Saturday, November 17: The train station had extended hours on Saturday, but I still did my usual 12-4. We were quite busy all day, even during the time that the parade was going on on the other side of town. At three, a group of about 72 high school juniors (I stayed behind the counter to avoid blending in with the crowd) from Wisconsin came in to hear a lecture on Abraham Lincoln's assasination and many funerals. Unfortunately I cannot recall the gentleman's name, but he is the one who did all of the research so that another gentleman (whose name I also forget) could construct a model of the Lincoln's Springfield house, a model that is on loan to the train station for about two months. Wendy Allen brought the People's Portrait of Lincoln to the station for its reveal the next day, and so I was one of the first people who got to see the completed portrait. It's very nice and I think if possible you should stop by and see it and Lincoln's Springfield house.
Monday, November 19: I did my career shadowing with Joanne Lewis on Remembrance Day itself and had such a great time! She's such a wonderful person and she's just full of extremely interesting information. I learned so much while I was with her, especially fascinating stories about the town. We attended the ceremonies at the cemetery and were both horrified by Jeff Shaara's speech. It began by him saying that the day was not about him, but the speech was basically all about him. Not to mention his insinuations that history is boring and that he makes it interesting so that people will care about it. Something I've noticed: many people dislike Shaara, but for some reason no one feels that they can say so publically. Well you know what, I'm saying it. Jim Gettys (Mr. President as we call him in town) reenacted Lincoln giving the address.
Joanne and I had lunch at the Farnsworth House (the first time I'd been there) and discussed history, education, the Wills House, and many other things. We then walked back to the Gettysburg Hotel where she showed me her binders of historical photos and told me the stories behind them. I think I learned more on Monday from my time with Joanne than I have in all my studies of the town! The whole day was a fantastic experience.
2 comments:
Sarah,
Good for you for saying so.
The truth is that Jeff Shaara is a hack writer who has made a career out of his father's name and sterling reputation. Sadly, Shaara can't carry his father's pen and really isn't worthy of the name. He writes bad historical fiction, and I cannot begin to understand why his books sell as well as they do.
Obviously, I share your opinion.
Eric
Sarah,
You, at 16, are in a perfect position to name names.
I, will again be, at 65.
Somehow, caution seems to come for a very long visit during the in between.
I enjoy your blog.
Best wishes,
Mannie
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