Visit to the Butler Civil War Round Table
I knew I was going to enjoy my visit to the Butler Civil War Round Table soon after arriving when one of its members, Dottie Cress, pulled a small album out of her bag and showed me some of the original cartes de visite and tintypes she has collected. Beautiful images all. She is on the hunt for original photographs of two of her ancestors who fought, James and Joseph Nunamaker of the Tenth Pennsylvania Reserve Infantry.
I also met Paul Means, a artist and photographer who specializes in painting murals. We had a great conversation about art and its impact on our lives.
Bill May, the leader of the group, wore a Santa hat and led us through a trivia contest, raffle and Christmas carol singalong. I've spoken before a number of round tables, but this is the first singing round table!
My presentation, Faces of War, has three parts: The history of early photography, a sampling of cartes de visite of Pennsylvania soldiers, and a collection of charts from my soldier database. Judging from the comments afterward, I was very pleased with its reception.
The presentation has been a work in progress this year. I have been honing it from event to event. I will continue to refine it for future engagements.
Perhaps my favorite moment of the evening was talking with a schoolteacher named Steve. He appreciated the cards I handed out. (Each member receives a card in the beginning of the presentation which features a soldier image, his name and hometown; after the presentation, each member receives another card with the soldier's story.) Steve would like to use to help his eighth graders relate to the Civil War through the stories of the soldiers who fought. I will make all the cards available to him.
I also met Paul Means, a artist and photographer who specializes in painting murals. We had a great conversation about art and its impact on our lives.
Bill May, the leader of the group, wore a Santa hat and led us through a trivia contest, raffle and Christmas carol singalong. I've spoken before a number of round tables, but this is the first singing round table!
My presentation, Faces of War, has three parts: The history of early photography, a sampling of cartes de visite of Pennsylvania soldiers, and a collection of charts from my soldier database. Judging from the comments afterward, I was very pleased with its reception.
The presentation has been a work in progress this year. I have been honing it from event to event. I will continue to refine it for future engagements.
Perhaps my favorite moment of the evening was talking with a schoolteacher named Steve. He appreciated the cards I handed out. (Each member receives a card in the beginning of the presentation which features a soldier image, his name and hometown; after the presentation, each member receives another card with the soldier's story.) Steve would like to use to help his eighth graders relate to the Civil War through the stories of the soldiers who fought. I will make all the cards available to him.
Labels: bill may, butler, carte de visite, civil war, civil war round table, dottie cress, faces of war, history, military, paul means, pennsylvania
posted by Ron Coddington at 7:05 AM
1 Comments:
Ron, Glad to hear about your presentation and your talk with the teacher. Keep on making history come alive to today's students! Merry Christmas!
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