grant and Lee had met to sign the formal surrender and it filled me that this was happening and I was a part of it.

Marching to Appomattox Court House

It was eerily quiet, the troops and their marching, the crowds and their watching, no cheers, no encouragement, no narrator or announcer, just the simple report of the lone drum sounding the cadence. The combined Union troops lined the road in battle lines faced in. The command of the Confederate officers were the only sounds. As they approached, the command was given to salute.

“Halt! Front!” The column of grey and brown troops faced us. One fellow looked despondent, the rest sullen.

“Stack arms!” With quiet precision they formed their stacks of rifles, the band played “Auld Lang Syne” and a few other hymns. The command came for them to leave their equipment, slung on the bayonets or dropped beneath the rifles and the flag bearer draped their battle banners over the men so each man could touch their flag before furling and placing them on the stacks. One flag was a rough branch with strips of torn flag cloth which suggested that the soldiers ripped up the flag to keep pieces as mementos or to destroy it rather than surrender t. The man beside me is crying and I felt like it too.

The surrendering troops at Appomattox

Court House National Park

“Right face!” The troops step into the flank.

“Forward March!” and like that, they were gone. A lone straggling Confederate with a scrap of parole paper wandered behind them, numb with shock, fatigue, or hunger I know not which. Perhaps he was a symbol of the South; unsure and uncertain of where to go or what to do next. The next commands were for us. We right faced ourselves and marched away. That was it. Everything else after that was inconsequential. It was essentially boarding buses, tearing down camp, saying goodbye to comrades, and driving away.

I have wondered from time to time,"Why do I do Civil War Living History? What compels me to study this time period more than others?” To be honest, I don’t have a definitive answer. I think that because it was so fierce, so innovative, so dramatic, and so impacting. To say that it is simply 'fun' does not quite satisfy me personally. It is far deeper, but I don’t know exactly from where it comes from. To be there at the 150^th anniversary of the de facto ending War Between the States had profound meaning for me as a person who has spent considerable amount of time talking about it, living it, and researching it. One of the concepts and interpretive assets an interpreter has is to use the Power of Place. Explaining what happened right here, on this very spot where history was made, means so much more and has a greater impact than explaining exactly the same thing elsewhere. We identify with the people in history in the location because we are standing where they stood while things changed. We see the lay of the land, similar surroundings, and think, “What was it like to be here when this happened; was this what it was like?” To be

Ryan at the surrender

there for the 150^th anniversary only a few days after the exact event happened creates a powerful interpretive opportunity. We coupled being in the right place, at about the right time, with a display that set the mood for what it may have looked like and hopefully created a lasting impact on the visitors who witnessed it. I know that it has made an impact on me, and the crying fellow beside me in the battle line. He told me that he had waited 25 years for this. It will definitely part of my lifetime milestones, part of my career as a historical interpreter, and part of wild and wonderful stories I tell.

This summer I am hoping to participate in another 150^th anniversary event at Ft. Snelling in Minnesota. No battles, just a simple mustering out of troops who had gone to war and had come home for good and a discussion about the importance of commemoration. So stay tuned for that in an upcoming post this later summer!

"How can - I - change the world? I'm only one person!"

This is a modification of a Facebook post I made on June 28th, 2014 about the start of the Great War...

"I'm just one person, how can I change the world?" You have the power to alter the course of history profoundly. Take for instance Gavrilo Princip (pronounced [ɡǎʋrilɔ prǐntsip) Have you ever heard of him?

Gavrile Princip. Photo coutesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Most people haven't. Standing outside a deli in Sarajevo 100 years ago on June 28th 1914 and two bullets later Gavrilo Princip created the geopolitical world as we understand it today. He shot Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife, the result was an ultimatum from Austria-Hungary to the Serbia that would fail to be met. That set in motion a web of treaties and counter treaty measures that made up the turn of the century politics and was thought to prevent war, but instead forced war to come and would end up with the bulk of the "civilized" world going to a unprecedented level of war so bad it has yet to be duplicated. The reverberations of which continued for years, even to today, some of which include a second world war, the collapse of the Austrian-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires, the slow deterioration of the British colonial empire, the rise of nationalism in colonial powers including the Vietnam conflicts, middle east unrest and rise of Communism in Russia and all those implications as well are only a few consequences. Gavrilo Princip never saw this. He died of tuberculosis in jail months before the first war ended. Today would have been his 120th birthday had he lived that long.

What can one person do? They could make a decision that unleashes a wave a destruction that would wash the old world away and derail the lives of so many people that it is truly incalculable. I'm not advocating assassination or mayhem, only a reminder of what our power of choice can do, good or bad, for decisions great and small. We have that power, the same as Gavrilo.

  Be careful what you do with your powers.