Our 4th of July

First off, I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe 4th of July yesterday. We had a very educational and fun 4th. We went to Blennerhassett Island State Park for our celebration. To get to the park you have to take this sternwheeler boat.

Of course, I had to take a picture of Ginger on the boat!

Right after we snapped this picture, a crew member came over and asked Ginger if she wanted to drive the boat. Believe it or not, she said, "No, thank you." I heard the man say, "This is bigger than any car your mom and dad will ever own, are you sure?" I thought originally he was just talking about the boat itself. After I realized what he was asking her to do, and that she said no, I told her she "most certainly is going to drive the boat!" Sometimes, I'm learning, these pre-teen "anti-participatory" thought processes need to be forced coaxed into remission.

As you can plainly see, the experience was not nearly as dreadful as she originally thought. She even got to turn the boat and she was quite proud that she was the only person allowed to do that. After we arrived at the island, we decided not to take the tour of the mansion. We'll be back, so the tour we can do on a less busy day. Not that we were surrounded by "crowds", mind you, but they had other events going on and a tour can easily be taken on a day, other than the 4th of July, with 5 people instead of 25 people.

First, we headed off to the bell ringing ceremony. The Let Freedom Ring ceremony took place so that bells across the United States, including the Liberty Bell, were tapped and rung at exactly 2:00 p.m. The bells were rung 13 times, for each of the 13 colonies, in honor of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Then, and the main reason for attending, was to participate in the "'Trans-Allegheny Clash of Cultures" program. Five living history presenters told several "sides" to the story of American Independence from Great Britain.

A Tory explained his loyalty to Great Britain.

A Delaware assured his alliance to American patriots.

A Shawnee related his Nation's division over the war.

A Virginian woman held captive by the Shawnee explained her perception of the war.

There was also a Native American woman who told about the erosion of female power during the war. (I don't know why I didn't get a picture of her, hmmm.)

At first, Ginger did not really want to attend. Afterwards, she said she not only enjoyed the program, but she thought that this was the best living history presentation that she's been too since Plymoth Plantation. She especially loved that the people presenting the Native American perspectives spoke Delaware and Shawnee.


There are two more Clash of Culture demonstrations in WV coming up. If anyone gets a chance, take advantage of this wonderful program. (Each program is different. Hopefully, they will continue this series, so we get the opportunity to see them all.)

Upcoming “Trans-Allegheny Clash of Cultures” presentations

• Hawks Nest State Park Schedule: July 18, 2009
  
  10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. – War camp open to the public.
  Visit with historical characters who traveled the New River war paths.
  Characters will include a prisoner in a war camp, an Indian warrior, Mary Ingles, and Cherokee war leader Man Killer Ostenaco (portrayed by Doug Wood).

• Droop Mountain State Park Schedule: August 29, 2009
  
  10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. – War camp open to the public.
  Visit with historical characters who traveled the Seneca Trail.
  Characters will include a prisoner in a war camp, an Indian warrior, Cherokee war leader Man Killer Ostenaco (portrayed by Doug Wood), and Koleshqua, the Cornstalk Warrior (a History Alive! Presentation of the West Virginia Humanities Council, portrayed by Dan Cutler).

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