The Program Format
Dressed in period, and character appropriate attire, George and Diane Bernheimer bring each of these people of our history into the present. Each portrayal is based on research, and study of primary sources such as journals, letters, diaries, and biographies of the person, their family members, and contemporaries. Whenever possible, the characters own words are used in the presentation. Each character speaks of the historical, political, and social setting of their era, and their part in it. The audience is then given the opportunity to interact with the character by asking questions, or by engaging in dialogue while still in the time period of the character. Character is then "broken", and members of the audience have the opportunity to ask questions of the presenters concerning their research, and other relevant topics. Each presentation lasts 40-50 minutes, including questions.
"A Visit with the Johnson's"
The Reverend Thomas and Sarah Johnson
and the
Shawnee Indian Mission School
“A Visit with the Johnson’s” introduces you to the Reverend Thomas and Sarah Johnson (yes, that Johnson, the one for whom Johnson County was named), an engaging couple who began their missionary work with the Shawnee Indians in 1830. You will meet them at a turbulent time in Kansas history, long after they established the first and then the second Shawnee Indian Mission School, when two of three sons are at war, but their daughters are nearby.
"From Frontier Post to Thriving Community"
Hiero T. and Elizabeth C. Wilson
"Frontier Post to Thriving Community" traces the exciting history of Fort Scott from its beginning as an Army post west of the United States, to pro slave community in the Kansas Territory, then Union Civil War supply center, and finally into a post Civil War railroad town. Hiero Tennant Wilson, "the father of Fort Scott", and his wife Elizabeth Clay Wilson, were a part of all of these changes. Journey with the Wilson's as they work to help "the Crack Post of the Frontier" grow into an economic center in southeast Kansas, spanning the period from 1842 to 1870.
"The Emigrants: Removing to the Kansas Territory"
“The Emigrants” tell their story as composite characters based on the letters, diaries, and the documented experiences of settlers in Kansas Territory. From May 30, 1854, the day President Franklin Pierce signed the Nebraska-Kansas Act, supporters of the institution of slavery have seen Kansas as what might be their last opportunity to make slavery secure. Abolitionists and Free Staters see the Territory as the place to take a stand to end the spread of slavery for good. Our settlers leave Philadelphia in 1855; traveling with a New England Emigrant Aid Company party to the place Horace Greeley has named “Bleeding Kansas”. They are not abolitionists, but do believe that no person should be the property of another. They are like most that come from the east, wanting only to build a home and a business in a new place of opportunity.
"Lincoln's Fifth Wheel: The People's Love for the People's Army"
George Templeton Strong and Mrs. Catharine Dix
present the story of the
United States Sanitary Commission
and the
Women's Central Association of Relief
“Lincoln’s Fifth Wheel”. Through the eyes of George Templeton Strong and Mrs. Catharine Dix, you’ll see how those who watched their men go off to war supported their soldiers who went to fight to preserve the Union. Their two organizations, the United States Sanitary Commission and the Women’s Central Association of Relief, along with thousands of aid societies formed by ladies in the North, combined their efforts to comfort the wounded, both Union and Confederate, and to assure the soldier in the field that they were supported at home. The doubts of 1861 about these organizations had turned to praise by 1865, with thanks from thousands of soldiers and accolades from generals, including General Ulysses S. Grant, for their work. New York attorney George Templeton Strong, Treasurer of the Commission, and Mrs. Catharine Dix of the Women's Central Association of Relief will be delighted to tell you this little know story of our Civil War. And yes, the U. S. Sanitary Commission operated in Kansas!
United States Sanitary Commission Field Relief Station
Stop by the U. S. Sanitary Commission camp to hear about and see how the people at home in the North support their men who have answered President Lincoln's call to put down the rebellion. "A package a month for the boys" is the standard that the women of the various aid societies that support us have set, to show our Union troops that they are missed, and supported by the people back home.
Our programs are appropriate for several themes beyond Kansas history and the Civil War. For example, Civil War on the home front, western expansion, and Antebellum America. Please contact us to discuss which program will meet your specific needs. The presentation format, and some portrayals, can be adapted to meet the needs of various venues, events, and groups.
(Photographs: From Right - The Reverend Thomas Johnson - Sarah Davis Johnson - Hiero Tennant Wilson - Kansas Territory Emigrants - George Templeton Strong - Catharine Morgan Dix - US Sanitary Commission Field Relief Station at Gettysburg, July 1863)
