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Anyone who works in the field of public history, knows that some days could be better than others. Then, there are those days when you have visitors/tourists that make-up for them. Today, was one of those days for me.
I was particularly impressed with a young Kentuckian that came in today. Rarely, do we find teenagers equally as interested in history as this kid. He was friendly, polite, and just as excited to see the Cold Harbor Battlefield with his grandfather as he was to see Fredericksburg thereafter. Finally, was I able to hear an "intelligent" question asked about, "The Battle of Richmond." A quick indication on the park map helped him understand that our battlefield covers two military campaigns from 1862-1864.
Most importantly, he was proud to mention that he was a member of the Civil War Preservation Trust. After they had gone, I was left wishing that could have been more history-oriented and preservation-minded at that age. And after all these years, I still was not a member of the CWPT.
So, today I resolved that absence and joined the trust!
It seems a bit hypocritical to spend time interested in recreating a time period, when we don't think enough about preserving one. I encourage my fellow peers to follow the example of this kid. If a 16-year old say he helped preserve thousands of acres of battlefield land, anyone can!
Guilted into membership,
I was particularly impressed with a young Kentuckian that came in today. Rarely, do we find teenagers equally as interested in history as this kid. He was friendly, polite, and just as excited to see the Cold Harbor Battlefield with his grandfather as he was to see Fredericksburg thereafter. Finally, was I able to hear an "intelligent" question asked about, "The Battle of Richmond." A quick indication on the park map helped him understand that our battlefield covers two military campaigns from 1862-1864.
Most importantly, he was proud to mention that he was a member of the Civil War Preservation Trust. After they had gone, I was left wishing that could have been more history-oriented and preservation-minded at that age. And after all these years, I still was not a member of the CWPT.
So, today I resolved that absence and joined the trust!
It seems a bit hypocritical to spend time interested in recreating a time period, when we don't think enough about preserving one. I encourage my fellow peers to follow the example of this kid. If a 16-year old say he helped preserve thousands of acres of battlefield land, anyone can!
Guilted into membership,
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