Thursday XIII: 080907 Pamplin Historical Park Civil War Adventure Camp

Museum Monday: Live It Bethel, Underground Railroad Experience

Live It Bethel

A Future Museum

Lancaster is best known for the county of vast Amish farms and businesses, but few know that the City of Lancaster not only served briefly as one of the capitals of the United States, but as a stop on the Underground Railroad.

Buses inch their way through the narrow streets of the Churchtowne neighborhood where groups learn about the Underground Railroad. It is called “Living The Experience" and is a spiritual interactive Underground Railroad reenactment presented by Bethel Harambee Historical Services.

The Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church was also one of the stops on the
Underground Railroad and Phoebe Bailey (her brother, Edward M. Bailey, is the Pastor) provides a program that presents the stories behind the Railroad and explores ways for the freedom-seekers to find the next ‘station’ and ‘conductor’.

Groups are led into the modest, active,church, and seated in the pews. Phoebe (as Miss Olivia) enter singing one of the coded spirituals use to direct runaway slaves. Others follow.

Hush! Hush!

Somebody’s calling my name!

You had better hush, hush, hush
Somebody's calling my name
Hush
Somebody's calling my name
Hush
Oh my Lord, oh my Lord what shall I do?

What shall I do?

Thus begins a hour of stories and songs which includes a reenactment of the enslaved being loaded into the ships and enduring the sea voyage, tools of enslavement, instruments of punishment, proper behavior, auction, flight, and being hunted by the slave catchers replete with the sound of dogs in the background. It is totally interactive with both students and adults expected to take part. There is even a portion of ‘reaffirmation’, which elicits deep discussion of self esteem issues after the experience.

On the eastern wall (left hand side) of the church is a special window that depicts the southern lily and the Northern rose as well as symbols of the Underground Railroad. In 2002, It was used in a Jeopardy visual clue.

(Chorus)
Wade in the water.
Wade in the water, children.
Wade in the water.
God's gonna trouble the water.

Well, who are these children all dressed in red?
God's a-gonna trouble the water
Must be the children that Moses led
God's a-gonna trouble the water.

Chorus

Who's that young girl dressed in white
Wade in the Water
Must be the Children of Israelites
God's gonna trouble the Water.

Chorus

Jordan's water is chilly and cold.
God's gonna trouble the water.
It chills the body, but not the soul.
God's gonna trouble the water.

Chorus

If you get there before I do.
God's gonna trouble the water.
Tell all of my friends I'm coming too.
God's gonna trouble the water.

Chorus

The effect of this program on the students and adults is profound and all of my teachers have asked that this be included in each of their subsequent East Coast programs. I normally pair it with Philadelphia or Gettysburg.

While this is presented in a proper, historical Christian context, Ms. Bailey can tailor it to public schools with more emphasis on enslavement, but still retaining the spiritual value.

Outside of the church is a small cemetery with graves reflecting free and freed African Americans and the Colored Troops; itis currently being documented, preserved, and restored.

After the experience we are led up to their parish house, a former school, and served an historically accurate, (and yummy) fried chicken fellowship lunch. (Now my family is from rural Virginia and I have traveled quite a bit around this country, but theirs is the best fried chicken I have ever had!) There is also an opportunity to purchase books and African-American handmade crafts and clothing.

One of the goals of Bethel AME is to build a multi-million dollar learning center to include an Underground Railroad wax and interactive museum, gift shop, and theater. They proudly display the architectural plans on the bottom floor of their parish house.

One of the first groups I brought to the Live It Bethel Harrambee Experience was my Lutheran school from Anchorage. It is traditional for them to display their Alaska flag somewhere during the trip. The Principal thought it would be appropriate to display it on the steps of the parish house. After all, it depicts the Big Dipper with the North Star showing the way to freedom. It’s also known as the Drinking Gourd.

Even I had to follow the North Star to find them!



It's been exciting to watch them grow and I'm looking forward to the time that they do have a museum dedicated to the Underground Railroad. But until then, I' m quite satisfied with this modest, but heartfelt program.

Student tours are by appointment but there are public tours during weekends and some holidays.

Bethel AME

Living the Underground Railroad
Lancaster Quest for Freedom Guide

Tour Marm's First 100!

Well! One Hundred Posts!

It couldn't have come at a better time as I shall be temporarily abandoning the blog while I am on tour!

There have been so many surprises!

Not only have I met some wonderful people, but I have been treated to pleasant, instructive, poignant, and provocative posts. I have had several cheerleaders, but I want to thank Elementary History Teacher over at History is Elementary for her kindness and generosity; her blog is my gold standard.

I have experimented with style and content and participated in the Wordless Wednesday and Thursday Thirteen memes. Some people liked my Figure-It-Out Friday.

I entered a few Carnivals and won a Blog of the Day Award.

Additionally, I was contacted by two editors of magazines and two of my posts were picked up as featured articles. One will appear in Lost Magazine in May and another in the AFT Quarterly. (I'm even getting paid!!!) Considering that I have not written seriously since my school days, it has been rather encouraging!

Lately, my workload and some health issues prevented me from being as thorough as I wanted but perhaps after my tour season, I shall have a bit more time to expand. I have learned that I don't have to produce something each day. (I wonder how people have so much time to do just that!) My visitation to other blogs came to a halt; I think I'll arrange to have 'visiting days' Monday and Tuesday and only post three days a week.

There were regrets due to WORD document failures: My articles on Dr. Ralph Bunche (who lived a few blocks from me in Kew Gardens, NY), Emma Roebling, and General William Tecumseh Sherman were lengthy posts that seem to be frozen. It was frustrating and quite disappointing.

The real purpose of this blog was to assist those who were interested in educational travel programs for their students, and I need to return to that concept since I seem to be the only one in the blogsphere who designs and conducts tours. I was hoping to attract some teachers and administrators, not for personal gain, but to give them ideas of alternative services and resources. So from now on, my posts will concentrate in some way to a site or something that would help the planning and decision process. It's time to get focused. I welcome questions concerning logistics etc. and would like to set up a forum with those who have traveled.

It has become evident that I also need a crash course on HTML!

However, I decided to list some of my personal favorites for you to look over while I am away: Please don't hesitate to leave comments - I crave feedback!

If you have questions unrelated to the posts, would like to share your travel experiences, or have any other comments, please use the Q&A Forum. This is also the place to ask the question you yahoo'd/googled that directed you to this blog - I might be able to answer it for you!



Personal Experience:

Let's Go Fly a Kite
Poetry for School and Soul: Growing Up With poetry
Bringing Cemeteries to Life - John Meigs Effigy
Christina Meets Thomas Jefferson
What's Wrong with Homework?
The Tour Marm Goes on Strike: How I dealt with Frustration
Craig Ferguson: Role Model
American Paintings I Love: Can you identify them?
The Tour Marm in the Twilight Zone

About Touring:

Journeys vs Guided Tours
Touring for God and Country
Thirteen Overlooked Sites in Washington, DC
Teaching to the Trip
How to Make Appointments for the US Capitol, White House, etc.
Night at the Museum: Overnight Visits
Salem and Peabody Essex Museum
Lame Tour Guide Jokes
Tour Talk: Codes and Catch Phrases
NCLB My Way: Counting Systems
Thirteen Things I Hate To Do in DC During Student Tour Season
March Madness


History:

Good Hands
Charles Willson Peale: Renaissance Man Answer
Baptism of Pocahontas
Kindred Spirits
Phoebe Snow: Advertising Icon
The Donner Party and Lincoln Connection - FIOF
Fugitive Slave: Oney (Ona) Judge Staines

I hope you enjoy reading these and you are welcomed to leave your comments either with the posts or on the Q&A Forum.

Cheers!

The Educational Tour Marm

Daisies to Brighten my Day

It was a tough trip.

The weather was raw, rainy, and snowy until the last day.

Trying to deal with two buses on the same itinerary is something I have never advocated, but I was obliged to do so, juggling it as best as I could. Tour Bob was a great help.

Roads were slippery and sometimes flooded, which slowed our progress.

My driver was ill.

While the hospitality was wonderful at each place, there were some disappointments with step-on guides. (I don't normally engage step-on guides, but these were supposed to be specialists on the Underground Railroad and the Civil War in New York State.)

The kids were terrific, real troopers! I couldn't have imagined a better group to travel with. They were having fun and had even enjoyed a good old-fashioned snowball fight in front of the Baseball Home of Fame. ( It was a first for them as many had never seen snow before!)

Then we were all affected by the shootings at Virginia Tech. We didn't say much about it, but it became the elephant in the parlor.

It's not just that I had over 70 eighth-graders who are impressionable, half of them were either Korean or first generation Koreans who took it personally. And then the guide on the first bus (me) lived in Virginia with some connections to VT through friends and a few relatives who had been teachers. Visions of September 11th, 2001 filled my thoughts.

The Statue of Liberty was closed, making the line to get on the ferry to Ellis Island longer because of heightened security. We didn't go to the top of any buildings because of security concerns. CBS canceled our appearance since they thought the outside activities would be disrespectful. (We hadn't received word of this decision and the lot of us were waiting in the cold and drizzle for the CBS Fun Bus, which like Godot, never came.) Tour Bob and I had to scurry to find a place to feed 84 STAT! (Which we did!)

The bright spot on the last day was a walk and shopping opportunity along Fifth Avenue. For expediency, I suggested that everyone meet and eat at the underground concourse at Rockefeller Center. (Mendy's is my favorite place to get kosher sandwiches!) I was working on auto pilot and did not realize that the annual orchid show was there. Mrs. C-C had a severe allergic reaction to the orchids and had to seek medical help.

After getting her stabilized, Tour Bob, Mrs. C-C and I had lunch at Dean and Delucca right across from the NBC studios - well away from those poisonous orchids!

I then went down to retrieve the entire group and encountered what can only be described as a bee hive of activity surrounded by orchids. While it was a stunning sight, it was difficult to gather the kids. (Actually, it was the adults we were having trouble with!)

After getting the correct count, I was about to board the bus when one young lady, smiling, presented me with a bunch of daisies!

How did she know?

She chose a bunch of the happiest and most resilient flowers; they put the high maintenance orchids to shame and reflected the mood of the group.

I nearly cried!

They're on my table and are a reaffirmation of my career choice.

Educational Touring for God and Country

Educational

Student Tours

For

God and Country

I was blessed to have been born an American as well as being part of both a Christian and Jewish family. This background gives me flexibility and different perspectives when designing my educational travel programs.

While I design for and conduct many public schools' travel programs, I am not permitted to explore God or faith with them. (It's hard enough to display patriotism!) That's difficult for me since I was brought up that there was no separation of church and state, but there seems to be a difference of opinion in this nation. As I am in the business of providing educational travel programs, I need to be of service to all my groups, and I try to be a good servant. However, it is far more satisfying for me to work with faith-based groups. Every road for me, is a road to Damascus. Additionally, I approach my profession as a ministry: Hebrews: 13:2*

It is my opinion that taking a trip should not mean taking a vacation from one’s spiritual life. I like to call these special programs: Faith On The Road. There is no getting around it: Judeo-Christian ethics have been a guiding force in the formation and development of this nation. Even those who have no faith should not neglect the influences of God and religion since they are germane to the understanding of our government and national identity.

Many of the schools I have worked with throughout the years are faith-based. Most of the Christian schools I currently conduct are Lutheran (MS and ELCA - they are great supporters of student travel), but there are also several Baptist, Bible Church, Calvary Chapel, Catholic, Episcopal, and Seventh Day Adventists in my portfolio.

Interestingly enough, I also design and conduct an eight day East Coast historic trip for a large Jewish Day School where the faculty and students are observant. A few years ago, they left an Israeli-based company because there was so much emphasis on faith and Jewish culture, the American history and programs were neglected. There has to be a balance. (This particular school also offers trips to Israel and Eastern Europe for their upper school, so they can get their Jewish culture there in depth.) Naturally, keeping kosher is the biggest challenge and I need to plan the trip around the food! (The Seventh Day Adventists simply require vegetarian.) We spend almost the entire Sabbath on foot and don’t get to eat dinner until 11:00 PM! (The trip takes place around the longest day of the year!) But Shabbat service is included, as well as the required and spontaneous prayers and songs each day. I follow the same observances as my group, with the exception of paying for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, arranged kosher lunches, and other sundries on the sabbath. It’s exhausting, but spiritually rewarding.

However, many faith-based schools look specifically for a ‘Christian’ or ‘Jewish’ company to run their programs because they ‘require’ someone of their faith or denomination to plan and conduct them. Why is that? I am often asked if my company is, ‘Christian’, or if I am, ‘Jewish’. This is actually not only illegal, but insulting to me both personally and professionally. It would seem that only an individual of their faith or denomination is capable to offer a faith-based travel program. If I answer that I serve all, I hear the click of the telephone. We don't even get far enough to discuss ability, quality of program, or pricing. They might be missing out on a custom designed program that could actually contain more educational and Christian/Jewish content.

I honestly don’t see that it really matters as long as the program is responsive to their needs and sensitively designed to give the teachers, leaders, Pastors, Rabbis, etc. the opportunities to convey their message and accommodates worship. The companies I am contracted with all operate on a solid business ethic patterned on ‘ best practices’ and Judeo-Christian principles. While there are some excellent Christian and Jewish tour operators in the industry, there are several companies I will not work with that capitalize on some indication of 'faith' in their name, but conduct themselves in a less than honorable manner. Discernment is very important here and asking for references should be the best indicator.

And as for tour leaders? For several years I was with a very large student tour operator that had a Christian division. I was frequently called upon to ‘cross divisions’ and replace their Christian tour guides midstream because they did not know enough American history or the nitty-gritty logistics of touring. Many of these guides were brought in from the West Coast or Midwest to conduct East Coast trips. Their scripture was sound and they were all personally fun to be with, but they weren't very familiar with the cities etc. apart from the usual tour sites. In contrast, I left the theological side to the school leaders. teachers/pastors (and in some cases, home school leaders), and took care of the touring and history. It was a true partnership and we each respected our respective areas of expertise. I left a lot of the interpretation up to the group leaders since there are subtleties of theology amongst denominations and sects. Frequently, I would add or introduce a spiritual message, first asking for permission from the leader of the group. I was pleased that I was requested again by each and every one of these groups, much to the amazement of the staff of both divisions; they had not realized how deeply spiritual I was. I know of several colleagues in the profession who are capable of doing the same, but they are not with Christian or Jewish companies.

The design of a faith-based educational travel program should follow curriculum, denomination, and objectives. In addition to all the historical sites and activities, I like to ask whether worship or fellowship is to be included. There are many churches and synagogues that would welcome groups and occasionally prepare something special for them. One can find them through the school's home church or synagogue.

For Christian schools and home schools, there are other opportunities to visit historic houses of worship and many of them offer their own educational programs and tours. One of my favorites is the re-creation of the Second Virginia Convention that culminated with Patrick Henry’s stirring, “Give me liberty, or give me death!” This program, through St. John’s Episcopal Church in Richmond, can be arranged any day except Sunday for a fee that goes to their ministry. One of the male leaders is chosen from the tour group and dressed in the robes of the colonial pastor; he enters with the Virginia founding fathers, and reads the opening prayer which starts the meeting. (I've seen a couple of temporary 'conversions' here!)

There is a wonderful Underground Railroad experience at the Bethel AME Church in Lancaster, PA that actually served as an actual station. It’s called Live it Bethel Harambee and presents the slave experience within a Christian context. Phoebe Bailey is the contact and please be sure to include the fellowship lunch with the best fried chicken you've ever had in your life! (I've brought public schools here, but had a lot of 'splaining' to do in order to justify it in an historic context.)

Pamplin Historical Park Overnight Civil War Adventure Camp can also add in a Christian component with prayer and song, which would be historically accurate. If you don't have time to spend the night, they offer full day and half day interactive visits of their camp and museum.

Evening activities with local singers, entertainers, or faith-based historic character interpreters can be included. Meetings with government legislators as well as motivational speakers can also be arranged.

For Roman Catholic groups I schedule a Mass. If they have a priest on board and they will be in Washington, DC, they can attend Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Their own priest can celebrate in one of the world’s largest churches. A visit to the John Paul II Cultural Center is also a wonderful experience.

There are also some interesting religious memorials, monuments, and sites. One that is not well-known is the Franciscan Monastery near Catholic University. You don’t have to be Roman Catholic in order to spiritually profit from the tour of the catacombs. (These catacombs are both inspiring and very, Indiana Jones!) Literally it is the, "Holy Land in America ".

There are ‘Classical’ private schools (i.e ACCS: The Association of Classical and Christian Schools ) and home school groups which already exist or are in the process of forming. Their curricula blend Christianity with the classical/ancient world. What a wonderful way to put the life of Jesus, Judaism, and early Christianity into context! Believe it or not, one can design tours around classical themes in Washington, DC and New York! If one can think beyond the box, one can look at the National Mall as the Roman Forum, our presidential memorials as temples, and our government discussed in ancient and religious context. Latin and Greek language can also be reflected in the program. This requires a true collaboration between teachers and the travel program planner. Working with a professional that knows not only the 'sights', museum collections and exhibits, as well as the indoor and outdoor art and architecture of the city, is invaluable. There aren't any 'packages' that offer this.

Getting back to my Jewish group, there are so many wonderful museums and programs that can illuminate their program. However, these programs should also be integrated into the Christian experience to promote greater understanding of Judaism, Jewish history, and Jewish contributions to the nation. The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum sponsors educational programs and on Wednesdays one can meet a survivor and perhaps have a conversation. If you're not there on a Wednesday, they have a speakers' bureau and for a fee, a presentation can be arranged. I always advocate first person encounters and this one can be especially powerful and poignant.

Philadelphia is a another treasure trove of colonial American Jewish history. A visit to the National Museum of American Jewish History, the first synagogue in Philadelphia (Mikveh Israel). and perhaps participation in one of their programs is a joyful experience. This museum is a Smithsonian affiliate and is located along Independence Mall. They also have a walking tour of many historic religious sites which is included in the Holy Experiment in the City of Brotherly Love.

A personal highlight for me is visiting Temple Emmanuel, the largest synagogue in the world. My last apartment in New York City was exactly two blocks from it and I often 'snuck' inside to peek at the stained glass and architectural details. They have a marvelous museum and the docents enjoy explaining Jewish life and culture to all sorts of groups. If the group is not visiting Washington, DC, the Museum of Jewish Heritage nestled in Battery Park/Hudson River Park and near 'Ground Zero' is well worth a visit. The Lower East Side Tenement Museum chronicles the several families of diverse backgrounds that lived in one tenement building. Their first person program gives a true account of the life of an immigrant and an appreciation of the living conditions in cramped quarters.

And you haven’t eaten until you have been to a real New York kosher deli! My choice is Katz's on Orchard Street. If you don't know what to order, just look around at what someone else has and say, "I'll have whatever she ordered!".

I hope this gives you some ideas to ponder for your next trip. Please don’t limit yourself to a few companies because others don't have names that reflect your faith; open yourself up to other providers, programs, and venues that might serve you and your group far better. If you are interested in any of the above programs and the company you are currently traveling with, or contemplating traveling with, says they cannot or will not honor the request, find a company that will.

The Tour Marm

*Hebrews 13:2

Be not forgetful to entertain strangers for thereby some have entertained Angels unawares.

Suggested Reading for Washington, D.C.:

Myths in Stone by Jeffrey F. Meyer

Religious Dimensions of Washington, DC.