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| Paul, Sybil, and Ben |
I don't claim to have many people who I consider my heroes: Jimmy Page is my guitar hero. Al Kaline is my baseball hero. My Dad and my Sicilian Grandfather are my personal "family" heroes.
But my main hero in history has always been Paul Revere.
Now, I fully realize that none of my heroes are or were perfect. I mean, they were/are all human beings, right? And humans are far from perfect. But still...Paul Revere has always held a special place in my American history heart. So when I added the 18th century to my living history hobby (for I mainly stuck with reenacting the 1860s before I added the Colonial/Rev War period in 2014), I found my want of representing my hero tugging at me.
To be honest, however, I look nothing like the man; Paul Revere was taller, had a stronger, huskier, stocky build, and had more of a rounded face than I. But that doesn't mean I can't represent him...that doesn't mean I can't teach and present on his accomplishments during the beginnings of the American Revolution.
And on March 19th, that's exactly what I did!
In fact, there were a few of us founding representatives~
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So!
Here we are---at the cusp of celebrating America's 250th birthday!
I remember how excited I was back in 1976 for the Bicentennial, but I think I'm more excited now for the Semiquincentennial, for I was only 15 years old back in those '76 celebrations. I am much older now, however, and can actually take part in the America 250 celebrations!
And America's 250th was one of the things that was brought up during our recent Patriots Presentation at a local Metro-Detroit high school, Warren Woods Tower.
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| Semiquincentennial - America250! |
The thing is, I did not do very well in history class during my jr. high and high school years. In fact, my grades were downright poor in that subject.
Having to learn names and dates and little else just didn't hold my interest.
Surprised?
Now, if you are a consistant reader of this Passion for the Past blog, you'll know that I have been into history virtually my entire life. But, just as Henry Ford once stated (back in 1916), "History as it is taught in the schools deals largely with...wars, major political controversies, territorial extensions and the like. When I went to our American history books to learn how our forefathers harrowed the land, I discovered that the historians knew nothing about harrows. Yet our country depended more on harrows than on guns or great speeches. I thought a history which excluded harrows and all the rest of daily life is bunk and I think so yet."
I fully concur.
Every-so-often I will have assumptions made in my direction that since I am this 'major history buff ' that I probably skated through my history classes and received all high marks. Are they shocked to find just the opposite! Like Mr. Ford, I had little interest in wars, major political controversies, territorial extensions, and the like. The thing is, after studying history more on my own and researching my personal historical interests rather than what I was told to learn, I actually became more interested in some of the politics, speeches, and, of course, wars of long ago, and sort of put it all together for a larger, more cohesive complete picture of the past.
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| Larissa & I have been working in this capacity for over a decade. And Bob joined up with us about a half dozen years ago. We make quite a team! And we make history interesting! |
A school history memory that stuck with me:
It's 1976 and the teenage me is at a school assembly. The person on the stage dressed in a suit and tie is speaking in a drab mono-toned voice. And he's droning on about ...*yawn*... history ...and ...well... that gym floor certainly looks...awfully, um, comfortable...mmm...
Do you remember those days?
Yeah - - that's generally the way most presentations and assemblies were like for me when I was in school. Even those that were centered on history.
Not a good experience.
I can only imagine how downright excited I would've been if we had living historians come to our school and present, all dressed in clothing from the past!
Well, now I do historical presentations for schools, and I do my best to make it anything but drab and boring, for I dress in 18th (or 19th) century clothing, bring replica period-accessories, and try (to some level of success, I might add) to convey the excitement that history has to offer. But it's not just me---Larissa & Bob are also a part of this Patriots Presentations we do. Also, Larissa & I have been presenting historic daily farm life as a sort of duet for over a decade.
And do the kids respond favorably?
You betcha!
Oh, there are those who will always be perpetually bored. But it's usually because they don't want to be in school anyhow and only want to play on their cell phones.
And there are always those who think what we as living historians do is silly or stupid.
Ahhh...that's okay, too. They have a right to their opinion.
The majority of the kids, however, really seem to enjoy it.
And, as a bonus, they learn something!
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I usually begin the presentation by giving a background on what lead up to the frustrations of many of the colonists. Depending on the age group, I touch on The Stamp Act, The Boston Massacre, The Boston Tea Party, and how Paul Revere arranged to have a signal lit in the Old North Church – one lantern if the British were coming by land and two lanterns if they were coming by sea – and how he began to make preparations for his ride to alert the local militias and citizens about the possible impending attack.
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(Shhh! There were two!)
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| The Taunton flag from 1774 was one of the first flags used within the Thirteen Colonies to express dissension against the Crown. It also initially symbolised underlying loyalty to the Crown as the Union Flag was viewed as the King's Colors. |
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| The Grand Union Flag is considered to be the first national flag of the 13 Colonies and the United States, for it flew from 1775 (still the colonies) until 1777 (considering ourselves to be independent). This flag consisted of 13 red and white stripes with the British Union Flag of the time. |
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| From late 1775 we have the Gadsden flag, featuring a coiled rattlesnake and the motto "Don't Tread on Me," which symbolizes defiance against oppression, a willingness to defend liberty, and a warning against coercion, originating as a symbol of the American Revolution. |
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| The Betsy Ross American flag is designed with 13 white stars on a blue field, arranged in a circle to represent the unity of the colonies. The stars are surrounded by 13 red and white stripes, representing the 13 colonies that declared their independence from Great Britain in 1776. It was adopted as our official flag in 1777. |
There are some who do not believe Betsy Ross made this flag, that this story is just that---a story...a mythical legend. There are many pros and cons to this story, none of which can be proven (even though many use opinions as fact). And, despite the absence of written records to prove the Ross story, there is mounting evidence leading more and more historians to believe the legend could be true.
I personally believe it to be true. I do believe Betsy Ross made what we call the first American flag. I've researched beyond opinions and facebook memes to find whatever available information I could.
The kids seemed to be interested in these flags and their ties to American history. And, yes, I fly them at my house during the warm weather months.
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| Off of the front of my house we see the Betsy Ross and Gadsden flags~ |
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| The Minutemen flag from Culpeper, Virginia from 1775, and there's the Tauntin flag. |
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| The pine tree flag as well as the Grand Union. |
I had a little flag fun at Greenfield Village one beautiful 4th of July day back in 2014:
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| Could this be Betsy Ross & friends presenting the flag they sewed together to George Washington? This was taken inside the Daggett House. |
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| It was on another 4th of July that I, once again, brought my flag. Knowing that Sam Daggett was a Patriot, I decided to show his patriotism! lol |
This is not something I normally do while at Greenfield Village. I do not take over anything or present to anyone while at the Village. In fact, this was the only time I brought the flag...and it was just to take pictures. Yes, it's kinda cool knowing my flag was photographed at and inside an actual 18th century house---or two - - -
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| Even John Giddings was a Patriot! So I brought my flag to his house as well. B&K Photography, who are friends of mine, took a number of these photos. So while we were posing, a small group of people moved up and began asking flag questions. Being somewhat of a vexillologist, I was able to answer their questions. (B&K Photography took this image) |
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| One final stop on this day: The Eagle Tavern~ |
I personally very much enjoy flying my historic flags and bringing them to events such as this school presentation. By the way, I also create a sort of "street of flags" at our special 4th of July at Mill Race Village.
James Ludington, the namesake of Ludington, Michigan, was a successful Milwaukee businessman born in Carmel, New York in 1827. Yes, according to the book “The Story of Ludington,” written by Paul S. Petersonthe, James Ludington was the nephew of Sybil Ludington, "a Revolutionary War hero, often compared to Paul Revere."
So, back to our Warren Woods Tower High School presentation:
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| Meet Sybil Ludington. There are some who feel the story of Sybil Ludington is just that---a story. However, many others believe it to be true. This is explained during the presentation. |
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| Meet Ben Franklin~ Ben Franklin showed the students the Declaration of Independence. He also spoke a little on how it cane to be written. |
By the way, each student received a copy of their own!
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| Imagine having Ben Franklin, Sybil Ludington, and Paul Revere at your school! |
Being able to teach kids history in this manner is truly fulfilling. I know if there was something like this when I was in school I'da been on cloud 9 - it would've been a dream come true!
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Most of the students were very attentive and knew their history! And even though I was their para before I retired, some still wanted to take a photo with me/us! |
In my opinion, learning history should be an experience - not merely a grade. In science class we teach students by doing hands-on experiments. In writing classes, students are expected to expand their imaginations and write short stories. Sometimes long stories. In Physical Education (aka "gym class"), students actually take part in the physical activities. And with these direct experiences, students understand the subject matter to a much larger degree than only by reading books, looking at pictures, or listening to a droning lecture.
It is the same with history. Oftentimes when I am at Greenfield Village, I see the excitement in youngster's faces upon watching a horse with a plow, a Model T drive by, an ancient printing press print out typeset copies, sheep shearing, and the spinning of wool into yarn. I also see the wonderment in their eyes as they are bearing witness to the old-time activities; the questions they may have of the different objects that might look strange to their modern sensibilities, and the whys & wherefores of the chores of a long ago time before modern technology took over.
It's these children and others like them that we must pull into the world of the past in an engulfing way, for I believe with all my heart that to have a better future, we must know the past...and not just think of it as a passing grade in class, but to understand that it was filled with real people with real feelings of happiness, sadness, love, anxiety, pain, and even pride and loyalty.
And that is one of the main reasons why Larissa, Bob, and I do what we do the way we do: to teach, and to teach as historically accurate as we can.
These kids at Warren Woods Tower High School were amazing.
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| April 18, 1775: Paul Revere's Ride April 19, 1775: Battles of Lexington & Concord Lest we forget... And for this coming April, I put together a reenactmen/commemoration of this major event in American history - April 26, 2026 at Mill Race Village in Northville, Michigan. |
Until next time, see you in time.
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