a number of years back. It struck us that we had seen most of the great parks of America but had missed Yosemite. We soon remedied that by signing up for a weeklong Elderhostel in the area. Here we met John Muir as performed by Lee Stetson—his one-man show was a high point of our visit.
The actor suddenly appeared out of the darkness in a pose associated with John Muir. Stetson’s straggly beard and face are very similar to Muir’s, and the well-worn clothes and beatup shoes added to the illusion that we were in the presence of the real Muir. Stetson talks with a mild Scottish accent, and his props were all from the period. The material was taken directly from Muir’s books, and the use of language, particularly his metaphors, was so clever that as a writer Wayne was depressed by his inability to produce anything nearly as good. How Muir accomplished so much when he had so much time to just enjoy the surroundings is impressive. We left the performance feeling Muir was a true genius and would have made a name for himself in any number of fields.
In 2003 while writing a number of stories on Jesse James, Wayne was walking the grounds at the Jesse James’ home in Kearney, Missouri, when a man in a western outfit struck up a conversation with him. He seemed to know an unusual amount about the farm and the James family, and Wayne felt some of his responses were a bit strange since he seemed to have no knowledge of the modern era. What was happening fell into place when another visitor came up and addressed him as Frank. Wayne was talking to Jesse’s brother Frank, a re-enactor Wayne was to see later as Frank when the gang “robbed” a local bank.
The same year Wayne visited the home of a professional reenactor in Lexington, Missouri, who had costumes and guns to fit the variety of roles he plays, such as a member of the James gang, a Civil War participant and a World War II soldier. He also appears in historical movies as long as they attempt to present a realistic picture of the times.
Most re-enactors we have met have done extensive research on their characters; they often bear a striking physical resemblance to that historical person and are good at staying in the role. Re-enactors are famous for their attention to detail. If they are 19th-century soldiers, their uniforms are wool and their weapons are exact copies of those used during the period. In some cases, as with the boatmen on the Lewis and Clark keelboat, they might even cook meals using 19th-century recipes. Pride is taken in getting it right.
Rarer is the person who in some way was an actual part of the living history. When we were touring a mining area in West Virginia, our guide, a miner who had spent 27 years working underground, told us personal stories about the dangers and problems.
An odd occurrence was at the home of the millionaire family that Tifton, Georgia, was named after. An older woman with refined speech who was giving the tour had raised her children in the home, donated it to the museum and was back as one of the hosts. More recently at Oak Ridge, where uranium was refined into the original atomic bombs, we encountered a number of guides who had spent their careers there and were able to give us an insiders’ tour.
Future living history museums
A method still only occasionally used, but with great potential is the hologram or holograph. At the Galena County History Museum in a waiting room with the lights turned off, holographs of Grant and his wife welcomed us and told us about their lives in Galena, Illinois. Seeing life-size holographs is still a mindblowing experience for us because the people are standing right in front of us, more real than figures in 3D.
One of our “wow” experiences came the first time when we watched “Ghosts of Lincoln” at the Lincoln Presidential Museum in Springfield, Illinois. We should have guessed something unusual was about to happen since a glass wall stood between the audience and the historian introducing us to the library. He said he would explain the ways in which historical material is collected and analyzed. During the presentation, smoke would appear and slowly take the form of Lincoln or others.
All of this did not prepare us for the final act when a wind began to blow a flag on the stage. The historian stepped to a coat rack, put on a Union army jacket and began to tell us about his experiences in the War Between the States. The solid-looking library became a battlefield scene. As the historian continued to talk, his body slowly disappeared, and we were left with only his voice. We were utterly surprised as we had assumed he was a real person on the stage.
These large-scale holograms, illuminated with lasers or displayed in a darkened room with carefully directed lighting, are incredible. They use two-dimensional surfaces that show absolutely precise, three-dimensional images of real objects. Visitors don’t even have to wear special glasses to see the images in 3-D.
We understand the use of holographs will become even more prominent as the holograms are formatted to answer audio questions. At a later date they will be so convincing that the whole life story of the individual will be programmed into the hologram so that you can discuss the person’s life with him or her.
We expect that an even deeper experience will be had when visitors sign up for a week’s stay in a living history village where they dress like, eat like and do without modern conveniences to get the real feel of what life was like in the past.
This book is divided into nine sections based on the piece of the past the specific living history museum best relates to. In some cases, particularly those like Savannah or Sacramento where the whole community is involved and covers quite a swath of time, we have placed it in the category that best reflects what visitors will come to see.
1.Pre-colonial America
2.Colonial America: covers the first successful attempts at settlement up to the date of the American Revolution
3.Pre-Civil War America: the period roughly from 1812 until the beginning of the Civil War
4.The Cowboy Era: although the settling of the West is taking place at the same time as the major immigration, the setting and goals are different.
5.The Immigrant Experience: mostly takes place on the Great Plains and in Texas in the latter part of the 19th century
6.American Rural Life: the early 20th century including the depression
7.City Life Develops
8.Mines, Steamboats and Trains, Building America’s Infrastructure
9.The Struggle for Civil Rights
SECTION ONE: PRE-COLONIAL AMERICA
1. Exploring the Santa Maria
Columbus, Ohio
Ten volunteers dressed as sailors and pirates crowded with us 14 tourists on the deck of the Santa Maria one summer in Columbus, Ohio. Our guide told us that the 1492 crew had included 39 seasoned sailors plus some teenagers in training. How in the world did they go about their duties without constantly bumping into each other on this small ship?
The pirates were actually out of place on the Santa Maria because it sailed long before they became a force in the world. But evidently the volunteers sometimes preferred re-enacting pirate times. In 1992, for the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America, a group of Columbus businessmen had an exact replica of Christopher Columbus’ Santa Maria built and anchored in the Scioto River in Columbus. Although they spent more than $1 million to have it constructed, they didn’t plan for its upkeep, so finding money to keep it afloat as a tourist attraction has been difficult.
